WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

HottWwjdIam There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

Billie Morin This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Bessie Smyth Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Zoooma A not-so-creepy tale of travelers in the night in the middle of nowheresville around the junction of Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas. Eventually each character will cross paths with one another. In the meantime there's a serial killer out there, too. Robert Forster just did not have a big enough role in this or else maybe it coulda had a chance to better than it is. Taj Mahal as the DJ was excellent, however; his role really helped make this worth watching. Overall it did not pack enough punch and may not be that memorable in the long run. It failed to impress me that much and I will not be in a hurry to ever see it again.5.3 / 10 Stars--Zoooma, a Kat Pirate Screener

Movie-12 OUTSIDE OZONA / (1998) **1/2 (out of four)By Blake French: "Outside Ozona" wanders just a little too much to warrant a recommendation. It's a solid attempt from first time director and screenwriter J.S. Cardone; he creates a sordid environment for his characters and often provokes a real sense of community and compassion, but there are just too many characters and too little of a plot to carry them through. I enjoyed much of the film, enough to call this movie a close miss-but I cannot recommend a movie that doesn't know what it's about. There is so much material here, the thin plot threads quickly break apart, and the audience is the group who wishes there we're some kind of boundaries to keep everything together. The movie takes place during a single night on the stretching deserted highways outside Ozona, Oklahoma. We meet a lot of characters, too many, that all seem to live separate lives unrelated to the others. There's a circus clown (Kevin Pollack) who gets mad when he's fired, but becomes even more angry when he discovers his stripper girlfriend (Penelope Ann Miller) has previously slept with his boss to help save his job. There is a lonesome truck driver (Robert Forster) who lends a helping hand to a Navajo Indian woman, whose grandmother (Keteri Walker) is dying. Two bitter sisters (including Sherilyn Fenn) who pick up hitchhiker (David Paymer) who may or may not be a serial killer roaming the highways. The film makes several attempts to connect these stories, which we cut back and forth from throughout the film. One of those attempts deals with a disco jockey on his last strings (Taj Mahal), whose boss (Meat Loaf) isn't happy that his radio station has become under the heat of higher powers. Another attempt is the film's climax, in which all of these stories come to a literal crash. This is disposable and needless. It concludes the various circumstances, but doesn't succeed in bringing them together for a final showdown. It's kind of a disappointment. There are many scenes in which the various characters exchange lengthy conversations that really don't further the plot. But is there really a central plot? Not really. Perhaps that's why the movie doesn't work, because it has no focus, no purpose to build the tension, no story to develop. This is a simple character study. One that often becomes violent (there are some graphically bloody images) gratuitous (there's a scene in a strip club that involves so much unwarranted nudity it feels awkward), and boring (look up "talking heads" in a film analysis book and you'll probably find references to this film). Some of the characters are interesting, but with so many, the film doesn't know which ones. After all of this I forgot to mention the subplot involving the FBI tracking down a serial killer who brutally murders young women as a means of religious rituals. When you forget a subplot that major and important, you know the film's plate is a little too full.

darkstrangers You just can't judge a book by its cover, ya'know? That nice, harmless looking geek stranded on the side of the road with a broken-down car could very well be a raving, ax murderer.This is a nicely done film dealing with several different people that are on a collision course outside of the little western town of Ozona. One is a homicidal lunatic and the rest are relatively innocent folks who may or may not have the misfortune of running into him.Meatloaf gives a nice performance as the manager of a radio station that realizes the nut calling in on the phone is the killer. Robert Forster is excellent as a sweet, but lonely truck driver.Casting David Paymer as the murderer was a stroke of genius, reminding one that people are not always as they seem. Making someone so harmless looking into a cold-blooded killer is exactly what makes him so frightening. Nice work all-around. A very good choice for a stay-at-home-night date.

BlueFormicaHalo When a movie slightly reminds you of Oliver Stone's western noir "U-Turn", yah that one movie that tried way too hard to be cool and expected to make money just because of Sean Penn, Jennifer Lopez, and Nick Nolte, its not a good sign. But thankfully, "Outside Ozona" is better. Barely released in theatres, this character driven suspense thriller carries around a very diverse cast which ranges from Robert Forster (best known for his Oscar-nominated turn in "Jackie Brown") to former bombshell Sherilyn Fenn to Meat Loaf. All of the characters are oddly connected by listening to their radios to a certain dj (Taj Mahal). Although "Ozona" does make some good points about things like God and such, its dark and cynical tone is almost ruined by the characters played by Kevin Pollack and Penelope Ann Miller (their romance just raises the camp level and nothing else) and the chiched dialogue that shows up every once in a while.Not very unique, but an overall decent flick. Two and a Half Stars out of Four.