SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

ElWormo A film that almost looks, sounds, and feels like it should be up there with other impeccably cool and hard-hitting 90s movies such as Pulp Fiction, Usual Suspects, Fargo, Seven and the like, but unfortunately falls down when you start to scratch beneath the surface.Firstly the film is not without merit. It does have some snappy, memorable lines of dialogue in the script. Christopher Walken puts in a nicely menacing bad guy performance. Also as mentioned it does manage to maintain some level of at least looking like a happening slice of cult 90s cinema.The problem was that I kept repeatedly being pulled out of the film and forced to think one of two things by what was going down on the screen: either (a) That would never ever happen in real life, but am I supposed to think it would? or (b) Is this supposed to actually be a comedy, because if so its not funny.Way too many scenes stretched credulity beyond breaking point, while others just seemed like completely inappropriate attempts at random humour. Also another gripe would be that for a lead character Andy Garcia doesn't really have the screen presence or attitude necessary to carry off the role (at least he doesn't here anyway, I'm not saying he's a bad actor).I can understand why this has got some great reviews just because of the type of movie it is, and I don't doubt that some people genuinely love it, but it didn't work for me.

jcbutthead86 Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead is an excellent and very underrated Gangster Film/Crime Drama that is filled with great direction,an amazing cast,a terrific script and a wonderful soundtrack and is a one of the most Underrated Gangster Movies and Crime Dramas of all time.Set in Denver,Colorado,Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead tells the story of an ex-Gangster named Jimmy 'The Saint' Tosnia(Andy Garcia)who has gone straight and is running a legitimate business and things are going well for Jimmy until his former Boss local crime lord called The Man With The Plan(Christopher Walken)hires Jimmy to do a job for him which makes Jimmy call up his old crew. But when the job goes wrong Jimmy is allowed to live but the rest of his crew are going to be killed and Jimmy has to save his crew before it's too late.Released in 1995,Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead is an amazing and underrated Gangster Film Crime Drama that unfortunately came out a year after Quentin Tarantino's masterpiece Pulp Fiction and was a big failure at the Box Office and many critics dismissed the film and wrote it off Denver as a Pulp Fiction knockoff and a pale imitation of Quentin Tarantino's films. Thankfully,since it's 1995 release Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead has earned respect and a Cult Following over the years and is seen as the great Gangster film and Crime Drama that it is. TTDIDWYD is a great film that gives viewers a look at the city of Denver,Colorado that we have never seen before in movies or television because when you think of the city of Denver you think snow,trees,mountains and the Winter cold,but,with TTDIDWYD viewers are shown a gritty part of Denver,Colorado that wrapped in the world of Gangsters and Film Noir attitudes where the characters are tough and dark and a world where crime and death is in the air and is a world where the characters follow the laws of the streets and violence is the only way to survive. This movie is a Gangster Film and Film Noir that has some of the familiar trademarks of the two genres such as Gangsters,criminals and shows a dark underworld that is cynical and brutal but this film gives us a Gangster movie and Film Noir in a much different style and language that is creative as well as harsh and surreal pulling viewers into a world that's all it's own. This is a film that is also filled with cool and sharp style and great substance and is a film that grabs you by the throat and never lets you go until the very end and you are glued to the screen wanting to know what happens next and the plot and story moves along at a great pace with unexpected surprises. What I also love about the film is that despite being a Gangster movie and Crime Drama there is a lot of heart and depth with some of the main characters where you feel like Jimmy and some of the other characters wanted to do more with their life. Jimmy The Saint is a great character because even though he wears suits and is cool he wants to lead a straight life away from the Crime world and looking love and trying to find his own morality in the dangerous world he lives and works in and the way Jimmy works with his crew and the way he is outside of his criminal life truly makes Jimmy a very complex character. The screenplay by Scott Rosenberg is amazing and well-written,with Rosenberg giving the main characters great dialog that is original and fresh,gritty and riveting and at the same time darkly funny and offbeat. The great screenplay is one of the things that makes this film wonderful. The violence in the film is brutal,dark and shocking because you never know where or when the violence is going to happen and the violence fits with the tone of the film. The ending of the film is amazing because while the ending is tragic and sad the ending will leave you with an optimistic feeling and will put a smile on viewers faces. A great conclusion.The cast does great jobs in their roles. Andy Garcia is excellent Jimmy 'The Saint' Tosnia,with Garcia bringing,coolness,intensity and depth to the role. Christopher Lloyd,(Pieces),,William Forsythe(Franchise),Bill Nunn(Easy Wind)and Treat Williams(Critical Bill)all do great jobs as Jimmy's old crew. Christopher Walken is amazing as The Man With The Plan,Jimmy's old boss. Steve Buscemi is riveting and memorable as Mr. Shush,a deadly hit-man. Jack Warden is great as Joe Heff,a guy who's telling the film's story. Gabrielle Anwar is fantastic and sexy as Dagney,Jimmy's love interest. Fairuza Balk is wonderful and memorable as Lucinda,a local prostitute. Bill Cobbs(Malt),Marshall Bell(Lt. Atwater),Michael Nicolosi(Bernard)and Glenn Plummer(Baby Sinister)give good performances as well. Also,lookout for appearances by Don Cheadle(Rooster),Jenny McCarthy(Blonde Nurse)and Tiny Lister Jr.(House)The direction by Gary Fleder is brilliant and stylish,with Fleder always moving the camera and bringing a dark and gritty visual style to the film. Great direction,Fleder.The score by Michael Corvertino is great,dark and mysterious and matches the film's Noirish tone. Wonderful score,Convertino. The film also has a fantastic soundtrack with songs by Warren Zevon(Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead),Johnny Cash(Folsom Prison Blues),Ice-T(Mind Over Matter),Blues Traveler(Get Out Of Denver),Tom Waits(Jockey Full Of Bourbon),Louis Armstong(Makin' Whoopee),Bing Crosby(AC-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive),Dean Martin(You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You),Cachao(Lluvia,Viento Y Cana,Rain,Wind And Reed,A Gozer Con Mi Combo,To Rejoice With My Combo),The Neville Brothers with Buddy Guy(Born Under A Bad Sign)and more. Fantastic soundtrack.In final word,if you love Gangster Films,Film Noir,Crime Dramas or films in general,I highly suggest you see Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead,an excellent and very Underrated Gangster film,Film Noir and Crime Drama that you can watch again and again. Highly Recommended. 10/10.

