Killing Them Softly (2012)

Jackie Cogan is an enforcer hired to restore order after three dumb guys rob a Mob protected card game, causing the local criminal economy to collapse.

Director:

Andrew Dominik

Writers:

Andrew Dominik (screenplay), George V. Higgins (based on the novel "Cogan's Trade" by)

Stars:

Brad Pitt, Scoot McNairy, Richard Jenkins

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brad Pitt	...	Jackie
Scoot McNairy	...	Frankie
Ben Mendelsohn	...	Russell
James Gandolfini	...	Mickey
Richard Jenkins	...	Driver
Vincent Curatola	...	Johnny Amato
Ray Liotta	...	Markie Trattman
Trevor Long	...	Steve Caprio
Max Casella	...	Barry Caprio
Sam Shepard	...	Dillon
Slaine	...	Kenny Gill
Linara Washington	...	Hooker
Ross Brodar	...	Poker Guy
Wade Allen	...	Business Suit Agent
Christopher Berry	...	Cab Driver Agent

Storyline

Three amateurs stickup a Mob protected card game, causing the local criminal economy to collapse. Brad Pitt plays the hitman hired to track them down and restore order. Killing Them Softly also features Richard Jenkins , James Gandolfini, Ray Liotta, Scoot McNairy, Ben Mendelsohn, and Vincent Curatola. Max Casella, Trevor Long, Slaine and Sam Shepard also make appearances.

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Plot Keywords:

contract killer | reference to barack obama | alcoholism | contract killing | sex talk | 

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Taglines:

In America you're on your own

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Genres:

Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, sexual references, pervasive language, and some drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [jp]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 November 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cogan's Trade

Filming Locations:

Claiborne Avenue Bridge, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$6,812,900 (USA) (30 November 2012)

Gross:

$14,938,570 (USA) (11 January 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Plan B Entertainment, 1984 Private Defense Contractors, Annapurna Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Zoe Saldana was considered for a role.

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Goofs

After using his shotgun and putting it in the getaway car, Jackie wipes down the car of evidence but fails to retrieve his gun and his fingerprints on it.

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Quotes

Jackie Cogan: You ever kill anyone?
Driver: No.
Jackie Cogan: It can get touchy-feely.
Driver: Touchy-feely?
Jackie Cogan: Emotional, not fun, a lot of fuss. They cry. They plead. They beg. They piss themselves. They call for their mothers. It gets embarrassing.
Jackie Cogan: I like to kill them softly, from a distance. Not close enough for feelings. Don't like feelings. Don't want to think about them.

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Connections

Featured in Bad Movie Beatdown: Review of 2012 (2013)

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Soundtracks

"Heroin"
Written by Lou Reed
Courtese of Metal Machine Machine Music (BMI)
Performed by the Velvet Underground
Courtesy of Universal Records
under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Why Even Make This Movie

This movie was so bad, I decided to create an IMDb account finally and hopefully save other people from being duped by the positive reviews.

Simply put, this is a movie that never needed to be made. There is almost no story to it and what little story there is is told in a horribly long and drawn out way. This includes lots of conversations between characters that have absolutely no relevance to the plot among other things. One of the biggest pointless inclusions in this movie is the frequent clips of Bush & Obama credit crunch speeches that are spliced in virtually everywhere in this film. Although the movie is set right around 2008, there's no relevance to the story at all and it's almost like Brad Pitt is trying to make a political point but isn't really clear on what the point is. I'm confident they could've edited this down to a short story and told us the entire story in 10 minutes and it would've been enjoyable. Instead, it was 90 minutes of waiting for it to get going. I don't need big action to keep my simple mind entertained, but I do like my movies to have a good plot and a sense of movement. Lawless for instance doesn't move incredibly fast, but you are glued the whole time. This movie has none of it and I was not surprised at all to see 3 people walk out just over half way through as I was thinking of doing the same thing myself.

I really like Brad Pitt and I would struggle to think of a bad movie he's been in up until this one came along. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone even if it's free. I only wish I could have the 90 minutes of my life back.