Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-22 15:41:34

Really Good Movie -- Worth the money.

After watching Wall Street, this was a great follow up. It makes you think who would come after the scammer that took all the money. I enjoyed the actor's performances, especially Claudia Ferri, who played a Mexican prostitute with a fetish for face cream. Her scenes were great. Luke Goss is also great to watch. He's got a lot of charisma and Andy Garcia is great in everything he is in. The lead character of Charlie Wright was played by Aidan Quinn and he did a great job too. You could tell he was regretting what he did and his expressions are great.I loved the way the movie was put together, it kept my attention the whole time. There was a great action scene in the middle at a bull fighting ring that had me on the edge of my seat and the ending was not what I expected, which gave the movie a lot of substance. Overall I say this is one of the better movies I've seen this year and it's worth buying or renting.

2012-05-22 07:13:11

not too bad

As a big fan of Andy Garcia I decided to watch this movie despite some bad reviews and I was actually glad that i did. Movie is a little bit slow sometimes and it's more like a drama than an action packed movie. There are several storylines that interweave so it's not really hard to follow.If you like movies about life choices, movies that make you think outside of your world, movies that have more than just superheroes so you should definitely give it a chance.

2012-05-20 03:12:31

I loved the premise but the payoff failed

I really wanted to like this video. However I fell asleep twice. I did go back and re-watch those areas but found very little. The video was just to slow in developing the story and "like" of the characters. and forgive me, but it was very boring. Rent maybe, if you have insomnia, but... .

Robert J. Maxwell 2012-05-19 15:20:40

Pursued by -- Demons?

Aidan Quinn has run off with a couple of billion dollars of ill-gottenmoney and is living in some shabby dump in Tijuana, of all places.Three agencies are out to get him and/or recover the loot.One is a gang of bald-headed thugs, the leader with Lee Van Cleef eyes,all of whom are professional mercenaries. They simply want to get someof their client's money back, preferably with Quinn left underground.The second is a lone agent of the FBI. The third is a Mexican gangsterwho owes to some illegal organization as much money as Quinn stole,plus some. Everyone seems desperate to get their hands on Quinn and hispelf.Quinn, on the other hand, is in search of a woman he loved years ago inTijuana. She's now dead but she left their daughter behind. Thedaughter has emigrated to the states and is now in college.This kind of story has a good deal of potential. For one thing, there'sthe cast. Aidan Quinn, whose character is fifty-one years old, looksthe right age. He's gotten thicker and more frightened with the years-- and he does "fright" very well. Andy Garcia as the Godfather figurewho needs to pay off a debt is older as well, no longer the handsomeslick youth. He's bearded and his voice has descended into a resignedgrowl. Luke Goss leads the gang of thugs from the states. He's gotthose Lee Van Cleef eyes and he acts as if he knows precisely what he'sdoing. The older man who hires him is excellent too, a littlereminiscent of William Hickey.And in fact the writer/director has given the viewer a couple ofrefreshing surprises. Yes, there's a car chase, but it doesn't amountto much. And there's a wild shoot out between Goss's goons and the ganghired by Garcia, but there's little blood.But here's a treat. Near the end, all three agencies after Quinn andthe loot find themselves in the mercado in a Mexican stand off, so tospeak. Everybody has guns pointed at everybody else, except for thequivering Quinn. The guns are cocked and ready to go. Moments ofjaw-clenching tension pass. Then everybody says to hell with it,holster their guns, and let the FBI agent walk away with Quinn. Howcould the writer/director have let this opportunity pass? There shouldhave been fountains of blood and brains all over the market place.Quentin Tarentino certainly couldn't have let it go by, but Frazierhas, and good on him.There are also moment of low-key but extremely human pathos. A Tijuanawhore who befriends Quinn and puts him up, begs him to spend the nightwith her because she's horrified that she's now middle aged. Customershave grown few. She sobs at the "wrinkles." It's not the kind of thingyou expect to find in a cheap thriller.But the story is almost undone by its own excess. It's a tale aboutmaking up for all the harm you've done to yourself and to others --about guilt and absolution, which can be found even in death. It's allspelled out in the end, especially noticeably in the dying Quinn'sflowery philosophy as he sits in a beach chair. The viewer who has madeit this far -- without changing channels and looking for more gore --already knows this.And the photography of Tijuana and environs is sublime, except that thecamera wobbles all over the place far too often. Even a static highshot of the bullfighting ring -- vast and empty except for a tiny carin the center and a few fluttering birds -- wobbles. Note to Frazier:At least one viewer, chiefly me, is getting mighty tired of bald thugsand wobbling cameras. And unless Quinn has an MFA from Yale, he oughtto be conducting an inner narrative in the demotic, the parlance of thecommon man. Ordinary language CAN be moving if it's handled properly.Look at Terry Malloy in "On The Waterfront."

