Criminal Activities

I wish there was something good about this movie so I can write a spoiler. It is plain awful. Terrible people, doing terrible things to other terrible people. The plot is pretentious and stupid at the same time. Sleazebags steal money from other sleaze-bags, so they can provide a setup for a lot of F-word and many variations, repetitions, and the derivatives of the curse word. The language gets so bad, that it becomes unbearable. Who talks like that? Even if they do, why do we need to be slapped in the face with the flood of profanity? And people pay money to be subject to this?! This is a bad movie, so bad that I consider it one of the unimportant signs that we are coming to the end of the world. Do not waste your precious time. I couldn't not finish it and just walked away.

Criminal Activities has a good cast for talent in the main roles with Michael Pitt, Dan Stevens, Christopher Abbott, Rob Brown, Edi Gathegi and John Travolta. The premise of the film is four old friends come up with a financial investment plan to make a small fortune but they need $200K in seed money which one of the four old friends arranges to get a loan for. When their financial investment plan quickly goes south their anonymous financial backer comes forward and demands his $200K back immediately plus another $200K in interest, or else their heads will be handed to them, literally. The loan arranger is connected to the mob underworld and he tells his four patsies that he will wipe the slate clean of the $400K loan if they agree to kidnap another hood and hold him for just 24 hours. So the kidnapping plan is set in motion with the four amateurs and although it hits a few snags they eventually get the kidnapping completed and they keep the mob hostage tied up for their loan shark waiting to get the green light to let him go. What follows is about 60 minutes of continuous blather by all cast members including a whole lot of four letter words that rhyme with the word "PUCK". Most sensible film goers would at some point get up and ask for a refund but since I purchased the Blu Ray I chose to bear with the directors master(less)piece and although I was becoming very irritated with the endless blather of totally useless dialogue by the six main characters which I assumed was necessary to fill an otherwise empty void to completing a 94 minute movie I hung in there and I was rewarded with a better than average film end. I don't want to spoil any film goers surprise ending or personal experience with Criminal Activities but to summarize the film in three acts I would rate: Act One (1) with a "C" rating, Act Two (2) with a "D" rating, and the final act, Act Three (3) with a "B+" plus rating. So if you can hang in there through a pretty boring middle half of the film with a lot of useless four letter word dialogue you may be pleasantly surprised with an above average decent film ending.

I don't get it. You take a lame script, stick John Travolta in it, and it becomes a 7 star picture. And if he'd get a decent toupee, it might make it to an 8 star movie. I don't understand how people can't call John aside and say, "John... look man... That thing is really ridiculous. Either cut it off or get a decent one, but this thing's not making it. That being said, this movie was a real kick. The actors were likable, funny, and believable. Not a spoiler, but the kidnapping scene itself is worth renting this one. Michael Pitt, fresh out of Boardwalk Empire and Hannibal, was great-- top notch actor; Rob Brown was excellent; Dan Stevens was also excellent; Chris Abbott was good; and as I said, Travolta was amazing. I don't know how he does it. I don't know how he learned to act like that because he's really done some junk. But after Pulp Fiction, he makes or breaks a movie.

Review: I can honestly say that I didn't have high hopes for this movie but it didn't turn out to be totally bad. The 4 dumb criminals, Zach (Michael Pitt), Noah (Dan Stevens), Warren (Christopher Abbott) and Bryce (Rob Brown), really didn't have a clue about kidnapping but they were stuck in an impossible situation after borrowing $200,000 from mob boss, Eddie (John Travolta). After a bad investment, they end up owing Eddie $400,000, so to pay there debt, they have to kidnap Marques (Edi Gathegi), who is the brother of a gangster who has kidnapped Eddie's niece. I know it sounds confusing but it's pretty straight forward. Whilst holding Marques in a derelict building, Gerry (Jackie Earle Haley) is on the hunt for Eddie's niece so the 4 best friends are stuck with Marques, waiting for instructions from Eddie. When the storyline unfolds, you soon realise that all is not what it seems, in a Usual Suspects type of way but I do have to watch the movie again to truly understand the major twist. The acting isn't bad from the whole cast, especially Edi Gathegi and Michael Pitt but the professionalism from John Travolta, makes the rest of the cast look quite amateur. The character that I really liked throughout the film was Jackie Earle Haley, who also directed the movie, so he really gave his all to this project. It's not in the same league as Usual Suspects but it's a watchable movie which isn't bad for the directors debut. Watchable! Round-Up: I first saw Jackie Earle Haley, 54, in Little Children, we're he played a paedophile and was extremely creepy, and since then he has starred in some big movies like All The King's Men, Semi-Pro, Fragments, Watchmen, where he played Rorschach extremely well, Shutter Island, Lincoln, A Nightmare On Elm Street, Dark Shadows, Parkland, Robocop and the upcoming London Has Fallen. He really has an impressive portfolio, which is understandable because he's an unique actor who brings intensity to all of his roles. As for this movie, I think the ending was extremely rushed and a lot of the scenes with the 4 kidnappers were average. He was lucky to get such a diverse cast, who all brought something different to the project but I would have liked to have seen more from Travolta and Haley, who were the best thing in the movie. I recommend this movie to people who are into their crime/drama/thrillers starring John Travolta, Michael Pitt, Dan Stevens, Rob Brown, Jackie Earle Haley and Christopher Abbott. 4/10

