Customer Reviews
Holds your interest 
2008-09-30
That's more than many movies can boast. Fine cast, especially Jeff Daniels as the blind roommate. The plot isn't entirely obvious, either. It does degenerate into a somewhat stock thriller during the bank robbery sequence and the aftermath, so be forewarned. Hey, this is Hollywood.
More Deserving Than Some Reviewers Gave It 2008-09-30
This is not a high-speed chase, cut scene, after cut scene, type of movie and maybe that's why some reviewers gave it 1 and 2 Stars, but that's because you actually have to have an attention span longer than 30 seconds to really enjoy this lost gem.
"The Lookout" does have its flaws, but the good acting of Jeff Daniels and Joseph Gordon-Levitt(Third rock from the sun) pulls it all together in the end. If you have patience, and a desire to view a better than average thriller, take your time and let it spin its web, you won't be disappointed.
The Lookout - Good, Not Great, With Some Missed Opportunities 
2008-09-26
The Lookout is bound to attract a lot of fans. There's a lot to like here. This is a good movie. The disappointing thing is, this could have been a very good or even a great movie.
Film noir is it's thing, and like many people I am drawn to it. Of course noir fans won't mind a slow moving story, which was no problem for me but might be for some. But I particularly enjoy noir when it is used in a way that actually aids in the story. In this case it seems to be used as an artifice. The noir angle could have been further developed.
The story line is hardly as "unpredictable" as some would have you believe. It's actually so obvious that it's clear that the group's plans would never work. The story is based on the often used formula of the young guy who "had it all" till an accident changed his life. The accident is supposed to leave him damaged, but in my opinion the director under-portrayed the after effects to the point that they are not as powerful as they could have been. A perfect example is the scene where he is hanging out with he newfound friends and lightly says "now I remember why I am here" to the girl who has caught his eye. His condition is lightly played with, but the line is not framed effectively enough to be effective either in a subtle or an obvious way.
Isla Fisher, of Wedding Crashers fame, is very cute and convincing in her role as the love interest. But the real magic happens in the scene she shares with Daniels, who somewhat steals what Levitt leaves behind despite very few lines. I enjoyed Jeff Daniels portrayal a lot. He definitely deserves more credit than he has gotten for this role.
Of course he is the star, but how many noir films is Joseph Gordon Levitt going to star in? Clearly he can act. He carries a lot of this movie, with the help of a very good supporting cast
The main problem with this film is the way all the plot lines are crudely tied together at the end. It's not done effectively and it undermines a good portion of the first hour and change of the movie. I am not one for spoilers so you will have to see it for yourself. Ultimately, this is what made this movie just an OK movie instead of a very good one. By the time you reach the climax and conclusion, you are bound to have several "huh?" moments.
This is still worth watching and I personally find it to be much better than Brick, though both are over-rated in my humble opinion. But don't expect the masterpiece that has been advertised.
Enjoy!!
Innate knowledge of good and evil 2008-09-08
Chris Pratt has it all: he is hockey player, popular, from a well off family and he has bright future. Until one day in a teenage lust for life, he and his friends drive in a dark of the night, with the lights turned off in order to watch fireflies mate in the night. It is magical moment, until they crash. We see Chris after crash and he is a different person. He is brain damaged and unable to care for himself. He cannot sustain thought process, he needs to write down his tasks or else he forgets. He is also tormented by the events of that night since two of his friends are dead and his girfriend is maimed for life. To have somewhat independent life, he gets a job at the bank as a night shift janitor. Surely, his job and his conditon combined, make him a great bait for the local thugs is search for collecting easy money. This is an interesting movie, that explores outward world's readiness to feed on another person's vulnerability; our human desire for independence, love and physical and emotional connection with the world; and out innate knwoledge of what is right and what is wrong. We also get to see the deep love of the family members for one another and true meaning of friendship that transcends limits of our physical and mental abilities.
Good movie, good performances, but that's it. 2008-08-29
Good movie, good performances, but that's it. Nothing spectacular here, except the blu-ray picture. Probably would have given 3.5 if I could though. Certainly not a waste of an evening, but not nearly as suspenceful or twisting as it is advertised. Quiet and not over-played. Just good, not great. Joseph Gordon-Levitt gave a surprisingly good performance and now that he's filled out some he looks earily like Heath Ledger!
Maybe they should've named it, "Look Out!" 2008-08-02
Acclaimed screenwriter Scott Frank (MINORITY REPORT) makes a mind-blowing directorial debut in THE LOOKOUT a gritty high-tension crime thriller starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt (TV's THIRD ROCK FROM THE SUN BRICK) Jeff Daniels (THE SQUID AND THE WHALE) and Isla Fisher (WEDDING CRASHERS). Chris "Slapshot" Pratt (Gordon-Levitt) whose once-bright future has been dimmed by a head injury is a night janitor at a bank. Lonely and frustrated Chris falls prey to a con man's seductive promise of romance and a better life and agrees to help rob the bank where he works. Filled with heart-pounding action edge-of-your-seat suspense and a twist you'll never see coming THE LOOKOUT will grip you and never let go...It's "a masterpiece" (Richard Roeper EBERT & ROPER).System Requirements:Running Time: 99 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLERS Rating: R UPC: 786936733235 Manufacturer No: 5421703
bargain bin bound 
2008-05-20
The only thing that happens in the first 45 minutes is that you learn to dislike everyone in the film. Jeff Daniels chooses to play Jeff Bridges' Dude character from Big Lebowski. That in itself is amusing for a few minutes. There is no "twist" at the end. I'd say its more of a thunk.
