mekjd Having heard absolutely nothing about this film or the individual whose life story is portrayed, viewing turned out to be an unexpectedly pleasant treat. Sure, it's overstated: the innocent family man falls into the hands of genius drug addicts who deliver him unto the Russian Mob. Along the way he encounters the temptress of all temptresses and nearly rounds aground through the appearance of affiliation with child pornography. Thanks to the federal government and its law enforcement agents, he is duly warned and emerges unscathed. Back to the wife and kids, PHEW!Somehow Luke Wilson sells it so that it is, for all its far-fetched qualities, believable, just as it is believable that a porn purveyor could blackmail a District Attorney so persuasively portrayed by Kelsey Grammar. That's just one of many delightful scenes in which we learn, time and time again, that crime does pay, really, really well, in fact, until.....let's just say that unwinding the transactions and transgressions turned out to be a good way to go.Strongly recommended for a good evening's entertainment.

Daraeve Really liked the somewhat true story of two idiots who stumble on an early Internet cash cow through online porn payment processing. Luke Wilson does a great job as a man who tries to hold onto his moral code while working in adult entertainment. Giovanni Ribisi is utterly plausible as a substance abuser. Lots of other interesting cameos add to some great dark humor. Trying to figure out what's true versus exaggerated is tricky. The Russian mafia play a role that may or may not be true. The FBI play a part in the move that checks out. Thelead character seems a little good to be the at times. Probably because it's an autobiographical story. Still, self praise aside the story. Very enter ting nd ups along at a healthy pace. If you like dark humor and are interested in the early days of the web this is one to watch.Well worth watching.

Diorafan05 Internet pornography is pornography that is accessible over the Internet, primarily via websites, peer-to-peer file sharing, or Usenet newsgroups. While pornography had been available over the Internet since the 1980s, it was the availability of widespread public access to the World Wide Web in 1991 that led to an expansion of Internet pornography. The Internet enables people to access pornography more or less anonymously and to view it in the comfort and privacy of their homes. It also allows access to pornography by people whose access is otherwise restricted for legal or social reasons. As times moved ahead with technology advancing, it became a powerful medium. The adult entertainment industry ventured in to this market and noticed there was potential to make billions. Towards the later 90s viewers of porn were able to watch, download or even stream to their computer hard drives pornographic material at the touch of a button. All this was possible by using a credit card and the transaction was verified discreetly. Now times have changed. The market has become more competitive with the arrival of free porn on the net. There are endless sites that make porn available to view at no cost. This is the theme that surrounds 'Middle Men'. It is open to speculation whether or not the movie is based on a true story. Well more of an inspiration from a true life person who invented a way of people being able to watch porn on-line. But from what is known the movie was funded through illegitimate means. The individual concerned is still standing trial. The movie itself is not a masterpiece but dwells in to a industry that is very taboo. The main character devising a money making method by combining on line porn to internet commerce is quiet unique and different to what I have witnessed till date. Without being vulgar the subject matter is delivered in a conventional manner. It doesn't aim to be a 'Boogie Nights' or a 'People versus Larry flint' either. What one notices as you reach the end is that there is no tragic ending. Everything ends well in Wilson's life. This one of the unrealistic elements in the film. SPOILERS 2 men quite unhappy with their jobs come up with the idea of creating a porn website. They shoot videos and take photographs and upload them on the internet. They slowly start to make a profit and ditch their old jobs. To further fund their activities, they borrow from a Russian gangster. However as the two of them lack the business and financial sense, Wilson steps in to handle matters. It is only a matter of time until they become giants of the porn internet commerce. Unfortunately they run in deep waters as they kill a goon and and experience trouble in their personal lives. Wilson also has his fair share of issues when the fbi and state senator take interest in his business affairs. END OF SPOILERS The premise unfolds at a moderate pace and ingenious narration is provided too in humorous Martin Scorsese style. Director George Gallo impresses with his wacky style of movie making and story telling. The approach is with a non serious perspective. His previous stories such as 'wise guys' and 'midnight run' were fantastic. So he certainly knew his territory. There was more potential for this movie in becoming a biopic, but due to it's budget it turned out in being a smaller venture. The director had his finger on the right button but I could not understand why he avoided the sexual content. There was barely any nudity on screen or even at a minimum level. One would expect to see so much explicit visuals but I was disappointed. The performances of Luke Wilson, James Caan and others involved make it enjoyable. And to add to it there was Laura Ramsey who plays a porn star, but doesn't have a single nude scene. She is pleasant eye candy. But gives good support to Wilson's character. Giovanni Ribsi is hilarious and it's hard to believe he is the same guy who was in 'The boiler room' many years ago. As a added bonus there are a couple of porn star cameos if one manages to see them. Jesse Jane appears for 5 seconds, if that's what you're looking for. I'm not sure what the future holds for on line porn. But government agencies have been battling to enforce every kind of legislation and restrictions that are possible to keep on line material in existence. Free material is endless and this is what poses as a threat to membership sites. But in the long term this will continue because there is big revenue involved for all to share. After all keeping the common man happy is important.

