Coldblooded
Cosmo, an affectless mob bookie who lives in the basement of a retirement home, is promoted to hitman. He learns his new trade from Steve, a seasoned killer. He falls in love with a yoga teacher, Jasmine, and must figure out a way to leave the mob so they can be together.
-
- Cast:
- Jason Priestley , Kimberly Williams-Paisley , Janeane Garofalo , Robert Loggia , Peter Riegert , Josh Charles , David Anthony Higgins
Similar titles
Reviews
How sad is this?
Absolutely Fantastic
The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.
A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
With so many over-hyped major releases of recent years proving to be bitter disappointments, it's a real treat when I get to watch an older, lesser-known film with no expectations and am blown away by what I see. Director Wallace Wolodarsky's Coldblooded is such a film.Jason Priestley (of Beverley Hills 90210 fame) plays Cosmo, a socially inept loner working as a bookie for an organised crime syndicate, who unwillingly becomes a hit-man when his gangster boss makes him an offer he can't refuse. After being sent to work alongside seasoned gunman Steve (Peter Riegert), in order to learn the ropes, Cosmo discovers that he is a natural when it comes to dishing out death.Completely ruthless, quick thinking, and a great shot, he takes to the job like a duck to water, but also finds that wasting people for a living is rather stressful. In order to try and relax, he begins yoga, and soon falls for the pretty teacher who takes his class. But is it possible for him to continue in his line of work and be in love at the same time?A quirky blend of dark humour and extreme violence, Coldblooded is a delight from start to finish. Priestly excels as Cosmo, a character that you cannot help but like, despite his monstrous ability to shoot complete strangers without skipping a heartbeat. The young killer's deadpan expression and bizarre mannerisms suggest that his mind functions in a manner different to mosthis perception of right and wrong is certainly severely distortedand whilst this doesn't excuse the fact that he is a brutal murderer, it makes his actions little easier to understand and, perhaps, even forgive.The smart script, also by Wolodarsky, brims with offbeat moments, great incidental characters, and inky black comedy, and his talented cast (which includes great turns by Robert Loggia, as Cosmo's boss, and Kimberly Williams as his girlfriend, plus fine cameos from Janeane Garofolo and Michael J. Fox) don't put a foot wrong, delivering some truly excellent performances.If you too are weary of overblown summer blockbusters that don't live up to the hype, track down this little gem of a movie to be reminded how good cinema can be when it's done right.
I went to see this at the Seattle International Film Festival in 1995. I went because the synopsis sounded interesting. Plus the guy who had written and directed it was connected with the Simpsons, surely a major plus when it comes to comedy. The audience was filled with teenage girls, obviously drawn by the name of Jason Priestly on the marquee. It made the subsequent viewing of the film THAT much funnier (well, at least to me) to sit there and wonder what these girls were thinking as the film progressed and Priestly started killing folks with such wonderful deadpan indifference. This movie is incredibly funny. Peter Reigert is top-flight comedy gold in every scene he has as the burned-out veteran hit-man but the real revelation is how funny Jason Priestly can be when given a chance. His character here is almost like Peter Sellers from BEING THERE; he is so impassive and deadpan, yet the film revolves around his performance and it must be good for a film like this to work; well, Priestly delivers. His character is goofy and sweet and yet somehow chilling too in his casual attitude to murder. Why this film has languished in total obscurity is a mystery. When i saw the film, most of the audience didn't know what to think; the teenage girlies were rather shocked;they didn't find it amusing to see their 90210 heartthrob pistol-whipping people before icing them, but I did. When the film ended, the director, Wallace Wolodarsky, was just sitting there, alone.He had introduced the film briefly beforehand and said he'd be happy to field questions when it was over. I approached him (since no one else was going to) and I think I frightened him a bit with my exuberance; I had a shaved head at the time and i looked a bit weird and I said, too loudly, "That movie was brilliant! It was hilarious!" He said,"Thank you," and slowly backed away from me. I thought, "Well, you can't win them all." And I left him in the theater filled with people who didn't understand his movie.
"Coldblooded" is a genuine surprise. It's one of the funniest black comedy's I've seen, and the credit almost entirely belongs to the right-on , deadpan performance of Jason Priestly. Priestly plays Cosmo, an almost catatonic bookie, perfectly happy with is lowlife position, until a "management change" forces his to be "promoted" to hit-man. I say, "almost entirely," because the other great performance in this movie belongs to Peter Riegert, who plays the burned-out hit-man who trains Priestly. Their scenes together are the best in the movie, though there are several brilliant others, such as:WARNING: SPOILERPriestley's conversation with Michael J. Fox and his wife. Priestley's conversation with his girlfriend's ex boyfriend. Priestley's confession to his girlfriend about his occupation. Priestely's final conversation with his girlfriend.None of these scenes could have worked without clever writing and none of them could have worked without Priestley, in an Oscar-worthy performance. This one's playing SUNDANCE in letter-box. Grab it while you can, because who knows when it will make it to DVD.\Priestley's character most certainly was the inspiration for Bruce Willis' "Jimmie the Tulip" in "The Whole Nine Yards". If you liked that movie, you'll most certainly like "Coldblooded".I give "Coldblooded" an "8".I
Nice. Quentin Tarantino without having a fit.Well, it seems there's no place for short comments. So I have to fill in some more words. Which is really this movie lacks in a rather smart way. Check out Jasmine's face when she's pointing a gun, near the end. You'll see what I mean. Words are just accessories.Let's see if now the comment is accepted.Nope. You have to bear with me a little more. And they have mandatory spelling check too!! I'm impressed. I think.The words laconic, concise, brief have no meaning for these guys.Let's see... check out the little pearls spread here and there inside the movie. Short humorous situations, well tempered. Sort of back to the basics film, clichés aren't annoying, just adequate. Eh, what do you think about that - adequate cliché. Of course i'm going to write anything here if they press me to!Finally! Not a moment too soon. Timing, yes, the movie displays good timing. What's the director name again?