3 Holes and a Smoking Gun

Released Mar 27, 2015

1h 30m

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

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70%

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Audience Score

A screenwriting teacher (James Wilder) becomes locked in a battle of wits with a devious student (Zuher Khan) who has designs on the same masterful script.

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Audience Member

Great movie! Definitely recommend watching it, very original!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

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Audience Member

"3 Holes and a Smoking Gun" proves that there's a chasm-wide difference between talking about what constitutes - and actually being - great writing.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

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Audience Member

Great film recommend it to all my fellow film students....The kid in the film did a amazing job. I wonder if Jack really dies in the end of the film? What if he signs a deal with Steven Worthy and they send Bobby to jail where in the film, Worthy teaches Jack all the ropes and Jack becomes a Hollywood Mogul and later kills Worthy to take it all, then in the third film Bobby comes back to get Jack. It could almost be a screenwriting/filmmaking franchise.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

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Audience Member

I shall begin by saying the general idea was interesting - not original, but interesting. However, there are some awful dialogues all throughout this film and I think they are emphasized by the awful soundtrack, as well. Sometimes it's better to opt for foley sounds to carry the dramaticity of a scene than cheesy piano music. "You go north and I'll go south." (dramatic piano music) "What about the script?" (dramatic piano music) "It's cursed. Throw it in the fire. I'm gonna have a drink." (dramatic piano music) "Fuck Canada! I'm going to Hollywood." (dramatic piano music) Seriously. It's THAT bad. The worst dialogue of them all, combined with soundtrack and acting, has to be: "You know she is only worthy because of Hijack. You said it yourself." "Bobby, you might have slept with her, but I loved her." And I'm referencing a moment of catharsis for both characters that they simply did not have the acting capacity to handle, which turned it into a scene worthy of a Mexican soap opera, rather than a film. I'm referencing the moment that had to be acted perfectly, otherwise I wouldn't be able to overlook it and pay attention to what they were saying given their horrid acting - and that's exactly what happened. And since it was the moment of closure for both characters, at that point, the film became unbearable to watch. Perhaps they acted so badly because the dialogue was bad to begin with on top of their lack of talent. There is not much you can extract from an actor if everyone knows the dialogue is badly written. The general idea is good, but the actors are awful. I don't see much effort in photography or art, which makes it very monotonous visually.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

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Audience Member

Saw this at the Red Dirt Film Festival...it was great, highly recommended.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

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Hilarion Banks

Director

James Wilder

Bobby Blue Day

Zuher Khan

Jack Ariamehr

Joaquim de Almeida

Joey the Junkman

Rudolf Martin

Junkie

Richard Edson

Sam Dunkim

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3 Holes and a Smoking Gun: Trailer 1

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Frank Scheck

Hollywood Reporter

While it might have made for a mildly diverting stage thriller -- the hugely successful Deathtrap, for instance, was built on similarly absurd contrivances -- the endlessly talky 3 Holes and a Smoking Gun founders onscreen.

Apr 20, 2015

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Nick Schager

Variety

"3 Holes and a Smoking Gun" proves that there's a chasm-wide difference between talking about what constitutes - and actually being - great writing.

Mar 27, 2015

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Michael Rechtshaffen

Los Angeles Times

Director Hilarion Banks dutifully captures all of it in a series of nicely shot extended takes, which would have been fine if the cast had been able to interact in some sort of uniform tone.

Mar 26, 2015

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Betty Jo Tucker

ReelTalk Movie Reviews

Actor James Wilder excels as a washed up screenwriter in this fascinating psychological thriller. He takes charge of the screen and never lets go.

Feb 22, 2015

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Synopsis

A screenwriting teacher (James Wilder) becomes locked in a battle of wits with a devious student (Zuher Khan) who has designs on the same masterful script.

Director: Hilarion Banks
Producer: Zulkifal Khan, Sasha Yelaun, DJ Dodd
Screenwriter: Scott Fivelson
Distributor: Phase 4 Films
Production Co: ZKPassion Motion Pictures, Future Proof Films
Genre: Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 27, 2015, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 20, 2015
Runtime: 1h 30m

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