Pawn Shop Chronicles (2013) User Reviews

lords of the ring

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 31 August 2013]

"The Cooler" director Wayne Kramer's "Pawn Shop Chronicles" is the latest in a string of movies about a bunch of people who don't necessarily meet but have a connection. And it's a really crazy movie at that. The connection here is a pawnshop in Louisiana and a ring. My favorite segment was the first one, just because of the characters' fun-loving attitudes. There is at least one scene that tests what you're willing to watch.

Yes, it's a pretty weird movie, but I liked it, especially Brendan Fraser's Elvis impersonator. The graphic novel approach also gives the movie an impressive dimension. Just remember that it's NOT for the squeamish.

So yes, why are racists supposed to hate Jews?

Funny, bizarre, pointless in a good way

[statixsc · 6/10 · 22 July 2013]

After reading a few reviews about this and seeing the cast, how could this be a bad film? I wasn't expecting any of it. Mostly the film was funny and had some really odd segments which break the usual viewing experience which i found kept me watching the whole way through.

all of the acting in this film is pretty spot on with what is going on, seeing some actors well out of their usual roles really sold the characters to me. Make no mistake however, the film i found was pointless. It switches its character so many times by the half way mark you really don't know what to expect next which i found was the charm of the whole film. Stuff happens, it gets resolved and its all well done in the process. I have to say for a blind pick film this film is something you have to watch to get what i mean with its bizarre nature. Im not sure what message its supposed to be giving, what the film is actually about but all loose ends are tied up . . . what actually happened near the end? I thought it was a good film.

Falls flat towards the end

[horizon2008 · 7/10 · 14 July 2013]

I literally was laughing out loud at a few of the early scenes from this movie. I sat there thinking, yeah, this is my kinda thing. The meth-heads part was brilliant and the ring part too right up until the rescue. But.... then it all just went limp. I liked the idea of things being interlinked with the pawn shop, but what the hell was going on at the end? All the early promise just seemed to dissipate. What a let down. Such a shame because this could have had cult written all over it. A smart and darkly funny little indie flick, with decent acting all the way through, but alas, it got murdered by the end. What a shame indeed. But the first half is certainly worth seeing.

What a superb cast! They were all good!!!

[felix-rosalez · 7/10 · 1 September 2013]

I rated it so high people, I know, let me explain. I thought the movie followed a format, such as when one scene starts, it just keeps going and going.... In order of the best acting performances: #1 Matt Dillon, then Brandon Fraser, Paul Walker (different acting style for him),Vincent Denofrio, Elijah Wood (he loves those eerie roles, such as w/ Sin City he was evil), Thomas Cage (a hero in this movie), Kevin Ranklin, Ashley Simpson (I knew it was her when I 1st saw her!). One of the best and refreshing movies I've seen in a long time. This is just one pure high energy ride bcz of the actors just really got into their roles. WHoever picked this cast was an expert, this is a huge monumental achievement, in my opin. It has an intense script, drugs, violence, shootings, every scene is packed with superb actors with a plan of action. I'd like to hear what Quentin T has to say about this movie.

A darkly funny, entertaining and fun movie that I enjoyed. I love movies like this. One event affects strangers. I say B

[cosmo_tiger · 6/10 · 13 July 2013]

"I went into a pawn shop and found it. It was like God brought me there." Alton is the owner of a local pawn shop. One day a kid comes in with a ring to pawn. This innocent event triggers something that affects many people including a group of meth addicts, an Elvis impersonator, and the original owner of the ring. I really like this type of movie. Movies where one event connects a wide variety of people and the stories all end up converging. They are fun to watch and are usually well written. The best of this type is obviously Crash but there have been others. That said, this is watchable, funny and entertaining but nothing amazing. The best part of this movie is Brendan Frasier as Elvis, it took me a while to realize it was him, but he was really funny and great in this. There is some really dark humor in this but there is also main stream humor, there is a little bit of everything in this. I liked it but it's not something I think I would watch again. Overall, funny and entertaining. A fun one time watch. I give it a B.

