GamerTab
That was an excellent one.
Comwayon
A Disappointing Continuation
Mischa Redfern
I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.
Sammy-Jo Cervantes
There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.
heywood100
So-so comedy heist movie about three friends trying to think of a way to make some money (though actually getting a job never seems to occur to them). Starts with a suprisingly unfunny jewellery store robbery gone wrong and continues to go nowhere throughout. None of the characters are particularly likeable, but the worst offender is Vincent Gallo, who for some reason seems to be trying to act like Quentin Tarantino. Instead of using Tarantino's questionable acting skills the makers should have tried to be more like him in the script department. But they haven't. And Palookaville is boring and goes nowhere as a result.
George Parker
"Palookaville" tells of three schmucks who are determined to be crooks but somehow just can't seem to mastermind even a simple burglary. Surprisingly well scripted, acted, and directed, given the plot, this film develops and maintains the integrity of it's inept principals while walking a tightrope between comedy and drama, avoiding falling headlong into either genre. An enjoyable little flick for channel surfers.
jtur88
I'm very rarely inspired to give a film a Ten, but this must have been just the film I was in the mood to see at the time. Only a few of those consciousness-threatening laughs, but generally a warmly funny film. As a dog-hater, I'm always astonished when a dog (or two) steals the show. Palookaville's dogs were the first film roles I've ever seen for the kind of pets MY friends have in real life. My wife was so caught up in her identity with the lives of the characters, that she was at one point heard to remark "Oh, no! Don't let something bad happen in this film!" Almost made us want to go and live in New Jersey.
Sean Gallagher
For reasons which, to me anyway, are completely unfair, every heist movie released since 1992's RESEVOIR DOGS has been compared to that film. I agree that film was great, and obviously there have been rip-offs, but not every heist film is, and PALOOKAVILLE, a wonderful surprise, is an example. In fact, if there's any film this should be compared to, it's the 1950's Italian movie BIG DEAL ON MADONNA STREET. Like that film, this is not about hardened criminals planning a heist, but about ordinary guys who try to be criminals while juggling their lives(one is married and has a kid, one takes care of his dogs, and even the third, who's more of the criminal mind than his friends, is dreaming of going with his girlfriend to California). It's also like BOTTLE ROCKET, which is also about inexperienced thieves, but where those guys, for the most part, want to be criminals, these guys just see it as an escape. But director Alan Taylor and writer David Epstein aren't making a tract, they're making a film about characters we can relate to, and while it lags at times, this is surprising, funny, and touching. Also, the performers are all good(this is an early look at the talents of Kim Dickens and Vincent Gallo). One of the more under-rated films of the year.