Based on the last George Gallo written and directed movie I saw, about this time last year, 2009 'Middle Men', I expected 'Columbus Circle' to be a fairly good movie. I really enjoyed Middle Men and recommend it without hesitation; I'll view it again soon and write a review then. 'Columbus Circle', unlike 'Middle Men' which was based on a true story, has a much weaker script, if I go by what I saw; it is more of a mystery thriller and that, in my opinion, meant the script ought to have been stronger. But, since most of the action is predictable, at least the ending scenes weren't, thank god, it fails to captivate as it should. I was not tempted to give up because it had the potential to be more suspenseful than it is; it however, to me, wasn't captivating enough. The movie's cinematography, though filmed in New York City and many of the scenes were indoors, was pleasing; I had not seen N.Y. City's Columbus Circle before in a movie and not even when I had the pleasure to visit and work there in the past. That was a plus for me, but won't matter much to most viewers.
Giovanni Ribisi and Kevin Pollak, both of whom were in 'Middle Men', had smaller parts than I would have hoped for, especially Ribisi. They are talented and experienced actors; giving them so little to do in the movie was somewhat of a waste, especially Ribisi. The two main actors, Selma Blair and Amy Smart fared just adequately, not much more, but I attribute that again to a weak script (and perhaps weak direction), because I've seen what they can do and they could have had meatier scenes and dialogue (dialogue in particular) the likes of which I know they can handle. I've said it before and I'll say it again, about Amy Smart, she needs to pick better gigs. I watch far more movies than the average person, so my expectations and benchmark did not help my evaluation; I admit many will like and enjoy this movie I'm certain. I don't think the more discriminating viewer will disagree with me however; also, European movie fans will find it falls short of the usual mystery/thriller they may be accustomed to watch.
Giovanni Ribisi and Kevin Pollak, both of whom were in 'Middle Men', had smaller parts than I would have hoped for, especially Ribisi. They are talented and experienced actors; giving them so little to do in the movie was somewhat of a waste, especially Ribisi. The two main actors, Selma Blair and Amy Smart fared just adequately, not much more, but I attribute that again to a weak script (and perhaps weak direction), because I've seen what they can do and they could have had meatier scenes and dialogue (dialogue in particular) the likes of which I know they can handle. I've said it before and I'll say it again, about Amy Smart, she needs to pick better gigs. I watch far more movies than the average person, so my expectations and benchmark did not help my evaluation; I admit many will like and enjoy this movie I'm certain. I don't think the more discriminating viewer will disagree with me however; also, European movie fans will find it falls short of the usual mystery/thriller they may be accustomed to watch.