What Will's Watching

Knock Around Guys: Saw this was on Netflix. When Knock Around Guys came out in 2002, this movie seemed strange to us. Star Barry Pepper had just played a very grownup role in 61* about Roger Maris. Why go back? Knock Around Guys is about four sons of NYC mobsters who have to go out to Montana and get some lost money. John Malkovich wanted to play a gangster, we guess, and does so in his somnolent manner. An early Vin Diesel plays the half-Jewish muscle of the crew. The man has always been very likable going all the way back to Boiler Room, and is likable here. Oh, Dennis Hopper's in it too. A very paint by numbers coming of age plot, but entertaining enough. 2/4 or 3/5 if we went that way.