Shireen Crutchfield in Love and a Bullet (2002)

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Despite being created by people you never heard of and going straight to video, this is a fairly good movie. Let me describe it this way, if Guy Richie is the British Quentin Tarantino, then Kantz (the director) is the guy who brought Richie's modifications back home to the USA and added a uniquely African-American spin. Like Lock, Stock ... or Snatch, this film portrays violence which is employed so cavalierly as to be humorous. Like Richie's films, this is about sly gangsters with more than their share of everyday human foibles, and even a serious reflection or two. Like Richie's films, it switches the tone from wild humor to thoughtfulness and back to humor again so rapidly that you never know when it's being serious. Maybe never, judging from the funny "shock" ending.

It's about a cynical, smart hitman who worked his way up from the streets until he became the most trusted killer of a racist white mobster who feigns being an equal opportunity employer. The hitman admits to being one of those complex black guys, but also admits that he's tired of being that, because it causes him to form a mental identification with the woman he is currently stalking, despite knowing that he will eventually have to kill her, and that she's the boss's girlfriend.

There is only one review online, and the reviewer went on at great descriptive length and had approximately the same opinion I had of the film - "Surprisingly un-bad. Another self consciously hip hitman-comedy and I guarantee it will annoy the shit out of many of you. But I was surprised to find myself laughing with a lot of the jokes and ultimately enjoying the thing".

A satisfactory transformation of Guy Richie filmmaking to an African-American context. Like Richie's films, it is kind of odd because of the tone shifts between silly, serious, and violent, but I was entertained. Especially by the humor.

Nudity Report: Shireen Crutchfield, as a “ho” is shown topless in a salt and pepper combination.

IMDb Summary: IMDb voters score it 5.7/10.

DVD Info: Widescreen anamorphic 1.85:1 and a full screen version; Full-length director's commentary.


Written by: Scoopy …courtesy of Scoopy.net