karen-smith-795-591463 2012-05-14 22:38:24

Better than you would think

Perhaps the symbolism was heavy handed, but I thought this was a reallygood low budget movie. What I walked away with was three men, at theend of their prospective careers, each having a decision to make abouttheir next step. And the casting was superb, all men who have had goodcareers in their own right, but have, for whatever reason, dropped outof the limelight of blockbusters. Andy Garcia never disappoints, buthis acting is incredible in this movie (compare his delivery in thismovie as a beaten man vs. Oceans Eleven). But I was really surprised atAidan Quinn, whom I have acknowledged as a good actor, but he reallydid a great job in this movie. Cinematography was OK, the acting hadsome gems, there was no good use of sound or music, but the layeredstory of three men facing their end was compelling. Like I said, giventhe budget, I thought they did a good job.

2012-05-14 15:13:40

Across the line

This review is from: Across the Line [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) don't waste your money. the acting, the story, the whole movie sucked the movie doesn't deserve the time to type the review

2012-05-10 23:35:46

Good performances

"Across the Line" is a straight to video 2010 crime drama ostensibly about a crooked financier's attempt to escape from the FBI, the Tijuana mafia, and the Russian mob. But beyond the obvious, the film is really about coming to terms with the consequences of your choices, as the financier (Aidan Quinn), the boss of the Russian mob (Ray Barry), the boss of the Tijuana mafia (Andy Garcia), and the head of the FBI (Mario Van Peebles) each reach inside themselves to deal with the problems that the financier's flight have created.There are many excellent performances in this film. Andy Garcia is the obvious standout, but one comes to expect this high level from a man who has given us dozens of fine performances ("The Godfather, Part 3", "Things to do in Denver When you're dead", "Internal Affairs", "Black Rain"). The big surprise is Mario Van Peebles who has specialized in films like "Baadassss" and "New Jack City" but who gives in this film a subtle and layered performance that is probably a career highlight.But the real surprise is the marvelous work on Claudia Ferri as an aging working girl who helps Quinn locate his missing daughter. Ferri is best known for her work on TV ("The Killing", "The Last Templar"). FWIW -Ferri played Quinn's wife in "The Assignment" (1997).The film is written, produced, and directed by R. Ellis Frazier. Frazier made his bones working for Ronald Shusett who is well known for films like "Alien" (1979), "Above the Law" (1988), and "Total Recall" (1990)There's not a lot of action in this film, and it consists mainly of the principals contemplating their futures in the light of their past. Quinn must decide between escaping or searching for his missing daughter at his own peril. Van Peebles must decide between the demands of his job and his humanity. Garcia must weigh his own life against the well being of his family. Barry has to consider the desire to recover his stolen millions against the need to remain under the radar. It's very interesting to see these dramas work themselves out.Bottom line - if you're looking for an action crime Mexican drama (like "Man on Fire") this isn't the film for you, but if you want to see a well acted film about life's choices, played against a crime background, this is a good film.

2012-05-10 08:23:57

A trip over the line that's just barely worth the time.