meeza I was thinking about cutting off the "Middle Men" after I read some of its lackluster reviews. But some time later, I read some positive reviews of the movie. Since I did not want to get caught up in the middle, I said "why not"? It's our bill of rights to see movies that have an enticing premise like "Middle Men". Director George Gallo's movie is based on real life incidents of a businessman who joins up with a pair of rambunctious entrepreneurs to make millions from the internet pornography boom of the early 90's. As the film title discloses, the leading characters here are not pornography filmmakers who post videos/shows on the internet, but rather are the ones who run the billing companies which delivers services in a more anonymous form to its consumers and producers. Luke Wilson stars as Jack Harris, the aforementioned businessman who lives the "white picket fence" life in Houston with a beautiful wife and two children; but through a series of opportunistic events, he is porn to be alive in millions. The two men- child who Jack teams up with are drug addicts and best friends, Wayne Beering and Buck Dolby. Mind you one was a former astronaut and the other one a former veterinarian, and oddly enough actually originated the premise of developing online porn sites. However, for the most part, the former astronaut & veterinarian behave more like spaced-out animals due to their drug binges. Since the movie's primary theme is the underbelly of the internet porn industry, you could imagine how many testosterone-driven shady characters are in "Middle Men"; including a Russian Mafia mob boss, an unscrupulous lawyer, and a hypocritical governor; just to name a few. I was taken back by the first hour of "Middle Men" in Director George Gallo's flawless depiction of the era of the internet where successful internet entrepreneurship was booming due to lack of competition, and even a (pardon the expression) jerk-off could make millions with a simplistic idea to make money online. However, Gallo's second hand I mean second half of "Middle Men" seemed more like an action-fare "Bad Boys" than an authentic portrayal of an internet-based company flourishing & surviving in the next era of the world wide web. Gallo does a nice job in hardening the focus of the narrative of "Middle Men" on its central figure, Jack Harris. And Gallo and Co-Writer Andy Weiss' screenplay is rather wise mostly due to Harris' dialogue in the voice-over narration, which keeps the viewer engaged to the story. But then again, Gallo and Weiss' screenplay sporadically misfired with the whole "shoot em up" action shenanigans. Wilson deserved more than the "down the middle" ratings he got for his solid performance as Harris. Giovanni Ribisi was a scene-stealer as the volatile Wayne Beering. Gabriel Macht as Buck Dolby did connect well enough for a Dolby resounding performance acknowledgement. However, the thespian kudos ends there for "Middle Men". Jacinda Barrett as Jack's wife Diana seemed like she was playing the same character as the one she portrayed in "The Last Kiss". I think the James Caan Film Festival of Glory is passed its prime; I know we are talking about Sonny Corleone here, but Caan's performance as the conniving lawyer Jerry Haggerty was profoundly silly and pretentious. Rade Serbedziga, who was so great in "Eyes Wide Shut", was not a hit this time around as the prototypical formulaic Russian Mafia mob boss named (yea you guessed it…) Nikita. "Middle Men" is a movie that is not for everyone, and those who came to expect another "Boogie Nights" will be disappointed; but those who came for a narrative on those who drove the business of internet porn during its early years, will be mostly satisfied with the service that "Middle Men" provides. **** Good