I had great expectations for this movie. I mean, how could you miss with the great James Gandolfini and wonderful Saoirse Ronan as headliners (and Alexis Bledel is certainly eyeworthy), and yet the first time through this film I did not enjoy the experience. Then it dawned on me, well, duh, this film is intended to be a Tarantino parody, and it went up several stars in my estimation. Of course, making a parody of a QT film is problematic, because Quentin films are already parodies of other genres such as kung fu, grindhouse, and noir. And so, in a sense, the filmmaker is making a parody of a parody. I mean, Saoirse playing patty-cakes with Danny Trejo? The scene is totally Quentinesque to a ludicrous extreme. And that's parody.

Other motifs that echo and exaggerate Tarantino's style include the implausible violence sequences that can only exist in some alternate film universe (think Black Mamba single-handedly wiping out a small army of yakuza in "Kill Bill,") and the interminable gabfest that fills out a QT script (these people love to talk and talk and talk)... And so, as a parody of a parody, and for its very impressive cast, this film is worth an amused watch.

The movie is great at its best moments. And almost boring to death (no pun intended) in its worst. It's almost a shame that it does not find a way to stay even throughout. The two main actresses (Kudos for going that way, which also provides the movie with some of its best moments) are very different from each other. I'm not saying it's borderline cliché, but some people may expect a lot of the "twist" turns in the plot that the filmmaker thought of.

So while I would have loved to like it even more (I still think it's a decent movie overall), there are too many moments in it, that just don't work. On other news, it seems like someone was watching the Sopranos! You're not only getting Mr. Soprano himself (Mr. Gandolfini) in a completely different role, but you also get one of the regulars from that show to appear here.

Too Cute by Two, this is Another in the Girls with Guns Subgenre that can be Entertaining like Hana (2011) and Kick-Ass (2010). It also Borrows Heavily from that Tarantino Sensibility of Colorful Excess and Slightly Removed Ambiance. But there is Little Wit here that makes these Things Joyful Jaunts into Comic-Book Land.

The Movie Looks Good and the Actors All seem to be On but the Story is so Weak and the Dialog so Trite and the Side Characters and Stories are so Uninteresting that the Film comes off as an Idea not Realised and a Script from the Reject Pile that was Dusted Off but Never Polished.

In the End it is Attractive Visually but is not At All as much Fun as it Thinks it is and that is definitive Pretentiousness. The Lollipop Licking and the Bubble-Gum Blowing are more Cringe than Creative and more Obvious than Clever.

It is a Misfire that Overall, it really doesn't Matter because the Film is Shooting Blanks.