Out of Sight (1998)

I like this film a lot - I thought its dialogue was pretty smart and the story a nifty spin on bank heists. What stood out for me though was the chemistry between Clooney and Lopez (the latter the sexiest role I have ever witnessed) - it made me adjust my polarneck on more than one occasion! Also the soundtrack is excellent (David Holmes and a couple of Isley Brothers tracks)

Fmovies: George Clooney plays a smug, smooth-talking (now THAT'S a stretch!) bank robber turned convict. Jennifer Lopez plays a luscious strong-willed "daddy's girl" federal marshall. Was I expecting HAMLET here? No, what I was expecting was a sensuous, electric, pulsating movie. Well, I didn't get it. I felt there was little chemistry between the two stars, and that is killer in this kind of movie. The most laughable scenes have Clooney standing up to genuinely dangerous looking black and white cons (isn't Clooney afraid he is going to break a nail?) This movie could have been a hoot if it didn't contain Elmore Leonard usual mean spiritedness. The best performances come from the peripheral players, Ving Rhames (like THAT is a surprise!), Don Cheedle, Catherine Keener, Dennis Farina, Nancy Allen (looking surprisingly fetching) and, especially Albert Brooks. Michael Keaton is also a hoot in an unbilled cameo as Lopez's thick, adulterous boyfriend; however THAT relationship undermines the credibility of Lopez's character. The movie is confusing. It starts with a botched bank robbery, which ends with Clooney incarcerated in the Glades Prison in Florida. Clooney escapes, with the help of Rhames, but Lopez just so happens to be on the scene. Lopez apprehends Clooney but is overpowered by Rhames coming up behind her (like Lopez wouldn't have been sweeping the area with that shotgun, duh?) Lopez and Clooney wind up locked in a trunk together, and they talk, as Clooney gets familiar with her thigh (like real romantic, guys.) Rhames and Clooney talk about a botched robbery (not the same robbery as the beginning, mind you), then are left behind by Lopez as she talks another thick partner into running off with the getaway car. We then see Clooney and Rhames arriving at the hideout. Clooney soaks in a hot tub, as Lopez sneaks up, stands over Clooney with her gun drawn. She then bends down, and Clooney kisses her, essentially pulling her into the tub. Suddenly Lopez wakes up in the hospital. What the hell is going on? Ah, dream sequence, duh... The film flashes back and forth in time with very little sense of transition (thankfully there are no more dream sequences). The director gives us quite a few flashes of "razzle-dazzle" photography and editing, none of which really adds to the excitement. I found myself squirming before this was over. If you liked GET SHORTY, you'll probably like OUT OF SIGHT. Include me out of any more Elmore Leonard.

"Out of Sight" was one of the best movies of 1998, and yet it was ignored by moviegoers. I am amazed that most of George Clooney's movies fail, with the exception of "Batman and Robin" all of his films have been good. This film has good performances from a talented cast and great direction from an original story by Elmore Leonard. Highly reccomended.

Out of Sight fmovies. Expect good things in the future from everyone involved with this film, because they all come off nicely. Scott Frank gets Elmore Leonard just right, and Steven Soderburgh makes all the right decisions, pulling George Clooney's best performance out of him. Clooney has great chemistry with Jennifer Lopez, who is sly and tough as always. Their characters' conversation in a Detroit hotel bar is the sexiest scene I've ever seen. Albert Brooks and Don Cheadle are perfect, and Steve Zahn steals yet ANOTHER movie. The DVD is nice, if only for one deleted scene (right before the bathtub scene) that is hilarious, yet still never would've worked had they kept it in the film. SEE this film - and see how long the characters stay with you.

I, too, had a little trouble buying that such an intense relationship was born from such a minor conversation between them in the trunk. However, when I was able to get past that inconsistency in the plot, I found a great movie. Clooney and Lopez have great chemistry and show that they are both actors worthy of recognition. I loved the editing--the choppy cuts and the freezing of certain scenes. And I have never seen a better seduction scene in my life. The supporting cast was great too, especially the incomparably zany Steve Zahn. And once I got past the improbability of the relationship being so intense that she would risk her career for it, I thought that the way that she did risk her career was just great. I laughed out loud at the scene when he waves to her from the elevator. That is just a wonderful illustration that not everything is clear-cut or easy to do. Clooney was phenomenal, so cool...and just resigned to his life. I loved it.

By the way, seeing this movie after Jennifer Lopez has launched her career in pop music simply infuriated me that Hollywood has all but lost a true talent to the world of bubblegum pop.

'Out of Sight' is one of those rare films that can boast of having class in every department. The direction, script, cinematography, design and costumes disply such an acute and almost natural flair for bringing Elmore Leonard to the screen that it should be made illegal to film any of his novels without these people. But the acting is in a world of its own. Farina, Keaton, Rhames, Cheadle and Zahn all bring depth, comedy and intelligence to their roles. All are eclipsed however by the irresistable pairing of Jennifer Lopez and George Clooney. Clooney has finally managed to act without peering beneath his eyebrows and the effect is electric. This is the part he was born to play. His charisma is tangiable, but there is also a sense of fatalism whihc makes his character all the more compelling. Lopez, after her screaming shit-fits in the woeful 'Anaconda' proves that sexuality must also equal intelligence. Her Cisco is a mouth-watering mix of sass, beauty and cut-throat determination. It is one of those moments when you can actually see a star being born on screen. Put Clooney and Lopez together, and you have the type of chemistry with which executives have wet dreams over