User Reviews

BULLET HEAD is an ambitious but deeply flawed B-movie thriller that fails to work as a thriller in any respect. Shot in Bulgaria in an old warehouse, it involves a trio of thieves tangling with a psychotic dog fighter and his vicious dog. There are a couple of exciting set-pieces but overall this is a muddled, middling kind of film, slowed down by endless flashbacks and contained narratives. The director seems to have an obsession with dogs and I can understand that, because I'm a dog person myself, but this is hardly a film for animal lovers given that most dogs are routinely abused here. The interesting cast includes Adrien Brody, Rory Culkin and John Malkovich, with Antonio Banderas fulfilling the bad guy role.

Shades of "Cujo", this is my first canine hostage movie since that Stephen King thriller came out in 1983. And it's not a dog that's been taken hostage, it's the other way around. This isn't a very credible story when you come right down to it, but the dialog among the principal characters, primarily Stacy (Adrien Brody) and Walker (John Malkovich), makes for some interesting perspective on the difference between dog and cat people. Along with Rory Culkin's Gage, the trio of small time hoodlums is laid up in an abandoned warehouse while on the run from the cops due to their latest heist. Speaking of which, how is it that with two patrol cars arriving on scene, none of the policemen were curious enough to look over the side of the ramp to see the bad guys' getaway car slammed into the concrete barrier? Didn't make sense to me when they just up and left, as if they expected a handful of criminals to just walk out with their hands up.

Turns out the warehouse was an arena for illegal dog fights, and the boys stumble upon a load of cash, apparently available and on hand for the next scheduled contest. They also stumble upon a pile of dead bodies, both human and animal, which by the time they were seen, probably should have emitted an odor that the neighborhood surrounding the building would have found somewhat curious. But taking things at face value, what becomes inevitable is a showdown between the stranded outlaws and the thug (Antonio Banderas) running the dog fight show, or at least one of his canine fighters. The chase involving Brody's character and the raging mastiff going after him was staged well but somewhat dubiously, what with both barreling along the tops of buses and through the warehouse's open spaces. Why the piano was there is anyone's guess.

You know, the more I think about this story and the more I write about it, the sillier it actually sounds. It didn't seem so bad while watching, but you really do have to check your common sense at the door before it begins. The finale is telegraphed well ahead of time with Stacy's childhood dog story and the way he agonized over leaving a vicious, murdering mutt trapped underneath a piano. As for Stacy's partners, well, they didn't do too well. It would have made more sense right at the outset if they had let sleeping dogs lie.

"Grace" writer & director Paul Solet's grim, unsavory crime thriller "Bullet Head" is one of those movies where everything happens in one location. In this instance, three professional criminals wind up hiding out in a sprawling, abandoned warehouse in an anonymous American city as they wait for the police to call off their search for them. Originally a quartet of criminals, they crash their Cadillac into the warehouse, and the fourth member of their gang-the driver-dies. Until the heat lets up, Stacy (Adrien Brody of "The Thin Red Line"), Walker (John Malkovich of "Con-Air"), and Gage (Rory Culkin of "Scream 4") cannot really do anything but play the waiting game. Meanwhile, what they don't know is that the warehouse is used as a site for dogfights. Blue (Antonio Banderas of "Expendables 3") wages money on dogfights, but his latest discovery-a pit bull-has finally let him down. The man who handles Blue's fighting dogs (Ori Pfeffer of "Hacksaw Ridge") is about to put the pit down. He attaches jumper cables to the poor, bloody beast as it stands in a cement basin of water. At this point, I should say that sensitive souls and canine lovers specifically may not have what it takes to stomach this tale of poetic justice. Brody, Malkovich, and Culkin are around for the main part of the action, while Banderas shows up at the beginning and returns near the end. Our three criminals have a safe that they need to crack, but they must await their accomplices. The dog handler fails to kill the dog. In fact, the dog miraculously survives this act of utter cruelty and kills the handler. It is about this time that our sort of heroes realize that they are up against a big, mean, son of a brute. One other reviewer accurately described this effort as "Cujo" meets "Reservoir Dogs." Despite its depressing storyline, "Bullet Head" provides us with some interesting characters, some endearing dog scenes, and some disturbing dog scenes. As it turns out, the abandoned warehouse is used as a staging area for dogfights. In one scene, we are shown the corpses of canines stacked up like Holocaust victims. Again, I cannot emphasize enough-if you love dogs, you might find several scenes, if not this entire movie objectionable. Everybody in "Bullet Head" has a dog story, and the two characters that Adrien Brody and John Malkovich play share a charisma that isn't true for their younger accomplice. He has brought what appears to be a sack of narcotics and loves to stick needles into the tattoo of a sledgehammer on his forearm. Gage's tattoo has something to do with a tragic dog story. The biggest problem that "Bullet Head" contends with is the air of predictability that hangs over the action. Credit Solet for adding a twist about an hour into the action involving the relationship between the big, bloody pit bull on Stacy. Lensed on location overseas, "Bullet Head" isn't a top tier tale, but Solet and his "Bad Country" cinematographer Zoran Popovic, who collaborated with him on his horror epic Grace, have gone out of their way to make a serious saga. They rely on special lenses to provide the dog's perspective throughout the action. Solet crafts some genuine suspense as the hound goes after Walker and Stacy in one scene where Brody and Malkovich performed their own stunts. Banderas is clearly cast as a villain, and he receives his just comeuppance at fadeout. As ominous as this movie is, there are some lighter moments-the scene between Walker and Stacy, and there is a scrap of a happy ending. Undoubtedly, the funniest scene has Stacy using a huge poodle to help him with his crimes. Although the director and most of the cast are dog lovers or at least claim to be, "Bullet Head" is still a melodrama that dog lovers should approach with caution.

Three robbers hold up in an abandoned storage facility awaiting a get away vehicle. We get to know the characters through interesting flashbacks. While they explore the facility they discover the place is used for illegal dog fights with a killer dog and killer owner (Antonio Banderas) roaming the halls.

The flashbacks kept the story moving with animal stories. John Malkovich always brings his "A" game. Rory Culkin who looks like a junkie, plays a junkie. Adrien Brody gives us his signature sad sack character. While the story had good characters, the drama and action was not over powering. We got a fish-eye dog's eye view of a few things which I though was a flop. The dog fights we don't see.

It is a well made film that holds your interest, but one soon forgotten.

Guide: F-word. Centerfold nudity.

This is something you watch on Netflix when there's nothing else interesting that you haven't already seen. Criminals vs a sometimes CG dog in a warehouse. Adrien Brody's character is pretty lifeless until the third act where he redeems himself and pulls off the best performance of the cast. Antonio Banderas while menacing is a one dimensional character who could have been explored further. Malkovich was Malkovich, a watered down version. Culkin was useless. His flashback story was pretty good though. Some decent suspenseful scenes between Brody and the dog. Overall a watchable film to pass the time but not terribly enjoyable or memorable.

The film is completely stupid, apart from very slow and boring. Instead of a shark, this time a dog is after the people. I do not know how I've been able to see it up to the end. 93 minutes from my life I will not get back. Pity for actors like Adrian Brody, Antonio Banderas and John Malkovich to let them in such a ridiculous trash of a film.

My vote 1/10.