Piggy Banks (2005)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Morgan J. Freeman

Writer:

Kendall Delcambre (writer)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

Piggy Banks tells the story of two charming and brilliant brothers who finance their lifestyle by robbing...

Plot Keywords:

Violence | Flashback Sequence | Murder | Serial Killer | Road Movie

Cast

Jake Muxworthy	...	John
Lauren German	...	Gertle
Gabriel Mann	...	Michael
Tom Sizemore	...	Dad
Joel Michaely	...	Jerry
Dylan Sprouse	...	Young John
Drew Osborne	...	Young Michael
Kelli Garner	...	Archer
Toni Wynne	...	Brandi
Jazmin Daley	...	Cindy
Lisa Adachi	...	School Girl Shooter
William L. Eakland	...	Store Manager #1
JJ Neward	...	Soccer Mom
Bridger El-Bakhi	...	Little Boy in Truck
Lin Shaye	...	Willow

Also Known As:

Born Killers (USA) (new title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, sexual content and language.

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:R | UK:15 | New Zealand:R18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Magna, Utah, USA

Company:

Hudson River Entertainment

Trivia:

Official Selection of Hamptons International Film Festival 2005 - Spotlight Film

Quotes:

Gertle: We shouldn't talk about this tired or drunk.
John: But I'm not drunk.
Gertle: Maybe that's the problem. We'll drink, you'll sleep, we'll talk, sit.

Soundtrack:

Pretty Girls

Starts interesting and...err, did I say it starts interesting?.

Born Killers tells us the story of two psychopathic killers who are also brothers, that just go around, killing innocents and taking their money. These killers, were the result of complete nutjob for a dad (played by a spot on Tom Sizemore), who tells them that humans are like piggy banks, "you just have to break them to get what you want", or something like that. Even if the movie starts interesting, it just goes downhill from there. Good acting ultimately, doesn't help a mediocre script.

Apparently, these killers were too smart for cops to follow, since they, oh I don't know, kill everyone they find and leave fingerprints all over the damn place. Maybe cops didn't exist in any of the towns they went to, or they didn't exist at all in this crappy movie. They were masters of disguise as far as I knew (the bar scene clearly noted that). The best serial killers of all time (and why oh why did I rent this piece of crap eludes me still, even as I am writing this).

The characters are just pointless. We have a deranged, psychopathic dad, who leaves his two children in the house alone all the time, teaches them these weird views on life, and in the end, he just wants his sons to be like he is, a deranged assassin. Well, I got that. Do I care about any of these dimwits?, absolutely not. There aren't fleshed out at all, but I mean seriously, the only thing these guys do are driving around the country, banging "interesting" chicks and then killing them. By the first 20 minutes, I just wanted this movie to end. However, we get introduced by another character, who is, how can I put it, the savior of this film. Lauren German as Gertie is incredible. She is one of the few reasons I didn't give this film a lower score. That and the 'twist' if you can call it that. The ending is atrocious, but somewhat predictable. The editing...wait, was there any editing in this film?. The direction was weak, considering that Morgan J has done Desert Blue which was incredible, but he also did American*shudder*Psycho 2, so he is known for making other crappy films as well.

If someone said: "Hey lets give killers some kind of sentimentality that people can relate to, you know: love, tenderness, all the required elements that would make a human being, I guess, normal, and make a complete sh*t of a movie, what would you say?". Apparently Morgan J Freeman jumped on the 'yes' bandwagon.

If anyone, I mean Anyone, would've completely reworked the script, gave the characters a more interesting personality and just avoided all the stupid scenes and the more stupider ending, this movie may have been good. Apparently we get stuck with one of those Liongates straight to DVD atrocities that, while common now, only 10 people are going to like because they 'get' the life altering message about violence and how it can deeply affect someone both spiritually and mentally, turning them into an incoherent mess. Pleeeasseee. Overall: Dull, bland, boring and forgettable, all these describe Born Killers in a nutshell. 3/10.