88 Minutes (2007)

Well, most people didn't seem to enjoy this flick. In fact, it was nominated for no less than 2 Razzie Awards. I'm not really sure why. I thought it was pretty solid. I mean yes, Al Pacino's hair defies gravity. And yes, if he's in Seattle then he must be helping an Asian family pay the monthly rent on their tanning business, because he is definitely not a normal shade of skin. And yes, sometimes he looks like he's falling asleep. But I wasn't falling asleep. I was intrigued. I'm intrigued in the identity of this psychopath. I'm intrigued as to why Pacino only hangs out with young women. I'm less intrigued as to why he's always hugging them. And I'm thoroughly mystified as to the answer to the film riddle. Mystification, albeit an emotion that greets me often, is not most frequently associated with movies in my life. But, here we are with a hodgepodge cast that I recognize from just about everywhere (Leelee, that dude from the OC, some lesbian from Frasier and Judging Amy, scraggle-face from Payback, and Digger!), almost all of them suspects. Although, I mostly suspect men in these sorts of things. I am also experiencing a certain amount of gratitude for the fact that they decided to set this movie in Seattle, even if they filmed most of it in Vancouver. And yes, there's some rain and a mostly blue-gray hue to every scene, but overall, they only vaguely portray us as a depressing and homicidal city. More gratitude arises from the fact there are several lesbian relationships in this. Even a lone nipple flash! In fact, a solid 60% of the this cast was female, a sadly underrepresented statistic. I guess people don't really like mystery-thrillers with lots of women. I don't mind though. I like women.

I deem it: "A satisfying watch-instantly experience!/Pacino's clearly popping pills to stay in the game here, so enjoy him while you can!/Long live the city of blue!