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

ElMaruecan82 "Things To Do in Denver When You're Dead ": among the many feelings this titular sentence evokes to me, the first and major one is the constant frustration about the misunderstanding that surrounds this little gem of a film. Using the word 'overrated' to describe it is almost obscene. Cinema is full of mysteries and one of the most blatant is how the hell there is not any ounce of recognition to one of the freshest and most original crime flicks of the nineties. Some wiser minds would argue that this film had the unfortunate fate to be released after "Pulp Fiction", and then would automatically pale in comparison with Tarantino's original masterpiece. For me, it doesn't and I would go as far as saying that this film is simply "Pulp Fiction" with a heart.The script was written before "Pulp Fiction"'s release, which makes the coincidence even more tragic since we can all agree that there is a Tarantinesque mood inhabiting the film. But that doesn't diminish its merit, on the contrary, the writing is only one of the most fascinating aspects of the film, the screenplay is so confidently meaningful it will unexpectedly immerse you into the depths of human psychology. The story is crucial to appreciate the beauty of the script and this is precisely why I said 'unexpectedly' : the movie will surprise you. I will never forget the first time I saw it, it blew me away. More than a crime film, it's a story of friendship à la "Once Upon a Time in America" and redemption à la "Mean Streets", two classic cinematic themes … but how many other gangster films make you also think about the meaning of life? The story is centered on one character: Jimmy "The Saint" portrayed by the great Andy Garcia as an ex-criminal, one who redeemed himself, and runs now a very particular business. This, Tarantino didn't invent, and no other movies did, there's at least one inventive element we might concede to the film. The business consists on making testimonial clips of people about to die, letting some posthumous advice and guidances to their beloved ones. This 'after-world' business, not only maintains the feeling that these dead persons are still alive, but works as a great plot element driving the film. The various real-life situations featured in Denver's neighborhoods are accompanied with these lessons, like one about the magic of the first date when Jimmy was in the restaurant with the exquisite Dagney, played by Gabrielle Anwar. The whole film is punctuated with short but moving intermission about girls, life, death and love… and the whole story is like another illustration of these life lessons.Jimmy's pivotal life moment occurs when he's approached by two thugs who work for The-Man-With-The-Plan, Christopher Walken in my favorite of his villainous roles. Jimmy has a debt with The-Man : regrettable omission for an unconventional mission. It's the kind of missions you don't know if it's so simple,it will work or so screwed up it will inevitably fail. The-Man's dim-witted son Bernard, psychologically hurt by a painful break-up, was seen attacking a little girl in the playground, the guy is no pedophile though, just so mentally ill he tries to reach love by the most desperate ways. He's a pathetic victim, he lost his mother in an accident, and his surviving father has such a weird perception of love, he asks Jimmy and his men, to discourage the boyfriend of Bernard's ex and convince her to go back to Bernard. What a schedule! And the team is one of the most irresistible aspects of the film, they're all here : the unsung heroes of the gangster genre. I mentioned "Once Upon a Time in America" ... well, the movie reunites the great William Forsythe as "Franchise" the tattooed good-family-man, and Treat Williams as the unforgettable "Critical" Bill, a man whose nickname is the understatement of the year. I don't want to spoil it for you, but Williams is a show stealer in every single scene, as the man whose hobby it to 'work up' by punching the dead bodies in the undertaking business he works in. The rest of the team features Bill Nunn as "Easy Wind" and Christopher Lloyd, who makes a memorable come-back as "Pieces", the veteran, who works as a porn cinema projectionist struggling with his leprosy. A cool and magnetic ensemble cast supported by other great roles including Fairuza Balk as Lucinda, the crack-whore whose only addiction that's not a drug is her sincere love for Jimmy, Steve Buscemi as the scary professional hit-man Mr "Shh" and last but not least, the late Jack Warden, as the one who tells us the story like an amusing anecdote, creating a feeling of intimacy and sympathy toward this colorful gallery.This is the set-up of the film, a bunch of men asked to accomplish a last financially promising job before retirement, men who tries to turn their back to the past, each one in a personal way. All they have to do is the job. Of course, when you get the idea of Jimmy's business and when you memorize the title, you understand that the film won't have the happiest cinematic ending ever ... Not that it leaves you in a depressing mood though : the film actually "glides" with a beautiful view on life, so if you haven't seen it, just enter this world and let yourself transported by its script, so full of wit and beautiful metaphors about life, especially a very poignant one from Christopher Lloyd.Watch this film to finally get the meaning of "Buckwheat" or "Boat Drinks!" and be among the privileged fans who embarked the boat of "Things to Do in Denver", a crime film whose only criminal aspect is to live forever in the shadow of "Pulp Fiction" and to be so severely underrated