Crwthod A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

Seraherrera The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

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.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

msfindlay Saw this movie on a free week of Showtime. Never heard of it before (1995 vintage) but the title was sure intriguing.Almost a complete waste of our time. The writing has some high spots in the dialog, but the plot is hackneyed and not at all original. Jimmy is portrayed as this smooth operator, but hires a complete psychopath in his gang of 5. Guess who messes things up and gets them all (spoiler alert--I can't tell you what happens).The relationship with Gabriel Anwar has little depth or reason and not worth the screen time. Steve Buscemi is always fun, but not believable in the role here as a top notch killer--until he isn't. I would never show this movie to friends. Any dialog discussing the taste of turds is not for mixed company.

Steve Pulaski When Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction hit the scene in 1994, it took filmmakers and cinephiles by surprise that a film involving murder, betrayal, and theft could also be so wickedly funny and hilariously in its conversational fluidity. Tarantino was fearless, not worried about halting the plot-progression for just a short amount of time so the characters could ramble or comment on something random and completely off topic. As simple as it was, it was surprising to many; here was dialog unrelated to the plot and central story being used with such confidence.Because of how Tarantino took convention and ordinary crime-drama filmmaking by storm, he obviously spawned many inspirations and "copycats." I only bring this up because, for reasons I have trouble understanding, people have written off Gary Fleder's Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead off as a Pulp Fiction ripoff. Since its release in 1995, the film has gone far under the radar and scrutinized, only to be viewed by the curious cinephile or a hardened crime drama fan; consider me both.The film stars Andy Garcia, a leading man I, and many, it appears, have forgotten about as much as we forgot about this particular film. He plays "Jimmy the Saint," an ex-con looking to get out of the business and run his own shop where people record their wills for their family and friends before they die. Catering to the business serves as his day job, until he's approached by his paraplegic boss "The Man With the Plan" (Christopher Walken), who requests his services for one more little odd job. Unsurprisingly, the job goes wrong, and this means Jimmy is in the hottest water. Now, Jimmy must find a way to secure his own future, as well as continue to maintain stable connections, while pleasing his newfound love interest (Gabrielle Anwar) through all this chaos. In the meantime, we are introduced to a wide variety of characters played by big-name actors: a quiet hit-man nicknamed "Mr. Shhh" (Steve Buscemi), ex-gangster "Pieces" (Christopher Lloyd), petty-thug "Big Bear Franchise" (William Forsythe), the loquacious "Easy Wind" (Bill Nunn), and the argumentative and angry "Critical Bill" (Treat Williams).The film bears a relatively age-old story, but the film is complicated by strangely vague dialog and an overabundance of characters with unique names. The dialog itself seems to be describing linear, straight-forward statements and requests and loading them with slang and alienating jargon that takes a great deal of time getting used to.Once one comes to terms with the dialog, at hand, Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead becomes your average mob flick, comfortably paced, sometimes fun in a gloomy way, and often brooding and dark, like the dapper characters it focuses on. If director Gary Fleder and writer Scott Rosenberg (who's eclectic filmography includes the amiable Kangaroo Jackand the wildly misunderstood Pain & Gain) has anything down here, it's the films tone, which knows when to be comedic and when to be haunting at just the right times.Consider the scene when this particular operation goes wrong, and Jimmy and his gang land themselves in hot water. Up until this scene, the film has maintained a traditionalist mobster theme of being mildly dark and slightly comedic. When this incident occurs, it suddenly all goes black and the seventy of the gang's actions finally catch up to them. Fleder shows this nicely and packs a lot of character intrigue here with such a great cast.Films centered around crime and the mobster lifestyle are often broken up into three categories with cinephiles: the classics, Scorsese, and everything else. While Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead exists in the latter, it is nothing shy of an enjoyable and intriguing viewing. The actors possess enough charisma and charm to carry out a screenplay like this, Fleder's direction always seems to hit the right tones, and Rosenbaum's writing always finds ways to take dark and exciting turns. The fact that the film has somehow mingled its way into being mistaken for a clone of one of the most popular crime dramas of all time is quite a shame because of how much quality is in its product to begin with.Starring: Andy García, Christopher Walken, Christopher Lloyd, William Forsythe, Bill Nunn, Treat Williams, Steve Buscemi, Gabrielle Anwar, Jack Warden, and Fairuza Balk. Directed by: Gary Fleder.

itamarscomix An excellent little crime drama that went under the radar for most people and didn't get the recognition it deserved from the critics. True - in many ways it could easily be labeled as just 'another Tarantino copy', the influence of Reservoir Dogs are hard to miss. Unlike most of Tarantino's followers, though, Things to Do in Denver has a distinct voice and style, solid storytelling with a fresh and interesting look at a familiar subject, and above all - a fantastic, colorful cast, with some standout performances from actors you don't usually see in this genre - Christopher Lloyd and Treat Williams stand out, and Andy Garcia and Steve Buscemi deliver some of their finest performances. For lovers of the genre it's very well recommended.

ozi_wozzy This film could have been so much better. The storyline is good and offered the potential for the making of an excellent film, but ultimately it disappointed, which was a real shame.I'll give you my opinion on what really let this film down. There were two things: Andy Garcia - he's an average actor at best and here, he really spoilt the essence of the main character. He didn't have enough depth, conviction or raw energy needed for such a dark mob character. He put too much emphasis on typically ridiculous Hollywood style over-acting, and not enough to reflect what the character was about. Shame on the casting director for picking him. Someone more in the mould of Harvey Keitel or Gary Oldman would have been perfect.His relationship with the main lady - unlike other mob films where there is genuine development of a love interest, this film had a haphazard and an unconvincing romance story. In other films, like Carlito's way, Casino, Goodfellas, there was so much more on offer and the love interests became an integral part of the mobsters lives. Here, it was a dreary and irritating sideshow.There are very good parts of the film. Chrisopher Walken, who I am a big fan of, was excellent. His role as the crippled mob boss was perfectly cast and he played it superbly. He was suitably detached, unflinching, dark and menacing.Steve Buscemi, who I am also a fan of, was also excellent. He was also cast perfectly as the quiet, quirky yet violent hit man.Overall, the story line was good, Walken and Buscemi and some of the supporting actors were excellent, but the main character and the over-emphasis on style ultimately let this film down.Worth a watch, but I struggle to tell you much about it. For me, that's enough of a sign.