Spoonatects Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Allissa .Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

blanche-2 From 2004, "The Last Shot" is one crazy movie, with comedy ranging from stupid to silly to hilarious. The movie stars Alec Baldwin, Matthew Broderick, Calista Flockhart, Tony Shaloub, Toni Collete, Ray Liotta, and Joan Cusack. Baldwin is Joe Devine, an FBI agent who thinks the way to capture a big mob boss is to deal with the Teamsters by pretending to be producing a film in Rhode Island. The script he gets from a fledgling writer Steven Schats (Broderick) is called Arizona and is based on the tragic death of his sister Charlotte. Of course, he first has to get Schatz to change the location and a few other things.Before you know it, the fake filmmaking becomes real as Devine gets into producing and convinces the FBI that they can capture even more mobsters by actually doing the film. Soon the FBI offers him a three-picture deal.Some of the dialogue is the funniest stuff you'll ever hear, and some of the situations are hilarious. Everyone is excellent, but Toni Collette as insane movie star Emily French is a standout, as is Cusack as a Hollywood agent and Tony Shalhoub as the badly scarred mobster they're after, who says, "My wife set fire to me while I was asleep. Six months later, our marriage fell apart." Parts of this film were laugh out loud funny, a highlight being Collette's audition as well as the opening scene of the film, an FBI sting, and Cusack's talk to the people who are going to work on the film.Some people will not like "The Last Shot" at all, but it's really worth seeing for the fun it pokes at the film business, for the performances, and some great quotes.

whenadelphiaisdown Wednesday, September 29, 2004message to Roy Disney for whatever its worth There were several unsafe, against union protocol and contract practices that occurred in the many weeks that I was shooting the film, as one of a handful of extras who were labeled in the script and storyboards as Stevens friends (Matthew Broderick played the role of Steven). Among these practices was the biggest flub of all: The pivotal Helicopter Scene where myself and about 5 others were directed by the Stunt Coordinator to stand under the hovering helicopter that was 10 ft above the ground (if a 6 man jumped up, he could've touched it, see the movie, it shows all) which is in every way a STUNT CONTRACT ROLE. Myself and the others participated about 3 times and then refused, unless given a contract. As there was no SAG rep on the set, we had no one to vouch for us, and the production grew livid at our request and literally started ripping our wardrobe off of us and placing it on other stunt people. This was indication enough as to how integral we were to the shot, and how we were getting a stunt contract stolen from right under us. We got the exact shots that we participated in, as well as the exact cameras that took those shots, as well as the storyboards showing US while the helicopter flew and hovered over our heads and presented it to our REP at the Screen Actors Guild, who in turn was going to present it as a claim on behalf of the 5 of us to Disney. A year went by and 4 of us (all except one) were sent a check of $20 for our troubles. Here is the aftermath of how Disney has made us feel:Written by myself on 9/28/04SOO.. has everyone seen the film yet? I had a chance on Sunday. I must say Disney is all about the profanity, nudity, gangster violence and cheap shots at typical shoddy-haven't we- heard-all-this-before-the-Player-etc "Hollywood biz" humor... ah, when Disney can stoop this low, well, there's your answer to family values, downward spiraling morals of society as a whole and well, a bleak bleak future of quality entertainment.Or am I giving them too much credit?regarding that helicopter scene... What exactly did OUR SAG "REP" say?!? There was no evidence of us being in that shot; and After reviewing the dailies all he saw were people scattering before the chopper came in; and that he could do nothing about it; as well as there was so much debris he couldn't make out anything. This is correct, right, or am I leaving anything out?(Even though when we chose to stop participating, they ripped our jackets and hats off of us and put them on stunt people who WERE UNDER CONTRACT DOING EXACTLY WHAT WE HAD JUST BEEN DOING in the shots that we had specifically named, down to which camera and everything! This alone is evidence that you don't need to weed through crushed walnut shells to uncover. )Well, if you go with THAT line of thinking, than there isn't any evidence that ANYONE was in the shot. I guess all those people were just figments of our imagination, and hell... did the entire shoot happen at all? Or maybe I simply died the night our shuttle bus was breaking every driving rule in the book, including crossing a double yellow line, driving on the wrong side of the road, and zooming way past the speed limit down a very steep hill in Antelope Valley in the wee dark hours of the morning, just to try and get us back to our cars in the nick of time so they wouldn't HAVE to pay us Golden Time... and everything since has ALL BEEN A DREAM. Ah! A dream is a wish your heart makes, to quote from the Disney cricket... and I must have wished this...I also must have wished to see myself speaking on the big screen one day. Who knew the wish would come true while chumming it up with Matty Broderick? It must be a dream, as don't exactly remember speaking nor a boom over my head, and when did that other guy have that huge run-on sentence monologue in the same scene? We must've both been dreaming... how weird! Too bad my dream didn't include a contract for my on-camera speaking role...---After talking with our SAG "rep"He told me after reviewing the dailies all he saw were people scattering before the chopper came in, but he says there was so much debris he "couldn't make out anything".I ask him why would they put Stunt people with us and sandwiched us in. He says "I Don't Know"I said didn't you ask them that, he Says "NO", he says he had to plead with Disney for the $20.00 I ask about the SAG lawyers taking on the case. He says "it's out of their jurisdiction" The only way to get anything is to get an outside lawyer to go after Disney and then SAG for not providing the service and protection we pay them for.They know we probably will not do this so they will make there back handed deals with these production companies.------------------------- Dear Roy, I'm sure your father never intended for his name to be used in this manner.

