Tell (2014) User Reviews

Fun

[chrismackey1972 · 7/10 · 5 December 2014]

I saw the poster for this movie, and it didn't look all that appealing. I thought it would be a brainless movie that tried to be cute but failing big time. In fact, the only reason I watched this was because of Katee Sackhoff. I've liked her ever since I saw her portrayal of Starbuck in Battlestar Galactica. She's one of the few actresses who can play a badass and be taken seriously doing it. Unfortunately, they don't make use of her ability to play that type of character. Still, the movie was fun and moved along at a fairly brisk pace without losing the storyline.

I have to say that the storyline wasn't especially original, but it was done with fun and flare. The movie largely belongs to Milo Ventimiglia, who plays a thief. Katee Sackhoff plays his using, money-grubbing wife/ex-wife to a "T." I gave this a 7-star rating because all the elements came together to make this a fun movie. Parts of it were humorous, other scenes were thrilling to watch. It's not a perfect movie, and there were some missed opportunities when they didn't make more use of Sackhoff. The one scene in the entire movie that is the most memorable is towards the end when Beverly (Sackhoff) informs Tell (Ventimiglia) of a very important reason why she did what she did. The emoting and vocal delivery were perfect.

Bullets blondes and blood

[theydrivebynight · 7/10 · 24 November 2020]

A great B film that has been overlooked. Fine cast that turn in excellent performances. Actors you have seen quite often really shine here. Milo brings it home, sly Stallone would be proud. Do not let this one pass you by especially if you are crime genre fan.

Ok, Ease Up a Little

[unclet-30169 · 5/10 · 2 October 2020]

There is just so much hateing going on for this flick, I was compelled to give my 2 cents. This really isn't as bad as a lot of the reviews are claiming, is it memorable? no. Is it polished?, no. Honestly, what are you expecting from a cast and budget like this. It's entertaining with a dark sardonic wit and won't be the worst thing you watch in your lifetime. 😷

Ouy vey, the gaffer wants to be a director...

[WMEAsst · 10 September 2019]

Pretty much unwatchable. Lousy script. Amatuerish direction. Choppy editing. Sub-standard production values.

Number 1: Whoever hired a gaffer to be the director should be banned from making films altogether. Number 2: Whoever read this script and decided to purchase it from the 'writer' (a bit TV actor from four decades ago) should stick with reading Teen Vogue. Number 3: Whoever cast Milo in the lead role of this should be demoted to craft services. Number 4: Whoever rated this film higher than 2 or 3 stars was directly involved in the film.

Yes...it really is that bad!

How do you like the donuts

[nogodnomasters · 7/10 · 17 January 2018]

Ethan Tell (Milo Ventimiglia) is a small time crook who listens to his wife (Katee Sackhoff) too much. He is married into an untrustworthy family who have no trouble selling each other out. Ethan gets involved in a bank robbery, gets shot, hides the money, goes to jail and gets out. Everyone want to know what happened to the money and do what they can to get him to give up the information.

The film is done in a quirky grindhouse style. It has a number of twists and seems to throw them in there just for the sake of doing so. It has good characters, including an unorthodox parole officer (Faizon Love) who also wants to know where the money is at.

This makes for a enjoyable grindhouse style rental.

Guide: F-bomb. Sex. No nudity. Some blood, killing, etc.

Not terrible for a Milo Ventimiglia movie

[Seth_Rogue_One · 6/10 · 11 August 2016]

Considering the last movie I saw with Milo Ventimiglia was the dreadful 'ORDER OF CHAOS' and that in general his name doesn't exactly boast of quality-films of recent, I must say that this was actually perfectly acceptable DTV entertainment.

Not great by any means but at least I never found myself bored as it runs on pretty fast and there are some entertaining smaller roles by Faison Love, Jason Lee and Kate Sackoff to keep the interest-levels up if Milo isn't enough.

There is a bit of plot holes but if you leave your thinking cap on the shelf and don't expect too much it's a perfectly okay time to spend 88 minutes.

