Lucybespro It is a performances centric movie

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

Tassos Tsotsoros I love a bit of Steve Martin. So I was very enthusiastic while looking through his movies when I found this one. A nice high-rated crime/mystery/thriller from David Mamet with Steve Martin! Sounds great!But, unfortunately, it was probably one of the least thrilling thrillers I've ever watched. Predictable, with plot holes, indifferent directing and naive scenario. ***Spoilers*** (Even though the whole movie was a big spoil)Just to name a few cringe moments: - why is Susan throughout the movie actively trying to convince the "hero" that Jimmy Dell wasn't actually on that hydroplane? She's in on it... you'd think she'd want to keep quiet about it. why did Susan help him escape the police from the NY airport and drove him to Boston, only to then slip him a gun so he'd be arrested by the police. The airplane ticket she had was a return ticket from St. Estephe back to NY... in her name. And he would use that ticket to fly himself from Boston back to St. Estephe. Its an airplane ticket not a refund coupon for Walmart.If everything was setup by his boss Mr. Klein why did he bail him out, not press charges and beg him to return the book? Ridiculous!!The worst of all... why are con artists still around chasing Joe on the airport and boat scene? They have the book... they've setup everything to accuse Joe... it's over. They need nothing else from him. Just leave and you're home free. But they hang around for some reason and chase him. Even though they want nothing from him. Monumental idiotic! And just think about it for a minute... The con artists didn't really need anything from Joe. They had the second key from Mr Klein, so they had the book at any time they wanted. They could setup everything to frame Joe without him even getting involved. What was all the other silly nonsense about? Creating a fake sister, a fake FBI agent, a fake apartment, club etc. All that to make him bring the book... which they had access to all along. Pathetic!And just to mention few completely silly and embarrassing moments: the woman shouting at the baby "You got your FINGERPINTS all over the BOOK" two or three times! Yes yes!! We got it!! We got it half an hour ago!! Joe painfully asking Susan a few times why she was a criminal. "Why"? Wow... talk naive scenario.They could however fix this whole movie with adding just one punchline. And I offer this free of charge for the "director's cut" version of the movie. When the US Marshals van leaves and he's left all alone on the pier at the end of the movie he could just turn towards the camera and say "Gotcha Suckers!". Then all the Steve Martin fans would understand this movie is actually a parody from Bowfinger productions!

Python Hyena The Spanish Prisoner (1997): Dir: David Mamet / Cast: Campbell Scott, Steve Martin, Felicity Huffman, Rebecca Pidgeon, Ben Gazzara: Compelling mystery with a title that is symbolic or a misdirection of terms. It stars Campbell Scott who encounters both Steve Martin and Felicity Huffman on the beach at separate times. Huffman takes his picture and Martin offers him a large sum of money for his camera. They get acquainted then Martin offers him a large sum of money to deliver a package to his sister. These characters come in and out of his life until he becomes a target of scandal and murder. One big flaw is that the actors seem to be speaking on cue so they talk at each other instead of with. Intriguing plot with uncertainty directed by David Mamet who preserves mood. Mamet previously made House of Games and Homicide, and is a capable filmmaker but his casting choices seem way off in this film. Scott is hardly sympathetic as the victim, and Martin, despite the fact that he is branching out from his usual comic self, plainly isn't convincing. Huffman and Rebecca Pidgeon are the true gems and keep viewers guessing and the plot tense and unpredictable. Its main theme seems to regard trust either for its hero or viewers facing reality and very real people. Despite its performances the mystery elements are on target. Score: 6 / 10

