Lookout, The (2006) [Blu-ray]
Crime | Drama | Thriller
Tagline: Whoever has the money has the power.
Acclaimed screenwriter Scott Frank (Minority Report) makes a mind-blowing directorial debut in The Lookout, a gritty high-tension crime thriller starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Inception), Jeff Daniels (Good Night, And Good Luck) and Isla Fisher (Wedding
Crashers). Chris "Slapshot" Pratt (Gordon-Levitt), whose once-bright future has been dimmed by a head injury, is a night janitor at a bank. Lonely and frustrated, Chris falls prey to a con man's seductive promise of romance and a better life, and agrees
to help rob the bank. Filled with heart-pounding action, edge-of-your-seat suspense and a twist you'll never see coming, The Lookout will grip you and never let go . . .
Storyline: An admired high school hockey player with a bright future foolishly takes a drive in the night with his girlfriend and two other friends with his headlights off with devastating results. The former athlete is left with
a brain injury that prevents him from remembering many things for extended periods of time. To compensate, he keeps notes in a small notebook to aid him in remembering what he is to do. He also lives with a blind friend who aids him. Obviously, with the
mental incapacitation, he is unable to have meaningful work. Thus he works as a night cleaning man in a bank. It is there he comes under the scrutiny of a gang planning to rob the bank. The leader befriends him and gets him involved with a young woman who
further reels him in. After they get close and after reeling him in with his own failures, the bank plan unfolds. Confused but wanting to escape his current existence, he initially goes along with the scheme... Written by John Sacksteder
User Comment: MorganGrodecki from Canada, 30 March 2007 • I had a conversation with a friend earlier this week, regarding the lack of effort being put into films these days. In the 21st century, there are very few films worth
seeing, in comparison to the earlier 80's, and 90's. Back then, there weren't 100's of movies being churned out a week, with only 1 or 2 being even half decent. This is the reason that this movie took me entirely by surprise.
The movie is centered around Chris Pratt ( Josepth Gordon-Levitt), a partially handicapped man, in his earlier 20's. Chris used to live a great life, have great friends, and amazing talent on the ice. Now, after a car accident that changed his life, he
suffers from slight mental handicaps, although they are prominently random, and don't have a major effect on the movie. Chris is still recovering from his car crash, and trying to move up in his job. He works at "Noah's Central Bank" as a Janitor, but has
been pushing to be a teller for ages. Desperate for companions, Chris jumps at the first person to befriend him, and slowly falls into the wrong crowd. As Chris gets deeper and deeper in with his group of friends, he's pressured to help them with a
robbery. Only catch: The heist is taking place at his bank.
Although the movie seems pretty straightforward, the plot can be deceiving. First of all, if you are going to this movie expecting a movie based solely around a bank heist ( a la Inside Man), go to blockbusters and rent "Dog Day Afternoon". This movie
focuses, for the most part, around Chris, and his decent from an innocent, hard working Janitor, to a confused, misled, and frustrated individual. Although not of the same Hollywood callibur as movies such as Inside Man, it is still easily worth the
ticket. Which brings me to my next point.
After seeing this movie, I felt refreshed. I went into a movie, expecting explosions, poor dialogue, and close ups of bodies being blown away. I couldn't of been farther off. This movie veers away from Hollywood, and it pulls it off miraculously. The
dialogue is crisp, the violence existing, but not overused, and the characters deep. I may only be so impressed by this movie because of what I was expecting, but I none the less recommend it to anyone willing to actually think during a movie, rather than
watch a bunch of cars blow up.
Summary: The Lookout delivers.
User Comment: godwatcher from Los Angeles, CA, 17 August 2006 • This is incredibly entertaining and solid piece of film making, by Scott Frank. The film travels on a road that its laid out for the audience to see steps ahead, but
that never matters, b/c you are constantly in suspense over what will happen to the incredibly well drawn characters in the film. Frank also shows tons of directorial flair to accompany his writing prowess. The whole cast was amazing, Matthew Goode is
completely unrecognizable and is perfect in the film. Jeff Daniels again dons a Beard and steals his scenes, every line of his dialog either makes you laugh, think or just compels the movie forward, and Joseph Gordon Levitt again proves why he is capable
of being one of the next great movie stars. Go see this movie and tell your friends to do the same.
This is the kind of film Hollywood should be making.
Summary: What film making is about.
[CSW] -3.0- The script centers around characters rather than plot mechanics. It delivered a gritty, unpredictable crime film where even the supporting characters walk off the screen. The exchanges between Gordon-Levitt and Jeff Daniels (as his blind
roommate) are so well-observed that you almost want to forget you are watching a crime thriller and have it just be about them. While The Lookout has its flaws--one of the main characters disappears midway through the film, without any real
explanation, and the fates of several others are all too easy to guess, it still resonates simply because the characters and dialogue were so well-written. This movie may be one that you'll want to see more than once.
[V4.5-A4.0] MPEG-4 AVC - No D-Box.
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