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Directed by: Tony Scott Starring: Keira Knightley, Mickey Rourke, Edgar Ramirez If you're familiar with the color schemes and camera movement of Spy Game and Man On Fire, you're familiar with what Domino looks like. Shakey movement, heavy saturation of blues and yellows, even the stylized subtitles of Man On Fire come back. The movie itself is a faux biographical piece roughly based on a real woman named Domino Harvey and her life as a bounty hunter. Domino is played by Keira Knightley, who, like the rest of the cast, seem to do a fine job, even though Tony Scott's desire to make it feel like you're watching a trainwreck through 3D glasses doesn't make it easy to judge acting. The problem with the story is that it's long and not particularly interesting. What's interesting about movies based on true stories is that something so unbelievable happened outside of a complete work of fiction; Domino has flipping RV's and 90210 stars being kidnapped and Tom Waits as an angel and a weird Afghani liberation subplot. Unless it's free, don't bother with it. RATING: 2 PROS: Some funny moments and Keira's breasts CONS: Motion sickness ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0421054/
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Oct 12, 2005 21:51
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 06:36 |
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This movie is amazing and you're likely to hate the gently caress out of it. Tony Scott managed to make an exaggerated Oliver Stone movie (and I mean that in every way possible). It's over stylized, absurd, sacrifices accuracy for it's own vision of the narrative, and contains awesome at every turn. The movie is purportedly 'about' Domino Harvey, but I don't even have to jump on the internet to know that it's likely as far from the truth as possible. It starts fairly honest and then grows more elaborately bizarre at every turn. Just when I figured the direction it would take, it would drop some mescaline in my coffee. The reasons you'll hate it are:
The reasons you'll love the hell out of this are:
RATING: 4.5 PROS: Probably one of the most jaw droppingly fun times in the theater in quite some time CONS: Even I, being well conditioned for shakey cam, think it goes too far in here Ape Agitator fucked around with this message at 18:33 on Oct 15, 2005 |
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Oct 15, 2005 04:12
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What a waste of time, I should have known from the preview this was going to be complete garbage. To even compare this to Spy Game and Man on Fire really does those movies injustice. The story was not complicated but was dragged out for 2 hours to make it seem like it was. The soundtrack was at best annoying and at worst completely out of place, with 30 second clips of songs thrown here and there, rap one moment and latin blastbeats the next even if the movie had been good the soundtrack really ruined it. The constant and pointless repeation is what got me in the end, one of Domino's tagline's "There are three kinds of people in the world; the rich, the poor, and everyone in between." is about one of the most generic "profound" statements I've ever heard in a movie. Hey why not "There are three kinds of people in the world; the tall, the short, and everyone in between"? 1/5
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Oct 15, 2005 06:48
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I liked the first half, when the directing style and the soundtrack hadn't gotten boring yet. Once the hilarious madcap violence gave way to irritating characters doing stupid things, I lost interest, and spent the next hour waiting for it to end. In the end, "Domino" reminds of a really bad "Devil's Rejects". Pro: Keira Knightley's boobs Con: Not worth sitting through, just for Keira Knightley's boobs. 2/5
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Oct 15, 2005 14:05
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DOMINO is the real life story of a model turned bounty hunter of the same name. If this film is any indicator of what really happened, Domino apparently had a poorly written life surrounded by underdeveloped characters who existed in a universe of nauseatingly choppy editing, eye straining lighting effects, and epilepsy inducing light flickers. Don't let the impressive cast deceive you. It's a crime that someone could put together an ensemble consisting of Kiera Knightley, Mickey Rourke, Christopher Walken, Lucy Liu, Delroy Lindo, Mena Suvari and squander it on such an utter piece of crap. Had they all hopped in a van and drove to Robert Rodriguez's ranch to make a sequel to SIN CITY, the world would be a better place. DOMINO should have been a fascinating story, but the direction of Tony Scott makes the entire production unwatchable. Many members of the audience at the preview screening walked out holding their heads in pain as if they were forced to watch an out of focus 3D film. The only positive comment I could muster from anyone I asked was from a guy who grudgingly admitted that it was "trippy". The film starts with a bruised and bloodied Domino being interrogated by Lucy Liu who plays some sort of agent trying to find information about a 10 million dollar armored truck heist. Domino then spends 2 hours telling her a 5 minute story about how it all happened. You're presented with the climax right up front, and without any intriguing blanks or back-story, the narrative process becomes a bore. Scott attempts to use edgy narrative devices like having Domino talk about the past through some weird echo-rattled microphone, key phrases are