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Albino Alligator

Albino Alligator

List Price: $14.99
Your Price: $13.49
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Brilliant!!
Review: Great directorial debut from Spacey! Wonderful camera work, great acting. The movie kept me on the edge of my seat and guessing. You will not want to miss this!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Spaceman's Directorial Debut
Review: I bought this DVD purely to hear the feature-length director's commentary by THE MAN himself, Kevin Spacey. I wasn't disappointed. It's like hearing a course on acting, cinematography, and almost every aspect of film-making, plus some amusing stories along the way.

What really surprised me was how good the film turned out to be. I was so engrossed with the drama, that I paused the DVD to turn off (egads!) Mr. Spacey's narration to concentrate on the action. It's that good.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Spaceman's Directorial Debut
Review: I bought this DVD purely to hear the feature-length director's commentary by THE MAN himself, Kevin Spacey. I wasn't disappointed. It's like hearing a course on acting, cinematography, and almost every aspect of film-making, plus some amusing stories along the way.

What really surprised me was how good the film turned out to be. I was so engrossed with the drama, that I paused the DVD to turn off (egads!) Mr. Spacey's narration to concentrate on the action. It's that good.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great cast,great director can only mean great film right?
Review: It was always obvious that Kevin Spacey would only ever assemble a first rate cast for his first movie as director, and he was as discerning with his choice of script as director as he is with his acting jobs. This movie plays like a play and tellingly the best performances come from the stage actors. Gary Sinise delivers a controlled performance that demonstrates the humanity of his character, while William Fichtner manages to carry the bulk of the humour and the horror without going over the top. The script and Spacey's direction keep the tension high despite being confined to one room for much of the movie (think 12 Angry Men - Spacey actually consulted Sidney Lumet for advice).

Where the film falls down is in the weak performances of two of the most important characters, played by Matt Dillon and Faye Dunaway. Both performances are one-dimensional and affected (and Dunaway has the complexion of a Barbie doll - plastic). The rest of the cast has little to do but make the most of what they have (especially M. Emmett Walsh).

See this movie. There are a lot of worse and more successful movies out there than this one. Quality's very rare these days. So make the most of it.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: An attempt by great stars to make something from nothing.
Review: Only Sinise's performance as the crook with a heart and Dunaway's tough but motherly bar maid saved this from untimate disaster. If it had a reason for being I failed to discern it. Same thing goes for a plot

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Strong debuts from Kevin Spacey and Christian Forte
Review: Strong, strong debuts from Kevin Spacey as director and Christian Forte as writer. Strong cast, except for Faye Dunaway, who is apparently still channeling Joan Crawford, or maybe Bette Davis. Sinise is a winner, as is Dillon. Nice to see M. Emmett Walsh still getting quality work. Has its share of "first-time director" problems, including a number of really awkward transitions and jump cuts right in the middle of the second act, but Spacey is a directing talent to watch for in the future. Too bad Forte didn't follow-up such a muscular debut with something equally well-crafted.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: I stayed awake, so what did I fail to see?
Review: The selection at Blockbuster seemed unusually dreary, so I focused on ALBINO ALLIGATOR for the simple reason that Faye Dunaway was in the cast, and I hadn't seen her in awhile. I admit to having a mild crush on her since the original THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR.

Matt Dillon, Gary Sinise and William Fichtner star as three small-time, New Orleans crooks who bungle a warehouse heist, and then take refuge in a basement bar after being involved in an auto accident during the getaway, at which time the Sinise character is injured going through the windshield. And, by the way, during the getaway they mash into the pavement a cop involved in an unrelated Federal stakeout. At any rate, once in the bar, which has no rear entrance, they're surrounded by the local SWAT team and assorted TV news vans. However, they do have five hostages: the bar's owner, the bartender (Dunaway), and three wee hour customers.

ALBINO ALLIGATOR is the directorial debut of Kevin Spacey, an actor of considerable talent. While I won't go so far as to say that this first effort was badly directed, the script wasn't worth his time and energy. Unless he's more selective, Kevin should stay with his bread-and-butter job. Curiously, the film just didn't have that "movie" feel. It reminded me more of a filmed stage production. Furthermore, the "albino alligator" reference, ostensibly a ruse by which alligators send out an albino to flush out foes, had absolutely no application in the storyline. At least, none that I discerned even after thinking about it for several minutes. I was even watching with my glasses on. To be evenhanded, the Fichtner character, a real psycho, was chillingly done. And Faye is still a Babe, even at this late date. On the other hand, the Dillon and Sinise characters, plus the cop-in-charge role-played by Joe Mantegna, were notably nondescript. And what illegal substance was somebody on when that Guy character was envisioned? (Was this an actors' afternoon workshop, by any chance?)

The film's greatest weakness, for me, was the ending. Without giving anything away, the survivors of the ordeal were not all those you'd expect. I got the feeling the scriptwriter was trying to illustrate a great truth - a "morale to the story", so to speak. Somebody please tell me what it was!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Albino Alligator Review
Review: This film is one of those few films that jump right into the action sequence and engages the viewer almost immediately. And although it is quick to enter into an action sequence, after the first 15 minutes the plot begins to develop somewhat slowly. To view this movie patience is required, since we get an indebt view of each character and get an idea of what drives them in the situation that surrounds them. Magnificent acting on behalf of William Fichtner (hard to believe he was the blind scientist in Contact). Yet, as lengthy as the plot development may be the unveiling is definitely worth the viewing.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wonderful directiorial debut for Spacey
Review: This is probably one of the best character development dramas there is. Matt Dillon shines, as always, with Gary Sinise playing to the hilt as is his style, and an INTENSE, AMAZING performance by the (unfortunatly) little-known William Fichtner. Go see it, you couldn't find a better way to spend two hours.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Rank!
Review: This movie is convoluted and so hard to follow. It is not worth the effort. These characters are all fine one on one, but they do not come together well for a coherent story. I like Kevin Spacey quite a bit, but he needs to stay in front of the camera. It's a nightmare you will want to avoid!!


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