Take your typical film-noir plot, mix that with the idea from "Memento", and sprinkle on a little bit of "Fargo" for taste. Put it in the oven for a few minutes and you have "The Lookout."
This sounds like a great idea for a new movie, but this recipe has no flavor. The movie is just stale. It tries to combine all of these cool elements from other films, but just cannot get them mix together in the right amounts.
"The Lookout" tells the story of super famous high school hockey player Chris Pratt (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who gets into a vicious car accident. This wreck leaves Pratt with a short term memory disability and a significant amount of guilt. Some of his friends were also involved in the crash.
Pratt now does not fit in anywhere in snowy Kansas City. His head injury makes him socially awkward, he is unable to remember easy things like names, and blurts out inappropriate comments.
Pratt's only friend is his roommate Lewis (Jeff Daniels), who is blind. The sad part is Lewis appears to have an easier time living than Pratt.
The only job Pratt is able to perform is a night janitor at a local bank. Pratt, by what seems like chance finally makes new friends. However, these friends are planning a bank robbery at the same bank Pratt works at, and they need someone to be the lookout.
But, like Pratt is told by his new friend, whoever has the money has the power.
The reason "The Lookout" is stale, is because it takes way to long to develop the story. Getting to the climax is just unexciting. It gets a little boring.
When we finally do get to the heist, the movie takes off in full force. The scenes are gripping with a raw intensity, but this is only during the last part of the movie. If only the rest of the movie was made with this much passion and dedication. The parts leading up to the heist just seems like dramatic filler.
"The Lookout" is directed by first timer Scott Frank. He does show many moments of promise. If he focuses on a strictly action film, I think he will be quite successful because the action in this film looks like it has come from an experienced filmmaker.
Gordon-Levitt does another fine job of playing the protagonist in a film-noir movie, the other film being "Brick." His face throughout the film harshly displays the anguish and frustration he constantly experiences with his mental disability.
Frank really tries hard to make this film work, but he needs to complete his storytelling first. He drops some characters and sub-plots before we really know what their purpose was in the first place. It seems that Frank attempted to bring elements from all of his favorite films into his own. Good idea, but it just becomes jumbled and unfinished.
Frank might have the money, but he doesn't yet have the power to create a great film.
This sounds like a great idea for a new movie, but this recipe has no flavor. The movie is just stale. It tries to combine all of these cool elements from other films, but just cannot get them mix together in the right amounts.
"The Lookout" tells the story of super famous high school hockey player Chris Pratt (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who gets into a vicious car accident. This wreck leaves Pratt with a short term memory disability and a significant amount of guilt. Some of his friends were also involved in the crash.
Pratt now does not fit in anywhere in snowy Kansas City. His head injury makes him socially awkward, he is unable to remember easy things like names, and blurts out inappropriate comments.
Pratt's only friend is his roommate Lewis (Jeff Daniels), who is blind. The sad part is Lewis appears to have an easier time living than Pratt.
The only job Pratt is able to perform is a night janitor at a local bank. Pratt, by what seems like chance finally makes new friends. However, these friends are planning a bank robbery at the same bank Pratt works at, and they need someone to be the lookout.
But, like Pratt is told by his new friend, whoever has the money has the power.
The reason "The Lookout" is stale, is because it takes way to long to develop the story. Getting to the climax is just unexciting. It gets a little boring.
When we finally do get to the heist, the movie takes off in full force. The scenes are gripping with a raw intensity, but this is only during the last part of the movie. If only the rest of the movie was made with this much passion and dedication. The parts leading up to the heist just seems like dramatic filler.
"The Lookout" is directed by first timer Scott Frank. He does show many moments of promise. If he focuses on a strictly action film, I think he will be quite successful because the action in this film looks like it has come from an experienced filmmaker.
Gordon-Levitt does another fine job of playing the protagonist in a film-noir movie, the other film being "Brick." His face throughout the film harshly displays the anguish and frustration he constantly experiences with his mental disability.
Frank really tries hard to make this film work, but he needs to complete his storytelling first. He drops some characters and sub-plots before we really know what their purpose was in the first place. It seems that Frank attempted to bring elements from all of his favorite films into his own. Good idea, but it just becomes jumbled and unfinished.
Frank might have the money, but he doesn't yet have the power to create a great film.