Machine (2007)

Two pounds of pressure on a trigger pays really well... Ex special forces mercenary and now hardened criminal Vic, lives in a world of cons, double crosses, crooked cops, mob bosses and ... See full summary »

Director:

Michael Lazar

Writer:

Michael Lazar

Stars:

Michael Lazar, Michael Madsen, Neal McDonough

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Lazar	...	Vic
Michael Madsen	...	Ray
Neal McDonough	...	Ford
James Russo	...	Butch
Paul Sloan	...	Frank
Lisa Arturo	...	Thea
Nick Vallelonga	...	Santo
Michelle Lombardo	...	Layla
Brian Hayes Currie	...	Top
Garret Sato	...	Cho
Robert Berson	...	Rich
Jess King	...	Banes (as Jessie King)
Noelle Kenney	...	Bible Girl
Robert Ciancimino	...	Kane (as Robert Caincimino)
Jimmy Labrie	...	Davis

Storyline

Two pounds of pressure on a trigger pays really well... Ex special forces mercenary and now hardened criminal Vic, lives in a world of cons, double crosses, crooked cops, mob bosses and drug dealing crime lords. Playing by his own rules, Vic and his partner Frank work both sides of the street, caring only about where they can score and take down the most cash. After a dangerous shootout during a drug deal gone bad, Vic finds himself working for ruthless crime boss Paul Santo. Santo's being indicted for murder, and he enlists Vic and Frank to kill the three witnesses that will testify against him. Watching Vic's every move is Santo's strongest soldier, Ray, a stone cold killer, who would like nothing better than to whack Vic and Frank the moment his boss gives him the okay. As the Asian proverb says, "In the shadow of every crime is a woman" and that holds true for Vic as his grifter girlfriend Thea and Frank's ex, the exotic, sultry, Layla have their own agendas as they both try in ...

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Taglines:

In the shadows of every crime is a woman

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, pervasive language and some sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 March 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Máquina

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Vallelonga/Quattrochi Productions, Highwire Films Ltd., Blue Cow Creative

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

Several shooters are armed with single-action semiautomatic pistols. To fire this type of weapon, the hammer first needs to be cocked, either manually or by cycling the slide. However, in every scene in which these pistols are used to threaten victims, the hammers are down. This would make firing them impossible.

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Connections

References King Kong (1933)

User Reviews

Not What You Want to Watch...Trust Me!

If you like action or crime drama, you probably saw something on MACHINE, maybe the cover, and thought 'hey this could be cool. So what if it's direct-to-video, it's probably just the usual indie budget issues.'

That's what I thought too. I was SO wrong.

This is from the school of post-RESERVOIR DOGS filmmakers that believe all you need for a modern crime drama are some cool looking people shooting other people down with cool looking guns, all the while maintaining their cool. Now I'm not a big fan of RESERVOIR DOGS, but Tarantino at least had clever dialog, good blocking, gritty lighting, some nice camera moves, Harvey Keitel, and most of all, a story to tell

• he knew guys looking cool and shooting off guns doesn't make a movie.

So yeah, Michael Madsen was in DOGS; now he's been in this one, a real dog.

It is difficult for me to describe a film this bad. My viewing experience of MACHINE was something like this: 'Wow, that's the worst camera-work I've ever seen...ever... it's really grainy, like that digital grain Michael Mann got for COLLATERAL with all those cool night scenes with Jamie Foxx and Tom Cruise...except those guys aren't in this one, and this just looks BAD. Oh, there's Neil McDonough, wow he's great as ever...wait, is that all we get of him?' You get the idea.

The really astonishing thing was that Madsen and McDonough STILL knocked out good performances (the only reason there's a star in my rating) - a credit to their professionalism. But when they're not on screen (and that's most of the time), then it's just a painful exercise in what not to do when making your own movie. Your uncle probably frames up a better shot with his little hand-held at family get-togethers, than what these guys did here. This DVD is not what you want to watch; it's what you use when you run out of coasters for your drinks.