88 Minutes (D or 1/4 stars)
Dr. Jack Gramm (Al Pacino) is a Forensic Psychologist/Professor who also works for the FBI (odd, I know). He's gone through a lot. And he thinks that makes him a stronger person today. However, his sketchy past is coming back to bite him as a killer that he helped put on death row (thanks to a supposedly brilliant testimony) approaches the last moments of his life. A copycat killer is now on the loose; tied-in with the man on death row. And it's up to Jack to find out 'who' the killer is before 'they' kill him in 88 short minutes. Yyyyeah, '88 Minutes' (directed by Jon Avnet) is pretty bad.
Ready to die by lethal injection, murderous inmate Jon Forster (Neal McDonough) knows (or doesn't know) that a copycat killer is on Seattle's streets; killing women in the same disgusting manner. Interrupting Dr. Jack Gramm from his party animal ways (including sleeping with any easy woman), he receives a cell phone call from a manipulated voice informing him that he has 88 minutes to live (this is at the 20 min. mark of the film, the next 88 play out in a sort of real time, like the show 24). Slowly, but surely, clues start popping up that actually connect Gramm to the copycat killings; oh no!
With help from his gay associate Shelly Barnes (Amy Brenneman ... so we know he can't have slept with her), an FBI agent (William Forsythe), & his teacher assistant Kim Cummings (Alicia Witt), Jack is forced to investigate some oddball students, a campus security guard, & a woman he'd had a 1-night-stand with. 2 of these students include characters played by Leelee Sobieski and Benjamin McKenzie (of The O.C.); wow, what an impressive cast {head spins}. Clearly, one of the myriad of people I've mentioned will be the killer. Is the copycat framing Jack? Or does he/she just want to kill him? What of inmate Jon Forster?
You know, it's pointless to go on with any further plot discussion. This is simply a mediocre thriller, at best. It's been sitting on the shelves for more than a year. I now see why; and it's been released to unimpressive box office totals, and uniformly horrid reviews. The screenplay is poor. The suspense is lukewarm. The visual style is cliched. The revelation of the copycat killer (you either picked it out early on, or narrowed it to 1 of 2) is atrocious. The basis of the entire plot is unrealistic, verging on stupid. And though I love Al Pacino, I don't know how he got reeled into this project. He's not great; but he's still TONS better than any of his supporting cast (y'all need some lessons at acting school again).
Ready to die by lethal injection, murderous inmate Jon Forster (Neal McDonough) knows (or doesn't know) that a copycat killer is on Seattle's streets; killing women in the same disgusting manner. Interrupting Dr. Jack Gramm from his party animal ways (including sleeping with any easy woman), he receives a cell phone call from a manipulated voice informing him that he has 88 minutes to live (this is at the 20 min. mark of the film, the next 88 play out in a sort of real time, like the show 24). Slowly, but surely, clues start popping up that actually connect Gramm to the copycat killings; oh no!
With help from his gay associate Shelly Barnes (Amy Brenneman ... so we know he can't have slept with her), an FBI agent (William Forsythe), & his teacher assistant Kim Cummings (Alicia Witt), Jack is forced to investigate some oddball students, a campus security guard, & a woman he'd had a 1-night-stand with. 2 of these students include characters played by Leelee Sobieski and Benjamin McKenzie (of The O.C.); wow, what an impressive cast {head spins}. Clearly, one of the myriad of people I've mentioned will be the killer. Is the copycat framing Jack? Or does he/she just want to kill him? What of inmate Jon Forster?
You know, it's pointless to go on with any further plot discussion. This is simply a mediocre thriller, at best. It's been sitting on the shelves for more than a year. I now see why; and it's been released to unimpressive box office totals, and uniformly horrid reviews. The screenplay is poor. The suspense is lukewarm. The visual style is cliched. The revelation of the copycat killer (you either picked it out early on, or narrowed it to 1 of 2) is atrocious. The basis of the entire plot is unrealistic, verging on stupid. And though I love Al Pacino, I don't know how he got reeled into this project. He's not great; but he's still TONS better than any of his supporting cast (y'all need some lessons at acting school again).