Transparent Plot - Horrible Script - Browder saves the Day
Added 9/7/2007
Unfortunately this movie did not have much to work with, considering the horrible script by Chris and William Peirson, who are real life attorneys. They should probably stick to their day jobs.
I knew who the killer was and the murder weapon to be used long before Sean Young's character was actually killed. It was that transparent. The whole cast gave a somewhat lackluster performance, but C. Thomas Howell as the bumbling attorney who is trying to solve his wife's murder was simply ludicrous. Again though - he didn't have much to work with. For someone who was supposed to once have been one of the top prosecutors in a city like Dallas, he behaves like a naive newbie from some backwoods town, who has absolutely no street smarts, or common sense for that matter. It was actually painful to watch. Sean Young gives a solid performance, albeit appearing a bit bored with her part. Who can blame her. The only performance that somewhat saves the movie is Ben Browder's. Too bad he is seriously underused. However, he is allowed to shine and give us a glimpse of what he is capable of during his final scene and the flashbacks thereafter. The man can express more with one look than other actors can with two pages of dialogue. He is definitely one of Hollywood's best kept secrets. Will someone cast him in an A-movie lead already! We need to see more of him.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Was this actually released theatrically?
Added 11/28/2005
Putting this on DVD seems like a big enough waste of money. You can tell the film is going to be chintzy on the budget when the lead actress's wig looks like a Halloween prop at your local Party City; however, the beautiful house used for the main characters was the real star here. But this film's redeeming quality is how laughably bad it is. You will find yourself rewinding scenes to laugh again as you won't believe how cheesey it looked the first time - like when the hooker gets shot - a classic death scene! The cinematography never rises above a primetime episodic on a low budget giving it a shot on video feel. The dark night scenes were overlit, and the supporting cast were the real jewels here insuring they never work again. The mention of "Dr. Pepper" numerous times was so ridiculous - did the Texas-based Dr Pepper demand to be featured throughout this Texas production or were they offered some free publicity? Either way, Dr Pepper sure tastes good with Turkey.
0 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Entertaining
Added 5/14/2005
An entertaining 94 minutes of "who done it" intrigue.
Was good to see Sean Young again.
C. Thomas Howell looked a bit ragged.... is his health OK ?
Admittedly we guessed the plot and the killer at around 30 minutes into the movie and at times the plot twists made us think we might be wrong.... but we were right.
Despite figuring it out so early, it was still entertaining
3 out of 5 people found this helpful.
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Ponyboy Curtis is all growns up
Added 4/16/2005
A friend of mine, who got this movie in her SXSW schwag bag, lent me a copy of A Killer Within. She said it was pretty good but knew I would like it being a big C. Thomas Howell fan. Honestly, I don't understand some of the negative reviews on this board. No, it wasn't Schindler's List or The Godfather, but what did you expect?
The acting was good. Frankly I'm amazed at the acting chops that "Ponyboy" has developed. Giancarlo Esposito is always good for some tension. The pace, while slow in the beginning, really took off following Sean Young's murder. This movie is definitely worth picking up if you're a fan of murder mysteries or suspense thrillers. If you're looking for Citizen Kane or Chinatown, then you've come to the wrong place.
4 out of 5 people found this helpful.
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A Killer Within
Added 4/15/2005
A Killer Within does a good job of coupling some original surprises with a character-driven plot. No easy feat for sure, and trust me, the script could have easily been turned into a lousy Lifetime Channel movie of the week without the right direction and cast.
Becky Terrill, played by Sean Young, leads the caricatured life of a stereotypical Dallas socialite. Her posh North Dallas house is ridiculous, her Mercedes is pristine and her dependency on alcohol is ravenous. The only thing that seems to bother Becky's Prada-clad existence is her 4 year-old son.
Becky's husband, Addison, played by C. Thomas Howell, is a high-powered corporate attorney with some codependency issues and a raging Dr. Pepper jones. Addison comes home from work to find Becky brutally murdered, apparently at the hands of someone targeting Addison. The lead detective fingers Addison as suspect number one and his investigation basically ends there.
But Addison, who has made some dangerous enemies during his climb to the top of the food chain, has a suspect of his own. In order to find the killer and protect his innocence, Addison reaches into his past and enlists the help of Jesus Vargas, a former cop played with enthusiasm by Giancarlo Esposito. Esposito's performance as the renegade ex-cop is the most authentic in the film. The lawman and the lawyer strike an uneasy alliance as they navigate the seedy side of Dallas in search of Becky's killer.
Director Brad Keller does a masterful job of introducing just about everyone as a suspect and the guessing continues to the very end.
6 out of 7 people found this helpful.
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