Robert J. Maxwell Lots of tossed-off wisecracks and funny lines in this movie. "I see you're lookin' at my face. My wife set me on fire while I was asleep. Squirted lighter fluid all over me. Six months later the marriage fell apart." Six months later? Fell APART? The story is simple enough. Baldwin, an FBI agent, hooks an unknowing Broderick into making a movie in Providence, Rhode Island, as a sting operation to nail John Gotti. The operation fails but the movie isn't really about Gotti or crime anyway. It's about two goofs who get swept up in an obsession to make a movie that's set in the Arizona desert. The FBI supplies them with just enough money to begin casting the "production". When the notice appears in Variety they get volunteer offers from academy-nominated actress Emily French (Toni Collet), Pat Morita, and Russel Means. The fantasy begins to turn so real that the original goal is forgotten and the artistic adventure acquires functional autonomy. Ars Gratia Arse, so to speak.The movie pokes a lot of fun at the Hollywood community. Russel Mean is supposed to play a character named Chief Blackbear, however he is informed that the name must be changed to Chief Blackhawk. He looks a bit taken aback and muses, "I guess I'll have to learn to manage that." Calista Flockheart's character punctures her thigh with a fork to arouse "sensory memories." Over dinner in a fancy restaurant, Colett rapidly runs through her physical and psychiatric history to a stunned Baldwin and Broderick and winds up peeing into an empty wine glass to show how she is tested for drugs every six months, while the other customers stop eating and the piano music comes to a halt.It's pretty amusing. Not so much the story as the exchanges between the characters that are written into the script. (The editor holds on a bit too long sometimes after the gags, waiting for the laughter to subside.) There's something rather sad about the ending, when the FBI forcibly shuts down the production -- kind of like "The Teahouse of the August Moon." Everyone is having such a ball that it seems tragic to have to get back to business.Yet, though the movie is amusing, it's not outrageously so. Anyone who wants to see a comedy about making a phony movie should rent "After the Fox," which in its combination of Italian over-the-top bombast and Jewish repartee is a classic of its kind.This one is worth catching though and offers some good laughs. The difference between the seasoned FBI agent, Baldwin, who has dealt with low lifes, and the ambitious director, Broderick, who was raised in the company town of Hollywood, is perfectly captured in a single exchange. The fake producer Baldwin makes up a story about the death of his fictitious wife. Broderick is sorry to hear that and asks, "Was she in the business?" Baldwin turns to stare at him -- for a long time -- and then asks, "Why would I marry a whore?"

Jason Platt Matthew Broderick is especially effective at this movie filled with warmth and a deep love for film-making. Yes, the script and many of the performances (notably Calista Flockhart and an unbilled Joan Cusack) poke fun at Hollywood, but what gets you glued to this film is that you really root for Matthew Broderick's character. He is one of the few male actors that I know of that isn't afraid to be sweet and gentle on screen. Without his ability to make his character so likable and believable, this film would not be nearly as good. I also think he as an exceptional ability to play a scene "straight" meaning serious while there is hilarity all around him. He is really believable in his part. There is some brusque language used that seems to be just thrown in and doesn't fit with the sweet nature of this film. Perhaps it is used so more people would come see it. But this is a minor flaw. I think that people who dream of being filmmakers themselves will especially enjoy this film.