Review of 88 Minutes (2007) by Vidar S — 29 Mar 2009

RUN AS FAST AND AS FAR AS YOU CAN. That's what Al Pacino's doing in much of this moronic "thriller", dashing through a series of random scenes littered with cliches, red herrings, and cardboard characters - and you should take the hint.

The sick violence, while not especially graphic by modern standards, is plenty sick, while the plot is pointlessly twisted, the dialogue shockingly dumb, and the occasional sexual content laughably gratuitous - in addition to a tooth-brushing contortionist and random lesbians, a real howler is when the prof's female assistant, for no discernible reason, sheds her light sweater to scurry around for the next several (probably chilly) scenes in a camisole-like top.

Well, with material like this, I guess you have to do what you can to keep 'em watching. When the "mystery" is finally "solved" the feeling is a lot less "Aha!" than "Who cares?" (or perhaps more "Oh good, it's over").

BONUS: If you're really bored and your significant other just won't turn this swill off, at least there's a fun game you can play counting how many times Pacino's hairstyle switches back and forth within the supposed "88 minutes" of the film's action.