Teringer An Exercise In Nonsense

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Myron Clemons A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

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.

GwydionMW Definitely not realistic. Every damn character is improbable. A mob boss trusting a delicate operation to someone who's not worked for him for years is ridiculous. Likewise him recruiting three incompetents and not picking up obvious signs that one of them should be kept well away from the 'front line'.But if the intention was humour, there is a lot too much real suffering for any normal person to laugh.Also it's racist. There is a major black character, but he does nothing sensible. Other blacks are shown as incompetent.And evil characters get their own sort of heaven? What sort of fool scripted it?

seymourblack-1 This entertaining crime drama uses a very familiar type of plot to showcase the amusing eccentricities of a bunch of criminals who come together to carry out a job for a ruthless mobster. The action is often violent and the body count is high but there are also moments of humour and romance that add enormously to the enjoyment of the piece.Like "2 Days In The Valley" (1996), "Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead" followed in the wake of Quentin Tarantino's great successes of the early 1990s and the influences of "Pulp Fiction" and more obviously, "Reservoir Dogs" are apparent throughout.Jimmy "The Saint" Tosnia (Andy Garcia) is a retired gangster who's in a difficult position because his legitimate business called "Afterlife Advice" is losing money. To make matters worse, his debt to some loan sharks is actually owned by his old crime boss who's known as "The Man With A Plan" (Christopher Walken) and he wants Jimmy to carry out "an action" for him. Jimmy's in no position to refuse and so rounds up four members of his old gang."The Man With A Plan" has a son who, after having been dumped by his girlfriend, turned to child molesting. Jimmy's old boss wants the girlfriend's new fiancé to be scared off in the hope that she'll then decide to reconcile with her previous beau and steer him back into acting normally again!!! Jimmy then arranges for two of his gang members to pose as police officers in a stunt that goes terribly wrong and ends up with both the fiancé and the girlfriend being killed.Predictably, "The Man With A Plan" doesn't take this news well and hires a contract killer called Mr Shhh (Steve Buscemi) to kill the four gang members in the most painful ways possible and then orders Jimmy to leave Denver within 48 hours or he'll suffer the same fate. Jimmy decides not to leave immediately because he wants to see Dagney (Gabrielle Anwar), the beautiful girl he's fallen in love with, his gang members, who he tries to help in any way that he can and Lucinda (Fairuza Balk), a hooker who values his friendship. Unfortunately, by delaying his departure from Denver for so long, Jimmy even starts to put his own life in danger.It's the quirky characters in this movie that provide most of its entertainment and dark humour. Jimmy is very suave, charming and extremely loyal to his friends and his tendency to put others before himself and to do what's noble is fitting for someone who's nicknamed "The Saint". Gang member Pieces (Christopher Lloyd) is a projectionist in a cinema that only shows porn movies and suffers from a disease which causes parts of his body to drop off unexpectedly. Franchise (William Forsythe) runs a trailer park and has a wife who's desperate for him not to get involved with the gang again and Critical Bill (Treat Williams) is a highly volatile, psychotic ex-con who works in a morgue and tries to control his violent urges by beating up corpses which he strings up to use as punch bags. Easy Wind (Bill Nunn) is the forth member of the gang who works in the pest control business and hates Critical Bill because of something bad that went on in prison.Although it's undeniably derivative and contains some dubious dialogue (e.g. "girls who glide need guys who make them thump"), "Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead" does have an offbeat appeal, numerous funny moments and some great acting by its wonderful cast. Andy Garcia, Treat Williams and Chrispoher Walken are particularly good and there's also a great soundtrack and an appearance by Buddy Guy to enjoy.

Spikeopath Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead is directed by Gary Fleder and written by Scott Rosenberg. It stars Andy Garcia, Christopher Lloyd, William Forsythe, Bill Nunn, Treat Williams, Steve Buscemi and Christopher Walken. Music is by Michael Convertino and cinematography by Elliot Davis.Jimmy the Saint (Garcia) is a ex-gangster who finds one of his debts has been bought up by his ex boss, The Man With the Plan (Walken). The Man wants Jimmy to assemble a crew to put the frighteners on a guy who stole the girlfriend of his son, Bernard (Michael Nicolosi), who has been so traumatised by the break up he has taken to "bothering" young girls. Calling on four of his old comrades in crime, Jimmy feels it's a simple job that will finally clear him of his gangster debt whilst earning his hard up pals some cash. However, in fighting threatens to destabilise the group and when the "job" invariably goes wrong they all have to deal with the vengeful aftermath of The Man With the Plan.You wanna throw those pathetic yuks some scratch, I applaud your sensitivity.One of a number of films that surfed in on the wave created by Pulp Fiction, Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead is a nifty and potent picture at times, with sharp dialogue, moments of brutalising and a fire-cracker of a neo-noir finale. Yet it's hurt considerably by the ridiculousness of the set up. Film hinges on a "shake down" arrangement that just comes off as a weak excuse for a film, in fact it's bad writing. There are a myriad of ways to set up a heist gone wrong and then have the crims be on the run for their lives, this set up is just pathetic. Buscemi's hit man is poorly conceived, with some glaring conflicting in the characterisation, while the Anwar (beautiful and leaving a good impression) love interest angle could have had much more made of it if the makers had had the courage of their convictions.Give it a name.Still, if you can allow the annoyance of the crappy set up to subside, then there's strong noir themes to indulge in here. A one time bad boy struggling to escape his past and characters stuck in a bleak destiny influenced rut they can't get out of. There's a pervading sense of depression hanging over the film, which in a twisted way makes for good film, while the character dynamics are strong because the characters are very memorable. Helps, too, that they have awesome names like Jimmy the Saint, Critical Bill, Franchise and Mister Shhh! Acting is very good, with Garcia earning his quality pathos stripes, Williams doing psycho with ease, Forsythe a mighty machismo presence, Lloyd resigned and pitiless and Walken turning in another in his long line of bitter scary bastards.Worthy of interest to neo-noir fans for sure, but frustration sits in the narrative to stop it being an essential viewing. 6.5/10

billcr12 Jimmy the saint(Andy Garcia) is a former gangster trying to go straight with an "afterlife" business where he videotapes the dying for the surviving relatives and friends. He gets lured back into the crime world for one last job by. Theman with the plan(Christopher Walken). Jimmy recruits Critical Bill(Treat Williams), in his darkest role, and Christopher Lloyd as Pieces. Jimmy and his crew set up an a abduction dressed as police officers and it all goes horribly wrong. The violence is intense, but the black humor is in the style of Quentin Tarantino, crisp and hilarious.Steve Buscemi shows up later on as a hit man, and he has never been better. I won't give away any more of the story but will just say that it is one of the best crime capers I've ever see..