Diagonaldi Very well executed

Libramedi Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

helpless_dancer Bizarrely funny comedy that keeps the viewers on their toes as a bevy of characters flit all over town chasing an illusive 900 dollar payoff, but not for exactly what each supposes. Good dialogue and hilarious situations make for a snappy, fast paced film which appears to be going much more slowly.

Mark Tyler Hi-life is a quiet movie. It has a combination of good acting, a pleasing script, and its completely unpretentious.A good comparison would be to "Nobody's Fool" with Paul Newman, and in some ways this is a sort of urban version.The characterizations are wonderful. Ray the bartender seems a rather hard unyielding type, but as the movie progresses we find out he's anything but unsympathetic.Peter Reigert has a wonderful character part as a barfly-come-debt-enforcer who dishes out advice on women that he doesn't follow.Charles Durning has a great little role as "Fatty", and I couldn't leave off discussing acting without mentioning the late Katrin Cartlidge, who gives a lovely performance as a lush with a crush.All in all, even if you don't care for quiet little movies, put this one on the tube at Christmas time.

exit127 I kind of liked this flic'. It's one of those movies that you catch whilst flicking through the movie channels and you see and actor you like and say, I'll give this a chance.This is a movie that involves lies, gambling debt, abortion, gunpoint muggings and heartbreak, but not at one point will you become exited, mainly because the film is flat. Every shot is one dimensional and maybe the writer, who is also the director should stick to just writing.I am sure that this is a really good screenplay to read because I enjoyed the dialogue very much. I would also think that this is the reason that there was such a well known cast. It would have made a great piece for radio. Out of ten I would have to go with a five.

jward-6 Hi-life is a complicated tale of friends and acquaintances trying to outwit and bamboozle each other over a gambling debt only a few are privy to. Each of the finely scripted characters gets drawn into the conspiracy for their own reasons, being deceived by the previous conspirator yet remaining unaware of the others. Taking place one evening in a nondescript New York neighborhood, it's the tale of ordinary people living mundane lives complicated by love, hate, ego, and chicanery, yet each are a charming mixture of goodness and banality much like every one of us. The complicated plot comes together at closing time in the Hi-Life Bar where all the characters meet and their deceptions are revealed. The script is witty, the acting is first rate, and one hates to see the story end.