With no other reviews of this film at present, I guess I'm workingwithout a net but I'll give it a try. I'll let the pre-provided summaryabove handle the plot description and move directly into the filmitself, which I could best describe as a somewhat "artsy" crime drama,(and I mean that in a good way.)Filmed mostly in Tijuana, it takes wonderful advantage of the variousatmospheres and the smaller sets were also extremely well chosen forrealism and visual interest. There are some action sequences but thefilm is not particularly violent nor "action" oriented, there arenumerous personality conflicts and those are what mainly propels thestory through the urban Mexican landscape, providing tensions which areoccasionally punctuated by violent confrontations. The players put forth a fine effort in delivering a multi-layered plotwhich is interesting enough to hold our attention but only barely, it'sthat type of movie that if you wander away from it for a few minutes,you may not care if you return to finish it. The story-line is litteredwith implausibilities which in themselves are not deal-breakers, forinstance: the quandary of how to arm a foreign hit-squad traveling overthe border is beautifully handled by the artifice of having the weaponscached in a pit in a field for them before they arrive but whenrecovering them, the squad parks about eighty feet away andunnecessarily carries the weapons back to their van in plain view ofthe surrounding buildings instead of parking right next to the pit andblocking the view of the transfer with the van.But if it's not going to be uber-realistic like Traffic or testosteronedriven like Die Hard or mentally intense like The Usual Suspects orabsolutely drip atmosphere like The Godfather or Once Upon a Time inNew York or be over-the-top like Kill Bill, it does need something tohook us into it and really hold us there. For me, ultimately thatturned out to be the scenery but I don't think that they were actuallytrying to make a travelogue.As a kiosk/netflix rental there is enough to recommend here, some greatscenery and vignettes, very solid acting, some very good twists and agreat score and while the whole may not quite be the sum of the partsit is still a decent enough crime flick. Looking over reviews of the writer/director's few earlier works itappears he is quickly maturing and there is a lot of potential here, tobe certain. His eye is excellent but the story is just a little tooclichéd, I'd really like to see his considerable talents utilized in abetter story. I would like to see what he, the cast and crew could dowith a story that has more impetus, like Man on Fire. I may seem alittle harsh because there are no other reviews and I'm trying to covereverything alone; so do your duty - go out and rent it and write anaccompanying review.

jeslouky 2012-05-09 03:04:29

Good Movie about redemption

I was pleasantly Surprised with this movie I felt that it was wellacted and well produced. Would have been better if it was available inBlu-Ray. I thought that the sound track was good and really rocked thesub woofer. I thought that the scene where Charlie was about to getcaptured seemed a bit hard to believe though. Not sure why the Mexicanand Russian gangs would stop for the FBI when they have no jurisdictionin Mexico. I also had a hard time with understanding how Charlieescaped from the bull ring. I also thought that they could havedeveloped Charlie's daughter a little more as well. I thought that theroll of the FBI detective was well played

Bob_the_Hobo 2012-05-08 23:21:07

Very Enjoyable Action Flick

Shame I spent full price on "The Tourist" when "Across the Line" wasleagues more enjoyable for a dollar Redbox rental.Charlie Wright (Aidan Quinn) is a man apart-he ripped off billions fromunsuspecting people in a Las Vegas Ponzi scheme and has retreated toTijuana to escape persecution. His self-imposed exile is quicklyinterrupted by Andy Garcia's character, a Mexican gangster who wants ashot at Charlie's money, as well as Raymond J. Barry and Luke Gossplaying former clients going for revenge.This was a great film about redemption. I'd agree with another reviewerin that it's an "artsy" portrayal, in that the cinematography is vastlybeautiful. The shots of Tijuana and the glimpses of Vegas areastounding for a straight-to-video film.The cast is also great. Aidan Quinn just knocks it out of the park inthe lead role, Luke Goss is great as the leader of a group of thugsthat includes the grossly underrated Bokeem Woodbine, and Andy Garciais pitch-perfect as well. Mario Van Peebles does a great job as thetough federal agent going after Wright."Across the Line" was immensely enjoyable, a cool flick with just theright touches of drama and action. Definitely recommended.

