Actors: Paul Walker, Brendan Fraser, Matt Dillon, Norman Reedus, Vincent D’Onofrio, Elijah Wood, Lukas Haas, Kevin Rankin.
Director: Wayne Kramer
Rated: R (Restricted)
Studio: ANCHOR BAY
Release Date: August 27, 2013
Run Time: 112 minutes
Film: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2 out of 5 stars
What a trip! From the moment this film starts, I couldn’t help but think that this feels like a live-action comic book. It is action packed and very intense. It is graphic, in-your-face and feels like “Pulp Fiction” on drugs. The film also packs one very impressive cast spread out and also intertwined between each of the three stories. Just look at the box, the better question is “Who isn’t in this movie?” Everyone in the cast, no matter how small the role, really adds a lot to the film. It is a real ensemble. My only concern is that the film slows down a bit in its third act but ends up paying off as it all comes together in the end. Very clever, unique and a ton of fun.
Official Synopsis: In this shop, these people may be pawning far more than they bargained for: Brendan Fraser (“The Mummy”), Elijah Wood (“The Lord of the Rings”), Vincent D’Onofrio (“Men in Black”), Academy Award® nominee Matt Dillon (“Crash”), Norman Reedus (“The Walking Dead”), Thomas Jane (“Hung”), Lukas Haas (“Inception”), and Paul Walker (“Fast & Furious”), star in 3 twisted tales all connected by items from a Southern small-town pawn shop. A man searching for his kidnapped wife, a couple of white-supremacist meth heads, and a sad-sack Elvis impersonator, plus more desperate characters come to life in the action-packed and hilarious story written by Adam Minarovich and from the director of “The Cooler” and “Running Scared”, Wayne Kramer.
Anchor Bay is releasing this film as a Blu-ray combo pack with a DVD disc as well. The 1080p transfer relays the film’s comic book feel very well and looks sharp doing it. The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 works well with the film’s fast paced again and music. In terms of special features, I would have expected more from this release. There is only an audio commentary from director Wayne Kramer and writer Adam Minarovich. I would have loved to seen some behind-the-scenes featurettes.