U Turn (1997)

Best movie of this year hands down!

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Oliver Stone's "U Turn" is a small town Arizona story with love crosses and plot twists galore. A drifter (Sean Penn) breaks down in the Arizona back-woods and gets entangled with a spitfire (Jennifer Lopez) who wants to leave her twisted, abusive husband (Nick Nolte). The husband, on the other hand, wants his wife murdered. The town mechanic (Billy Bob Thornton) is a greasy local who dislikes city slicker outsiders and doesn't aim to make Penn's character's life any easier. Our hero also gets mixed up with a cute local waitress (Claire Danes) seeking refuge from her abusive boyfriend (Joaquin Phoenix). Billy Bob Thornton (at his greasy best), a grease covered mechanic who Bobby later calls (among other things) "dumber than a sack of hammers". After leaving his car to the mechanic he meets the lovely and exotic Grace. A fiery vixen married to a much older man (Nick Nolte), who wants him dead. Turns out Nolte's character Jake wants Grace dead as well.I'm not saying that "U-Turn" is Oliver Stone's best film, but it's definitely my personal favorite of his. The surreal cinematography, haunting music composed by Ennio Morricone, and the breathtaking scenery of the Arizona desert create a great atmosphere for greed, lust, betrayal, and murder. The atmosphere is compelling, all hangs together well, and we have something close to a film noir masterpiece until the scene on the cliff where our hero is supposed to push her off. Juggling the psychology in the film with the psychology he's working on the audience, Oliver Stone loses his grip and everything goes to ill-logic and blood and bodies. The combination of western sounds with his Italian style of music is a treat to listen to. The music compliments to the atmosphere of the movie and to the feeling of the landscape of Arizona.Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

Jennifer Lopez, Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Jon Voight, Joaquin Phoenix, Claire Danes, Billy Bob Thornton, Powers Boothe and ... is that Laurie Metcalfe and Liv Tyler? And helmed by Academy award wining director Oliver Stone, it's quite stunning exactly how much quality has gone into this film. All of that together has produced a darkly funny, sexy, crude and intelligent action thriller that will not be to everyone's taste, but is a good film overall.Sean Penn stars as Bobby Cooper, who is not the world's nicest man, who has his car break down in a hick town in Arizona, with only one mechanic, the moronic Darrell (Billy Bob Thornton) in town and keen to make as much money off this visitor as possible. Forced to spend the day there, he gets caught up in the town's tawdry inner workings involving incest, love triangles, showdowns in the middle of the street and one of the great femme fatales in 90s cinema, Grace (Jennifer Lopez).The film does indulge in every negative stereotype of the south, but deserves much credit for getting the audience to side with the unlikeable Bobby and the bizarre series of events he finds himself caught in. In the hands of a lesser lead actor, or with a lighter more comedic script, this could have been an instantly forgettable, 3000 miles to Graceland style clunker, but with Penn and Stone involved, it's a dark, but fun, production rendered with considerable care. The film brings all of the different elements together for an effective closing sequence and fitting finale.Lopez and Penn walk away with much of the credit for this but there really isn't a weak link, with the sun scorched Arizona earth (if that's where it was actually filmed) another of the film's true stars.With incest, unlikeable characters and dark humour, this film is not everyone's idea of a fun two hours, but it is mine. Featuring a good performance from Penn and Lopez as we haven't seen her since, it's well worth a look for fans of either, or those who like these 90s style quirky dramadies.

Wow. What a weird movie. And from Oliver Stone no less.But what a cast! Penn, Nolte, Lopez, Boothe, Voight, Thorton, Phoenix, Danes...etc.I expected a little more intensity from Penn. he seemed to weak and easily manipulated. But his character seem to demanded him to be that way.Nolte as the dirty old man who is and has been basically "raping" his step-daughter Lopez, was OK. He seemed very thin back in 1997. maybe the role demanded it.Lopez as the "femme fatale" per say did OK also. Her scenes of making love with Penn and Nolte just did not seemed convincing at all. But still, she held her own with the these two "heavyweights" of the cinema.Boothe was once again doing yet another part as a sheriff. But I felt he was wasted as usual. he really didn't have much to do but just get killed.Phoenix as T.N.T was a treat. he seemed to remind me of a young Ray Liotta. Intense and psychotic at the same time. All for the "love" of a woman. He was one of the memorable characters of the this unusual film.Danes was wasted as his "girl" who really wants to leave this hick town and leave with Penn. Thus inciting Phoenix's jealousy big-time.Thorton for me stole the picture along with Phoenix. Thorton's 'Darrell' embodied the true redneck nightmare one can encounter in these small one-horse towns. He's scary and funny at the same time. A real complete treat of casting here for Billy Bob.Voight, I did not recognize at 1st! that's how much i was paying attention. But it's because I was focusing on the other characters in the film. Voight's blind guy was somewhat memorable once you know it's him under that makeup.Julie Hargerty's waitress was OK but her scenes were way to short to appreciate them, plus she was somewhat exemplified a little exaggerating as a typical redneck town waitress.Laurie Metcalf fared a little better as the Bus Station Clerk giving Penn a hard time for not having the exact amount to buy a ticket for the bus. But again her role was brief. good but brief.Abraham Benrubi as a biker/thief was also way too brief and was also wasted. he could have been an interesting character, but was blown away way to quickly. And by a little old lady no less! I would have had him cast as the Russian enforcer who shows up at the town looking for Penn. But alas I'm not the writer of the film. Shame. But the two stars that I have no idea why they were in the movie at all because their roles were so inconsequential, that any bit-extra actor could have done their brief cameos!! I'm talking about the great Bo Hopkins and the lovely Liv Tyler. Hopkins cameo just didn't make sense to me. He's in the diner when Penn encounters Phoenix and Danes for the 1st time, but he is just a simple customer in the background!? What the hell? I believe he didn't even have any lines!? I think Stone could have put him to better use as the sheriff of the town. And had Boothe as the mafia guy that Penn owed money to.But the worst cameo was Tyler's blink or you'll miss her as the customer behind Penn at the bus station wanting to buy a ticket and Metcalf's clerk is so distraught over Penn's emotional outburst, that she closes for the day leaving Tyler like "what the hell?" Exactly. what the hell Stone? What was the point of even having her in the bit scene? I guess we will never know. just like the point of this exaggerating pulp nonsense.

To say anything, and I mean anything about the plot other than "guys car breaks down in Superior, Arizona", would be difficult to do, and not necessarily helpful to you either. Let me say if you enjoy Coen brother's fare (e.g Blood Simple), then you'll love this.The acting is superb, the dialogue sharp, the screenplay top class, cinematography top notch, great sound track and the whole so easily missed because it is just "another crime thriller". It isn't just another anything. This story takes you down a cul-de-sac, back out again, back in again, and throws you around so many times you'll think you have been on the best ride at the fair.Just do not miss this because it is one of the best films I have seen in a long while.