MBunge 2012-05-08 10:19:06

If everybody had killed everybody else, what difference would it have made?

Everything that's wrong with this movie is right there in the title. Itshould have been called either "Across the Line" or "The Exodus ofCharlie Wright". No film should ever have a colon in its title unlessit's a sequel and even that is pushing it. Yeah, I know it seems like anit picky thing, but just read it again. If you're the sort of personwho would be intrigued by something called "The Exodus of CharlieWright", do you really need the stuff before the colon to sell you? Ifyou're the sort of person who responds to something punchier like"Across the Line", are you going to impressed by the pretentious stuffafter that? This title reads like someone crossed a Chuck Norris/StevenSeagal action flick with an art house rumination on personal discovery.It indicates that either the people who made this motion picture didn'tthink hard enough about what kind of story they were telling or thatthere was a struggle over it which was never resolved.Charlie Wright (Aidan Quinn) is a financial con man who steals billionsof dollars through a Ponzi scheme. When FBI agent Hobbs (Mario VanPeebles) moves in to arrest him, Charlie disappears like Houdini from amilk can and resurfaces in Tijuana. He's searching for a woman and herchild, but plenty of people are looking for Charlie besides the FBI.There's Mexican crime boss Jorge Garza (Andy Garcia), who needsCharlie's ill gotten gains to pay off a debt to the Mexico City cartel,and Jorge's younger brother Gabriel (Danny Pino), who's determined tosave his family until he simply gives up. There's also Damon (LukeGoss), a hit-man from the Russian mob who teams with a trio ofmercenaries to get to Charlie before the Garza's do because Charliescammed a hundred million dollars off a pair of Russian mobsters. AsCharlie turns to an insecure, needy, middle aged love muffin (ClaudiaGerri) for information, Agent Hobbs' gay subordinate (Jordan Belfi)walks out of a Tijuana gay bar and sees the fugitive fraudster on thestreet, bringing Hobbs down to Mexico to complete the starting line upin the Charlie Wright Derby.This movie is so typical of early 21st century cinema in so many ways.Not just because a decent amount of money got flushed down the ratholeto produce yet another direct-to-DVD release that will soon vanishbeneath the waves of new releases every week. It's that Across theLine: The Exodus of Charlie Wright shines on the surface but it rottenunderneath. This thing looks good. It's shot well and is nicely paced.The dialog is above average and the cast is more than capable. Theconcept of the story is also solid. Underneath it all, though, is aplot that is a huge minefield of one poorly thought out and illogicalstorytelling mistake after another.Let's start with the basics. Why should anyone care what happens toCharlie Wright? He's a thief and the awful nature of his theft isrepeatedly emphasized, although the only specific victims everypresented are the Russian mobsters. If you're trying to tell the storyof a bad man's redemption, you have to give people some reason to wantto see that bad man redeemed. But you can't diminish his "badness" bypresenting his only visible victims as even worse people because it notonly undermines the whole redemption them, it cripples any interest inwhether the FBI catches him or not. It's the same thing with JorgeGarza. He's presented as a crime lord who's in trouble entirely becauseof his own actions, so why should I care what happens to him? Whyshould I care if Damon and his crew grab Charlie or wind up dead? Thereare either no answers to these questions or the answers are feeblyself-negating.And then there are two essential points in the story that are sounsupported and unsupportable that it's like the Almighty Plot Hammerhas been replaced with the Almighty Plot Jackhammer. At the start,Agent Hobbs' boss (Corbin Bernsen) is enraged at Charlie's escape andis 100%, absolutely, totally and utterly committed to tracking Charliedown and bringing him to justice. T hen when Hobbs brings him the tipabout Charlie being in Tijuana, his boss not only completely disregardsit but actually calls off the whole search for Charlie. And at the end,when there's a literal Mexican standoff between the FBI, the Garza crewand Damon's team over Charlie, the cold blooded mercenaries and theMexican gang simply quit and walk away. Now, maybe you can explain themercenaries walking away because the risk is not worth what they'vebeen paid, although writer/director R. Ellis Frazier clearly thinksDamon making that decision is a big deal even though Frazier's donenothing in this film to justify such importance. But Gabriel Garza isfacing the murder of his older brother and the destruction of hisfamily…and he merely says "Screw it" and gives up? What?I've noticed that each new generation of filmmakers is better andsmarter at how movies look and sound and are edited and all of thosetechnical questions. Simultaneously, they're getting worse and dumberabout the most basic elements of storytelling. The result is movieslike Across the Line: The Exodus of Charlie Wright that are great onfirst glance but fall to pieces if you think about them for 5 seconds.This is not worth your time.

