Dead Dogs Lie (2001) User Reviews

One for a soccer mom....who thought The Piano was the BOMB!

[loosenut · 8/10 · 20 April 2002]

First of all of you if film going soccer moms would face real life then do it and quit whining about it or if you want keep looking for warm fuzzies, the English Patient or the Piano should blow your skirt up, otherwise you just might find sex more than due benevolence. The story sucked, ice cube...predictable, Flanagan, a real man raised in the streets of Glasgow, and that is where he get is his intensity.. He learned the hard way, survival in the streets of of a crime infested city. Ever had a knife held to your throat? He has, many times, and those real life experiences are what created his intensity. It shows in his delivery and chills the audience. It's natural talent from surviving in the gjetto not from some light in the loafer's drama teacher. So sit their in your recliner and imagine what it's like to hid behind a dumpster in an ally for 9 hours while your are being hunted sown….,you couldn't if you tried. Yea the movie wasn't too great but once again Flanagan's street savvy shines through. So they used the dreaded "N" word....who cares, Ms. Ostrich, its real life and so are his scars. And so is this guy....no drama classes...BTW....he is Scottish. Just watch him....

Trash City Film Blitz Review

[scott_tissue · 6/10 · 16 May 2003]

Three killers (Flanagan, Stretch and Hayes) are sent on a road trip/murder spree by their boss. Apart from being killers, they don't initially have much in common; so when they discover they've previously screwed up in various ways, is that the cold scent of retribution in the air? Just when you think all possible hitmen movies have been done, along comes this, rejuvenating the usual cliches - killer with a heart, hitwoman who had a bad childhood - with fresh execution (pun fully intended) and a host of strong performances. Stretch is the biggest surprise, given he's best known for being former British light-middleweight champion; here, he's like a psychotic version of Kurt Cobain. Flanagan and Hayes are equally good: hayes delivers the best burger-joint scene since FALLING DOWN, while Flanagan gets to shoot a dog - but it's okay because he agonises wonderfully about it beforehand. It's particularly captivating, because a lot of this movie is no more than three characters talking, yet it still commands your attention. If the ending is perhaps a let-down, this is probably the kind of film you'd be sorry to see end, regardless of how it happened. If you're thinking it's Tarantino-esque, you might be right, yet it leaves all his self-indulgent baggage behind, and is instead beautifully tight, with hardly a wasted moment.