Familiar Yet New 2008-05-17
A wholly original but -- at the same time -- familiar film, THE LOOKOUT has that bank heist noir feel with a human twist.
I started searching out Scott Frank films (writer and director of The Lookout) after watching Get Shorty many years back. His snappy dialogue and unique look at `fish-out-of-water' characters caught my attention and I've been pleased with his most, if not all, of his work.
Add to this film the talents of relative newcomer Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Brick) and veteran Jeff Daniels (Good Night, and Good Luck) and I was intrigued ...to say the least.
The familiar element is the bank heist reminiscent of The Squeeze (1978) with Lee Van Cleef. The unfamiliar comes from Chris Pratt played by the aforementioned Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He's damaged goods. Not just mentally but physically. Involved in a car crash that killed several friends, injured another, and left Chris with a traumatic brain injury, the audience is left to ponder what would have become of an all-star athlete who now has serious lapses in memory and can only hold down a janitorial job at a local bank.
Living with another handicapped man named Lewis (Jeff Daniels), the two are an odd, disabled pair. Lewis helps keep Chris on-track with his brain-injured therapy, while Chris plods along trying to make sense of the changes in his life that aren't really changes at all ...just problems with memory. His frustrations are palpable, including his problems he has with his father who doles out guilt money only as he sees fit.
Into the picture comes a group of bank robbers with their eyes on Chris. Included in the group is a lovely young lady named ...well ...Luvlee (Isla Fisher). Gaining Chris' trust (and sexual advances) Luvlee soon reveals her true nature. Handing Chris into the deadly hands of her cohort Gary (Matthew Goode, Match Point), Chris finds himself at the center of the heist at the bank where he works and stuck without a way out. Or does he have one?
The fact that the audience is left guessing as to the depth of Chris' brain damage is a nice ending. How much he actually knows of what he's doing and why is an unusual turn on a familiar film road. The weaving in and out of the night of Chris' deadly car crash with his current no-win situation is pulled off exceptionally well and had me glued to my seat. And Jeff Daniels' masterful portrayal of a blind man with a set of chops also added immensely to the film's success. And Luvlee is pretty nice to look at, too (wink!).
A good heist film that has helped relaunch the genre in a new direction ...far removed from things like the OCEAN'S films.
See this movie. 
2008-05-11
I watched The Lookout, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeff Daniels, Matthew Goode, and Isla Fisher, this week. WOW. Where was the buzz about this film? It came out last year, and I'd honestly hardly heard of it until a few weeks ago.
Chris Pratt (Gordon-Levitt) is a popular high school student. His family is wealthy, he's the star of the school hockey team, and he's dating a beautiful girl. A horrific car accident, however, leaves him with a serious brain injury (that he's still trying to cope with) and two deaths on his conscience. After much rehab, Chris is living a lonely life as the night janitor at a bank. He lives in an apartment with Lewis (Daniels), a blind man with an eccentric personality.
Having a non-alcoholic beer at a local bar one night, Chris is approached by Gary Spargo (Goode), who apparently went to high school with him. Spargo befriends him, introducing Chris to Luvlee Lemons (Fisher), with whom he strikes up a romantic relationship. Before long, though, the jig is up. Chris realizes that Gary is only softening him up in order to gain his participation in a robbery of the bank. With Gary's persuasion of power and a better life, Chris agrees to help.
Gordon-Levitt is amazing in this film, and the script is a thing of beauty. Daniels plays a role different from what I'm used to seeing him in, and he does very well with it. I was impressed with this film, and particularly with the character of Chris.
I am normally the person in the audience shouting at characters that make bad decisions. (As in, "Noooooo! You KNOW that is wrong! What are you doing??!! Stop! Stop right now and walk out of there!) But with this film, it is not so easy to judge. Chris had everything. And now he feels that he has nothing. And he can't concentrate. And he can't even cook for himself, because he can't seem to put all the pieces together needed to open cans of tomatoes, boil pasta water, etc. He has lost so much. And he's still so young. And Gary comes in, smooth-talker that he is, and Chris wants so badly to believe that he can recapture who he was that he falls for it. I totally understood why Chris would have participated in the heist. I couldn't blame him.
This is not a predictable script. I honestly didn't know what would happen next. Will Chris get out of this caper alive? Will he end up with the money? Will he rediscover himself? There are no pat answers (which is alot like life, I guess).
At any rate, see this movie. I really enjoyed it, and I think you will, too. There is some violence, but (in my opinion) it isn't the gory, gratuitous kind.
SCOTT FRANK, OPUS 1 2008-04-26
*** 2007. Written and directed by Scott Frank. A student who had a terrible car accident four years before, suffers from loss of memory. A gang wants to use him when its members learn that he works in a bank as night watch. Original script but average result if we except the mood of the film. In fact, the director uses only a few sets - the apartment, the bank, the house, the bar - for his characters who otherwise seem to wander through a ghost town, as if they were only characters of the hero's memory. A DVD zone rental only.