Generally terrible

[adeviller · 1/10 · 27 July 2013]

There is ignorance and then there is this horrible movie. I made this account to review this movie. It was offensive in the worst way. It didn't help me learn anything, or make me grow as a person, it just was offensive. I cannot believe that anyone would sign on to this movie. The talent was amazing, the performances were amazing, the script was horrid. I literally feel dirty after watching this movie. I am not a prudish person, I watch fhv and laugh at the same joke 50 times, but this was just terrible. I will die a happy man if this review stops even one person from watching this abomination. Personal opinions aside great cinematography, great acting. all that aside you can call a piece of sh#t a gift, but at the end of the day it is still just a waste of space.

Strange movie, but it's a good kind of strange.

[janssuh-2 · 8/10 · 24 August 2013]

This is the first time I write a review for a movie, not that this movie needs one. But it deserves it. Because the first time I heard of Pawn Shop Chronicles, I thought the History channel made a movie about a very bad reality series. But don't let the title fool you. This one the best triptych i ever seen. Just watch it, I'll guarantee it, you'll have great time.

If you are a Pulp Fiction fan, you'll definitely appreciate this movie. Excellent and out of their "usual comfort zone" performances from some of the most under-appreciated and underestimated actors in Hollywood. Watch the movie and you'll understand it.

A good mix

[TheVideoGameScrub · 7/10 · 25 June 2022]

This mixture of characters kept my interest and the storyline is both interesting and somewhat unique. I enjoyed this movie and think it's worth a watch.

What a mess.

[seanhmoss6 · 3/10 · 20 October 2021]

The director Wayne Kramer obviously is a fan of Quentin Tarantino. He is not, however, Quentin Tarantino. Kramer's vision of intriguing, juxtaposed timelines, irony and foreshadowing winds up being an absolute bore show for the entire second half of the movie.

I loved the casting. And by the way, I religiously steer clear of any movie with Paul Walker in it. That was by far the best performance of his too brief career. RIP.

The intricacies of a project like this were well beyond Kramer's reach. It's almost as if he had an internship writing for the Sopranos.

First half, good. Second half... See what I did right there... If curious, give this movie a shot. In general DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE!

Not for those with cognitive challenges

[painterdg · 8/10 · 23 July 2013]

This film is a very dark comedy, and is definitely not for everyone, as may be apparent from the previous reviews. As with James Joyce's "Ulysses," director Wayne Kramer's "Pawn Shop Chronicles" follows several characters through their own adventures during a single day. Unlike Joyce's classic, this modern story takes place in a small, quirky southern American town rather than Dublin, Ireland. Still, for those of us with attention spans longer than that of the average house pet, the threads of the three stories that make up the chronicles can be seen slowly interweaving into an harmonious comedic tapestry. The viewer who pays meticulous attention will be rewarded, since quite literally everything in the film echoes and resonates throughout all three vignettes, and like far-off thunder slowly building to a deafening crescendo, it all comes together in the perfect ending. Well suited to repeated viewings, I feel that "Pawn Shop Chronicles" is destined to become a cult classic among truly discerning aficionados of modern comic cinema.

Drug hazed dark comedy turns into horror and ends with a bad Elvis improv ◆≈≈5.6/10≈≈◆

[Thrill_KillZ · 6/10 · 12 July 2013]

Despite the considerable amount of great actors involved, this film managed to remain off my radar until literally minutes before viewing it. So any expectations I had were formed in the few minutes I spent overlooking the film, that said, "Pawn Shop Chronicles", in the end wasn't quite as good as it could have been, but it certainly had it's moments and managed to stay entertaining. Director Wayne Kramer has more than proved his mettle in the past, writing and directing two film's which I have fond memories of "The Cooler" (2003) a film in which William H. Macy was brilliant in and "Running Scared" (2006), a film starring Paul Walker who rejoins Kramer in this film's first segment. With a solid director and such a long list of talented actors I felt this was going to be a sure thing. Then came the dialog from writer Adam Minarovich, weighing the film down like an anchor.

