[quote=“The Seb”]
Wow. that movie was one hell of a ride.
it dragged a bit in the beginning and the middle, but the movie was just awesome. the look was great, the dePalma typical slo-mo stuff was great, the flashbacks were superb, some of the violence was fucking intense! i loved the shadow work, the shootings and the slapstick like scenes with that old woman and the homage to silent movies / old bw nudie flicks.
such a great movie. everybody should see it, its really a wild ride
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I agree with you about the beginning. I thought it took a little long to get going but once it did it was good. Although on IMDb it has been received bad (fuck 'em), I thought it was good.
I loved it and I saw it twice. DePalma is my favorite director so I always go see his films a couple times at the theater. Its funny, every review Ive read of the film has been positive.
Went to watch this last week. It was a good film, but nothing special. Everybody I’ve talked to about this film thought it was shit. But I wasn’t disappointed at all.
The camera movement was sublime. I loved the dialogue (probably mostly taken from the book) and I loved it’s style. The cinematography was out of this world. I also liked the cool scene wipe-outs (so much better than the lame Microsoft Powerpoint-type wipe-outs in Lucas’ Revenge of the Sith ). Also, the best scenes were probably the black and white flashbacks. They induced true emotion and drama - spine tingling. This film is full of classic De Palma moments, I should think it’s definitely one for the De Palma fans.
I thought Hartnett did a good job (because I otherwise don’t like him very much), and the actress playing Ramona Linscott’s character was fucking brilliant(ly hilarious!).
A good all round film, but wouldn’t say it’s anything to write home about. De Palma has certainly produced better.
And how was the end ? I don’t want to spoil, just want to know if it was emotional, cause the book is so emotional, I hope De Palma won’t disappoint me and respect the end of Ellroy. :-</E>
1. I never read the book or knew about the story until I heard about the film.
2. I thought Scarlett and Hillary were good but not great. BUT both were sexy as hell.
3. Well, I’ll just say James Ellroy loves the film and has been saying from the beginning that DePalma was the only director who could have brought his world to the big screen perfectly. I dont want to spoil the ending, you should really go see it yourself.
I also learned awhile back that DePalma wasnt on board from the very beginning of this project, which certainly makes a difference when you’re working on a film. He took over after David Fincher left and made the film his own. I think its a beautifullly crafted film and has all the great DePalma traits I love in his work: brilliant direction, dark/over the top humor, conflicted characters, tragedy and hot women! I also really enjoyed seeing past DePalma actors in it like William Finley (Winslow Leach himself!) and Gregg Henry (The Indian from Body Double).
Is this my favorite DePalma film? No, but its one of his best in recent years. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
For more info and reviews of the film check out DePalma ala Mod, an excellent news site that I goto every day:
yeah david Fincher wrote a 300-pages script and he got fired… Could you imagine ? He was so into the story and he simply got fired… Too bad he could have been an excellent director for the movie too.
About the ending, I’m just a bit scared that De Palma hasn’t followed the book, cause the ending was just perfect…
I think that DePalma came into this one sort of how Kubrick came into Spartacus. As you all know, Spartacus is nothing like any of the marvelous films that Kubrick made. I am curious as to how DePalmaesque this one will be.
[quote=“Kilgore Trout”]
I think that DePalma came into this one sort of how Kubrick came into Spartacus. As you all know, Spartacus is nothing like any of the marvelous films that Kubrick made. I am curious as to how DePalmaesque this one will be.
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Oh but Kubrick was way better than Anthony Mann, and he came on a shooting, which had already started, wich isn’t the case of De Palma, he could change all the script of Fincher and all. Not the same I think.
[quote=“Kilgore Trout”]
Nevertheless, Spartacus was a waste of film. I would rather watch Ben Hur or The Ten Commandments.
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Don’t blame Kubrick, EVER ! He’s a master, you need to respect him And I think, it’s so hard to go on a shooting already started, and control it, and he did a great job in this point. And plus the movie is good.
I like Ben Hur too, and not that much The Ten Commandments.
). Also, the best scenes were probably the black and white flashbacks. They induced true emotion and drama - spine tingling. This film is full of classic De Palma moments, I should think it’s definitely one for the De Palma fans.
And I think, it’s so hard to go on a shooting already started, and control it, and he did a great job in this point. And plus the movie is good.