Liars All (2013)

good back-story, and good acting

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

This is a relatively formulaic whodunit with a good cast, which is the movie's strength as the main actors' performances and interactions with one another make it quite enjoyable and entertaining overall. Just don't expect anything spectacular or even new from the plot, which is constructed like a basic crime television episode. It is not really a thriller if you ask me. You certainly won't get scared watching this movie.LIARS ALL is centered around a truth-or-dare-type card game that takes place at a private party on New Year's Eve in London. The players are a group of acquaintances and close friends from the UK as well as the US. Some of them were in relationships with each other at one point but have since split up for one reason or another. Because of that, the mood is kind of tense between certain members of the group. The party guests get drunk and high pretty soon and the truth or dare game gets more and more raunchy and risky. It escalates in a breaking and entering of a nearby hotel room during which Missy (Gillian Zinser) dies from a gunshot in the neck. Mike (Matt Lanter), who's love for Missy was unrequited, and Dennis (Torrance Coombs), who left Missy for a famous pop star, were in the room with her when the supposed accident happened.The question to be answered is if it really was an accident or if Mike or Dennis or both of them killed her. They both appear to have had motives to murder Missy after all. The possibility of a suicide is also not ruled out by the investigating detective (played by Alice Evans). She questions all the party guests individually, among them Katie (Sara Paxton), who had a relationship with Mike some time ago and would like to get back together with him. The statements of the people involved vary as to what exactly happened that night. They just don't add up. Some or or all of them must be lying. The detective has to find out who is telling the truth and who is not. Therefore, she questions them all thoroughly about their backgrounds and relationships. During the interrogation sessions, the events of the night are reconstructed multiple times in a number of possible ways. Now it is up to the detective to find out how Missy really died.LIARS ALL is actually not too bad. Admittedly, it is stylized like your typical episode of a modern-day crime television series like COLD CASE or CSI or something, but it is still a pretty entertaining whodunit movie if nothing more. The movie is mostly enjoyable because of the well-cast actors, though, because the plot doesn't really offer any surprising twists and turns that you haven't already seen multiple times in movies and on television. Torrance Coombs' performance as the egoistic "bad guy" character Dennis can be pointed out as one of the strengths of the movie, and Sara Paxton's performance is more than solid as is typical for her. She is always believable in all the diverse roles she has taken on as an actress so far. I'm really impressed with her skills. I probably would never have watched this movie if Sara Paxton wasn't on the cast list, but I guess I would still have liked it had I stumbled upon it another way. I recommend LIARS ALL if you enjoy whodunits but don't expect anything earth-shattering.

As a whodunit, this doesn't work, because we don't really care for any of the characters. Except Sara Paxton maybe, but that is more to the actress than the character she portrays. Other than we have pretty young people partying and one of them having met a tragic end. But how did that happen and why did it happen? Do you really care? I'd bet good money that you don't really.Watching people party has been done better before, this is not as exciting as it may sound. And it's not because there is no nudity (well partial nudity if you want to call it that), but because there is no real spark that does go off. Whether it's for the characters or for the viewer nothing really ever does tingle a bit. A shame, because there is some talent in front of the camera who does not have the opportunity to work their acting chops properly.

This is one of the most tedious of movies I have ever watched. There was some tension in solving the "who-dunnit" (hence 2 stars rather than 1) but really not worth the effort in watching the movie. Fortunately the movie was on Sky so it wasn't something I had forked out hard earned cash for.If you've something better to go and do...like wash your hair then it would be time better spent than watching this.Characters are very one dimensional the script contains a lot of clichés and the acting is poor...On a positive note..the version I watched was only 88 minutes long!

An American film set in London, UK. The film starts at a police station where a pregnant detective reviews what went bad at a party. During the interrogations there are many flashbacks.On New Year's Eve, there's a party at a flat in London after some time at a public house. Attendees are: Dennis (soccer, very successful), Billy (soccer, team mate of Dennis, not as successful), Tanya (a waitress), Mike and Katie (American students), Kim and Brenda (friends traveling together), and Missy Dembree (an American studying in London).Early on, we see that Missy did not survive the New Year's Eve game, which was a variation on Truth or Dare. They start with ritual bloodletting (a drop or two), followed by a second ritual of smoking recreational illegal drugs.At this stage, the director has advised me of context, but my probability of liking the film is about 10%. Idiots on drugs and booze, doing Truth or Dare, a version with no prizes, but only penalties? Hm...how can this turn out well? Which characters should I find engaging?Next stop, breaking and entering plus burglary; they film it for the sake of the party. Hardly worth the downside risk. That is where Missy gets shot. More flashbacks.Mike knew Missy in LA, then Missy became attached to Dennis. More of the Truth or Dare. Still more flash backs, with a touch more clarity. Mike loves Missy, Missy loves Dennis, Dennis has left Missy and is engaged to Casey. Missy cannot take this. Mike is discouraged. The Detective has all sorts of motivations for someone causing Missy's death, and different accounts of how it happened.The interrogation-flashback-interrogation cycles continue. The detective finds more nooks and crannies of motivation and fact.How many go to jail? Does anyone get away without charges?------Scores------Cinematography: 7/10 Terrible in the introductory music video; hand-held nonsense. Otherwise competent.Sound: 7/10 OK, though the incidental music seems to just fill time when nothing is happening on screen.Acting: 5/10 No one was particularly good or bad. All of them portray knee-jerk followers of modern conventions for wastrels with money. If you are looking for a study in drug-using herd animals, here it is. Matt Lanter had the most screen time and the greatest number of lines; fortunately, he was almost competent.Screenplay: 5/10 There are zero characters to root for, zero to despise, zero to embrace. The level of choppiness is too high. Linear exposition would have been more effective.