Catch .44 - 2011

Annapurna Productions, Emmett/Furla Films, Benaroya Pictures

Written and Directed by Aaron Harvey

Cast:

• Tes – Malin Akerman
• Sara – Reila Aphrodite
• Dawn – Deborah Ann Woll
• Sheriff Conners – Brad Dourif
• Ronny – Forest Whitaker
• Billy – Shea Whigham
• Mel – Bruce Willis

Story: In a crappy little, backwater diner in Texas, three young gals are about to rip off both drugs and money from two couriers when all hell breaks loose. Two of the girls are killed, along with a waitress, a driver, and a couple of tourists, leaving Tes and Billy, the cook, in a Mexican Standoff. But how did it all start? In the vein of Pulp Fiction and other film noir hits, we get flashbacks in bits and pieces to tell us how Tes got taken in to Mel's organization. Mel is the head man, the man running heroin and other drugs up and down from Mexico. He recruits Tes from one of his strip club / dives to work for him. But after three years the bloom is off the rose, so Tes and her friends are set up in the diner. How does it work out? You gotta watch the film.

Review: Film Noir is a lasting art form that rarely comes across for the general audience, and this film is no exception. Catch .44 is a gritty, no frills film with some excellent acting by both the principles and the cameo players. Bruce Willis and Brad Dourif are the supporting actors in this little drama, with Forest Whitaker taking the lead as Willis' second in command. Malin Akerman, Reila Aphrodite, and Deborah Ann Woll are excellent as the three clueless women who are thrust into a situation they were never meant to control. Most of the rest of the cast is window dressing, and the plot boils down to who lives through this dark drama. If you like Pulp Fiction or the old 40's style detective story, you'll probably enjoy this hour and a half of raw action. Rated R for violence, language and nudity, put this one back on the video store shelf after you've watched it.