2012-05-08 00:20:13

Good cast, but film miss the mark.

This film had a lot of potential; the plot was jump started and became a moving target never making its point. The good cast held this film together and nice scenes in Mexico were good---but the film never seem completed to me. The script must of been chopped up from the original or something, in the end this film makes for a remake in the future with a top action director to get it going instead of wasting time with facial cream (a nice touch but overkill in film) and other useless scenes.

bptr-1 2012-05-06 23:18:04

Hokey

This movie is almost a bad "made for TV" video. It tries hard to beartsy but has nothing real in that department except some nice guitarmusic and scenery. Aidan Quinn is one of those actors that seems tohave the chops but just comes off as flat all the time. There justisn't much about him to hold your interest in any film. Why is AndyGarcia playing his really cliché Cuban guy who is always wearing whiteand smoking a cigar- tinted glasses too? (the usual problem with movies- giving costume people license to go overboard)? He is supposed to beMexican. Gina Gershon was also silly playing his Mexican wife. The onlyacting in this movie that doesn't come off as hokey is Mario VanPeebles and Claudia Ferri (who played the prostitute and did the bestjob here). By the way, why was the wrinkle cream so important??? Thisis just a list of 'B' actors.There were also some completely implausible things happening in thismovie. How did the Russian mafia guys always seem to know where Charlie(and Garza) was? Why would all the bad guys just walk away at the endbecause one FBI agent had Charlie in custody (100's of millions ofdollars were at stake)? *** Also to the the above reviewer: Garza was clearly not out forrevenge. This makes no sense - he hadn't even had any dealings withCharlie. He just needed money to pay back the people from Mexico City -they made that pretty clear over and over in the movie.**** and a note to all you other reviewers for all IMDb movies: Wheredid all of you get the idea that a review has to contain a synopsis???We don't need to read your long rambling re-telling of the story (witherrors). It reminds me of people all learning that when you read, youhave to talk in a special "reading" tone of voice. It just reeks of badearly teachers.

2012-05-06 13:45:16

Fine acting and great cinematography

Despite the fact that this film was a direct-to-dvd product it still has a lot to offer. The viewers looking for an action-packed film will no doubt be disappointed as there are really only two scenes with violence (but even so both those scenes were fraught with tension and well executed) but viewers who enjoy a film for its characters and ambience will be pleasantly surprised. Charles Wright, a thinly disguised Bernie Madoff type, is a white-collar thief on the run from the FBI. He does not flee to South Africa or Barbados to live out his life in ease and wealth but instead heads directly for Tijuana where he hopes to find the daughter he has never meet. Once there he becomes the focus of three different groups. The Tijuana group, with Andy Garcia doing a great job portraying the pater familias, wants Wright for the money he still has control of in order to get out from under from a group of very serious people from Mexico City. The Russian Mafia group, this headed by the always impressive Luke Goss, wants him for the 100 million dollars he cheated the mafia bosses out of, an insult to heavy to be allowed. And the FBI, with Mario Van Peebles taking the lead, just want him. The interplay between these groups remains interesting throughout the film but the chief drivers are Aiden Quinn as Charles Wright and the actual city of Tijuana. Quinn portrays as man in obvious flight, not only from the law and from creditors but from the waste that he has made of his life. He plays this role well. Using almost no dialog, Quinn still manages to portray a life of pain and self-loathing. Tijuana, which hasn't been portrayed in a film in a very long time, is shown simply for what it is; the seedy and yet human and colorful cancre of Baja California. While Wright is seeking redemption and everyone else is seeking Wright, the film glides to a rather surprising end. The plot is loose at times but the film can bear it. Worth watching.