repeated 2-3 times for dramatic effect and often displayed on screen with giant text titles to please the poor 6 year old kids that the parents too cheap to pay for a baby sitter that were sitting behind me. The rest of the film plays out like watching someone play Grand Theft Auto. Sometimes the explosions look nice, but you have no vested interest in any of the characters. As cool of an actor Mickey Rourke is, he could get shot at any point in the film, and you wouldn't be one bit of sad. We get a weak origin story that weakly illustrates that the death of Domino's father of natural causes and her bitchy mom motivate her to become a bounty hunter (yes, its quite a leap). Even though she weighs a hair under 100 pounds, she earns a chance to join Rourke's bounty hunting team by throwing a knife into his windshield, and avoiding bloodshed in a gang banger's den by giving the head banger...a lap dance! Clearly her ability to make informants ejaculate in their pants is an invaluable asset, so she makes the grade and joins the team. As the flashbacks progress, we learn that Domino wins "Bounty Hunter Of The Year" (from the prestigious North American Bounty Hunter Association) and her exploits get the attention of a reality TV producer played by Christopher Walken, who uses his trademark creaky vocal delivery to deliver crowd pleasing lines like "WOW!" and "BOOM!". Domino and her fellow bounty hunters end up getting used by the FBI and suckered into some mob deal gone bad that culminates in a predictable explosive finish. Which brings us to the present, back in the interrogation room, seemingly minutes after the explosion. Since Domino told the truth and insinuated that Lucy Liu's character was a lesbian, she's uncuffed and free to walk away with no consequence, even though she was instrumental in the deaths, amputations, fraud, and the destruction of millions of dollars of property. Must be the air of authority that comes with having a British accent. The film is a waste of time for the talented Knightley. Even more sad is the totally exploitative and surprisingly unexciting sex scene she agrees to do in the middle of the desert with her crusty co star, Edgar Ramirez. Apparently there's some sort of romantic tension there, but this is only illustrated by Ramirez's character "Choco" leering at her for the first 90s minutes of the film, and while under the influence of mescaline, she decides to have skuzzy desert sex with him. The real life Domino Harvey (pictured on the right) was found dead in a bathtub just months ago from an apparent drug overdose. Of course this film was in the can by the time that non-fiction epilogue occurred, but one wonders what was going on inside her life and mind to have pushed her that far. The paper thin characterizations present in this film certainly don't offer any clue. This is definitely a wait for DVD film, if you truly have to see it. Perhaps then, they'll be some additional posthumous info about the real Domino Harvey that may prove to be far more interesting than anything this film showed us. 1.5 STARS
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Oct 16, 2005 04:16
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I liked the trailer I saw for this movie and had already made arrangements to go see it this afternoon before I read anything about it. To my surprise (the cast and premise seemed failproof) everybody everywhere is trashing this movie. To be fair, I don't know anything about the real life Domino Harvey (and probably still don't), so when I saw this movie, it wasn't with an analytical mindset. I wasn't there to compare known facts with the film's representation of them. If I had gone in wanting to know the real story about Domino Harvey I might have been disappointed. I really liked this movie. However, it's not quite perfect. This film is saturated in Tony Scott. Tony Scott is dripping off of every frame of every print and it kind of pools in the projection booth for a few minutes and then leaks out of the walls and ceiling and floor and pitter-patters on your face like you're walking home and there's a Tony Scott storm in the sky and you go to a car wash but the water is actually Tony Scott and there's just no escaping that. If you've seen Man on Fire, you probably know what I'm talking about, as that film was also saturated in Tony Scott, but it was more of a mononucleosis Tony Scott, in that it was somewhat conservative in its Tony Scottness, whereas Domino is like full-blown AIDS Tony Scott, I mean the lesions are all over the place and you can't not stare at them but you don't want to be rude like the faggots in front of me that talked through the entire thing but the good news is I think at least one of them was mentally retarded because he kept leaning over to his friends to repeat whatever a character on the screen just said verbatim in a really loud enthusiastic voice. On occasion, the sheer overwhelming force of the Tony Scott bothered me, but not to any remarkable extent. The only reason I have mentioned this is because if you do not like Tony Scott's directing you will not like Domino (he directed it). PROS: Tony Scott (if you like him) Richard Kelly (gently caress the haters) The cast Acting (the cast performs all the acting in this movie) Keira Knightley has S-E-X without a shirt or bra on (you can see her breasts) Mickey Rourke has squinty eyes, if you don't believe me look at the sides of them Exciting action and graphic violence Some songs are good gravy CONS: Tony Scott (if you dislike him) Christopher Walken is overrated in general but is decent in this movie (B or B+) Some plot details needed to be fleshed out a little more Some songs are weak sauce Overall: 4.5!!