Not very good

[suelyon1989 · 3/10 · 11 December 2014]

Just saw this and was terribly disappointed. I'm a fan of Robert Patrick but unfortunately he had a smaller role in this movie. The acting by everyone was average and almost seemed as if they all sort of phoned in their performances. Not sure if this was the directors fault or just a lack of interest in the material by the cast, but it really affected the film. The story covered no new ground and felt quite dated which made it a bit boring. It didn't help that the storyline was not very original. The dialogue was filled with clichés and the humor missed its mark. There's some action, but definitely nothing too engaging or inventive. There are so many better action dramas to watch than this one. Tell seemed to miss the mark in most areas and consequently wasn't worth the time to watch it. I gave this a 3 star rating because I like Robert Patrick, but otherwise I would have rated this even lower.

Great B Movie

[acefan · 7/10 · 16 June 2023]

Lots of actors you know, they all do a great job. It would appear though that they spent the budget on the salary of the actors. Decent story line, had some good action. Seemed believable for the most part. If you're bored and have seen every top movie out there, looking through the B movies and not sure what to expect, take a look at this one, you won't be disappointed. My wife loves crime shows, this had that element and so we could break away from the true crime stories for 90 minutes. At the end of the day, it was better than I expected. It's not launching any careers, but it's not crashing any either.

OK Just OK

[bruce-davis · 2/10 · 17 March 2017]

Cliché after cliché. Bad cops, questionable parole officer, gold digger, dumb brother-in-law - all the usual suspects. I made it through to the end - just barely. There were a few plot twists, but not enough to make it that interesting. Simply too predictable. OK if absolutely nothing else is on - but just OK. Nothing compelling here - move along.

Straight-to-video schlock!

[cutslikeaknife33 · 1/10 · 24 December 2014]

This movie, like many other bad movies, was trying to be something it's not: Good. I watched it hoping to find something I like about it but couldn't.

Katee Sackhoff, who has been in Battlestar Gallatica on television looked decent, unfortunately she wasn't in enough scenes. The other actors were so-so, the action scenes weren't too action- filled, there were no twists that you didn't see coming, and the premise was so basic and unimaginative. Also, the sound on this was really, really poor. Why make crap like this? Doesn't the movie universe have enough terrible titles that customers have to wade through without littering it with more poorly-made movies like TELL?

Someone should TELL the people behind this film that just because you can make a film, doesn't mean you should. Straight-to-video schlock like this is waste of consumers time.

Imagine Beavis & Butthead with guns

[rooprect · 8/10 · 16 March 2020]

Before I get to my review, I want to point out that every single Hate-It "review" on this page was posted by a 1-movie reviewer. There are currently 12. When I realized this, I immediately had to watch the movie because any movie that caused someone to create 12 bogus IMDb accounts to slam it deserves to be watched, especially when this sad person is using all his sock puppet accounts to thumbs-down all other reviews.

"Tell" is a bizarre experience that will probably confuse, if not irritate, anyone who's expecting a typical crime thriller. This is because it incorporates both gritty drama & outlandish deadpan humor in equal quantities, and that may throw you off, but ultimately if you just go along for the ride and expect anything, then you might really enjoy this flick.

If you've seen the 1997 flick "Suicide Kings" with Christopher Walken, then you know what I'm talking about. "Suicide Kings" (itself received somewhat poorly by critics) is a masterpiece of tense, gritty drama and awesome deadpan humor in equal portions. This strategy is a gamble because most audiences are expecting either drama or comedy, but nothing straight up the middle.

"Tell" begins with an opening scene that is instantly, awkwardly funny as we see two bizarrely dressed clowns (one of them unapologetically sporting a bad 80s Don Johnson look) standing in the middle of a grocery aisle, tensely awaiting some sort of illegal transaction. But the scene abrubtly shifts to serious when blood starts flying.

The entire film is like that: it flirts with comedy--not outright punchline gags but a really funny sort of satirical dark humor--but then it turns you around and dunks you in a tense, violent, disturbing story of crime and betrayal. In that regard you could say "Tell" is a grandchild of the Tarantino "Pulp Fiction" genre, except that Tarantino is more solidly rooted on the drama/violence side, whereas "Tell" (like "Suicide Kings") is slightly closer to comedy.