The film concentrates on a southern pawn shop run by Alton (Vincent D'Onofrio) in an unusual town full of unusual folks. It presents three stories, all of which are uniquely tied to the shop and framed out while Alton and his buddy Johnson (Chi McBride) hang out, business as usual. These stories range from speed-freaks, to kidnapping and murder. Each tale revolves around one item bought or sold at the shop and how they end up relating to one another in the span of one day. The first installment stars Kevin Rankin, Lukas Haas, Norman Reedus and Paul Walker. It's another day in the life of a few meth heads and there is no shortage of dark humor & hi-jinx, Walker as "Raw Dog" is a sight worth seeing as he's in full on "tweaker" mode, quite a reversal from the norm. The second installment shifts gears from the quirky to the horrific, starring Matt Dillon and Elijah Wood. Dillon plays "Richard" a man who finds a ring in a pawn shop belonging to his missing wife who's been gone for six years. He literally drops everything and goes on the hunt for her, ready to dish out some sickly sweet revenge to anyone connected to the ring. If you're a horror fan you'll appreciate this segment the most, I know I did. The third sequence, taking into account the insane direction that the previous story took, it was a bit bland with a most bizarre ending. It was all about Brendan Fraser, a burned out Elvis impersonator who faces an important decision while performing at the county fair right around the same time that a parade of nude women, all with zombie like expressions begin filing onto the scene.

It's all a bizarre & disjointed film which was trying to be something like a hillbilly version of Pulp Fiction, but failing to be anything but a mish-mash of the most strange and peculiar elements. Things do all relate to one another eventually and it's an entertaining film with some redeemable qualities, but the script is far from brilliant. I can't think of any memorable lines given or anything that made me laugh out loud. While succeeding to be amusing it didn't go much further than that. I believe Wayne Kramer made the most out of what he had to work with, but with a script lacking in any serious wit or style there is only so much that one could do. This film will likely be forgotten before it's even discovered.

A huge mess!

[chrichtonsworld · 4/10 · 24 July 2013]

This latest outing of director Wayne Kramer who I know from Running Scared which was excellent BTW has all the ingredients to make one hell of a delicious movie. Except the main course is too overcooked and the desert leaves an after taste. Sorry for the analogy I am a bit in a cuisine minded mood. The cast is huge and diverse and all give their best to get the most out of this production. You can feel the energy coming from their enthusiasm. But sadly it is not enough. Because Wayne Kramer makes one pivotal mistake. That is trying to be clever by mixing up story lines and genres. It's obvious Wayne Kramer is trying to make a contemporary Pulp Fiction and would have worked too had he focused on the story lines themselves. I am willing to believe he had this wonderful idea in his head but simply could not execute it the way he wanted. I mean what was he thinking with the whole Elvis Impersonation story line. It takes up way too much time and it was not exactly funny or interesting. The story lines with Paul Walker and Matt Dillon are the most interesting and pretty bizarre. Almost put in for the shock value alone because it seems like it is more a gimmick than that the director is trying to teach us something. I have to admit I don't look to learn anything from a movie but if a film doesn't entertain me enough the least it can do is bring my attention to something that is worth my time. And for me that did not happen. For Miss Chofas however the experience was slightly different. She liked it for the most part although I suspect it has to do with the fact Norman Reedus was in it. Where was he? Well,yes he was disguised in some gas mask but still she could recognize him. Naughty Miss Chofas. So overall I don't think Pawn Shop Chronicles is worth sitting down for. If it passes your TV screen someday on a rainy Sunday then it might not be that bad for me it was a little disappointing especially after the strong start.

Pulp Fiction as it gets.

