Pocket Listing

Pocket Listing is a heart pounding dark comedy/thriller that is intelligent, stylish, and a wild thrill ride. It is simply a smart movie that the large studios just don't make anymore. It is thankfully void of all the excessive Hollywood cartoon nonsense of gratuitous noise and special effects. Mature and sophisticated moviegoers can really appreciate that Pocket Listing showcases an engaging story, great acting, tight script, superb visuals, and ultimately just a great day at the movies. Bright new star James Jurdi brilliantly shines, and is supported by a stellar cast and superb acting including Hollywood Icon Bert Reynolds. Kudos to independent filmmaking — Pocket Listing is a refreshing, thought provoking, and fun movie. Go see it, you will love it!

Sex, drugs, and... real estate! This film has a little bit of everything... great scenery, beautiful women, nefarious characters, a stunning bombshell, and a suave anti-hero. On a superficial level, the film is more than pleasing to the eyes and exceptionally well directed by Allyn, who transports us into this fantastic world of corrupt characters and fringe players. But what's more impressive about the film is the way it allows you to sympathize and care for the character's arc. The performances are all gold, led by the superb Jurdi as the morally gray broker who learns some life lessons, aided by a great Fahey as a villain you love to hate, a drop dead gorgeous Clark as a simultanously manipulative but vulnerable trophy wife, and veterans Lowe and Reynolds in small but notable roles. But above all, "Pocket Listing" is just a good time. Check it out..

A redemption story about a scummy real estate agent who falls from grace, becomes a slumlord, and then gets a comeback shot at the mother of dirty deals. Good story and excellent acting

What a ride... Expertly directed by Conor Allyn, this twisty, unpredictable, darkly comic Los Angeles fable takes you on a tour of some wonderfully amoral characters as they hustle, bustle, wheel, deal, and scheme their way through the maze of real estate. At its core is a rise and fall morality play, but what makes the film so damn enjoyable and engaging is its sardonic, humorous edge and its bitingly satirical look at material excess and the extreme juxtaposition between the haves and the have notes. Written with zeal and luster by confident and charismatic lead Jurdi, "Pocket Listing" is a hybrid of various genre films yet manages to maintain a smooth, even tone. The chemistry between the actors is palpable, with every player giving it their all and a little more. Watch out for drop dead beauty scene stealer Clark, who just oozes with raw talent and unbridled sexuality. This is the kind of film that rarely gets made anymore and that doesn't always face the best odds in today's marketplace of bombastic blockbusters, but for my dollar, it's as good as anything I've seen in a while.

A genre cocktail, mixing Scorsese-light material excess with reversal of fortune drama and high stakes, sexy con man noir. But it works... largely in part to solid performances from Jurdi as an amiable anti-hero, Clark as an irresistible femme fetale straight out of a 1950's Orson Welles crime yarn, and Lowe in a hipster wig and a welcome return to the kind of raspy voiced, cool as ice villains he perfected in such comedies as "Tommy Boy" and "Wayne's World." Wish Burt had more of a presence here though, but just happy to see him in something legit. The film also feels a bit out of the '90's, even late '80's style of action comedy which is a bit over the top but never the less welcome entertainment.

A very interesting mix of different genres, but especially a backstage look at the real estate market in Los Angeles. Of all the actors showcased, Jurdi excels and does his job very well. It also must be noted that the trophy Malibu villa is not the best visual. That prize belongs to Clark, who turns Lana into a femme fatale to remember.

I am a sucker for movies set in the city of Angels. From "Heat" to "Collateral" to "The Player" to "Nightcrawler," I just find that L.A. is such a cinematic city, no pun intended. Something about its landscape, climate, and sprawling geography make it an outstanding backdrop for all kinds of fascinating stories. Now, we can welcome "Pocket Listing" to the list of awesome movies which have put the great town of L.A. to use. In fact, not only does the film put its setting to use, it practically turns it into one of the main characters of the plot. Set in the high stakes world of competitive real estate around the economic crash, "Listing" examines one agent's ascent and descent from the hills of Hollywood to the slums of Downtown. The film uses the landscape not only as pretty scenery but also to depict the varying degrees of distinction between those fortunate enough to have survived and thrived during the recession to those who weren't so lucky and had to live hand to mouth. Guiding us through both worlds is our protagonist Jack (Jurdi, who I haven't seen much of before but carries the film beautifully). As he wheels and deals and finally lands himself a potential "make it or break it" deal at a palatial Malibu villa which has all kind of strings attached, the film veers between dark comedy, lightweight thriller, and zingy socioeconomic commentary. Throughout it all, we have terrific performances pushing things forward, from Lowe to Reynolds to the excellent Fahey and Clark (also up and comers who have hopefully bright futures). "Pocket Listing" could be looked at as many things: a real estate movie, a morality play, a sexy, comedic thriller, but I most prefer to place it in the category of great genre movies about L.A. The city tells its story in this film, and in the end the story becomes a wide-ranging tall tale of a city and its inhabitants.