I purposely waited to tell you about the plot because the plot isn't as important as the delivery. Tell (Milo Ventimiglia) is a small time criminal who somehow manages to grab the haul of a big time bank heist. Supposedly he stashes it somewhere (although we can't be sure), and years later everyone is after Tell to get the loot. When I say "everyone" I'm referring to 2 psycho cops, 1 psycho brother-in-law, and 1 psycho wife.

The psycho brother-in-law and psycho wife are brilliantly played by Jason Lee (Dave in "Alvin and the Chipmunks" if you can believe it) and Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck in "Battlestar Galactica"). These 2 roles are critical because they provide the great deadpan humor in this story. They are not likeable characters at all; we see that they are self-serving, loathsome back stabbers who are just after the money. But even so, ya gotta love 'em because they are sooo batsnot cray cray. They will stop at nothing to coerce, intimidate, manipulate, or outright torture Tell into divulging the secret, but at the same time they are the only friends he's got. If you can grasp this bizarre relationship, I guarantee you'll love the flick. A note for fans of Katee Sackhoff from Battlestar Galactica: no, her role is *nothing* like Starbuck, but that's all the more reason for you to check out this movie to see how versatile she is, playing a despicable gold-digger whom you love to hate.

"Tell" is a surreal & genre defining experience that shouldn't be missed if you enjoy watching atypical crime dramas. As I mentioned, check out "Suicide Kings" if you enjoy this kind of dark humor. Another one in this style is "Poker Night" with Ron Perlman. There aren't many films like this, so enjoy em when you can find em.

Bad Script + Dreadful Acting = Complete Rubbish

[fredcolbert11 · 2/10 · 27 December 2014]

I hate for this to sound cliché, but this is one of the worst action comedies ever made. Whoever wrote this jive should seek another profession. It's not humorous at all! If you must forge ahead, go back to school and learn your craft or, at the very least, take the time to study action comedies that work like "In Bruges," "Hot Fuzz," "Kick-Ass," etc etc. The acting in this was downright foolish. Some of these actors have been in watchable shows before but it looked like they were trying so bloody hard to make whatever they were given work, that it came across like one big giant improvisation gone very wrong. Every character in this is git and not much differentiates one from another. I'm sure some of this has to be attributed to the director who by now, is likely wondering if waiting tables is what the future holds after this lackluster attempt. I rated this 2 stars because they were clever enough to compile a trailer that duped me into renting this. Fool me once, shame on you...

Someone sure didn't know what they were doing.

[StudioDude99 · 11 April 2020]

So I just downloaded this movie last night (for free thank god) because I have literally seen every other movie out there. What a complete ClusterF this was. The film was made in 2014 when Jason Lee's career had basically already evaporated but even still, dude, did you read the script or meet with the film student who directed this beforehand? Jason looked so disinterested on screen that it was distracting. He must've really needed ten thousand dollars at the time. Katie Sackhoff wasn't much better. Decent to look at but came across as apathetic. Cheesy one-liners, low production values, and a director with no clue had me rolling my eyes for an hour and a half.

Derivative and pointless

[cindyfowler22 · 1/10 · 14 December 2014]

My boyfriend and I sat down to watch this and turned it off after the first twenty minutes because it was so stupid, Then we decided to give it a chance and continued watching. Big mistake! Whoever made this rubbish was obviously trying to do their best Guy Ritchie rip-off, however, they failed miserably. There's no stars in this so that should have been our first red flag. The lead actor in this is from the series Heroes and in all fairness, both my boyfriend and I liked him in Heroes. But in this role, we didn't believe him in the role one bit. In fact, many of the roles seemed miscast. The filmmakers were so obviously trying to copy films like Snatch and other Ritchie works that we were surprised the actors weren't speaking with Brit accents. The only positive thing that I can say about this film was I liked one of the songs. But one good song does not make a movie watchable. Avoid this one at all costs.

