The Hollow Point (2016)

Very Cool!!!

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

It amazes me how reviewers here on IMDb can watch the same movie and come to wildly differing opinions. I get it that someone may or may not like a particular film, that's fine. But when you have those who enjoy a film for it's story telling and others who state they couldn't follow it, I just have to wonder if paying attention might have solved that problem.So I guess that's what is at issue for this finely constructed tale. It's about a couple of law enforcement officers attempting to curb the trade in ammunition to a violent Mexican cartel that won't stop at anything to insure receipt of their bullets, or exact revenge on those who stand in their way.Right out of the gate, any film with Ian McShane is going to hold my interest. After seeing him for the first time as the violent saloon owner Al Swearingen in the HBO series "Deadwood", I've been a loyal fan. His character, aging sheriff Leland Kilbaught calls to mind the role of Tommy Lee Jones in "No Country for Old Men", the difference being that Kilbaught hasn't become the wistful lawman regretting the way times have changed and passed him by. He's still whaling away in the thick of things, even after a new sheriff is assigned to replace him when he takes out a drug mule working for Shep Diaz (Jim Belushi) and Ken Mercey (David H. Stevens).We never actually see the Mexican cartel gun lords calling the shots in the small, unnamed Arizona town where the story takes place. The tension is provided, again, in similar fashion to 'No Country's' relentless hit-man Javier Bardem, by the similarly motivated assassin called Atticus, forcefully portrayed by John Leguizamo. What was a bit convoluted though, was the idea that he was seeing a local woman named Lilly (Karli Hall), thus making him a known commodity in Los Reyes County. One would expect a villain like Atticus to be dispatched by his employers as someone who would remain largely anonymous.That the movie offers it's fair share of gory violence shouldn't come as a surprise, it's something one would expect with the attendant story line. The machete business on the part of Atticus is particularly nasty as new sheriff Wallace would remorsefully attest. The one painful scene that tickled me was when Marla (Lynn Collins) took the sledge hammer to Shep's foot. Before it happened, I was thinking to myself that she should go with it, and if I saw it coming, Shep should have too. I bet that hurt like hell.The thought I had to ponder when Wallace eventually put down Atticus had to do with Leland begging him to hand the gun over and not reduce himself to the level of the bad guys. My version of the story would have that happen so Leland could do the honors, thereby allowing Wallace to make a getaway without the killing on his conscience. Leland seemed to be the kind of guy who wouldn't have cared one way or the other. At least Leland got some measure of revenge with the final scene, but for that you'll have to catch the movie.You know, as a big Johnny Cash fan, I was surprised that the song played over the closing credits was one I never heard before - 'God's Gonna Cut You Down'. It fit well enough, probably even better than the one I would have picked - 'When The Man Comes Around'.

This film wants to be No Country for Old Men if it was directed by a second rate Robert Rodriguez.A Mexican cartel arms deal goes wrong leaving several dead and some money missing. Ian McShane is a wily but ageing small town lawman in Arizona, Patrick Wilson is his straight laced replacement, the new sheriff in town. They both join forces as a mysterious cartel hit-man (John Leguizamo) arrives with a literal hit-list, the trouble he is also a police officer. John Belushi is a sleazy used car salesman who seems to be doing the Cartel's dirty work.This is a gritty neo noir B film, convoluted and viscerally violent, at one point Wilson loses his hand in a machete attack but it also comes across as confusing, hollow and silly at times.

We are Once Again at the American-Mexican Border where Cartels make the already Living Hell Environment more of a Living Hell, Employing Soulless Killers and Corrupting the Weak and Dying that have Lost Their Hope and Dreams of an Existence with God By Their Side.This is an Above Average DTV with a First-Rate Noir Cast Featuring Patrick Wilson, Ian McShane, Jim Belushi, and John Leguizamo.The Violence is Brutal and an Urgency is Felt as the Townsfolk Duck and Cover from the Flying Bullets and Nastiness all around. The Movie is Shot in a Dusty, Sun Drenched Landscape of Endless Horizons, Trailer Parks, Sleazy Environs, and Unfinished, Abandoned Home Constructions.It Wears its Neo-Noir Bona-Fides with Pride and if it wasn't for the Incomprehensible Script and Sloppy, Lazy Montage it would Rank as one of the Better in the Genre.But its Pulpy Style is Burdened with God-Awful Storytelling that leaves the Viewer in a constant state of Confusion trying Desperately to Figure What the Hell is Going On most of the time.What is Going On is Visceral and Engaging for B-Movie Fans that Love the Style and don't give much of a Damn about Substance. For those Folks Kick Back and Enjoy the Sleaze. For Others, it is just too Befuddling to give a High Recommendation. It's Definitely Worth a Watch for the Lead Actors, Violence, and Style.The Movie, however, Never quite Comes Together and the Love Interest Scenes, along with the general Storytelling are Woefully Weak and just Awful.

While "The Hollow Point" never got to the point of really annoying or boring me - there always remains a kernel of interest at any point - all the same I can't recommend it. The cast isn't to blame for the movie's failure; they all give professional performances. And director Gonzalo Lopez-Gelego does put in some effective violence and brutality here and there. The blame mainly lies with the script. While I will give the script some kudos for putting in a few unexpected developments here and there, the story gets more confusing as it goes along. For example, one character ends up handcuffed by the local law enforcers to his hospital bed. A short time later, he is seen out of the hospital. How did he get free? It's never answered. That's just one of a number of confusing touches the movie has. By the end, I was not really confident about what had happened and why it happened. The movie could have been a lot worse, I admit. But unless you get some masochistic pleasure about being bewildered, you'd be best off skipping this.