 "Old Hollywood Revealed" | 2009-10-22 |
| - Reviewed By User: A5KIX8Y8H197J |
| This movie is a fascinating look into old Hollywood and yellow journalism. Danny Devito was at his best, playing a tabloid journalist that was willing to "get the scoop" at all cost. A classic!!! |
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| "Review: L.A. Confidential (1997)" | 2009-10-11 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1XPL7K30Z8VXD |
Director: Curtis Hanson
Writer: James Ellroy, Brian Helgeland, Curtis Hanson
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kim Basinger, Danny DeVito, James Cromwell
This is a fantastic movie featuring great performances from everyone involved. And not only great performances, but some of the best work in the whole careers of many of the actors. Basinger won an Oscar for best supporting actress, and the movie also took home the Academy Award for best adapted screenplay. It was nominated in seven other categories, not the least of which were best director and best picture.
It is the mid 1950's. In the wake of a violent multiple homicide at a local diner, three L.A. cops investigate the truth in their own, very different ways. Their quest for justice requires them to rethink their morals and motivations as it leads them into the darkest and highest levels of corruption in the city.
This is one of my favorite movies. It doesn't quite crack my top ten, but it's up there. It's a very intriguing story told through masterful performances from the whole cast. Everything about this movie keeps you engaged in the evolution of the three main cops involved. The ensemble works together so well to draw you in and keep you on the edge of your seat until the thrilling conclusion. The stark contrast in their characters is perfectly complimented by the all-too believable portrayal of 1950's Los Angeles. Set design and art direction are spot on (another Oscar nomination), and the original music by Jerry Goldsmith evokes the classic gritty detective story without becoming stereotypical or cliche.
This is neo-film noir at its absolute finest.
Final Score: 10/10 |
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| "DVD" | 2009-10-08 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2FUDH9QZQZTRS |
| This DVD arrived in a very short time. It was in very good condition. Very Pleased. Thanks. |
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| "Very Hush-Hush!" | 2009-09-20 |
| - Reviewed By User: A22G6XU1L486N3 |
L.A. CONFIDENTIAL(1997)---Russell Crowe, Kevin Spacey, Guy Pearce, Kim Basinger, James Cromwell, Danny DeVito, David Strathairn
Based on the 3rd novel of James Ellroy's, "L.A. Quartet"("The Black Dahlia"; "The Big Nowhere"; "L.A. Confidential"; and "White Jazz") this movie is---IMO---one of the two best "modern/color" noirs out there(the other being, of course, CHINATOWN). The plot has many tangents that, for once, are all neatly brought together by the film's end. The central plot involves the brutal murder of several people in an all-night diner. The film unfolds primarily through the attempts of 3 very different cops, with very different motives, to solve the case. Bud White(Russell Crowe) is an old-fashioned cop who is quite willing to not only "bend" a few rules, but to outright stomp on them in his pursuit of "justice". Ed Exley(Guy Pearce) is a by-the-book son of a legendary cop who was killed in the line of duty---Exley is driven by his need to live up to/exceed his old man's reputation. Jack Vincennes(Kevin Spacey) is a venal, celebrity-loving cop who is more concerned with his role as "technical adviser" for a "Dragnet" type TV show than with his duties as a police officer. Vincennes gradually begins to regret his behavior and gets involved in trying to solve the diner murders. These 3 cops are inexorably drawn together in their pursuit of a solution to the crime. Along the way, they must deal with the machinations of a corrupt Chief of Detectives(James Cromwell), a shadowy figure named Pierce Patchett(David Strathairn) who runs a stable of high-priced hookers cut to look like movie stars---Kim Basinger plays Patchett's, "Veronica Lake", with whom the Russell Crowe character is smitten---and is involved in other nefarious activities, and the sleazy publisher of a "Confidential" type "tell all" magazine(Danny DeVito). As noted, the plot takes more twists and turns than a sidewinder wriggling across the desert but, in the end, everything is all neatly tied up. This is just a terrific film---I've seen it several times and it never grows stale.
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| "LA Confidential, unconfidentially is the best." | 2009-08-25 |
| - Reviewed By User: A19V85JMAM7BJC |
| I was really surprised to realize that I had ordered a two-disc Special Edition. I am very pleased with my purchase and have no complaints especially considering the price that I paid. What a great find!! I like to watch good movies over and over again and this is one of the great ones. After placing the order, I received it in such a quick that I never had time to wonder when it would get here. I do refer my friends to this site for purchasing movies that cannot be found in other stores. They also have had good experiences with Amazon. |
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| "Modern classic ... and don't worry about Basinger" | 2009-08-04 |
| - Reviewed By markywaters |
After watching Hollywood virtually incapable of producing a convincing period piece during the stultifyingly self-conscious '80s, what a relief to see that the 1990s didn't have the same problem.
LA CONFIDENTIAL is a splashy, game cinematic display of slime, corruption and intrigue set to the backdrop of 1950s showbiz-obsessed Los Angeles and its infamously dirty police department. With Jerry Goldsmith's CHINATOWNesque score adding immeasurably to the thing.
Oh, I suppose it's not perfect. But darn near close to it.
Don't be turned off by (as a result of expecting too much from) Kim Basinger's Oscar'd performance: she's okay and certainly acceptable given the role, but her award-winning stature was largely overhyped because, as 1997 was the year of horrid TITANIC (which was guaranteed an Oscar sweep due to block voting from two studios) the much-superior LA CONFIDENTIAL was thrown a consiliatory bone which landed in Kim's lap... Again, she's just fine, but don't sit down to watch this thinking she's going to be the main attraction; she's really a lesser light in the picture.
Anyway, it's interesting how rarely Tinseltown has ever managed to do a really captivatingly gossipy, warts-and-all (if fictionalized) expose on itself. But LA CONFIDENTIAL has succeeded in doing exactly that.
I have essentially no complaints.
Except for the Lana Turner scene: Turner was far too famous not to hire a model who more closely resembled her; as a result of not doing so, the moment is nowhere near as funny as it could've been. |
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