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Capone Pwns WE OWN THE NIGHT!
Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.
Here’s another one I have to prepare my own review for. Capone, as always, shames me with his machine-like ability to always have his reviews ready for Friday. On a day like today, with 499947837 new films opening, it’s hard to organize what goes up when.
I’m off to see ENCHANTED right now, and as soon as I’m back, I’ll continue putting up my own stuff. For now, here’s our man in Chi-town, my brother in rooflessness, the one and only Capone.
Hey folks. Capone in Chicago here.
No New York City cop cliché is left unused in this competently made but otherwise uninspired work from writer-director James Gray (LITTLE ODESSA; THE YARDS) about the deteriorating crime problem in the Big Apple circa the early 1980s. Joaquin Phoenix plays Brooklyn nightclub manager Bobby Green, whose El Caribe hot spot is frequented by Russian drug dealers and mobsters. Bobby allows this element to roam free because it brings in business and the club's owner treats Bobby like a son. Bobby's smokin' hot girlfriend Amada (Eva Mendes in full vixen mode) can't get enough of the guy, and together they play the King and Queen of the Brooklyn nightlife with much vigor. But right from the start, WE OWN THE NIGHT kicks in with the "how-cool-can-we-make-these-people-look" attitude. In one of his less impressive roles, Phoenix walks around with a smarmy sneer to the infectious beats of Blondie or some other disco-era tunes. He snorts a little something here, mashes faces with his girl over there, and rubs elbows with some scary-looking, leather-jacket-wearing Russian thugs. Never seen that before.
What many of Bobby's buddies (including the truly obnoxious Danny Hoch, who plays his right-hand man) don't know is that he comes from a family of top-ranking, highly decorated cops, including his chief of police father (Robert Duvall) and his rising-star brother, Joseph (Mark Wahlberg). Neither father nor brother hides the fact that they are sorely disappointed in Bobby's choice of profession or friends, a point underscored when Joseph leads a raid of El Caribe and arrests some Russian mobster types.
Most of what happens in WE OWN THE NIGHT from this point forward is a series of revenge killings or attempted kilings. The Russians attempt to kill Joseph; the police enlist Bobby to help them catch the people that put the hit out on his brother; Bobby and Amada go into protective custody and immediately become targets along with Bobby's father. There isn't a step of this plot that isn't completely predictable or executed in ways we've seen a hundred times before in far better movies. Phoenix looks pale and sweaty all the time; Wahlberg has rarely been as good as he was in last year's THE DEPARTED, so why would he play another cop role in such a lesser movie? Mendes fares a bit better as the sex kitten who quickly loses her interest in Bobby once he falls out of favor and the money goes away. At least her performance is somewhat believable. Duvall couldn't turn in bad work if he tried, but he gives us a familiar take on the stubborn, set-in-his-ways dad character that adds very little to the proceedings.
To director Gray's credit, there is one chase sequence that takes place during a nasty rainstorm that is breathtaking. Filmed primarily from a point of view inside Bobby's car, we see crashes and near misses going on around his vehicle but without the deafening sounds that typically accompany these events. It's almost silent, and for some reason that makes what we're seeing so much more terrible.
Without giving too much away, by the time the story gets to the point where Bobby makes a major career detour, I lost interest, and not just because that moment in the script seemed implausible. No, I stopped caring about anything or anyone in this movie because it was trying too hard to throw too many plot devices at us in one film. What's worse, I never really liked or cared about anyone in this movie. Everyone is kind of an asshole and not the fun kind you invite to a party to keep things interesting. A little self-centered behavior goes a hell of a long way. It's not a good sign when you throw up your hands and say to yourself, "I've officially stopped caring about these people from this point forward."
WE OWN THE NIGHT takes its title from the motto that the Street Crimes Unit of the NYPD used during the 1980s. A film about that unit's seedy misadventures might have been worth putting camera to, but this is yet another sketchy, surface-skimming cop movie with generic mobsters, family-trumps-everything, cops-protect-cops crime thriller that we've seen more times than my limited memory capacity can sustain. I expected better from nearly everyone involved and was let down at every turn.
