hyped garbage

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

It is hard to accept the fact that I haven't ever heard of this great Neo-Noir, written and directed by the acclaimed Wachowski Brothers (Lana&Lilly) in the early stages of their career which reached its peak with ''The Matrix'' (1999). ''Bound'' is an absorbing crime/mystery with dashes of Hitchcockian suspense, having a solid plotline and great cast such as Joe Pantoliano and Jennifer Tilly who both deliver tremendous performances in their roles of a husband and wife, the former being a made mafioso and the latter a typical 'Damsel in Distress' who searches for a safe exit from the Mob's violent characters and proceedings, while becoming infatuated with her new neighbor (Gina Gershon's character). Tilly's character, acted with a mischievous- almost manipulative- sexiness and cynical determination, hatches a plan to rob her husband of mob money, with the guidance and support from her new lover. But, as always, reality doesn't follow the plan and things spiral out of control with a high body count and Caesar (J. Pantoliano's character) on the verge of a complete breakdown as he finds himself owing to his own mob family a sum of 2.000.000 dollars. The main theme of ''Bound'' is trust between humans and the risks that people are taking, based on the trust to a closely related person. The movie, apart from its references to classic Film-Noir, brought to my mind the early Joel&Ethan Coen pictures and plotwise it will somehow remind you of the superb ''Shallow Grave'' by Danny Boyle. This is a little-known gem that is certainly worth spending the approximately 100 minutes of your precious time and it will leave you wondering why it is so hard to find similar productions in the contemporary era.

Slick, stylish and easy on the eye, this Nineties' noir kicks into gear with a torrid lesbian affair which triggers a caper that becomes life threatening for everyone involved. Inevitably, not everything goes according to plan and that's when the story's main characters have to use all their ingenuity to try to achieve their objectives. This well-written low-budget thriller is full of twists, humour and violence as well as an ever-present tension that increases consistently as the action plays out. It's this tension and the unpredictability of its characters that really makes "Bound" so gripping and entertaining to watch.After recently being released from a five-year prison sentence, professional thief Corky (Gina Gershon), is given a job as a handy-woman in a Chicago apartment building by one of her criminal acquaintances. It's there that she meets and is seduced by Violet (Jennifer Tilly), a gangster's moll who lives in the same building with her Mafioso boyfriend Caesar (Joe Pantoliano). Caesar's a money launderer who suddenly has $2,000,000 in his possession after recovering it from a bagman who'd been stealing money from the Mob for some time.Disenchanted with the life that she'd been living for the last five years, Violet becomes attracted to the idea of stealing the $2,000,000 so that she and Corky can make a new life together. Corky isn't sure how much she can trust Violet but eventually the two women devise a plan to carry out the theft before local Mob boss Gino Marzzone (Christopher Meloni) calls by at Caesar's apartment to collect the money. Violet's confident that the plan will work, because she knows that when Caesar discovers the disappearance of the money, he'll have to go on the run to save his skin and in so doing, will make it look as if he's the thief.When the plan's put into action, it seems to work relatively well until the point where Caesar discovers the theft and then doesn't react in the way that Violet had expected.First-time directors The Wachowskis did a great job in making this movie so visually impressive whilst also creating the kind of claustrophobic atmosphere that emphasises the danger that the women are constantly in. Additionally, their economical writing style is both intelligent and perfectly fitting for this type of material.The two leads in this movie are quite different as Corky is an overtly butch lesbian who sports a labrys tattoo on her arm while Violet appears to be a conventional moll whose breathy, high-pitched voice makes her seem rather vulnerable. Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly are both faultless in the ways that they bring out the individual characteristics of these women whilst also creating enough uncertainty about their motives and integrity to add strongly to the tension of the piece. Joe Pantoliano is also highly entertaining in the way that he, so effectively, conveys Caesar's unique combination of craziness and cunning.The relatively high body count and copious amounts of blood on view, emphasise how high the stakes are for everyone in the story but its humour, the amusing ways in which Caesar and Violet both underestimate each other and the ways in which the music (particularly by Aretha Franklin and Tom Jones) is used, are all additional elements that add tremendously to the enjoyment of watching this movie which is so much better appreciated now than it was at the time of its initial release.

The Wachowski Siblings' feature film debut is a masterly crafted, neatly scripted & expertly directed neo-noir thriller brimming with sex, style, violence & unexpected twists throughout its runtime which apart from demonstrating the cut-throat vision, talent & creativity of the then-new filmmakers, also manages to rank amongst the finest examples of its genre.Bound tells the story of Corky; an ex-con hired for a painting job in an apartment where she meets Violet who lives with her boyfriend who launders money for the mafia. Soon, the two women begin a steamy relationship and after Violet tells her that she wants out of the mob business, the two devise a scheme to steal $2 million worth of mafia money & put the blame on her boyfriend.Written & directed by The Wachowskis, Bound is one of the strongest debuts for any new filmmaker on the block & the level of sophistication present in the story is quite astonishing. The script is meticulously refined, the characters are more than just mere caricatures, the relationship between Corky & Violet is beautifully realised, and the film packs in as much substance as it oozes style.Another impressive thing about Bound is that Wachowskis don't compromise with any of its aspects; whether it's the authentic illustration of a lesbian affair, or the brutal violence that's simply unflinching. Both Gina Gershon & Jennifer Tilly deliver terrific performances as Corky & Violet respectively, their chemistry with each other is even more sizzling & Joe Pantoliano also chips in with a solid contribution.On an overall scale, Bound is a highly unexpected delight for I wasn't expecting it to be as immersive, intelligent & polished as it turned out to be. An excellent piece of neo-noir cinema that's gushing with homoerotic themes, effortlessly keeps the tension alive with its sudden but cleverly executed twists n turns, is effectively paced from start to finish & remains one of Wachowski's best works, Bound comes strongly recommended.

Bound is the story of... lesbians. Or at least that's what a lot of people seem to dwell on when talking about the film. Actually, any lesbian activity is only a small part of the film. Bound is actually a tale of deception and doublecrossing where a couple of women (yes, lesbians) hatch a plan to steal money from the mob.Whereas with other gangster films, they rely on constantly witty dialogue to establish character, or various other gimmicks. Bound is simple cause and effect. What starts out as a relatively straightforward plan leads to something going wrong, which leads to something else going wrong and so on.Issues of trust, loyalty, love, violence and everything else are covered, along with a couple of sex scenes and violence utilizing pruning shears. All of this is choreographed beautifully by the Wachowski brothers. However, it's Joe Pantoliano who steals the show. He plays a wiseguy that gets caught in the downward spiral which the girls have created.If you're looking for a sexy, stylish, tense thriller, this is for you (just don't expect any 'Matrix-style' fight scenes!).