It's easy to discuss 'Killing Zoe's problems; they are, after all, plentiful and in clear view. It's hard to deny, though, that it's an incredibly entertaining movie. It's important not to be misled by the treacherous phrase 'from the creators of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction'; Killing Zoe was directed by Roger Avary, who may has a co-writer's credit on Pulp Fiction but his part in it was quite small; in Reservoir Dogs all his actually did was write the radio dialogue that runs in the background. Quentin Tarantino was executive producer, but clearly had no influence on the creative side of the movie. The presence of Tarantino's name on the Killing Zoe DVD is a double-ended sword; on the one hand, it's what made me notice it and pick it up in the first place, and I'm sure it helped a lot in the film's sales when it was first released. On the other, it inevitably creates some high expectations, and these can hinder your enjoyment from the movie, as they did mine. Because while Killing Zoe shares with Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction some themes of crime, drugs, sex and honor among thieves, it shares none of Tarantino's witty, sarcastic edge and cultural awareness.
If, however, you remember to steer clear of these expectations - and if you like this kind of movie, of course - then you're bound to enjoy Killing Zoe. It's a fast-paced, entertaining crime story with lots of violence, some sense of humor, some sex and a lot of atmosphere. Very good performances are also given by the beautiful Julie Delpy ("the prostitute with a heart of gold") and Jean-Hugues Anglade ("the psychopathic sadist"), who plays one of the coolest villains of the 90's (who's more than a bit similar to Gary Oldman's fantastic Agent Stansfield from 'Leon'), and these two almost make up for the unimpressive leading man we have in Eric Stoltz - who, though he made a fine career for himself playing small character roles in fantastic films from Pulp Fiction to Singles, had not proven himself as a capable lead since his breakthrough performance as a disfigured boy in Mask - who plays a rather unlikable and uninteresting hero.
Killing Zoe is a featherweight film with absolutely no depth to the story or characters, that generally likes waving around the sex and violence for the sake of sex and violence, which are sometimes unnecessarily excessive (like the far too long sex scene at the beginning, or the gory image of the dying man near the end); it's not a very intelligent crime movie, and it won't stick with you, but it's great entertainment, with fantastic atmosphere, and for any fan of the genre - one who is not easily offended (and you'll be amazed at how dirty a dirty joke sounds in French even if you don't understand one word) - it's well worth seeing. Keep your expectations low, and you'll have lots of fun.
"Killing Zoe" Review
Eric Stoltz is a safe-cracker from America who teams up with a childhood friend and his sadistic crew of French heroin-addict bank robbers to take down a Federal Reserve in the heart of Paris. Things go violenty wrong (as is usually the case in "heist" films) when said friend goes berserk. Outrageously violent and filled with dark humor, "Killing Zoe" is like "Reservoir Dogs" on speed-balls. In fact, Quentin Tarantino executive-produced this one along with "Dogs" producer Lawrence Bender. While the movie is not classified as a foreign film, a good portion of it is spoken in French with English subtitles.
Right up there with "Dune"
My most recent ex-wife refused to watch this because her daughter's name matched 50% of the title (no...not Killing). When I finally did get to see the thing, I was...let down. It had, after all, been highly recommended by friends. Gosh: drugs, violence, a bit of skin, and ... Dixieland? Except for the Dixieland, I've seen it-seen it-seen it. And so have you.
Personally, the only memorable moments involved an expired kitty cat and a brief exchange over the wisdom of doing a line of heroin in a crowded night-spot (Q:What about all these people? A:"Let zem geet zair own").There are better ways to pass the time.
It was directed with energetic skill by Top Gun Tony Scott, but this breathtaking 1993 thriller (think of it as an adolescent crime fantasy on steroids) has Quentin Tarantino written all over it. True Romance is really part of a loose trilogy that includes Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, with a crackling Tarantino screenplay that rides a fine line between raucous comedy and violent excess. Christian Slater plays Clarence, the comic-book lover who meets a beguiling prostitute named Alabama (Patricia Arquette), confronts her vicious pimp (Gary Oldman), and embarks on a cross-country odyssey with $5 million worth of Mafia cocaine. Mayhem ensues, culminating in a favorite Tarantino climax--the "Mexican standoff"--in which a roomful of guys are pointing guns at... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Tony Scott DVD Release Date: Released the 24 September 2002 Usually ships in 24 hours
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This unbearable quartet of stories was written and directed by hot filmmakers Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction), Robert Rodriguez (El Mariachi), Allison Anders (Gas Food Lodging), and Alexandre Rockwell (In the Soup), which only proves that even the smart guys can really blow it sometimes. The anthology is linked by the hotel in which all the events are taking place, and by Tim Roth as a bellboy flitting from scene to scene. Nobody overcomes the insufferable air of self-congratulation that permeates this exercise in forced hipness. With Bruce Willis, Madonna, Lili Taylor, Ione Skye, Jennifer Beals, and Antonio Banderas. --Tom KeoghMore Info about this DVD Actor(s): Quentin Tarantino - Amanda De Cadenet - Jennifer Beals - David Proval - Antonio Banderas Director(s): Alexandre Rockwell - Quentin Tarantino - Allison Anders - Robert Rodriguez DVD Release Date: Released the 03 April 2001 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Proving that he may be the most fearless actor of his or any other generation, Harvey Keitel gives an amazing, no-holds-barred performance in director Abel Ferrara's uncompromising 1992 film about a New York cop on the edge of self-annihilation. The film's title is meant to be taken literally: Keitel's character has no redeeming values whatsoever, save for his desperate need for redemption. Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide is correct in calling this an "over-the-top Catholic guilt movie," but it's been made with such conviction that Ferrara and Keitel transcend the sheer unpleasantness of the material to give it a kind of tragic divinity. Here's a character so vile and corrupted that he consumes or re-sells the drugs he confiscates, but when he's assigned to investigate the... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Harvey Keitel Director(s): Abel Ferrara DVD Release Date: Released the 15 February 2000 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Oliver Stone would like to have the last word on America's media culture of voyeurism and violence, but whatever he's trying to say in this grisly, unconventional movie comes across terribly garbled. Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis play traveling serial killers who become television celebrities when a Geraldo-like personality (Robert Downey Jr.) turns their madness into the biggest story in the country. Stone extensively rewrote an original script by Quentin Tarantino, and he employs a mosaic of different film stocks, video, and pop pastiches to create a sense of blurred lines between visual phenomena. (The background on Lewis's character's life as an abused child, for instance, is presented as a sitcom starring Rodney Dangerfield.) But the result of these experiments is a pompous,... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Woody Harrelson - Juliette Lewis Director(s): Oliver Stone DVD Release Date: Released the 25 January 2000 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Gus Van Sant made his name with this offbeat story of a small group of drug addicts who heist pharmacies to feed their habit. Matt Dillon completely broke with his juvenile persona as Bob, the grungy ringleader and jittery mastermind of a junkie crew. With his frustrated wife Dianne (Kelly Lynch), his loyal partner, the easygoing Rick (James Le Gros), and Rick's juvenile girlfriend Nadine (Heather Graham in an early role), Bob plots ingenious heists and spends the rest of his days sitting around the house getting high. When the heat becomes too intense in Portland, the quartet hits the road for small-town drug stores and hospitals, but when their luck runs out it does so in grand fashion. Set in the Pacific Northwest of 1971, Van Sant so effortlessly re-creates the period that you'd think... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Matt Dillon - Kelly Lynch Director(s): Gus Van Sant DVD Release Date: Released the 24 April 2001 Usually ships in 24 hours
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