29 lines
2.7 KiB
Plaintext
29 lines
2.7 KiB
Plaintext
elmore leonard has quickly become one of hollywood's favorite authors .
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out of four film adaptations in as many years , the witty and inventive out of sight gives get shorty a run for its money as the best leonard adaptation around .
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george clooney stars as jack foley , a nice bank robber . . . you
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know the type , he uses his charm and his wits rather than a gun .
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but even charming guys end up unlucky , and jack ends up in jail .
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but not for long .
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he plots an escape with the help of his best friend , and fellow robber , buddy bragg ( ving rhames ) , and their slow-witted pothead associate , glenn michaels ( steve zahn ) .
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but jack didn't count on u . s . marshal karen sisco ( jennifer lopez ) .
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appearing at the right place at the wrong time , karen gets involved in foley's escape attempt and the subsequent manhunt to bring him in .
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however , karen develops a rapport with jack foley , and finds that she begrudgingly likes the guy .
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but , can love prosper on opposite sides of the law ?
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or can karen straighten out jack before he goes too far in pursuit of just one last crime .
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clooney , who has had a string of solid , but never stellar , film roles , delivers his best performance to date .
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he blends into his role here perfectly as the risk taking jack foley , who's willing to gamble everything on the chance that karen sisco might be his true love .
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jennifer lopez does an excellent job as well .
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she actually has a trickier role than clooney , as a woman who has to balance her emotions with her sense of duty .
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she and clooney develop good chemistry together .
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the film boasts a superb ensemble .
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steve zahn gives a hilarious performance , and steals nearly every scene he's in .
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don cheadle is appropriately sinister as a violent ex-con who may or may not be teaming up with foley .
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albert brooks is enjoyable as a white collar criminal who talks too much for his own good .
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out of the cast , only dennis farina seems underused as karen's ex-lawman father .
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steven soderbergh gives the film sharp and stylistic direction .
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with an affectation for freeze frames , he delivers a unique take on the film's action and love scenes that places out of sight a notch above routine crime films .
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a recurring series of flashbacks makes the film seem more complex than it actually is .
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devoid of its bells and whistles , out of sight is actually a fairly straightforward crime story .
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however , there are only a few spots in the film that seem bare , and they pass quickly .
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with smart dialogue , good characters , and an excellent cast , out of sight easily smoothes over the rough spots in the plot and delivers on both the action and romantic fronts .
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