Jerry and his two pals, Russ and Syd, are just looking for some easy money to help them break out of their nowhere lives in their nowhere town. Despite a bungled jewelry store heist which ... See full summary »
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A modernized retelling of "MacBeth" set in 1970s suburban Pennsylvania. Joe McBeth, an unambitious hamburger stand employee, is driven to success by his scheming wife.
Director:
Billy Morrissette
Stars:
James Le Gros,
Maura Tierney,
Christopher Walken
When petty thief Cosimo is given the plan for the perfect heist from a lifer in prison - the kind of job you dream about - he has to get out of jail, fast. But with Cosimo stuck in the ... See full summary »
Directors:
Anthony Russo,
Joe Russo
Stars:
William H. Macy,
Isaiah Washington,
Sam Rockwell
Two New Yorkers are accused of murder in rural Alabama while on their way back to college, and one of their cousins--an inexperienced, loudmouth lawyer not accustomed to Southern rules and manners--comes in to defend them.
Jerry and his two pals, Russ and Syd, are just looking for some easy money to help them break out of their nowhere lives in their nowhere town. Despite a bungled jewelry store heist which exposes their incompetance as criminals, a fateful event (and an old black-and-white film) convinces them that they can pull off an armored-truck robbery. While they are busy plotting their caper, their dysfunctional families spin out of control, all around them. Written by
Tad Dibbern <DIBBERN_D@a1.mscf.upenn.edu>
Loosely based on Italo Calvino's short stories "Theft in a Cake Shop", "Desire in November", and "Transit Bed". See more »
Quotes
Russ:
Why don't I take you to California. You can have fresh squeezed orange juice every day. If you've got a back yard there, you've got fresh fruit.
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For reasons which, to me anyway, are completely unfair, every heist movie released since 1992's RESEVOIR DOGS has been compared to that film. I agree that film was great, and obviously there have been rip-offs, but not every heist film is, and PALOOKAVILLE, a wonderful surprise, is an example. In fact, if there's any film this should be compared to, it's the 1950's Italian movie BIG DEAL ON MADONNA STREET. Like that film, this is not about hardened criminals planning a heist, but about ordinary guys who try to be criminals while juggling their lives(one is married and has a kid, one takes care of his dogs, and even the third, who's more of the criminal mind than his friends, is dreaming of going with his girlfriend to California). It's also like BOTTLE ROCKET, which is also about inexperienced thieves, but where those guys, for the most part, want to be criminals, these guys just see it as an escape. But director Alan Taylor and writer David Epstein aren't making a tract, they're making a film about characters we can relate to, and while it lags at times, this is surprising, funny, and touching. Also, the performers are all good(this is an early look at the talents of Kim Dickens and Vincent Gallo). One of the more under-rated films of the year.
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For reasons which, to me anyway, are completely unfair, every heist movie released since 1992's RESEVOIR DOGS has been compared to that film. I agree that film was great, and obviously there have been rip-offs, but not every heist film is, and PALOOKAVILLE, a wonderful surprise, is an example. In fact, if there's any film this should be compared to, it's the 1950's Italian movie BIG DEAL ON MADONNA STREET. Like that film, this is not about hardened criminals planning a heist, but about ordinary guys who try to be criminals while juggling their lives(one is married and has a kid, one takes care of his dogs, and even the third, who's more of the criminal mind than his friends, is dreaming of going with his girlfriend to California). It's also like BOTTLE ROCKET, which is also about inexperienced thieves, but where those guys, for the most part, want to be criminals, these guys just see it as an escape. But director Alan Taylor and writer David Epstein aren't making a tract, they're making a film about characters we can relate to, and while it lags at times, this is surprising, funny, and touching. Also, the performers are all good(this is an early look at the talents of Kim Dickens and Vincent Gallo). One of the more under-rated films of the year.