Siamois 2012-05-01 12:25:17

How to make an international thriller on a budget

Just as his billion dollar financial empire is about to crumble, ascheming businessman evades the authorities and goes on the run. Hot onhis trail are two different crime organizations as well as the FBI.The scope of the story is enormous considering what looks like ashoestring budget but "Across the Line" is what I'd call astraight-to-video thriller done right and much of the credit should goto R. Ellis Frazier who wrote, directed and produced this movie. Frazier has penned a classic thriller which would end up below averagebut thanks to the different story threads he has crafted as well as anattention and love for the characters and the setting, it rises frommediocrity. The direction is gritty, down to earth yet tasteful andaesthetic enough for the genre, with tight editing and a great score. However, where this movie shines the most is probably in the actingdepartment when again, we consider this is a straight-to-videothriller. This movie's casting stands out in all ways. Aidan Quinnstars as Charlie Wright, the con men on the run who now seems hauntedby his past. Quinn is simply amazing and it is almost unfortunate tosee him give such a performance in a movie that will give himabsolutely no chance of recognition at any kind of award ceremony. Andy Garcia is also breathtaking as a crime lord. Far from the standardcaricature of the merciless, threatening boss, Garcia plays up thefragility of his character due to past failures. There is a lot ofdepth here thanks to Frazier's writing and Garcia's portrayal. Everyother cast member is good or even better. Even Van Peebles, who hasmailed performances in so many direct-to-video lemons gives a betterthan usual performance. Despite Quinn getting the lion's share of screen time, this is verymuch a story with an ensemble of characters, a dozen or so. Many ofthose given more attention than we are used to, even in biggerproductions. There are few action sequences here but one stands out in the middle ofthe film. An intense shootout that may not be as spectacular as MichaelMann's Heat or Christopher McQuarrie's Way of the Gun but is closeenough and memorable as well as unpredictable.The film is not without flaws and unfortunately, loses steam in thelast third or so. Clocking at around 90 minutes, there could have beena few more twists and turns and an added 15 to 30 minutes furtherexploring some of the characters. Perhaps due to the short runningtime, the film also relies a bit too much on unlikely coincidences andcertain characters crossing path a little too often. But all in all, this is great writing by Frazier (who seems to favorstories taking place south of the border), a solid directorial effortand some smart choices as a producer to surround himself with actorswhose stars may have faded a little but are still able to deliver greatperformances.I'll be sure to watch Frazier's next effort.

2012-05-01 06:59:24

A Corrupt Banker, A Lady of the Night and the singer from Bros!