[dar0417 · 6/10 · 26 August 2019]

Entertaining enough to sit through. Had a big cast and decent stories made it watchable.

a quirky, crazy tale

[MLDinTN · 5/10 · 20 November 2013]

This movie brings 3 stories together. First you got a couple of meth heads whom try to rob their dealer, then you have a newly wed couple that stop at a pawn shop and the guy, Richard, finds a ring that belonged to his first wife and tracks down how it got there, and last you have Ricky, an Elvis impersonator whom has dealings with some wacky barbers and performs in the county fair.

Where the movie fails is that it really doesn't bring the 3 stories together. All 3 just kind of end with not much of a conclusion. Richard had the craziest of the stories since he finds his first wife naked in a cage and there are others. But the ending to his story is just so wacky, after 6 years, it ends like that.

FINAL VERDICT: Only watchable if you want a few shocking scenes, all of them in Richard's story.

Pawn'd In

[jesse-hitzroth · 5/10 · 13 July 2013]

Pawn Show Chronicles is from the director of such films as The Cooler and Running Scared. Clearly this director has been underrated and does not get the credit he deserves. So how is his new film? Well it's a very disjointed hit and miss affair. Essential this film is 3 different stories that connect loosely at a local pawn shop. The film starts out great in the first segment with a dark comedy crime story. The second story then turns into a horror story that was pretty shocking actually. It features one of the most brutal torture scenes I have seen in a good while. The 3rd story involves a really weird overlong segment about a Elvis impersonator that really isn't enjoyable at all. The problem with Pawn Shop Chronicles is that it is to disjointed and weird for it's own good. It doesn't know what it wants to be, and unfortunately what this film shows us is nothing new. The movie has a huge cast and they all bring their A games to the table and clearly had fun making this film. There was so much potential to do something with this story but really all you get is a whole lot of pulp fiction mixed in with a pinch of Running Scared. This film even makes a few Pulp Fiction references. While not a awful, it's not great either. Potential was there but unfortunately it could not be taken advantage of.

Not that kind of shop

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 18 April 2014]

When someone first told me about this movie/title I had a smile on my face. I was quick to make a fun remark, just to be told I didn't understand the title correctly. "Pawn Shop" might sound like something that only adults are allowed to buy items/movies from. But obviously this is a different beast, so be careful how you pronounce it. Or have fun with anyone who misunderstands it like myself.

The movie itself has hits and misses. I mostly liked what it tried to do (especially when it tried to connect the stories a little bit). There is different genres to be found here, but every short segment does have some humor in it. The actors make it worth your while and the ideas are mostly out there. Casting (the recently deceased) Paul Walker as a slacker is genius. And he really plays it as good as it gets. Nice little collection of movies, that should be a fun watch for most people

A Celebration of Stupidity

[themissingpatient · 1/10 · 25 July 2013]

Just when we thought Pulp Fiction copycats were a thing of the past, Pawn Shop Chronicles comes to remind us why only Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriquez should make Tarantino & Rodriquez movies. When other directors try they fail miserable, proving to lack their own original style and voice as a storyteller, coming off as nothing more than cheap imitations.

The main characters of Pawn Shop Chronicles are methamphetamine addicts. These are the most outlandish, unlikeable, dim-witted characters any writer could ever possibly write about. While the writer and director try to make the film as comedic as possible, it comes off desperate for laughs using every clique in the book. If that isn't bad enough, the humor is as low-brow and degrading as comedy gets. A celebration of stupidity and drug-use that makes the Jackass movies seem like innovative art.

This sad excuse for a film has a great cast who seem like they are having a lot of fun. As we've learned with Adam Sandler movies, no matter how much fun the cast is having on-screen, it doesn't mean it's any fun for an audience to watch. It also does not make up for the lack of a good story, if there is any story at all. Pawn Shop Chronicles has a story and does try, it's just not anything we're interested in watching or are able to bare to watch all the way through, making their efforts a complete failure. What's truly sad is to see such a great ensemble cast go to waste on something as tasteless as this.