A complete waste of time!

[gatorboyufg · 1/10 · 12 December 2014]

This isn't the worst movie I have ever seen. But it's probably the third or fourth worst movie I have ever seen! The two biggest culprits are the script and the direction. The cast is populated with TV actors you'll recognize including Milo Ventimiglia (Gilmore Girls, Heroes), Katee Sackhoff (Bionic Woman, Battlestar Gallatica), and Jason Lee (Memphis Beat, My Name is Earl), and a few other lesser names.

In a nutshell, the film is about a criminal (Ventimiglia) who steals money from his brother (Lee) and bank robbing partners. His wife (Sackhoff) turns on him and the film shows all the unscrupulous characters trying to get their hands on the money. It becomes painfully predictable and the action sequences are sub-par.

Like others have commented, this story is not too original. The script is weak and attempts to be funny but it's not which makes it painful to watch the actors have to utter the lines. The direction seems flat and the film suffers from jagged pacing and bad music. Overall, you would be better off spending ninety minutes of your time doing something else.

Absolutely dreadful!

[sternwarning00 · 1/10 · 17 December 2014]

This had to have been one of the most awful movies I have seen in my life. I have seen quite a few stinkers, believe me, but this movie takes the cake. The writing was incredibly weak (the dialogue being especially unrealistic), the direction was sloppy, and the acting (considering there were a few decent B actors) was not good at all. No wonder Orion distributed this flop - they seem to like bankruptcy which is where they are headed again if they keep putting out turds like this.

After pulling off a one million dollar heist, small-time criminal (Milo Ventimiglia) runs into problems with his wife (Katee Sackhoff), his former partner, and his parole officer, and a couple cops all plotting against him. I honestly do not know how some of these actors can bare the embarrassment of being cast in this. It seems that they were trying maybe a little too hard to be witty with humorless one-liners. I just really can't go on about this poor mess. Refund please!

Better than average

[musicreporter-1 · 10/10 · 4 January 2017]

"Tell" is much better than average and better than those nasty reviews on here that are making it out to be. Some reviewers must have some personal stake in knocking down this mild thriller - it's obvious in the tone of hate and anger. It's OK to review something and not like it - but there's no need to pile on name-calling, insults and other negatives to try to make a point.

Yes, the plot is average but intriguing, the cinematography sharp and vibrant, the dialogue is compelling.

You actually care for some of these characters - some you hate which is also good.

The trick is to pay attention at the outset or else you get lost in the plot twists and turns. Once you're engaged, you become invested in the protagonist and pull for him to survive the various challenges.

My standard test for movies- is it compelling, is it entertaining and would I watch it again? Yes on all 3. This is good, and recommended.

Unwatchable - turned it off after 25 minutes

[karenkorn1987 · 1/10 · 29 December 2014]

Began watching this last night, hoping to see something along the lines of, well, good acting. I was bitterly let down. To call the lead wooden, would be an insult to trees. Awful script. Awful direction. Awful acting. Awful..........just awful. Katee Sackhoff does her best, but she must have known this was going to be a Crimbo turkey from day one. Painful to watch, and I can only hope whoever cast this recovers quickly. Low budget boredom from the start with unbelievable and trite dialogue. A Michael Dudikoff film makes this film look like what it is, a cheap, no thrills D movie. I implore you, gentle film viewer, to give this one a wide, wide berth. To sum up, do not waste your precious time!

2 STARS - way below average film, don't even bother

[developmentasst · 16 May 2020]

Where to begin: this thing is so predictable, no humor or levity, bland unoriginal dialogue, a poorly shot chase scene, I couldn't force myself to finish it. A real waste of my time.

Poorly directed and lamely written drivel

[Snowbird999 · 1/10 · 29 September 2015]

A complete and utter waste of time from the opening frame to the closing credits! The dopes who made this are clueless. Why would anybody with any sensibilities to the advancement of humanity make this? This movie doesn't even deserve a review, but I am so disgusted that I wasted my time watching it that I want to try and save others time and money.

