Stand Off Starring Brendan Fraser

Posted by Charmaine Blake on Feb 13th, 2013 in Comedy, Drama, Mystery, Suspense | 0 comments

Stand Off Starring Brendan Fraser

Stand Off also known as Whole Lotta Sole is an upcoming, independent drama/comedy film Brendan Fraser is about to hit theaters on February 22nd 2013. In this film, Jimbo (Martin McCann) tries to pay back his gambling debts to Mad Dog Flynn (David O’Hara), the local Mobster by robbing a fish market. The only problem is: the market is owned by the same mobster and now Jimbo is on the run from the Mob and the local cops. He is cornered in a local curio shop where he takes the people hostage including the shop owner Maguire (Brendan Fraser) who may be his father and his girlfriend Sophie (Yaya DaCosta). Stand Off is written by Thomas Gallagher and directed by Terry George. Check out an early review for Stand Off below:

“Early Movie Review for Stand Off (Whole Lotta Sole)

NEW YORK – In both his own films and his collaborations with Jim Sheridan, screenwriter-turned-director Terry George has invariably been drawn to serious subject matter, covering the Troubles in Northern Ireland (In the Name of the Father, The Boxer), the corrosive aftermath of family tragedy (Reservation Road), and true stories of an IRA hunger striker (Some Mother’s Son) or heroism in the midst of genocide (Hotel Rwanda). He takes an abrupt turn toward the light in Whole Lotta Sole. The calculatedly charming crime comedy could use a tad more vitality in its central character, played by Brendan Fraser, but nonetheless packs enough pleasing elements to ensure a respectable commercial path.

Written by George with Thomas Gallagher, who hatched the elaborately plotted original story, the movie angles for the quirky buoyancy of the Roddy Doyle “Barrytown Trilogy” adaptations (The Commitments, The Snapper, The Van), with the darker edges of Guy Ritchie and Martin McDonagh. And while the hostage-crisis narrative is burdened by a few too many colorful characters and a creeping case of the cutes, the plotting is sufficiently tight to pull off the combination.

A quick flash of pre-titles action in Massachusetts shows Joe Maguire (Fraser) fleeing from his wife, a screaming banshee later revealed to be the daughter of a South Boston Mafia kingpin. Fearing repercussions, Joe hides out by minding his absent cousin’s antiques shop in Belfast. His paranoia is fueled by Jimbo (Martin McCann), a shifty-looking youth who appears to be stalking him, and by a cryptic visit from local gangland boss Mad Dog Flynn (David O’Hara).

While shyly courting beautiful Ethiopian refugee Sophie (Yaya DaCosta), Joe takes a backseat for much of the story. Focus shifts to underemployed Jimbo and the inflated gambling debt he incurred after he and his wife recently had a child. He owes Mad Dog $5,000, but since the gangster’s girlfriend wants a baby and he shoots blanks, he offers to take Jimbo’s kid and call it even. (This exchange is negotiated in a torture scene lifted directly from McDonagh’s play The Lieutenant of Inishmore.)

Reasoning that seafood vendors rake it in on Fridays in Catholic towns, Jimbo holds up the fish market using an ancient hair-trigger submachine gun retrieved from an IRA stash. He’s unaware that the market, which gives the film its title, serves as a front for Mad Dog’s illegal operations. In his haste to get away with a meager cash haul, he grabs a bag with compromising contents for the gangster.”

Go to Hollywood Reporter to read the rest of the article

Check out the latest “Identity Thief Movie Review” right in this blog

Charmaine Blake loves movies, musical theater listening to music and taking pictures of anything that she finds interesting. She is a voracious reader and writer, and enjoys her time writing for New Movie Launches. Charmaine loves spending time with her pets and currently has a Siberian Husky, a toy poodle and a cat.