This is one of those films that is hard to review; I actually enjoyed it but was left sort of unfulfilled. It is based on the true story of Charlie Wright. His investment company carried out a Ponzi scam investment and by the time the balloon went up, he had managed to get at least a couple of billion dollars into offshore bank accounts. There was over ten million gone in the first place so this made this Americas biggest ever investment fraud.Charlie (Aiden Quinn) realises the game is up and decides, not unreasonably some might say, to do a runner with the cash; we must not judge he has been brought up in the world of investment bankers after all.The problem is one of his unfortunate clients is a boss in the Russian mob. They decide to hire a specialist gun who will get him and bring the money back. Enter Damon (a lean looking Luke Goss of eighties cr@p band `Bros' or `Toss' as I used to call them). He gets together a crew and starts looking for their man, and they are seriously tooled up. Meanwhile Charlie has turned up in Tijuana, Mexico to search out the one woman who truly loved him. That love was however twenty years ago and of course he used her and then abandoned her to become a real banker.I am forgetting `the feds', yeah they are always involved and this lot are headed up by a statesman like Mario Van Peebles as Agent Hobbs. His boss is the usual ball breaker who wants Wright to come back and face the music no matter what. Third problem for the unassuming thief (sorry I mean banker) Mr Wright is that he is in Tijuana which belongs to Jorge Garza, sort of small time crime lord of the border crossing and played by a bearded Andy Garcia who has some debts and knows he can shake down Charlie if he gets there first.So the scene is set and there are some very good moments and some solid performances especially so given the sparse script, a fact which is only apparent on reflection. Quinn puts in an excellent performance as does Van Peebles, I thought Goss was being a bit Jason Statham at one point, but that was me being a biatch, he is actually quite good and I hope he gets more roles as he does have something to bring to the party. The real problem is the outcomes which just lack a bit they are either pandering to the real outcome, in which case it did not happen like this or it is al made up, either way this is one for the journey and not the destination. It has had mixed reviews, but it is above average and not 3 stars or really 4, but I have rounded up and not down hence the rating. I must finish by saying despite the moral decrepitude of everything Charlie Wright did, Quinn brings such humanity to the role that you can't help ending up liking him, now that is some feat.

2012-04-26 13:43:32

????

WTF ? That's what you'll be asking yourself watching this movie, as in Why The F*** don't I turn this movie off. No story development, 3/4 of the time you have no idea of what or why things are happening, the other 1/4 you don't care. Stare at a blank TV screen for 90 minutes or so, it'll be better than watching this dog.

rightwingisevil 2012-04-25 17:53:53

A very watchable low-budget fugitive thriller

Nice screenplay writer who did the nice directing. The casting wasgreat, the acting of all the actors on both sides of the border werealso top-notched. There was a very strong nostalgic feeling andmelancholy touch throughout the whole movie. Rarely a movie wouldportray from so many angles from so many different parties: The FBIagent in charge with a big heart, the loyal FBI young agent with adubious gender mix-up, the two past prime Russian mafia, the hiredhit-man and hit team from U.S., the desperate Don of the MexicanNorthern Cartel(Andy Garcia was so great in this movie), his youngerbrother(a very cool Mexican actor), his wife, then, there's the lonelyMexican whore, the scamming con artist(Quinn also did a great and veryreserved job) who's so desperately trying to locate his estrangedMexican lover and their love's product, a daughter the guy never metbefore. All these ingredients were put together so smooth, andsometimes, very poetically beautiful.The gun fight scenes were carried out pretty good, the sound track, thecamera, the editing, the colors...they are all very classy. An obviouslow budget movie, but definitely not a B movie, the production moneywas well spent. Absolutely worth watching.

2012-04-23 02:21:37

Just waiting to die ...

This review is from: Across The Line (DVD) Compared to the first movie, this was tepid.Characters were waiting to die.The plot was weak.Good for passing time only ...

2012-04-22 17:15:14

NOT MUCH ACTION

Charlie Wright is Bernie Made-off type who has swindled a bunch of people. The FBI is following him, waiting on a warrant to arrest him. Wright manages to elude the FBI is a parking garage just as the warrant is signed and they move in. The can account for all of his money except for $1.6 billion dollars. Charlie takes off to Tijuana and lives a life below the radar looking for a bar girl name Victoria/ Crystal who worked there 20 years ago and her daughter (not hard to figure out why). A drunken FBI agent in Tijuana gets a glimpse of Charlie and reports he is there. Somehow the Russian mafia finds out too, a plot point I missed out on. So now in Mexico, multiple groups are looking for Charlie: FBI, the Russian Mafia who gave him 100 million to invest, and a Mexican crime boss who owes money and needs Charlie's money so he (Crime boss) can stay alive.Charlie has no special fighting skills, he just hides. There are slow scenes which introduce the kindly Mexican crime boss and the Russian mafia boss. Most of the scenes are slow paced. The theme of the movie is about redemption as we get older, attempting to right some of our wrongs before we cross that final line.