Andrew Ray The late 1990s were a great time for Hollywood motion pictures, but there were three Buried Treasures during this period which I'd like to highlight the next three months. Let's begin in 1997. This was the year "Titanic" scored that rarest of hat tricks – It was the year's box office champ, it was critically acclaimed, and it won the Best Picture Oscar. But Hollywood churned out some other great feature films that year too: Curtis Hanson's thriller, "LA Confidential," Ang Lee's "The Ice Storm," and Paul Thomas Anderson's breakout picture, "Boogie Nights." Veteran Actors Peter Fonda and Robert Duvall turned in their best performances ever in "Ulee's Gold" and "The Apostle," respectively. And Matt Damon and Ben Affleck shot to stardom in "Good Will Hunting." Lost in the shuffle was perhaps the best David Mamet screenplay ever filmed. Coming on the heels of his successful big screen adaptation of his play "Glengarry Glen Ross" in 1992, Mamet's 1994 offering "Oleanna" was a rare bomb – both critically and at the box office. He was due for a hit. And boy did he score – with critics and (by Mamet's metage) with filmgoers. Unfortunately, few people remember "The Spanish Prisoner," and it deserves a second look.Campbell Scott (son of George C.) stars as Joe Ross, a corporate engineer who has developed a new industrial process. The plot revolves around an elaborate scam to steal the intellectual property behind this process. Initially, this may sound boring, but remember this is David Mamet. Not since Hitchcock's "North By Northwest" and Polanski's "Rosemary's Baby" has a writer/director so excelled at presenting average Americans immured in machinations over which they possess no control. "The Spanish Prisoner" falls under the same umbrella as Mamet's directorial debut, 1987's "House Of Games" – the story of an intricate con game to swindle money from a wealthy author. The parallels between "House Of Games" and "The Spanish Prisoner" are many, although I prefer the Campbell Scott vehicle, if for no other reason than the hustlers are after intellectual property rather than the more standard money or tangible goods.Playing about as radically against type as possible, Steve Martin turns in one of the best performances of his career as a wealthy traveler who meets Ross on a corporate retreat in the Caribbean. Martin does an excellent job building trust yet still seeming as though he may be hiding something. He asks Ross to deliver a book to his sister when he returns to New York. Turns out, the sister doesn't really exist (a confidence game known as the Spanish Prisoner), Ross unknowingly opens a Swiss bank account, and unknowingly buys a one-way ticket out of the country. Thus begins a sophisticated swindle involving Ross' boss and an FBI agent who was present at the corporate retreat. But Ross is no dummy. He knows Martin's fingerprints are on the book he gave him, which initiates his reaction to the scam.This is classic Mamet. A labyrinthine plot entrapping a common man into an axiomatic contrivance of grand proportion. The story unfolds layer by layer, in a deliberate yet headlong manner, as Mamet reveals only what we need to know, when we need to know it. And if you've never heard Mamet dialogue, you're in for a treat. His characters speak in choppy, staccato sentences, always reaching for just the right words – often saying more in their silence than in their verbiage.There are no wasted scenes in "The Spanish Prisoner." Everything we see and hear will mean something eventually. It's a tight, alluring story, and a true joy to experience. "The Spanish Prisoner" is one of those films you'll want to re-watch immediately upon its conclusion.

Lechuguilla As the story begins you get the feeling that, despite the triviality, something important is going on. But you don't know quite what it is. Early scenes, with a variety of characters, contain little bits of business that imply, suggest, hint, portend. Dialogue adds to this impression. "You never know who anybody is", says one character to another. Welcome to the world of corporate intrigue.Our protagonist is Joe Ross (Campbell Scott), presumably a Boy Scout type straight arrow, innocent and charming. On behalf of the company he works for, he has created a formula called "the process", highly valued, that will make him and his company rich. Trouble is, others may want to steal his formula. The appeal of this film is the challenge of trying to figure out, among all the characters, who are the good guys and who are the villains.Except for scenes early in the plot and at the end, most scenes take place indoors, using sets with persuasive production design. These interior scenes are lit darkly, consistent with a dark, sinister tone. There are lots of close-up shots, as the emphasis here is on characters. What secrets, if any, are they hiding? Background music is low-key with just a hint of Spanish origin. Casting is acceptable; overall acting is quite good.My only complaint is that the story is a bit too contrived. I can't imagine that a villain, or villains, would go to such extreme lengths to accomplish their objective. A simpler plot might have been more realistic.Even so, this is a very good movie. What makes "The Spanish Prisoner" so enjoyable is that it is all story ... no camera gimmicks, no annoying car chases or obnoxious TV news reporters, no filler. As a result, some viewers will find the film slow going, dull, and bland. It's a film for intelligent viewers who like puzzles and mysteries. And its theme of greed fits right in with contemporary American culture.