Ray Liotta

Life Magazine, September 8, 2006 issue-Virginia Madsen and Ray Liotta
$5.99
Weekly news and general interest magazine which re-appeared between 2004 and 2007 and was distributed by inclusion inside certain local Newspapers across the country. The Ray Liotta and Virginia Madsen cover is one of three different covers on this week's issue of Life magazine.

The Line [Blu-ray]
$29.98
Not a reference Blu in any category, but some of the popular local favorites are in this with some meaty roles including Liotta and Trejo. Without a doubt a prolific cast overall, with Andy Garcia, Armand Assante, Bruce Davison, Valerie Cruz and others.

The story tries to follow various lines of people whose lives intersect (directly and indirectly) this cartel operating out of Tijuana. We have hired hit men, an ailing godfather, CIA/DEA guys running their ops against the bad guys, internal cartel strife and Afghanistan farmers trying to sell their product into the US. Sounds like a lot and it is, almost too much in the 95 minutes they gave this. Ray Liotta was great but he only gets some of the screen time. Trejo gets more speaking time than normal in his films so I enjoyed that (he gets to do his usual of shooting guns, torture and looking awesomely bad). The subplots abound, and each one gets bookended with the same aerial shots of the city - both day and night - that looked horrible in Blu (almost felt like they were trying to copy Mann).

The picture quality looks decent at times, horrible at others. There were intermittent scratches, discolorations, and bleeding of light, but the fact that the cityscapes were filmed in lodef with no upgrade makes for an irritating mess at times - especially with how much they are peppered throughout. The sound is average and the supplement is 16:40 minute making of. It articulates some of what they were trying to make with this film and the challenges of filming in a dangerous locale.

They gave it an earnest try with a heck of a cast and nice little twist at the end with two characters, but the pacing, angst and amount of characters drags it down - I will save the huge writing gaffes for the comments section as to not spoil it for those that might watch this. Three for the film and supplement, 0 for the Blu.

Goodfellas Robert De Niro Ray Liotta Joe Pesci POSTER - 11" x 17"
$2.99
They never sent me one of the items I purchased. I am still waiting for it. Now I just noticed that one of the items I bought from them that was supposed to be 16 x 20" is much smaller.

It has been more than a month after purchasing from them already.

BEWARE ADAM HERSH

Control
$14.94
Hardcore prisoner and unrelenting sociopath Lee Ray Olivier, (played by the fantastic Ray Liotta) is put to death by lethal injection. When he wakes up again inside the morgue, things get weird for him. Dr Michael Copeland (the fantastic Willem DaFoe), a Neuro-pharmacologist, is in the final stages of testing his newest drug - on humans. Oliver is offered a chance to participate or go through his execution for real. He agrees, but he's far from the perfect patient.

At first he's atrociously violent, attacking guards and attempting escapes, but gradually the drug begins to work. Oliver's tattoos are removed, preparing him for the final test - a normal life in public. Dr. Copeland's dream is to take a violent offender and turn them into an average, everyday Joe. Copeland makes sure Oliver knows, "You're only alive because of me." Gradually, Oliver calms down and begins to exhibit rational thought.

Released to work and live in a normal environment while wearing an ankle bracelet, Oliver meets Teresa (Michelle Rodriquez) and they become friendly. But, can a sociopath actually become an empathetic person? Can a conscience develop if it wasn't present before? This movie has quite a few twists to it that will leave you on the edge of your seat. Ray Liotta's transformation from the murderous killer to the pacifist is a landmark in his acting career, one of his best performances ever.

While not as violent or graphic as 'Strangeland', another film of experimental pacification of monstrous personality disorders, 'Control' is still a very good movie. My primary complaint is that the DVD did not have English subtitles for the hearing impaired, so crank the volume up. Enjoy!