The story (if you can even call it that) is about a small time crook who makes a huge score when he steals a million bucks. His life falls apart when he must prevent his partner, his wife, his parole officer, and two dishonest detectives from stealing it from him.

Sound familiar? This unoriginal, contrived tale that you've seen done a billion times before is so amateurishly written that you question who in their right mind read this and actually wanted to make it. The acting, even though there are a few recognizable B faces in it, was shockingly bad. Why? Probably because the direction is just plain flat. You have to wonder if the actors were directing themselves? If I could rate this zero stars, I would have.

Films don't get a whole lot worse than this one

[filmfanaticNYC · 2/10 · 30 December 2014]

Don't know where to even begin other than I wish I would have read some of the reviews before I decided to rent this thing.

The overall story was extremely predictable, I was never at the edge of my seat. I thought it was poorly directed in so much that it didn't build tension, it didn't develop the characters to create any empathy with any of them, and the whole damn thing felt a bit amateurish.

The acting was average overall. If you're even contemplating this as a dumb-but-fun action film -- don't. There's a few minutes of action, and it's appallingly bad.

To summarize, don't bother watching it. You already know what happens or will quickly get to the point where you don't care. Watching the paint peel on your home would be more entertaining than "Tell."

This POS sucks beyond sucking!!

[newyorkshaker · 1/10 · 8 July 2015]

Has to be the absolute worst movie I have seen in a long long long time!

Writing blew, the story is so dumb and unoriginal, dialogue that is not believable or witty or clever. It story starts out bad and gets worse from there.

The acting is terrible, we're talking so terrible that you're consciously thinking about how terrible it is and not following or paying attention to much else except the terrible dialogue that they're uttering.

Whoever the clown was who directed this pos is clueless. When I looked up to see what he had previously done it didn't surprise me that he's a glorified camera assistant, gaffer etc. I got some news for you Mr. Wannabe director, you suck! You have no idea what you're doing or how to direct actors. Go back to fetching light bulbs out of a grip truck.

What producer in his right mind would spend a penny of his money or a second of his time producing BS like this film? Apparently a bunch of dummies did. You people make Roger Corman look like a genius auteur. I hope you make better choices in picking spouses/partners than you do picking films to make cause you ain't so good at that.

Gimme my money back!!!!!!!!

Journey men actors carry the movie

[jfoxproject · 9/10 · 12 December 2014]

I liked this movie because it was a good chance to see a cast of journey men actors work their craft. Almost every character you've seen before and wanted to see more.

T. Williams script was inventive and solid. The pacing was good, it kept your attention throughout the movie. There were some plot twists that I didn't expect. Now that I think of it, I just enjoyed the movie without sitting in my seat saying to myself "oh, now he's going to find out..." I was in it for the escape and that's what I got.

As a slight negative, I would have liked to see the character of the wife have a little more depth. When it was required of the actress, it was found wanting.

I've see lots of movies with "critics awards" not be half as entertaining. It was a good Saturday afternoon movie.

Cliché dialogue, weak direction, and super dumb plot we've seen time and again.

[reception-670-402452 · 2/10 · 29 June 2020]

The writing in this thing is gawd awful, cliché after cliché after cliché. The acting was not too compelling likely due to an inexperienced director not really knowing how to direct talent. And this plot is so overdone and unoriginal that you have to wonder if Hollywood has run out of ideas. This is a bland B or C level film that doesn't hold ones attention for long.

Inferior

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 22 April 2018]

TELL is another low rent crime drama about a guy caught up in circumstances beyond his control when he steals a million dollars and finds out that everybody in his life wants to get their hands on it. Afterwards he finds himself pursued by corrupt cops alongside his own wife, friends, and even his parole officer. This film goes for a sub Tarantino vibe with a lot of quirky humour and bizarre characterisations, but it's only partially successful. The protagonist, as played by Milo Ventimiglia, is slimy rather than endearing, although there are some nice supporting turns from Robert Patrick and Jason Lee. The film offers a few good twists and funny moments but is generally a forgettable and inferior kind of production of the type we've seen all too often.