All the guys proceed well but the actors, including the scene-stealing, acquit themselves quite amusingly, as does director Haley, who also plays one of Travolta's henchmen. Working from a chatty script not as cleverly hatched as it likes to think it is, Haley whips it into something decently entertaining even as you begin thinking about how truly great "Get Shorty" and Travolta's Chili Palmer were midway through those double-crossing criminal activities. Criminal Activities is overall a sneaky, snaky little crime thriller with some pretty impressive plot twists with some stylish touches and committed performances which enliven this otherwise not special crime thriller.

I watched this because of the John Travolta and Jackie Earle Haley connection as I've enjoyed much of their previous work. The acting was OK and the story, although not original seemed to start off well and I was looking forward to a romp along the lines of "A Family Business". Previously law abiding citizens with intelligence enough to hold down white collar jobs, then forced to commit a kidnapping would employ planning involving how to subdue then restrain a target though the use of a taser and heavy duty tie- wraps. However, they blunder in with rope and high hopes. Then in the aftermath, the four then show their faces to the kidnapped man and use their own names names and engage in long conversation with him, so he knows exactly who they are and who to kill as in revenge. In the real world, the kidnapped man would be blindfolded, gagged and as the duration of the kidnapping was only 24 hours, no food or water would be needed, so would be kept bound and thrown him in a cellar somewhere. After 30 minutes the movie seemed to be heading down the road of comedic unraveling of the kidnap plan through the stupidity of the whole group so I stopped watching in frustration...

"Sometimes what looks like a dead end to a dire situation can be an opportunity." After meeting at an old classmates funeral four friends begin to reconnect. When they hatch a plan to play the stock market for a sure thing that will make them all millionaires they jump at the chance. When things go wrong they not only lose their money but they find out that one of them borrowed money from the mob. Now, left with no other choice they must make a deal in order to survive. I love mob movies and was looking forward to this. This is not the type of mob movie I was hoping for. The movies is essentially a kidnapping and little by little more truth is uncovered. The movie isn't that bad and does keep you watching but it was a little slow and not really what I was expecting it to be. The acting is really good, even though it is hard to buy Travolta as a mob boss. This is a decent one time watch movie but nothing all that amazing and nothing I think I would watch again. Overall, good but nothing to scream about. I give this a B.

Anyone involved with this movie should just be ashamed of themselves. Why? The script, if there was one, was just a bunch of guys yelling f-words at each other. Worthless, f, f, f, this, and f, f, f, that. Cinematography? Shaky cam shot by a 12-year-old. Not one interesting visual. Plot? Forget it. Interest? None. Acting? Beyond lame. This is a product with a major star (Travolta) vying for your consumer dollar. The problem is, it's utter garbage. Do not waste a minute of your life on this sad rip-off.

For all the gritty title and noir poster it has, the better part of Criminal Activity is its satirical attempt on crime genre. The thriller works by introducing subplots while playing out the main story with a lot of twists and turns. While not every narrative pays out, there's a solid acting here and it's pretty exciting to see the diverse characters as they are put in highly volatile situations. Four young men reunite on the funeral of their friend. After a smoke they are intrigued by an investment opportunity that fails almost immediately. Unfortunately to them the investment is already tied to a mafia and they must do a difficult favor to clean the slate. Their hardship eventually turns into a spiral of dangerous power struggle with kidnapped niece and nephew while agents and assassins chase after them. It's a deeper premise than it originally shows, creating layers of subplots as it progresses. Some of the sequences are highly entertaining due to their absurdity and good delivery by the actors. Edi Gathegi as the gangster involved in all the shenanigans stands out even among the capable leads of John Travolta and Dan Stevens. There are unexpected outlandish mafia themed narratives, or perhaps slight parody of it, that will deliver chuckle or thrill to audience. However, even with most of the story manage to be entertaining, the movie tends to overreach. It has plenty of side characters or events that may not be that important yet still get a lot of screen time. It tries to pull off too many tricks that don't resonate better than its core story. Not to mention the twisting revelation at the end feels rather abrupt and might too far fetch, although it's still decent due to the outlandish nature. Criminal Activity works on parts where the acting and satire are strong, but it does try to overreach with few others distracting stints like a greedy mobster.

I felt that this film was well thought out and for a guy who is generally pretty good at figuring out twists in a film this one was successful in tripping me up.This is not a big budget film by modern day Hollywood standards but felt it was casted very well and very entertaining. The story line and the characters keep you engaged and there are no "slow" points in this film. It has a great balance of action scenes as well as intellectual content to keep all types entertained. A film I can honestly say is worth seeing and you would not be disappointed in this film unless you are an "impossible to impress or please" kind of person.