DVD Breakout

I have seen SO many thousands of 'B' movies it would make your head swim. This a fine little gem with a minimum of nonsense and although not perfect, it never, ever makes you wish you didn't watch it. It's a B+ with heart and some soul that many of us wish more movies had. I have seen 'A' list movies far worse than this. Many in fact! Ray is great. The tension is workable. Maybe needs to be 15-20 minutes longer to work out some emotional questions and produce proper 'closure'. I give it 5.5 for execution with a 6.7 for overall intent and budget. I would watch it again for the 'Feel-Good' aspect and good acting alone. And, as much I am not a fan of 'Feel-Good' movies, this is worth a watch above most other crap of its ilk. Truly!~

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

Jocelyn (Alexandra Breckenridge) is a young mother, distraught to learn her abusive ex husband Dennis (Billy Burke) will be allowed access to their children, who he's abusing. She finds herself tossed a lifeline when she's put in contact with Jim (Ray Liotta) who works for an underground network who protect women in her situation. But Dennis strikes back, and as an increasingly tight net closes in, Jocelyn has to ask who she can really trust.

As if there wasn't enough of these disposable little films Ray Liotta obviously just does for the easy pay check, all that was needed was for Lionsgate to come along and release this latest such entry with a glossy new cover and artwork, despite originally being released two years ago. The 12 certificate (from both the UK and Irish film boards) also gives some indication towards the more family friendly market it is aimed at. The original 'goodfella' himself doesn't make an appearance until a good twenty minutes in to the film, leaving you wondering if you've been mislead by the marketing and it's just another of these 'support role' appearances like he makes in a lot of his more high profile work. Of course it doesn't turn out like this, but for all the difference he makes, it may as well have.

This one really feels wretched from the abyss, smeared throughout with a TV movie feel that betrays the obviously low production values. We see this as we do, following along a plot that goes through the motions, with only a faintly unpredictable twist at the end to grab your attention. That's not to mention a high amount of general implausibility throughout. So nothing to really make it a superior DVD premiere, although there is the twist and one or two unintentionally funny scenes, to wit a Crocodile Dundee esque encounter at a pharmacy store with a gun toting Breckenridge and following his failure to protect her children from a bounty hunter, seeing Liotta get left behind on his todd following a nonsensical custody break out. **