This is a fun and relatively clever little film, far from perfect and a bit slow to get going but generally enjoyable overall. What's interesting about it is that it is set in the backdrop of the American real estate crises but somehow it doesn't dwell on the drama of that dilemma. Rather, it spins an energetic crime caper about a Malibu villa and all the players that are trying to sell it for their own very shady reasons. As long as the film stays with this threadline, it works. When it tries to become a bit message oriented with a subplot about a Downtown tenement that's tied to the sale of the house and to the main real estate agent, it loses momentum and becomes less zesty. Fortunately, it maintains enough energy to keep the audience engaged and one most give credit to the younger actors in the film for really carrying it nicely. Lowe and Reynolds have smaller parts but it's really the fresh faced ingenues that make this film pop. Overall, "Pocket Listing" is certainly ambitious, somewhat flawed but undeniably compelling.

Movies like "Pocket Listing" are a dying breed. The smart, crime thriller is a rarity these days, but one that laces its cleverly constructed plot with welcome doses of dark humor and satire is an even more extinct cinema species. The film is set in and around the greater Los Angeles area, following the ups and downs of a semi-shady real estate agent (played by talented new face Jurdi, who also wrote the razor sharp script) as he goes from hot shot yuppie to broken-down pauper. When he is hired to execute the mother of all real estate deals for a mysterious, too smooth for comfort tycoon (a terrific Rob Lowe, playing against type), he discovers that closing a deal may just be a life or death matter. "Pocket Listing" is really a master's class in acting. The performances shepherd the already zesty material to a whole new level. Jurdi proves to be a more than capable protagonist, creating a character who's flawed but fascinating, slick but sympathetic, self-motivated but ultimately redeemable. Another two new faces who also add a lot to the film are Fahey and Clark. Fahey plays the devious, cruel trust-fund kid/real estate empire inheritor excellently. Clark proves to be an absolute bombshell as Lana, a truly unpredictable and mesmerizing femme fatale of the first order. In fact, Lana could be a distant relative of Sharon Stone's infamous maneater in "Basic Instinct." This is a great role for her, and she owns it. The film also has supporting performances from some real Hollywood vets. Lowe is all whispery menace as the Malibu villa owner, perfecting the kind of fun, subtle badass we don't get the chance to see him play often. Gugliemi is enjoyable as a local gangster, and what a breath of fresh air to see Reynolds back in a small but notable role as a real estate mogul. What makes "Pocket Listing" such a hoot is that it doesn't take itself too seriously. The whole film almost winks at you with its unabashed charm and over the top twists and turns. Don't expect this to be the most realistic depiction of the financial crash or the real estate market, but it's certainly one of the most edgy and entertaining films in some time which touches on those issues. This one's a winner.

Not in recent memory has there been a film which deals with the intricacies of the real estate world, let alone one which features an actual real estate agent as the hero of the film. "I don't just sell houses, I deal dreams" remarks Jack Woodman (played by James Jurdi), a super hot, ultra slick shark in a suit who happens to be L.A.'s top realtor. This guy, or maybe Jurdi's engaging performance, actually made me want to consider studying up on real estate. Woodman's rise, fall, and ultimate redemption make up the bulk of the story, along with the crazy deal at the heart of the film which amplify the intrigue/mayhem. Satire in the vein of "The Player" and "Get Shorty" add to the mix, producing a film which flies fast, digs deep infrequently, but whose ultimate purpose is to entertain, and oh yeah, to make us all wish we were super cool Beverly Hills real estate agents who find themselves in situations with femme fetale bombshells, Russian mafiosos, Mexican gangsters, and Rob Lowe as a rock star-styled villa owner with a dark side. Are we having fun yet? You will. That's the point.