06/07/2012: Catch .44 [2011]

Sometimes when I watch a movie it will just scream the name of another movie at me. I don’t know if I’m picking up on some underlying similarities or if just one thing will set it off, but throughout the entirety of Catch .44, my mind silently, and quite belligerently yelled Reservoir Dogs at me. But does Catch .44 bare more similarities to one of Tarantino’s masterpieces than just an interesting and irrelevant dinner conversation for an opening scene?

 Have you ever noticed that one minute, a movie can interest you based on something as simple as the DVD case art, a small synopsis or just the set of actors, and then the next, you’ve read too much, and just one terrible review somehow puts you off. That is exactly what happened with me and Catch .44, at one point it really caught my eye and was full of promise, the next minute, I’m reading that it is a terrible movie and how Bruce Willis hasn’t done any good work in years. While this may have put me off the movie for almost two months, I will say that Catch .44 is by no means terrible, and this isn’t even a Bruce Willis movie, as disappointing as that may be. But I’ll touch on that later. Anyway, that is one of the major reasons I keep my reviews in the positive, I’ll point out flaws, but I will never tear a movie down until I claim nobody should watch it. While I am more than happy to suggest better movies, and my favorite hidden gems, always be open when you are choosing your movie, and take things with a grain of salt.

That being said, I hope you find my reviews generally truthful and shall we say “accurate”. Anyways, even though I once again spent nearly 10 minutes trying to decide what to watch I figured I would give Catch .44 a chance. While my expectations might have been low, almost every movie can hook me within the first two scenes, regardless of how into it I seemed at the beginning. Catch .44 I think starts out stronger than it finishes. The opening scene, feature three women sitting in a dinner (is that 1 or 2 n’s?) discussing a woman’s powers and rules in a man’s world. Sounds a little feminist, but trust me I really thought it was a good way to start off. It also reminded me heavily of the opening of Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, and I’m not sure if I was maybe looking for it afterwards, but I definitely drew some more  similarities to Tarantino’s first masterpiece.

We get it, your pants don't fit.

 First however, I should point out that we do get a small scene before the aforementioned conversation. It is brief, but is clearly a clip from the end of the story. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about the style of teasing the viewer with mysterious shots of a movies climax to keep us watching. However, while I may have thought this simple minute had spoiled the way things were going to play out, Aaron Harvey still managed to fool me. I’d say that is impressive. Catch .44 then kicks off with a bang, before making a third time jump. Within the first 15 minutes the movie has jumped backwards into its own story three times, and I think goes as deep as 4 layers back. This is clearly another of Tarantino’s influences on this movie and movies in general. You can thank him for shaking things up, and not being afraid to tell things out of chronological order. Without it, things might be a lot blander on screen these days.

Anyway, as I said, the movie does start out with a bang, and quite a few more later on as the story pieces pile up. However, Catch .44 is no action movie, influenced by Tarantino, we get a fair share of gunfights (the Mexican standoff being another of his marks), blood and gore. But on top of that, we get Tarantino’s love for small talk and generally unrelated conversations. This movie can be a little slow at times, and I would call it a slow burn, more of a violent mystery movie. While the conversations are interesting, and generally move the plot, however slowly, Harvey is not the same master of small talk that Tarantino is.

I think I have probably compared Catch .44 to Reservoir Dogs enough for one review, and I’ll let you watch it and draw your own conclusion, although I’ve undoubtedly influenced you know. For anyone who had already seen it, did you think anything similar? Anyway before I stop drawing comparisons and let Catch .44 stand on its own. Lets mention the title. It is rather intriguing, and I would say most likely a reference to Catch 22 if you understand multiplication. However, if the movie at any point did have a Catch 22, I sure as hell missed it. Of course, Catch .44, put a bit more of a bullet’s punch into it with a simple “.”, I’d say the title seems to have a punch equivalent to a 44 calibre round.

There was some continuity issues with this scene, but I wasn't complaining.

 As much as this violent crime movie is a mystery, it is also extremely dependent on its characters, and I’d say they did a decent job of it. Now, first off, Bruce Willis’ name is there entirely to catch your eye and draw you in. While he does a decent job, he doesn’t see a large amount of screentime.  So here is another name. Malin Akerman. Catch .44 is entirely her movie, she leads it, commands it, and makes it. Malin Akerman generally seems to stay more towards the comedy side of the theater isle (did that work or no?) but she once again shows she is a decent actress, and well, she’s always rather nice to look at. Forest Whittaker is quite a chameleon as well in this movie, although his importance isn’t something I understood from the beginning. Deborah Ann Woll is the only other face that I really recognized, but the rest of the cast does well in their small roles. They may not have the most recognizable names in Hollywood, but their faces should be easy to place for anyone.

One other touch I really liked was the title card style the director used to introduce the characters names. The big square yellow letters shooting onto the screen to tell us who is who is a style that isn’t used often anymore, but one of my favourites. The soundtrack is really well done as well. I’m not sure if this is Aaron Harvey's first movie, I’m going to Google that tomorrow, but if it is, it is a decent first shot and I’m ready to check out what else he has out there. Also, anyone that makes a killer Boogie Nights reference in a movie is good in my book. That line alone was worth watching the movie.

This may be the wackiest Bruce Willis has ever looked, this picture doesn't do it justice.

 Overall, Catch .44 isn’t some kind of action movie, it is a rather violent crime thriller mystery mix that isn’t going to pick up for some explosive finish. I’m not sure if I am the only one to pick up a strong Tarantino vibe from this, but there is also a lot of other elements that were well done. The more I’m writing this the more I think I liked it a lot. I think it is because I tried so hard to not like it, as that is what I expected, but instead I only found a lot of strong elements that I really enjoyed. Like I said, don’t let any negative reviews stop you, if you are interested check it out and see for yourself. Just don’t do it for Bruce Willis, if anything do it for Malin Akerman, and the awesome Boogie Nights reference.

Link:
Catch .44 IMDb