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Oct 16, 2005 12:04
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Keira had a body double, guys, those aren't her breasts. Kinda stupid and annoying MTV-style, but entertaining anyway. 3/5
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Oct 17, 2005 17:00
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This movie was great fun. I saw it two days ago, and was suprised how much I liked it. The story itself is pretty much an instant-grab: what's more interesting than a fictionalized true story about a model and actor's daguther who becomes a kickass bounty hunter? It was filled with great charcters. The supporting cast felt alive, and even the minor characters like the Clarence's booty call and her twin sister's provided a lot to the film. I really liked the editing. It really did feel like we weren't sure what to think or feel, and the constant back and forth from present to past to who knows what might have been annoying to some, but for the most part I was amused. I can understand how some people might not enjoy it, but I pretty much lapped it right up. The ocassional subtitles which were almost always overexplaining the scene provided me with a good laugh or two. I'm not sure if it was intentional or not, but it only enhanced my viewing, so I'll count it as a positive. The entire movie was pretty much worthwhile for the Jerry Springer scene, and the rueful conversation with friends and familiy afterwards. This actually had me suprising myself when I enjoyed it, because I'm not what you would call a Springer fan. Overall, Domino was a slick, cool movie with nunchuck sills 4/5
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Oct 17, 2005 19:11
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FitFortDanga posted:Keira had a body double, guys, those aren't her breasts. I want to believe! I just got back from the movie. I cant really say much besides whats been said already in this thread, so I'll just add that theres a line in the movie where someone compares something to a rodent on crystal meth. Thats what watching this movie is like. To fully appreciate the genius of the shakey cam, you should probably consume large quantities of whatever stimulants you can get a hold of before watching this movie, as well as something for the motionsickness you will inevitably get from the cinematography. Pros: boobs. Just let me believe they were hers, ok? awesome acting poo poo explodes I really like the oversaturated look Cons: mother loving shakey cam. gently caress that poo poo. not a whole lot to the movie. Im going to say 3.5/5
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Oct 19, 2005 07:44
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FitFortDanga posted:Keira had a body double, guys, those aren't her breasts. They're her breasts. The double was used for her rear end. She didn't think it looked good enough to be magnified on screen that large. I liked the film, but I guess I'm biased as I worked on it. Tony's style is sort of a cinema ADD, and yeah it does get annoying. That piled with the repetition of "My name is Domino Harvey, I am a bounty hunter" really started to get on my nerves by the end. But then again, I feel that the overload of information given to you is all part of the rush life of a bounty hunter. There shouldn't really BE a calm moment. 3/5.
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Oct 19, 2005 18:53
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It felt more like watching a two-hour movie trailer, and was the definition of style-over-substance. That said, Keira Knightley as Domino is one of the hottest things I've ever seen. 1.5 on its own merits, 3 for getting to stare at her for two hours
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Oct 20, 2005 20:52
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To everyone in this thread who is reading the criticisms and thinking "Oh well, I just want a mindless action movie, and there's no way it can disappoint," don't think that. You're wrong. That's the attitude I went in with tonight, and I was baffled by everything from the yellow/blue oversaturation to the plot. I don't think it has a plot, really. It's like having a maze with no path to the exit... it's not a maze, really, it's just a box. That's how this plot is. There's no logical way of following it because they completely upend things whenever they want, and if you think you will have it figured out in the end, Domino actually says that you don't know the truth. So, there's that. This movie was really bad. The action is mostly terrible, especially with the shake-cam filming. The famous lap-dance scene is, in a word, unfufilling. Add onto this all the style criticisms above, and you have a basically unwatchable movie. I'd give it a 1.5, but I'm voting it 3 because Keira is my one true love. Also, boobs. Though I think she's a lot hotter in Pirates of the Carribbean. Watch that till this comes out on dvd, then borrow it from someone. ---------------- indigi fucked around with this message at 06:17 on Oct 23, 2005 |
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Oct 23, 2005 06:15
