Just what I expected

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Good concept, poorly executed.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Criminal Activities has a good cast for talent in the main roles with Michael Pitt, Dan Stevens, Christopher Abbott, Rob Brown, Edi Gathegi and John Travolta. The premise of the film is four old friends come up with a financial investment plan to make a small fortune but they need $200K in seed money which one of the four old friends arranges to get a loan for. When their financial investment plan quickly goes south their anonymous financial backer comes forward and demands his $200K back immediately plus another $200K in interest, or else their heads will be handed to them, literally. The loan arranger is connected to the mob underworld and he tells his four patsies that he will wipe the slate clean of the $400K loan if they agree to kidnap another hood and hold him for just 24 hours. So the kidnapping plan is set in motion with the four amateurs and although it hits a few snags they eventually get the kidnapping completed and they keep the mob hostage tied up for their loan shark waiting to get the green light to let him go.What follows is about 60 minutes of continuous blather by all cast members including a whole lot of four letter words that rhyme with the word "PUCK". Most sensible film goers would at some point get up and ask for a refund but since I purchased the Blu Ray I chose to bear with the directors master(less)piece and although I was becoming very irritated with the endless blather of totally useless dialogue by the six main characters which I assumed was necessary to fill an otherwise empty void to completing a 94 minute movie I hung in there and I was rewarded with a better than average film end.I don't want to spoil any film goers surprise ending or personal experience with Criminal Activities but to summarize the film in three acts I would rate: Act One (1) with a "C" rating, Act Two (2) with a "D" rating, and the final act, Act Three (3) with a "B+" plus rating. So if you can hang in there through a pretty boring middle half of the film with a lot of useless four letter word dialogue you may be pleasantly surprised with an above average decent film ending.

B-movies can be fun, they also can be bad. Or they can be quite alright. And this for me was the latter. It wasn't really bad, but it didn't really give me that much. So while there were a few things that didn't quite work, I did like the overall chemistry. There were a couple of missed opportunities, considering the set up the movie could work with, but that doesn't mean it didn't get the things right it did use (eye of the beholder and all).There is tension and there is decisions that do not make too much sense. There are also a couple too many forgettable characters thrown into the mix. And there are the (sometimes) foreseeable twists and turns in the story and character development ... Does that sound enticing to you?

Anyone involved with this movie should just be ashamed of themselves. Why?The script, if there was one, was just a bunch of guys yelling f-words at each other. Worthless, f, f, f, this, and f, f, f, that.Cinematography? Shaky cam shot by a 12-year-old. Not one interesting visual. Plot? Forget it. Interest? None. Acting? Beyond lame. This is a product with a major star (Travolta) vying for your consumer dollar. The problem is, it's utter garbage. Do not waste a minute of your life on this sad rip-off.

A Low-Budget Indie by First Time Director Haley. His Film will Probably have You saying this isn't the first time for this Type of Thing. Obviously, a Homage or a Copycat, depending on Your Feeling about the Film.It's mostly Dialog Driven with Splatters of Violence for Punctuation. Sound Familiar? Some of the Scenes are irritating Shouting Matches and Hardly Witty. Others are more Clever and make for some Interesting Exchanges.An Amateur Kidnapping Scheme is at the Center of this Exercise in Neo-Noir. Haley plays a Glib and Aloof Mob Enforcer and John Travolta is in one of His Slumming Roles with Bad Makeup, but Manages to be an Anchor of Sorts for the Young Turks and Their Concern with High School Camaraderie and Current Girlfriend Fidelity.It's a Scattershot Story with some Intrigue and Interest, not a lot of it Works but some Things Do and it is Worth a Watch for B-Movie Fans, and Tarantino Rip-Off Spotters. The Ending may be more Complex than Needed, but it Feels like the Filmmakers think that the Overly Twisted Wrap Up makes this Something Special. Maybe, but Maybe too Clever for this Small Film to Pull Off.It's a Multitude of Things that were Withheld from the Audience and You will either be Saying A-Ha, or Give Me a Break. Depending if You can Fully Understand it all or Feel that it isn't Worth Understanding after all.