Mister Mysterio It sucks that it takes the death of an actor to remind you that you still haven't watched something, but that's how it was with the passing of Bill Paxton, which reminded me that I still had somehow overlooked "One False Move", despite wanting to see it since it came out, when Siskel and Ebert were raving about it for what seemed like months. They were right to rave about it. "One False Move" is a tightly wound, taut, masterfully acted and powerfully suspenseful film. It's also written with a precision and level of realistic detail lacking in so many screenplays. I had forgotten, as I feel the entire world has, just how great of a writer Billy Bob Thornton was once upon a time. This might be his greatest screenplay, in fact. The plot (about three criminals fleeing L.A. after robbing and killing a drug dealer, heading to Arkansas to hide out) moves forward with the ruthless momentum of a shark, and with just as much bite. The opening is one of the most brutal sequences I've seen in quite some time, and the violence that erupts in the rest of the film is just as brutal. Carl Franklin directs with a lean, muscular hand. The violence occurs as it seems to in reality, seemingly out of nowhere and with surprising impact. Every death hits with a hell of a punch, you feel virtually every stab and gunshot. The characters are drawn with a fascinating level of insight and detail, and every detail feels just right. Even the most violent and despicable of people in this movie is treated with respect and is intriguing, and we really get to know them and what makes them tick. Aside from the acts of violence, this movie is filled with powerfully rendered little moments that feel as natural as overhearing a conversation or catching up with an old friend. The biggest joy of this movie is, unsurprisingly, getting to know Bill Paxton's Dale "The Hurricane" Dixon, the chief of police of a small Arkansas town that three vicious criminals seem to be heading toward like a particularly nasty storm front, leaving a trail of corpses in their wake. Paxton is vibrant and electric here. He's utterly charming, but he's much more than he initially seems and Paxton gets to hit those notes of complexity with grace and a natural, easygoing nature. It doesn't feel like an actor playing a character, it just feels like the filmmakers trained a camera on this guy and told him to be himself. Paxton usually gets to play either a good ol' boy or a dirtbag. This character allows him to play a bit of both, and also to reveal acting muscles that those unfamiliar with his less popular work (see "Frailty", for God's sake) may not know he possessed. This is perhaps his greatest performance, although he's excellent in "Frailty" and "Big Love" as well. It's a magnificent character, and Paxton brings it fully, forcefully to vivid life. Cynda Williams, Billy Bob Thornton and Michael Beach are likewise excellent here. All of them are magnetic to watch, even though Paxton really does run away with this movie. But the real power of the film is seeing how it unfolds, the unexpected avenues it takes and the little touches and moments that bring it to life and make it feel a bit more like Real Life than most films of this ilk. It feels like a Coen Brothers movie in subject matter and, occasionally, the thrilling ways that Franklin moves the camera. But, I daresay, the Coens would never quite bring the level of verisimilitude to the tale that Franklin and Thornton do. That's no knock against the Coens, who are among my favorite directors, but "One False Move" is so uncommonly gripping and observant, in a way that the glorious, artful playgrounds of the Coens never quite are. It's not better, it's just a different vibe, and one that really makes this movie come alive in an extraordinary way. I usually don't watch movies on Crackle because the commercials that are interjected every fifteen minutes or so bug me, but I'm glad I did this time. "One False Move" is, unfortunately, out of print and it's nowhere to be found on other streaming services. Thank God that Crackle is at least making this forgotten treasure available to be seen. Take my advice, brave the commercials (they don't edit content, at least) and watch "One False Move". It really is an amazing film.

patrick powell Some films just slip, for whatever reason, below the radar. We get any amount of top-budget, CGI-heavy dreck which go on to catch the headline - albeit for a week or two - but other films, such as One False Move, which proudly stands head and shoulders over its rivals is barely noticed.The story is simple and effectively told. There are no false histrionics, there is no grandstanding, the violence and horrific murders are not celebrated in that god-awful balletic way favoured by Tarantino and his ilk, and the whole thing is presented to the viewer on the assumption that the viewer has a brain.Yet despite its undoubted quality One False Move slips past and is 'just another film'. It's strength is that it is character-driven and people talk and behave like real people. It manages to convey the complexity of people: one of a trio who ripped off a drug dealer and six people are horrifically killed in the whole episode spares a young lad and saves him from certain death at the hands of her more sadistic accomplices, then goes on to kill a state trooper in cold blood.A small-town sheriff who yearns for greater things is mortified when he overhears the two big-shot cops from LA laughing at him behind his back. It spurs him on to try to be a hero and apprehend two of the gang all on his own. He does so, but at the cost of three lives and gets badly injured himself. All in all he might have got the men, but it is all just a bloody mess. The performances are all good ones, and the direction, camera-work and editing all add the sense of dread and help heighten the tension.The director is Carl Franklin who made another great but overlooked film in Devil In A Blue Dress. If you are able to catch this - though I don't know how because it doesn't seem to be shown on TV - do so. You won't regret spending time on what is something of a gem.

videorama-759-859391 Here's one of the great indie flicks of 1993, where more so it's a film. The story is so well plotted, in what is a flawless movie/detective thriller. What's great about One False Move is we really spend time with the characters, an amazing quality I found here in this BB penned film, where too his threatening and menacing performance as a really bad dude, part of a trio, kind of chills ya, because he can just go off, at any moment. The other two wanted escapees, are a black guy with a very high IQ, and a sexy black woman, who provides a twist later on in the film. The trio are responsible for ripping off a band of drug dealers, and murdering them in a quite disturbing and violent fashion, taking no prisoners. This crime scene is heavy and raw viewing, in what is an impactful blow by blow film. Of course the stealer of the film is Bill Paxton, a likable, hyped up cop, pushing for a higher position, where he might of struck a little bit of opportunity, when assisting out of state cops. They're here to stop the three, who could be heading towards Paxton's town, where relatives of the black escapee, could be expecting her to show up. We even delve into the life of Paxton's present wife where the out of town cops, who made me hungry in a couple of scenes, watching them eat, depress at Paxton's place for barbecue time. The criminal trio, doesn't let us forget how dangerous they are, and what they're capable of, even the black woman, who's so all peachy creamy. The ending was kind of worrying as to Paxton's fate, but here is such a bloody well constructed film, that really captures the lives of it's characters, good or bad, big or small. In fact, future screenplay writers, should use this film, as a model example of how to construct tight story, and tight suspense moments, where truly the first ten minutes of BB's baby, really has you, and knocks you on your arse.

Twins65 Just watched ONE FALSE MOVE again for the first time since the VHS era, and am really glad I did. This movie is never on cable TV, at least as far as I can tell, but certainly should be. It's a top notch crime movie that other than a shot of a phone booth, doesn't feel dated at all 20 years later.I'm not going to get into the story or plot, as that's been discussed several times in the preceding comments, so I'll just say that all the actors really hit their marks. Bill Paxton is great as a small town sheriff with an overbearing rah-rah attitude and a dark secret, and a younger Billy Bob as a ruthless killer on the run is downright frightening. Throw in the performances Cynda Williams, Michael Beach, Natalie Canerday, and the actors who played the LA cops, and it all adds up to an awesome 1 hour and 40 minutes that will completely suck you in.I can't recommend it enough.