Twilight (1998) from Johnny Web (Uncle Scoopy; Greg Wroblewski) and Tuna

Tuna's comments in white:

Twilight (1998) is a boring and predictable gumshoe whodunit, but with enough talent in the cast to make it almost watchable. Paul Newman shines as an ex cop, ex private dick, ex drunk, and old friend (and house guest) of Susan Sarandon and Gene Hackman. As the film opens, he is on assignment to bring their daughter (Reese Witherspoon) back from Mexico. Newman grabs her, and gets shot for his trouble. All of this before the opening credits.

There is nothing particularly new about the mostly predictable plot, but the cast is good enough that the film almost works. Almost.

Scoop's comments in yellow:

I agree with Tuna completely - it's a near miss, but a miss nonetheless.

Normally, this is my favorite kind of movie  - the existential tale of an honest, flawed, angst-ridden private eye who wanders into an inextricable tangle of conspiracy, which he often narrates in the first person.

As per the genre requirements, when the web surrounds him, some of his closest friends usually turn out to have committed the vilest crimes, and the worst bad guys often turn out to be decent people down on their luck, looking for a break.

Unfortunately, the energy level in this film is just so low that it is barely watchable, despite a marvelous all-star cast. (Paul Newman, Susan Sarandon, Liev Schreiber, Gene Hackman, Reese Witherspoon, Stockard Channing.)

Paul Newman could have used a bit of Bogart's sassy humor to make the film a little breezier.  Newman played his reformed alcoholic detective as a man mumbling his lines world-wearily, as if every sentence were painful to speak. A heavy burden of sadness and disappointment permeated every scene like a fog. That carried some emotional weight, because he was betrayed by everyone he trusted, but that somber, slow delivery slowed the pacing of the film down to a crawl.

Tuna is right. It is boring. I really wanted to like it, but couldn't.