BOTTLE ROCKET: I didn't get through more than 30 minutes of this self-consciously quirky movie about three loser buddies who decide they want a life of crime. The hip dialogue is funny at first, but quickly becomes grating, and it finally sinks under the weight of its own preciousness.
(Note: After seeing Rushmore, I decided to give Bottle Rocket another chance. After plowing through what I still think is self-conscious, overly hip quirkiness, I enjoyed it.)
BACKTRACK: I was sucked in by the allure of this movie's cast -- Jodie Foster, Dennis Hopper (who also directed), Dean Stockwell, John Turturro, Fred Ward, Vincent Price (!), and cameos from Joe Pesci doing a bad imitation of Joe Pesci and Charlie Sheen doing a good imitation of a block of wood -- don't you make the same mistake. Hopper plays a hit man assigned to kill Foster, who's witnessed a mob murder; instead, he falls in love with her. Or so the synopsis says, because frankly I didn't find much evidence that he loved her. And I don't know why she falls in love with him -- he sports a bizarre accent and Elvis-style sunglasses, but no discernible personality. None of it makes sense, and it's boring, to boot.
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