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U Turn (1997)

Rate: 7
Viewed: 3/04, 4/18, 3/22

UTurn
4/18: The editing is the most impressive aspect of U Turn, so that's why I wanted to see it again.

The movie was holding steady for a rating of '9' from me until Jake McKenna was murdered. Things fell apart right after, sputtering badly toward the finish line. Yet the acting is terrific, and everybody is perfectly cast. Even Sean Penn is fantastic as Bobby Cooper. My favorites are him, Billy Bob Thornton, Claire Danes, and Joaquin Phoenix. Their stupid, tacky characters are amusing to watch.

It's a clever story: how things can be so fucked up for a fuck-up like Bobby Cooper. And they just do. I don't pity him. It's how I feel about Sean Penn. This one has great lines such as:

"You like Patsy Cline? I just love her. I wonder how come she don't put out no more new records."

"See, that's the difference between you and me, and why you live here and I'm just passing through."

"I don't think you know who I am. The name's Toby N. Tucker. People 'round here call me TNT. You know why?"

"You think bad, and bad's what you'll get."

"Darrell's dumb as a sack of hammers."

I have to give it to Oliver Stone who refuses to be pigeonholed by making many movies with different styles. He's always changing things up, and it has been interesting, to say the least. Although his gamble doesn't work out every time, they have been watchably entertaining and provocative.

All in all, U Turn is a funny movie in a bad Oliver Stone way with uniformly excellent editing, but it's a damn shame about the last twenty minutes.

3/22: I'm going from '6' to '7' for my rating of U Turn although the last twenty minutes still doesn't work for me.

It's better this time around with terrific performances. Everybody is well-cast. Look at the names: Sean Penn, Jennifer Lopez, Nick Nolte, Billy Bob Thornton, Jon Voight, Powers Boothe, Joaquin Phoenix, and Clare Danes. It's unbeatable. Plus, the edgy editing is almost reminiscent of Natural Born Killers.

All in all, U Turn is a fun Oliver Stone flick.