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      Phoenix

      1998, Crime/Drama, 1h 47m

      6 Reviews 1,000+ Ratings

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      Phoenix  Photos

      Phoenix (1998) Phoenix (1998) Phoenix (1998) Phoenix (1998) Phoenix (1998) Phoenix (1998)

      Movie Info

      After superstitious cop Harry Collins (Ray Liotta) racks up significant gambling debts, he is given the option of killing an informant. Collins decides to instead rob a loan shark (Giancarlo Esposito) in order to pay off his bookie (Tom Noonan), so he can run off with bartender Leila (Anjelica Huston). He is aided by his rough partner, Mike (Anthony LaPaglia), as well as corrupt officers James (Daniel Baldwin) and Fred (Jeremy Piven), and the robbery quickly becomes more than Harry anticipated.

      • Rating: R

      • Genre: Crime, Drama

      • Original Language: English

      • Director: Danny Cannon

      • Producer: Victoria Nevinny

      • Writer: Eddie Richey

      • Release Date (Theaters):  original

      • Release Date (Streaming):

      • Box Office (Gross USA): $31.6K

      • Runtime:

      • Distributor: Trimark Pictures

      • Production Co: Lakeshore Entertainment

      • Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

      • Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

      Cast & Crew

      Critic Reviews for Phoenix

      Audience Reviews for Phoenix

      • Dec 27, 2009

        Harry is a police officer - he is also a degenerate gambler in debt to bookie Chicago for $32K. That's basically the plot, it seems simple but it is enough to drive the film's core once it has been surrounded by plot twists, tension, strong performances, interesting characters and good dialogue. Hats off to Danny Cannon - he was the great British hope once after making Young Americans and going to the US he then messed up with Judge Dredd. But here he shows that he does have talent to lead a dark thriller successfully - albeit he is helped greatly by the plot and his actors. The film follows Harry and his 3 colleagues as they revolve around several loan sharks and bookies whilst also trying to have lives and relationships. The main focus is Harry's addiction to gambling in all areas of his life. There is also a subplot involving Angelica Huston which is meant to represent Harry's potential redemption, but this is not well developed and is secondary to the main story. The story eventually turns into a heist-gone-wrong movie but even then has enough twists to keep the interest. The main strength of the film lies in the actors that are assembled together here. Liotta plays the role well, making it possible to like this person but also making his gambling side believable - it's hard not to feel for him and his bad luck as the film progresses. Anthony Lapaglia, Daniel Baldwin, Jeremy Piven are all excellent for different reasons as his colleagues. Piven good as the cop drawn into things he doesn't want to do and Baldwin and Lapaglia are as solid as every in corrupt roles. Both Ribisi and Huston are capable of great performances but neither have a lot to work with here in terms of time or plot involvement. Giancarlo Esposito is as good as ever in a small role as Louie the loanshark - but then I've never seen him put in a bad performance, even in a bad film. Overall the plot is similar to many other crime thrillers out there. What makes this rise above the normal TV material is a dark atmosphere from Danny Cannon, a strong lead in Liotta with uniformly great support from the rest of the cast and tension an twists throughout.

        Super Reviewer
      • Nov 19, 2008

        Surprisingly well made noir flick. Don't let the poster fool you, the heist thing is not the main focus of the plot. The casting makes this work, Liotta can be fun to watch in the right roles. Anjelica Huston's casting do make for an odd choice.

        Super Reviewer
      • Aug 26, 2008

        every now and then a low budget film comes along that's made what it is by a certain actor being in it. this is one of those. ray liotta owns this film. he plays a gambler that can't stop himself but there's a good man fighting to get out. he has his own moral code which includes never welching on a bet. it gets him into all sorts of trouble with his gang of crooked cop friends. the dialogue in this film is the dogs nads. i love the king kong rant in the car!! haha fricking awesome movie

        Super Reviewer
      • Apr 20, 2007

        An interesting tale of gambling, money and betrayal. A great part played by Ray Liotta, but did anyone else feel that he and Angelica Houston were oddly matched? This film shows a very young Brittany Murphy. VERDICT: A watchable film with some interesting parts, not great enough to rent, but catch it if it comes on tv.

        Super Reviewer

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