Taxman (1999)

Very Cool!!!

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Pretty Good

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Flipping channels one day and came across this film. Joe Pantoliano has always been good in whatever he does, and then it was 'Hey, Michael Chiklis!,' "Oh look, it's Elizabeth Berkley!" and the clincher was "OMG!! Freakin' Robert Townsend!!" It's a good movie, not a great film. It has a somber ending, fitting the film's almost anti-climatic aftermath...Worth a rental for sure... It's funny how much cell phones have changed movies, especially cop dramas.My only complaint .. as usual with Joe P.'s movies .. is his hair. The poor guy needs to just shave that mess... or go big with the transplants... Plus he's blonde in the movie and I just don't seem his as this fair-haired guy.

I saw this film in the theater when it opened in New York and just rented it again, I loved it so much. It is one of those rare, moving but subtle movies that you don't see much of anymore... a true work of art. The main character is so flawed, like each and every one of us, and makes so many mistakes -- falls for the young girl, gets his friends hurt, screws up his investigation -- but we love him anyway. Joe Pantoliano (who I have seen in the previews for the new season of The Sopranos... great actor!!!) is fantastic as a man who is so misled by his own desire for fame, and is so human at the same time... we root for him no matter what he is doing... chasing the mysterious Wizard behind the scheme or dancing at the wedding of the woman he loves. Wonderful!!! An incredibly directed, wonderfully acted story everyone should see.

"The Taxman" is a great action thriller. The story (about tax investigation and russian mafia) is so intriguing, written by a real "taxman". But the real reason that I saw this motion picture is its female star, Elizabeth Berkley. The movie reveals she is a grea actress: her performance as Nadia, the beautiful daughter of a russian guy, is really convincing and she speaks a good Georgian dialect (she studied at Berlitz for over 2 months). However, I like other thing of this picture: the great performance of Joe Pantoliano, the direction, the story and the film editing. The only thing that I dont like is the PATHETIC gross at box-office!!!!!

I found this movie personally offensive for the way the main character, a tax investigator is portrayed. This character was so obnoxious, I had to turn away in disgust. Basically, here is the plot. A tax investigator, "Walter Mitty type" dreams of making the big score on a tax evasion case and becoming famous. He decides to go after the Russian mob, headquartered in the Brighton Beach section of New York, who are allegedly buying up gas stations, and then siphoning off the sales tax receipts. However, the tax investigator is so clumsy, aggressive, and undisciplined in his approach to catching these criminals, that he sabotages his own efforts constantly. This guy is so ignorant and obnoxious, you feel like slapping him around. If I had to pick a food to compare with this guys personality it would be Limburger cheese. It just out and out smells bad!! Anyway, the ending is very predictable, and the only memorable part of this movie is how obnoxious the main character was.