ebh

This movie is total crap. Sure -visually, it's stunning. But any movie can be stunning with a ton of money, and people who know how to do their job. Other than that, this is an over-the-top, too slick for its own good, wannabe film noir, but it misses the mark by a mile. Some of it was passable, for example the Mickey Rourke sequence I thought was well done, well acted, and the dialog was clever. But I felt that the acting by most of the woman character's was weak, almost sounded like line readings. Perhaps these women ( Gugino, Murphy,Alba, Dawson) are just nice to look at, and not much else. I have never fancied Rodriquez, he's a bit of a schmuck. His films are terrible, his writing is terrible, and he's an obnoxious creep, much like his pal Tarantino. I got an idea for a film, Tarantino & Rodriquez should hold a big love fest, where they do nothing but compliment each other, then at the very end, they blow each others brains out. I think that would be a great movie, and it would get rid of some waste in the business. Now if they'd only toss in Affleck, Damon, Edward Burns and Kevin Smith, I'd pay to see the sequel. If you have any taste in cinema, avoid this lame duck at all costs.

Perhaps the last reviewer simply didn't get this deep emotional film. This won top awards at Cannes. Simply a great piece of art, with incredible acting, beautifully detailed direction, and glorious photography. Shame on shallow reviewers who need to school themselves in the fine art of filmmaking.

This was an excellent character study about an aging cop, who can't seem to let go of his job. Nicholson has rarely been better, and Sean Penn's eye for detail adds to this somber yet meaningful film. The film is deliberately paced, and lacks your typical Hollywood ending (Thank God!), and this is probably why your typical dumb movie going audience won't take to it. It is an intelligent, well thought out film, with many familiar faces. A gem of a film, and lets hope we see Penn behind the camera more often.