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I'm a big Tony Scott fan. I really enjoyed the visual style of Man on Fire, and The Hire short he made prior. With that said I enjoyed Domino for it's visual style and really that's about it. I don't think Kira Knightley is a very good actress and highering her to play a tough bounty hunter was a terrible casting decision. She's about 100lbs soaking wet and just really didn't look the part. No matter how many baggy clothes they threw on her, she still just look skinny, weak and not remotely intimidating. The general plot wasn't really that interesting. It wasn't bad but it wasn't good either, just OK. This would have been passable if the dialog was able to make up for the bland general plot. Sadly the dialog was quite cliche' (ie. "blood coursing through our/my veins" was used multiple times and "heads you live, tails you die" was used and variations of it about 5-10 times. I understand that was Domino's motto but it good repetitive quickly). No dialog was good or interesting enough to remember. It was, like the plot, simply bland and uninteresting. As an additional note the lap-dance scene felt so forced and out of place I just laughed. I'd give the movie 2.5/5 if it was without Tony's visual style but I'm bumping it up to 4 because I really liked how it looked. If you enjoyed the way Man of Fire and Tony Scott's later work then you should see this for the style and that's it. The rest of the movie is forgettable and average. 4/5 (but 2.5 if you don't like Tony Scott's films). doctor 7 fucked around with this message at 23:14 on Mar 6, 2006 |
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Mar 1, 2006 22:16
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I went in without any preconceived notions (I got to see an advance screening for free for no reason whatsoever) and was entertained. It wasn't spectacular, but I really liked the premise and the characters. The acting was good, the writing not so good, Keira Knightley is ridiculously hot as Domino, and as was stated earlier, Tom Waits out of loving no where about made me come in my pants. 3/5 Elwood P. Dowd fucked around with this message at 03:59 on Mar 2, 2006 |
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Mar 2, 2006 03:30
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Larkaen posted:CONS: Motion sickness Says it all right there, really. I walked out before it was over; thought I was going to be sick, what with all of the camera changes. 1/5
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Mar 3, 2006 05:29
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I thought this movie was more or less okay. Most of the camera work and special effects left me with a feeling of "this feels like low-quality Jerry Bruckheimer stuff." However, the narration and character development was fairly decent. The movie was generally over the top, but it did have some shining moments. IT'S A GOOD DAY TO DIE! and The 90210 guy getting his nose broken by Domino. 3.5/5
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Mar 6, 2006 17:30
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I thought this was an okay movie. It certainly is an original and cool story. I kinda hated Keira after her role in King Arthur, but after this and Pride & Prejudice, I have more respect for her. Cons: The camera action is annoying at times, and the movie tries to be too hip for my liking. It's not thrilling on any level. Also, the ending is stupid. Pros: The bounty hunters (including Domino) are cool and fun to watch. It's based on something real. Keira. Rating: 2.5.
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Mar 8, 2006 12:43
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Awww, the Art of Trash. The plot was so convuluted i'm pretty sure the cast didn't know what was going on. Loads of cliche (characters, dialogue, plot, everything). The camera was in near constant motion, a cut a second, hardly a normal shot in the whole movie. I loved it. Great satire, whether it was intentional or not. 4
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Mar 11, 2006 12:44
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I rented this on DVD mainly because of Tony Scott and Richard Kelly. I didn't see it in the theaters because I didn't want to start hating them for making me spend money after I read the initial reviews. Fortunately, they didn't disappoint me after all. I can't agree more with everyone else saying that you'll like this if you like Tony Scott. I know the characters were paper thin. I know the camera and editing was all over the place. Still, it was incredibly entertaining and hillarious. Richard Kelly (aka the guy who wrote/directed Donnie Darko) may suck at the whole "developed character" thing but goddamn if he can't write some outrageous pop-culture satire. And while some people may think Tony Scott needs to stop taking meth and be permenantly banned from renting helicopters and cranes to get crazy shots, I think he's the only director that pulls that poo poo off and still lets the audience follow the action. Good show. 4/5
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May 1, 2006 18:22
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I like to think that i'm not entirely stupid, but i lost the plot half way into the movie and never found it back. The color saturation, jerky shooting and extremely speedy scene changes really crashed what seemed like a good movie. 2/5
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May 2, 2006 00:24
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If you turn off your brain this movie isn't half bad. Christopher Walken is entertaining as always, the actions not bad, and Kiera Knightely is amazingly hot. Yeah, the story sucks. The cinematography, while it's interesting for a while, certainly gets a bit jarring when spread out over the full length of the movie. But luckily enough the movie is never boring, not for one second, even if it's completely over the top. 3.5/5
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May 6, 2006 01:11
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