88 (2015) Reviews

• Good movie & very strong performance from Katherine Isabelle

  miller_ray2015-01-10

  88 starts with our main character lost and confused in a diner, and through multiple story threads we find out how she got there and where she is going. That's all I want to say about the story, because the less you know the more I think you'll enjoy the movie. I thought 88 had a very "Memento-ish" feel to it, in that by design the viewer is very disoriented and along the way you gather information along with the main character until the inevitable "aha" moment and climax. I thought the pacing was great, the actors did a terrific job, and while I have no idea what the budget was for 88 it felt like a major feature film. Speaking of the actors, Katherine Isabelle OWNS this movie. I want to go back and re-watch, but if I'm not mistaken she is in essentially every scene in the movie. Plain and simple, 88 doesn't work if she doesn't nail her role(s), and she plays it to perfection. Bottom line, 88 isn't The Godfather or Apocalypse Now, it's not going to win any Oscars or make billions of dollars. But if you're looking for an exciting movie with several WTF moments and a great performance from an under-appreciated star I strongly recommend it.

• A surprisingly good little thriller

  jtindahouse2015-07-06

  Two thing's come to mind with the movie '88'. Quentin Tarantino and 'Memento'. Director April Mullen has done her best to show us what it would have been like if Tarantino had made 'Memento', instead of Christopher Nolan. The result? Not all that bad. The film doesn't reach the intellectual capacities of 'Memento', but focuses more on the style. And while it doesn't come off in every scene, the overall result is pretty good. The interweaving time lines are handled well. Thing's can get very confusing in these types of films but Mullen does a good job of keeping things easy enough to follow along with. Katharine Isabelle was excellent in the lead role, particularly in the flashback storyline. The rest of the cast were admittedly not great (Ironside and Lloyd were passable) but that is forgivable in a low-budget film like this. While the film never reaches anywhere near the potential a Tarantino or Nolan is capable of, it still isn't half bad. Worth giving a chance.

• this bitch is beleavable..

  dfsdsdfas2015-01-06

  ..you know when someone tries to play a psychopathic stonecold killer and everything looks like pretending? nothing to worry about here. the poster gives it no justice, not cheap, not corny. it's stylish and dirty - nice to look at but not staged. the psychotic breaks are beleavable and the flashbacks interesting, not confusing. wasn't sure if she would pull it of, cause from my first impression the storyline, the poster.. it didn't really give me much - but there were no bad parts for me in it, every character fit to the story. a lot of dead bodies, no shortcoming of blood..but not too much gore. in some episodes of hannibal i was very drawn to the character she played, and i recognized her from American mary - which had a lot more gore (to say the least).. sooo..well rounded action-flick with plot-twist and love-driven psychotic avenging angel.

• If Guy Ricthie directed Memento with a screenplay by Luc Besson

  mexicanscotsman2015-03-24

  If you like Guy Ritchie films and you're fan of Luc Besson, you'll enjoy this saucy little revenge filled rampage. It's terrific fun to watch Katharine Isabelle's brilliant performance as both a clueless and terrified victim, and a cold blooded killer sociopath, as you follow her around on her violently hilarious adventures. The film has very fresh and lively quality. Christopher Lloyd as a villain and Michael Ironside as a sheriff, with commendable direction by April Mullen, it feels like you're watching yourself being punched in the face with a candy-apple: it's all crunchy and sticky and shiny with squishy bits. And you can laugh at the playful delight and violent absurdity of just having watched yourself take a candy-apple to the face. 88 is a special treat.

• 88 is a mediocre, but moderately entertaining, thriller

  Argemaluco2015-01-21

  The classic "individual with amnesia reconstructing his/her past" formula can work as a good start to build an unpredictable thriller, where part of the pleasure consists on discovering, at the same time of the main character, the unexpected circumstances which lead to his/her current situation. Unfortunately, the film 88 takes the concept to the point of incoherence with confusing flashbacks, an abundance of characters who arbitrarily enter and leave the story, and contradictory information which is explained with hallucinations associated to the "fugue state" suffered by the main character. Speaking of which, the reason I was interested in watching 88 was its main actress, Katharine Isabelle, whose work I have liked since I saw her in the extraordinary Ginger Snaps. And in 88, Isabelle brings another solid performance, being equally credible as the damsel in distress we meet on the beginning of the film and the femme fatale the flashbacks reveal. In the supporting cast, we find good actors who bring conviction and personality to disposable roles which would have otherwise gone unnoticed; I'm talking about Christopher Lloyd, Michael Ironside, Lynne Griffin and Alan C. Peterson, who, along with Isabelle, are the main reason why this movie is moderately entertaining despite its mediocrity. I lost the thread of the story in various occasions, and I didn't know whether I was watching a scene of the past, the present or a main character's hallucination; however, the dynamic rhythm and competent performances compensate on some way the holes and redundancy of the screenplay. In conclusion, I don't think 88 is a very good film, but I can give a slight recommendation to it, because at least, it didn't bore and it didn't make me feel like I wasted my time.