death sentence

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0804461/

if i could spell the gurgling of contempt in my throat (aaacchhhh...) this movie was the biggest let down in the month of january 2008. i bought it at walmart as part of a 2-pack-- the second movie was steven segal's marked for death.

john goodman plays the father of some gang leader, and is supposed to be intimidiating, harsh, and hardcore...all i saw was a shell of walter from the big lebowski; humorless and cursing less effectively. (he could have at least thrown in a vietnam reference.) there is one scene in the movie that is supposed to be the "turning point:" kevin bacon goes into a bar where the gang people hang out and asks the whereabouts of the leader. the bartender looks at him dirty and says something in spanish. then, kevin bacon proceeds to speak spanish back to the bartender very slowly and american-like-- no accent, no believeable tone of menace, nada. i was ready to stop the movie then and there but i wouldn't have been able to stand the fact that i had watched it up to that point, only to not see the predictable, anti-climactic ending. when it was over, i tried to break it in half but all i was able to do is bend it into a sharp, v-shaped object before i disposed of it properly. i kept the case to hold a random burned or bootlegged dvd.