Live Once, Die Twice (2006) (TV)

Director:

Stefan Pleszczynski

Writer (WGA):

John Benjamin Martin (written by)

Release Date:

20 February 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Nicole Lauker unexpectedly loses her husband to a boating explosion accident that claims the lives of two people...

Plot Keywords:

Explosion | Gagged And Bound | Stripper | Spear Gun | Suffocation

Cast

Kellie Martin	...	Nicole Lauker
Martin Cummins	...	Evan Lauker
Cindy Sampson	...	Zoe Ravena
Bruce Gray	...	Earl MacDuff
Millie Tresierra	...	Agent Melanie Carter
Danny Blanco	...	Agent Wayne Bolton (as Danny Blanco Hall)
Edward Yankie	...	Daniuel Dugan
Sadie LeBlanc	...	Lucy
Wladyslaw Pawlowicz	...	George Bobich (as Wladyslaw Padowicz)
Mélanie Venne	...	Evan's Maid (as Melanie Venne)
Mark Antony Krupa	...	Ivan Fedorov (as Mark A. Krupa)
Barry Blake	...	Sheriff Sid Burke
Stéphane Demers	...	Adrien Gillette
Francois Bryon	...	Montreal Police Officer #1 (as François Bryon)
Mathew Mackay	...	Montreal Police Officer #2

Also Known As:

Live Once, Die Twice (USA)
Mourir deux fois (Canada: French title)
Platinum Rush (Canada: English title) (working title)

Runtime:

USA:120 min (TV version)

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

Anne Carlucci Productions

Quotes:

[first lines]
[after Nicole and Evan passionately make love]
Nicole Lauker: I love you.
Evan Lauker: I love you.
Nicole Lauker: That's one hell of an argument for me to let you keep traveling for work.
Evan Lauker: I was trying to make an argument *against* traveling for work.

Soundtrack:

When Love Is a Lie

Good mystery, better toward end

At the start of the movie, scenes are shown from what we are later told is a platinum refinery.

In the next scene, Evan and his wife Nicole are naked and he is kissing her all over. She is going to miss him when he takes a fishing trip, but he is determined not to let her go.

Evan has been traveling a lot in the past couple of years, and it really bothers Nicole. The Long Island couple can afford the finer things in life, such as a fishing boat with Nicole's name on it. But she would like him to be home more. Selling commercial real estate does seem to require sacrifices.

At the last minute, Dugan calls Evan to say he has been in an accident and can't go on the trip, so it will just be Evan and George.

In the middle of the night, a cop visits Nicole. This has to be bad news. It turns out the fishing boat blew up and there are two bodies. It will take DNA testing to determine whether Evan is one of the two.

The FBI gets involved because the boat explosion suggests drug dealing. Dugan asks Nicole to meet him at a strip club, because he has news about what may have happened. Nicole wants answers, so she goes in search of them on her own. She has to do this with the help of her best friend Lucy (whose role is brief), because some bad men want their 5 million dollars and they think Nicole knows where it is.

The search involves a stripper named Zoe and a bounty hunter and former cop named Earl MacDuff, known as Mac, who drives a huge RV despite current gas prices.

There is quite a lot of excitement and even some humor in the second half, and some amazing plot twists.

The big reason to watch this movie is Bruce Gray as MacDuff. He is quite a character, and very funny considering this isn't a comedy. Cindy Sampson as Zoe is enjoyable too. Martin Cummins also turns out to be a capable actor. And the actors playing the FBI agents are pretty good.

I couldn't believe Nicole was the quirky sister of the teen with Down's Syndrome. I didn't see the very beginning, so I didn't know that was Kellie Martin until later. She sure has grown up. She's quite pretty here, and while she was better in "Life Goes On", she has her good moments here. I'm not sure fans of family-friendly TV would approve of some of her behavior here, even if she was married.

Montreal is a beautiful city. As proof, right after one of the characters makes this statement, a gorgeous blonde walks in front of the camera. This brings to mind an important reason for straight guys to watch this movie. All the women with lines (except for the female FBI agent who looks like, but is not, Halle Berry) wear low-cut tops or nightgowns most of the time, and all of them try to show as much skin as possible. Occasionally, they do wear long pants. Nicole is shown getting undressed for a shower, and then getting out of the shower. Now, whether this is a sign of low quality, I'm not sure. But the pretty girls do make the movie more enjoyable.

The violence here is not excessive. But there is enough shooting to be concerned about. No explosions, at least not in the version I saw, but I've never heard of editing out an entire explosion. Several car chases add to the excitement.

I thought it was pretty good.