HomelessKev Cary Elwes plays Ethan Belfrage. A weekend Dad Photo-Journalist who's separated from his wife. One afternoon when returning to his apartment after walking his Golden Retriever, he is confronted by two men. Aaron (Frank Whaley) and Jake (Matt Dallas). He is beaten and strung up by his neck, and that's where Helen (Andie MacDowell) comes in. He's accused of murdering Helens husband, and Aaron, Helen and Jake seek revenge for his death. Ethan continues to protest his innocence.First of all, I don't know what other reviewers were expecting from a straight to DVD title. Sure the effects aren't great, but then there is very little in the way of effects. It also isn't as 'dark' as some reviewers would have you believe. In my opinion, Disney's; "The Black Cauldron" (1985) is a darker movie.. and that's for kids! There is a small amount of violence, but it's nowhere near as violent as let's say.. 'Reservoir Dogs' (1992) You'll have seen this kind of 'twist' before, but again, movies go straight to DVD for a reason!Frank Whaley puts in a reasonable performance as Aaron. A born again Christian Nazi. Though he isn't a great character actor, I've admired his work since seeing his portrayal of Robby Krieger in 'The Doors' (1991), and he should be a more recognisable face in the industry. As Aaron, he portrays a reasonable villain and he delivers it well.Andie MacDowell as Helen isn't fantastic. Helen is supposed to be a grieving, vengeful widow, but she misses the mark. I felt no empathy for Helen, and the performance from Macdowell was mediocre at best.Cary Elwes pretty much plays Dr Lawrence Gordon from 'Saw' (2004). Though we're all familiar with the character, it works well in this straight to DVD title.Matt Dallas is believable as 'scared kid' Jake, but again, you don't really feel for the character.Im sorry Brian Cox didn't have a larger role in this Movie, but for the small part he had, he delivered well.It's a one time only movie. If you happen to catch it on TV, give it a watch.Lastly, the reviewer who says Ethan mysteriously ends up with a pocket knife to cut himself free. It's a knife that is taken out of the sink by Helen and given to Ethan secretly when she realises that Aaron is planning to kill them all. I seen it with my own two eyes.And also, to the reviewer who complains about Ethan "taking up smoking" and then throwing the lighter to set the place ablaze.. Ethan is tied up for most of the movie. How does someone smoke when they're tied up? Give it a go... It's harder than you think! Even a light smoker would be jonesing for nicotine after being tied up for a few hours.END

MarieGabrielle I recommend this film highly, not sure why all the hate. There are good performances and it touches on something which exists in our society today, whether people choose to see the reality or not.Cary Elwes is a photojournalist who lives in NYC and is on the verge of being evicted. He lives with a daughter and is estranged from his wife. The film starts as he drops his daughter off to be with her mother. He has a golden retriever named "Mao".We see flashbacks of an earlier pivotal incident which involves Brian Cox (always excellent, look for him in "Manhunter" and "The Minus Man" with Mercedes Ruehl and Owen Wilson as a serial killer).Cox is an evangelical preacher, preaching hate, and that change in America can start with "just one match" and other such comments, along the lines of David Duke. His wife is Andie McDowell, and she has a son who we now see in NYC is 18 years old. He and his mother survived the attack but "an eye for eye" dictates they must now avenge the violence, and death of their religious leader.I will not divulge the outcome but the theme here is interesting. Frank Whaley also belongs to this religious group and in NYC he tells Elwes "I was saved in prison my leader, he was a good man". He is a zealot, but resents anyone in New York who isn't "like him". He berates the local the news stand owner, "this city is "filled with foreigners" he remarks ignorantly.McDowell is surprisingly good here, a southern woman with values about to be toppled, she has survived the horror of third degree burns over most of her body.The director and writer have ventured into territory which is real here. Preaching hatred and violence leads to nothing, but death. Whether you are in New York City or Alabama.9/10.

Mike Coppola First off, to the person who said the best part was the music...you're crazy. That was the absolute WORST part of a terrible film! The acting was awful, it was very poorly written (I could go on and on about all the plot holes, frustrating character actions, and all around unexplained lack of story or substance.) And the directing was horrid. Way too many cuts on dual dialog scenes, not interesting shots, very predictable, and too many cliché moments, (i.e. lighting the cigarette and throwing the lighter to set the place ablaze...give me a break. Funny how he didn't smoke throughout the entire film and chose that moment to start.Do not waste your time. God Awful>

kosmasp It's nice to see Frank Whaley in this one. If you only know him from the Kevin Spacey movie (Swimming with Sharks), you might be in for a surprise. He is really versatile, a great actor. While Cary Elwes is the protagonist, Frank kinda steals the show. Not that Cary isn't "good" in this, it's just the Frank show.I don't tend to write anything about the story or the plot, because I don't want to spoil anything and in this case here, writing a little bit about it, would spoil quite a bit about the movie. What I can and will say though is, that contrary to another reviewer here, I didn't like the opening scene. Not because of the actors, but it just didn't feel right. It's a scene, you have seen quite a few times done before and even Brian Cox, an amazing actor, can't help it. The scene just doesn't work for me. But of course, it's a pivotal scene to the movie.In hindsight, there are many things that work quite nice and don't fall apart, if you know what the movie is all about. The problem is, you might kinda feel where this is going. Especially if you've seen a few movies, that deal with similar issues.