You'll Want A "Ticket Out" Of Seeing This One

Ticket Out (2012)

Not Rated

Starring Ray Liotta, Alexandra Breckenridge, Billy Burke, Colin Ford, Ciara Bond

Directed by Doug Lodato

The Story:

Jocelyn (Breckenridge) wants to leave her abusive husband (Burke) and take her kids (Ford & Bond) with her. She learns of an "underground railroad" that helps spouses find safety. She meets Jim (Liotta) and he tries to get her to safety, but her husband and authorities are hot on their trail!

Oh my...

This was a Lifetime movie, gone horribly awry.

Where to begin?

The acting.

I know I probably shouldn't pick on child actors, but Colin Ford's portrayal as the son is laughingly bad. I wanted to reach through the screen and slap him around. His range is nonexistent and he makes his moments of peril laugh out loud moments.

Burke and Liotta are even phoning it in, but hey, a paycheck is a paycheck.

The plot.

Well, I may have fast forwarded through the explicit proof that the husband was indeed abusive, because aside from Jocelyn claiming it, there's really no proof that there is abuse.

No, I'm not saying we need to see her getting slapped around, but you'd think it would be addressed more than it was, considering it's almost the entire impetus of the film.

It also has one of the worst confrontations ever filmed where the son shoots the father.

Which again, coupled with the bad child acting...

This movie is now playing like a bad comedy!

I think I let it play until the 30 or 40 minute mark, out of trainwreck status and to give Liotta a chance to save the film.

He couldn't.

I did fast forward to the end to see how they would resolve the whole thing.

Needless to say there was a twist!

Should I spoil it?

Why not, the movie isn't worth watching anyway.

So Liotta is an undercover agent who is trying to track down the underground railroad people.

He gets shot by the husband, allowing the wife to escape at the end.

No, seriously.

Final Grade: D

Brad Pitt "Killing Them Softly" Will Make You Die of Boredom

They don't actually use the song in the movie.

How disappointing.

The Story:

Markie (Ray Liotta) runs a local gambling establishment for the mob.  One time he robs his own place to get some money, no harm, no foul.  Except when he admits it months later.  So when he is robbed by three locals later, Markie is the prime suspect.  The mob calls in a hired gun, Jackie (Brad Pitt) to take care of Markie.  When he tells his go-between (Richard Jenkins) that Markie is innocent, the mob really doesn't care, they want to make an example.  Before too long, Jackie is going to have a lot of blood on his hands to get things in order.

Meh.

That's my overall reaction to this movie.

It's not bad.  It's not great.

It's a low-budget gangster film, and Ray Liotta does his part as a small time hood.

It was sad to see James Gandolfini for a brief and thankless role in this movie that made no sense whatsoever, and was really a waste of time, and his talents.

Heck, Richard Jenkins as the Driver was probably the best character in the movie, and he was seen all too briefly as well.

But really, the information flows too easily, too often for this heist to make any sense as Jackie mops up all of the loose ends.

They try and tie how the mob works alongside how politics works as this movie takes place during the end of Bush's tenure in office and the rise of Obama.

Well, that's a nifty card to play, but it doesn't help make the movie any better.

Final Grade: C

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: There was absolutely nothing of interest to make me want or need to see this again.

Baby it's Cold Outside! ~ "Snowmen"

Here's a coming-of-age family dramedy about life, death, and the effects people have on both.

The Story:

A body winds up in the snow in front of Billy's yard, and he becomes obsessed with the poor guy's death because apparently nobody cared about him.  You see, Billy has cancer, and while his dad (Ray Liotta) says he's beaten it, Billy is pretty sure that his dad is just saying that to make him feel better.  So before Billy dies, he wants to do something important with his life which will ensure that people always remember him.  The solution?

He wants to break the Guinness Book Record of Most Snowmen Built in a Day!

Naturally, you ask yourself, "how important is building snowmen in the grand scheme of things"?  Don't worry, Billy will get to that realization as well before the movie is over

The movie itself is a sweet little family film, but since there is some death involved, this movie falls more inline as a drama through many portions of this film.

As if Billy's life wasn't rough enough with cancer, he also has to endure being bullied and ostracized at school.  Yep, typical public school kids.

: )

Thankfully, the inspired casting choice of Christopher Lloyd comes along at the turning point in the film with some wise words about life and death and the importance they play in life.  Listen to Doc Brown kids, he knows what he's talking about.

It's good stuff, an important message, though it's a bit of a stretch of believability on how they make it happen.  But a satisfying overall experience.





Available for streaming on Netflix as of this writing.


Final Grade: B-