It's sad that Kramer and Walker won't be able to work together again!

[Hellmant · 8/10 · 28 January 2014]

'PAWN SHOP CHRONICLES': Four Stars (Out of Five)

Wayne Kramer directed this grindhouse style comedy crime-drama telling three different (overlapping) stories involving items sold to a pawn shop. It stars an ensemble cast including Brendan Fraser, Matt Dillon, Kevin Rankin, Vincent D'Onofrio, Chi McBride, Elijah Wood, Lukas Haas, DJ Qualls, Norman Reedus, Thomas Jane and the late Paul Walker. Walker was also one of the producers on the film and previously worked with Kramer on the cult classic 'RUNNING SCARED', in 2006. It was written by Adam Minarovich and is the first movie Kramer has directed that he didn't write (or co-write). It's a really dark and twisted film (like 'RUNNING SCARED') but also bizarrely interesting and entertaining.

The movie begins and ends at a pawn shop where it's owner, Alton (D'Onofrio), spends most of his time chitchatting with his friend Johnson (McBride). Different characters come in there throughout the day all trying to pawn a different item and their stories all intersect (and overlap). One is a honeymooning couple where the groom (Dillon) finds his missing wife's wedding ring. Another is an Elvis impersonator (Fraser) doing a show at the local fair, looking for some extra cash. The third is a white supremacist (Haas) wanting to sell a shotgun so he can afford gas to meet his two partners (Walker and Rankin), who are planning to rob their meth supplier (Reedus, who is unrecognizable in a mask the entire film). All the tales (of course) take a very dark turn.

The film is funny and very violent, it's also highly disturbing. All of the actors are good and fittingly cast in their roles and Walker always seemed to do his best work in Kramer's movies. Wood is becoming one of the most creepy actors in Hollywood (after playing a psycho in this and 'MANIAC', in the same year); he's really starting to scare me! Although it is very dark and twisted it's also highly entertaining and has a really strong Tarantinoesque feel to it. It's probably what most people expect coming from Wayne Kramer (even though he didn't write it) and it's sad that he and Walker won't be able to work together again.

Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTUUB4nMD6M

Loved the Star Quality....The rest was So So

[dannykalifornia · 7/10 · 9 December 2013]

Ima give this a seven even though it wasn't a movie with Kanye West.

The actors are what drew me to this movie. I wasn't expecting much, and I got just a little bit more.

Sure it is derivative of Taentino...In fact before I read the reviews after I watched it I thought of Tarintino....but so what?

It had a lot of jumbled up action, some sex and a lot to think about.

Basically it is a tale of good and the triumph of evil.....in middle amerka....

I see this as a must watch, no matter how uncomfortable you feel at the beginning...take the time...by the end...you may be happy you did.

Oh and Paul...you, as usual....rocked it.

Completely uninspired film

[estebangonzalez10 · 2/10 · 17 October 2013]

"This ring belonged to my wife. I want you to tell me who sold you this ring."

Wayne Kramer, director of Running Scared and The Cooler, brings us this anthology film where three separate stories are all connected in some way to a local southern pawn shop. The screenplay was written by Adam Minarovich, and there lies the problem of why this movie couldn't quite grasp the spirit of the film it was trying to imitate: Pulp Fiction. Minarovich and Kramer are no Tarantino and this is even more proof of why Tarantino really is a genius. These grindhouse B movies are no easy task to imitate and mixing comedy and shocks doesn't always work. The result can often be sickening rather than amusing and I am tired of these pointless and ultra violent films. Trying to be edgy and witty the film ends up being boring, mean spirited, and dull. It's a shame because a decent cast was wasted here: Paul Walker, Matt Dillon, Brendan Fraser, Vincent D'Onofrio, Elijah Wood, Ashlee Simpson, and Lukas Haas. They all play stereotypical rednecks, meth addicts, skinheads, or Elvis impersonators. The first two stories are ultra violent, while the third one is pointless. There were some interesting ideas thrown here and there, but overall the film fell flat and never managed to seduce me. This is an insane film, but I imagine it could have a small fan base, it just isn't for everyone. It was disturbing and dull with over the top crazy and mean characters.

