This is strong movie-making.Brad Pitt has become one of the best actors around. He is capable of handling the subtext of a story subtly but tangibly. In other words, the characters don't talk about what the scene is really about. The scene is about what they're NOT saying, and Pitt is superb at getting that truth across.This is a guy who wants to do good work. And judging from some of his other excellent pictures, he's succeeding. The Assassination of Jesse James, with the same director, is a great example of this. That story is about trust, but nobody ever says, "Can I trust you?" Instead it's in their eyes. They're asking themselves, inside their heads, "Can I trust him?" That kind of subtext is what makes a story great. Take another look at these other excellent examples: War Machine, 12 Years a Slave, Moneyball, Burn After Reading, Babel, 7 Years in Tibet, 12 Monkeys, Snatch. Those are some terrific movies. KTS unquestionably belongs among them.And look at the range of roles he's played in those movies. He's not afraid of taking a chance.I recently saw Allied for the first time, and was really impressed again by what isn't said. Pitt turns in a high quality performance in that story.Killing Them Softly is first rate work. It builds slowly but surely, and when it comes to that final scene in the bar--no spoiler here, but it is a powerful payoff. Unlike anything else out there.Well-written, well-directed, well-produced, well-acted. Pay no attention to all those negative comments. They're all wrong.Highly recommended.

Johnny Amato (Vincent Curatola) runs a dry cleaning business and is a low level crime entrepreneur. He hires two guys to rob a poker game filled with organized criminals. Frankie (Scoot McNairy) is the lead robber, a man who is a Steve Buscemi type. He has help from an unkempt Australian junkie friend named Russell (Ben Mendelsohn), who walks pets for a living. He hopes to be a drug dealer to change his life.The reason why they believe they can get away with the job is because Markie Trattman (Ray Liotta) had done this job once before. He will surely be blamed. After the job is pulled, hitman Jackie (Brad Pitt) is brought in to sort things out and make things right. Jackie is thoughtful, soft spoken, and cynical. Since he knows Johnny, he hires Mickey (James Gandolfini) to do the job, a man who has multiple issues.There are a number of things which set this film apart from other crime movies. First is the dialouge. It is clear the people are uneducated, except for Jackie who speaks as if he lives in two worlds. The ignorance of the robbers is brought to light when they wear bright yellow cleaning gloves to perform their task.The second aspect is the background sound on both the radio, TV, and jukeboxes. It is the macrocosm of what is happening on the screen, and sometimes in an ironic fashion. The time period is the 2008 election season during the financial collapse. We hear "restore confidence in the financial system" and "it's all too familiar" on the radio when Markie is about to take the fall. Every time "B" actor Ray Liotta got punched or kicked, I would think, This is for "Entitled" or This is for "Ticket Out." Here is one for "The Son of No One."The symbolism of the background announcements is brought to light at the end, in case you failed to catch it in the opening scene. A smart film for people who enjoy crime dramas.Parental Guide: F-bombs, no sex, no nudity. Blood splatter, killing, beatings.

Critics loved it, audiences felt indifferent and so I went in extremely open minded not knowing what to expect. I came out surprised, I wanted a decent crime thriller and I received a viscerally charged violent drama that contained all the excessive character dialogue from 'Pulp Fiction' mixed with some extreme gore. During America's recent economic recession, two guys are hired to steal money from an illegal poker game. In doing so, they have angered higher powers who send a hitman to to deal with the situation and find the men responsible. Immediately from the opening sequence, with the intrusive score and scene switching, I knew I was in for a different style of film. Dominik has an eye for stylising every sequence. A short car chase in the downpour of rain, panning through fireworks and smoke, an ultra slow motion shootout...perhaps slightly excessive however it never once let me go. The directing techniques take over and elevate a substandard crime thriller into a much more memorable flick. All the performances were great (particularly Gandolfini), portraying low-rent thugs and mobsters in a barren suburban environment. Which reminds me, the setting of America that is illustrated has never looked so bleak, it felt barren almost reminiscent of abandonment. Clearly an artistic choice to convey the political message that this drama is shrouded in. A statement or an attack, Dominik's screenplay unfortunately doesn't utilise the recession as a purpose for these characters. They aren't motivated because of the economic climate, more so that it's just a current situation that you acknowledge in the background. It's only really at its conclusion that the characters address Obama and his idealistic desire for unity. It just seemed like a wasted plot device. The pacing was slightly uneven also, infrequent violence could not balance out the sheer amount of dialogue which enhanced the character development. Despite these negatives, I thoroughly enjoyed this gritty crime thriller.

After staging a robbery at his own gambling establishment, ""Markie Trattman" (Ray Liotta) learns what it is like to become an actual victim when a pair of gunmen named "Frankie" (Scoot McNairy) and "Russell" (Ben Mendelsohn) decide to rob the place a few weeks later. Although most of the underworld bosses figure Markie was innocent, the perception of his complicity lingers and a hit man by the name of "Jackie" (Brad Pitt) is hired to resolve the problem. Soon the situation becomes quite dire for everyone involved. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this movie definitely had some potential—especially considering the solid cast available. Unfortunately, the pace was much too slow and the script was unnecessarily inane and vulgar. To put it quite simply, it would have been more beneficial to have had more action and less conversation. As it was, I found this movie to be quite dull and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.