Voice on phone: Tick-tock, doc.

Short Attention Span Summary (SASS):

1.   Dr. Gramm (Al Pacino) is a forensic psychiatrist who gets into the minds of serial killers to see what makes them tick.

2.   A man is on Death Row based on Gramm's testimony

3.   Now someone is killing Gramm's students, and it sure looks like the work of the "Seattle Slasher", except he's the guy on Death Row

4.   Gramm has 88 minutes to find out whether there's a copycat on the loose, or if he's made a mistake in convicting the accused murderer.

5.   This time it's Gramm's clock that's ticking

This is a fast-paced murder movie that stars Al Pacino, Alicia Witt, Leelee Sobieski and Amy Brenneman, among others.  I'd be lying if I said that there weren't plot holes, or places where the imagination is stretched to breaking point, but Pacino manages to hold it all together, delivering a performance that almost (not quite) gets him honorary action hero status.

Towards the end the plot twists and red herrings are enough to make your head spin, but in the final analysis, this is well worth the price of a rental.

Amanda Richards, November 9, 2008