2 hours of your life you'll never get back.

[cabras-325-169902 · 1/10 · 21 July 2013]

Pawn Shop Chronicles: Where acting carriers go to die.

Nothing more needs to be said! Poor Brenden Frasier. Most of the others I understand how they got here. In Brenden's case... Jeesh dude. Come on! Get a job waiting tables if things are that bad!

If Hollywood has a black list I can only hope participating in this movie in any way gets you to the top of it. :(

Coo-dose to Jennifer Simpson's character for speaking truth on a woman's ability to use her "God given talents" to succeed in life.

The guy with black hair from "Something about Marry"... COME ON! Your better than this! Sell dog food if you have to. SOMETHING!

am disappointed

[Iamowomizz · 9/10 · 5 March 2014]

Am so disappointed that a movie like this could get this low type of ratings... I mean check out this movie its crazy,funny..its bad ass i love this movie,i mean why would you rate this movie lower than 9,its got great actors great writer,sweet screen play.. This is the type of movie you watch when you're totally sad,it changes Ur mood,if you watch this movie without laughing you've got a problem because this movie is what you call perfection nice starting nice ending.. I lend out this movie to two of my friends and they like "wow!!!,this is great,so very great i love it am gonna get mine"i'd really like you to tweet me if am wrong @iamowomizz

surprisingly entertaining

[copperchopper4 · 6/10 · 1 September 2013]

this movie started out great i was laughing my ass off at the first story but then the next two just went down hill from there. I wish they would have made the whole movie about the mishaps of the first story. When they hit that guy with the truck it was funny and the clown mask OMG.The rest was all two predictable and lame. We never did get to see who the guy in me th lab was wearing the borderlands looking mask.even if they would have strung out more mishaps till the end with those guys it would have been better. I don't know if the director was going for a funny movie but it started out that way for me.Also bloopers at the end of this movie would have been cool.

Pawn Shop Chronicles.....WHAT?

[yourlife · 1/10 · 25 August 2013]

Because I like and trust many of the well known actors in this film, I really wanted it to be good. It was so far from good that I can barely write this review.

This movie made me stupid! I tried to see some continuity and justification to what was happening, but there was none. In fact this is the perfect definition of "Dangling Participle!" Stories were left with no resolve. Characters popped in and out of the movie as if it was magic and trust me, there was no magic! I even tried to compare it to a macabre, gore-fest, slasher type genre and it didn't even fit there.

Even if what you can do with the 2 hrs it took to complete the viewing of this mess, is nothing more than eat a bug or stick your fingers down your throat to puke, you will find that time better spent!

YIKES! Btw, I will be writing a screenplay and fully expect it to be produced. There are few things I have ever seen that even compare to how bad this movie actually was and I have watched some bad films in my time.

Vincent D'Onofrio and Chi McBride had a couple and I repeat only a couple of relatively entertaining moments.

Really, don't bother with this one! Just my thoughts!

90 Minutes of Pure White Trash Craziness

[brando647 · 7/10 · 25 October 2013]

PAWN SHOP CHRONICLES is…weird. Now that I've watched it twice and shown it to a friend to get an outside opinion, it seems the general consensus is that it's not a great movie. I'm not even sure it's a good movie. But it's weird and you find yourself drawn into the events as they unfold to see where it will lead to next. I don't know that all the comparisons to PULP FICTION are well founded. It's got the same non-linear storytelling with multiple stories happening at the same time and often interacting with each other, but it has none of the style and substance of Tarantino's original masterpiece. I suppose it could be said that PAWN SHOP CHRONICLES is a loving homage to it but it's nowhere near the same level. If anything, it reminds me more of the CREEPSHOW movies and it even includes pulp magazine/comic book title screens for each of the three stories presented in the film. This is an anthology movie with each of the three stories starting in a small pawn shop in a fictional Georgia town: a couple of white supremacist meth-heads plan to rob their dealer, a man discovers a clue to his wife's disappearance several years prior, and an Elvis impersonator prepares for a performance at the local county fair while coming to grips with the fact that his life has fallen to pieces. And it all starts in a little pawn shop run by slow-witted Alton (Vincent D'Onofrio) who passes the time chatting with his friend Johnson (Chi McBride) about all things meaningless.

The film has a lot of problems and they're not all easy for me to pinpoint. One issue didn't become clear until the very end when the end credits began to roll and I noticed an executive producer credit for Fred Durst. Yes, that Fred Durst. I suppose it made sense, considering the movie. This is the sort of movie you'd expect from a man who put out an album called Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water. On a technical level, the movie feels very basic. There a couple clever transitions (the filmmakers had a theme of using reflections/mirrors to transition between scenes) but the majority of the movie is very dully shot. A lot of quick zooms and extreme close-ups ramp up during action scenes but there isn't much else. The writing feels derivative at times too. Regardless of whether it can be compared to PULP FICTION, you can tell that the movie was certainly inspired in some part by it. There are attempts at Tarantino dialogue but most of them fall flat. It has a few good ones, particularly a scene between Raw Dog (Paul Walker) and Randy (Kevin Rankin) as they discuss why exactly their white supremacists, but a good deal of it falters. There's a lot of it in the scenes featuring D'Onofrio and McBride where they'll chat about porn or whether it's all right to make fictional characters black, but it feels forced. It's not helped with D'Onofrio's weird, stunted line delivery. I'm not sure where he got his inspiration for his strange speech pattern in the movie but it was distracting. And, finally, the movie ends on the weakest story of the series. The first tale got you pumped, the second upped the ante, and the third one nearly bored me to death. The tale of a horrible Elvis impersonator desperate for success fills space with a lengthy performance of 'Amazing Grace' that, while it ties together a lot of other elements from the film, nearly put me to sleep. The movie rejuvenates itself just before the end credits with a fun little scene in the pawn shop but the damage was done and it left a bad taste that tainted my final opinion of the movie.

For a movie so small, there's a surprising cool cast involved. Granted some of them are limited to mere cameos (Thomas Jane) and others might go completely unnoticed (Norman Reedus). The movie is filled with familiar faces from film and TV. Paul Walker (also a producer on the movie) is almost unrecognizable and a lot of fun as meth-head Raw Dog, and Matt Dillon seems to fit right in to such a strange little film as the husband who renews his search for his missing wife after finding her wedding ring in the pawn shop. Between his role in SIN CITY and his performance here as Johnny Shaw, I'm really starting to worry about Elijah Wood. He seems real intent on shaking off any hobbit memories with sociopathic characters intent on giving nightmares. And then there's Brendan Fraser as Elvis impersonator Ricky Baldoski in the final tale. Fraser himself does an excellent job, even if his improv is cringe- worthy (for proof, watch the blooper reel that runs over the end credits). I don't blame Fraser for the weak final act; I blame the writing. I can't remember the last time I've seen Fraser in a movie (aside from his little cameo in the first G.I. JOE movie) and, while I've never been a big fan of his, it's cool to see him doing something off-kilter like this.

PAWN SHOP CHRONICLES isn't bad. It even had me believing, for a while at least, that it was better than it is. It's crazy and plenty entertaining, and it'll leave you with questions by the end. There seems to be a theme of religious imagery throughout the movie but I can't quite figure out what the filmmakers were going after. Thomas Jane and Sam Hennings are obvious religious figures within the context of the story that offer characters salvation or revenge in a couple of strange moments, but all I can figure is that this fictional little Georgia town is infested with Satan. I'm probably reading too much into it, as PAWN SHOP CHRONICLES is just 90 minutes of white trash craziness.