Capone
No New York City cop cliché is left unused in this competently made but otherwise uninspired work from writer-director James Gray (LITTLE ODESSA; THE YARDS) about the deteriorating crime problem in the Big Apple circa the early 1980s. Joaquin Phoenix plays Brooklyn nightclub manager Bobby Green, whose El Caribe hot spot is frequented by Russian drug dealers and mobsters. Bobby allows this element to roam free because it brings in business and the club's owner treats Bobby like a son. Bobby's smokin' hot girlfriend Amada (Eva Mendes in full vixen mode) can't get enough of the guy, and together they play the King and Queen of the Brooklyn nightlife with much vigor. But right from the start, WE OWN THE NIGHT kicks in with the "how-cool-can-we-make-these-people-look" attitude. In one of his less impressive roles, Phoenix walks around with a smarmy sneer to the infectious beats of Blondie or some other disco-era tunes. He snorts a little something here, mashes faces with his girl over there, and rubs elbows with some scary-looking, leather-jacket-wearing Russian thugs. Never seen that before.
What many of Bobby's buddies (including the truly obnoxious Danny Hoch, who plays his right-hand man) don't know is that he comes from a family of top-ranking, highly decorated cops, including his chief of police father (Robert Duvall) and his rising-star brother, Joseph (Mark Wahlberg). Neither father nor brother hides the fact that they are sorely disappointed in Bobby's choice of profession or friends, a point underscored when Joseph leads a raid of El Caribe and arrests some Russian mobster types.
Most of what happens in WE OWN THE NIGHT from this point forward is a series of revenge killings or attempted kilings. The Russians attempt to kill Joseph; the police enlist Bobby to help them catch the people that put the hit out on his brother; Bobby and Amada go into protective custody and immediately become targets along with Bobby's father. There isn't a step of this plot that isn't completely predictable or executed in ways we've seen a hundred times before in far better movies. Phoenix looks pale and sweaty all the time; Wahlberg has rarely been as good as he was in last year's THE DEPARTED, so why would he play another cop role in such a lesser movie? Mendes fares a bit better as the sex kitten who quickly loses her interest in Bobby once he falls out of favor and the money goes away. At least her performance is somewhat believable. Duvall couldn't turn in bad work if he tried, but he gives us a familiar take on the stubborn, set-in-his-ways dad character that adds very little to the proceedings.
To director Gray's credit, there is one chase sequence that takes place during a nasty rainstorm that is breathtaking. Filmed primarily from a point of view inside Bobby's car, we see crashes and near misses going on around his vehicle but without the deafening sounds that typically accompany these events. It's almost silent, and for some reason that makes what we're seeing so much more terrible.
Without giving too much away, by the time the story gets to the point where Bobby makes a major career detour, I lost interest, and not just because that moment in the script seemed implausible. No, I stopped caring about anything or anyone in this movie because it was trying too hard to throw too many plot devices at us in one film. What's worse, I never really liked or cared about anyone in this movie. Everyone is kind of an asshole and not the fun kind you invite to a party to keep things interesting. A little self-centered behavior goes a hell of a long way. It's not a good sign when you throw up your hands and say to yourself, "I've officially stopped caring about these people from this point forward."
WE OWN THE NIGHT takes its title from the motto that the Street Crimes Unit of the NYPD used during the 1980s. A film about that unit's seedy misadventures might have been worth putting camera to, but this is yet another sketchy, surface-skimming cop movie with generic mobsters, family-trumps-everything, cops-protect-cops crime thriller that we've seen more times than my limited memory capacity can sustain. I expected better from nearly everyone involved and was let down at every turn.
Capone
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Despite the talent involved, looked like another generic cop drama.
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Ill wait till Video.
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and have to say Capone is a nitwit. This is a good movie. Do yourself a favor and see it.
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It's great!
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or pwned or any other variation on the most retarded net slang ever conceived by immature virgin computer weiners.
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Does it mean "own"? I'm serious. I don't know. Or maybe I know. I'm just not sure.
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Saw this a couple of weeks ago. Talk about predictable. And Russian gangsters make for boring fucking villians.
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It was disappointing. And that scene in the rainstorm, I couldn't tell what was going on. Too much shaking. However, I did like the other action-y scene. The one with the window.
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Jesus, Capone. That's two unreasonably harsh reviews for two movies that didn't nearly deserve them. Feeling a tad hyperbolic lately?
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So I might be getting a divorce soon. Well, we had a good run.
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This review is pretty accurate. My own feeling is the film was too long and needed some serious editing. And in the end, i was glancing at my watch.
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...too many "one handed typing" typos...geekbonics
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Oct 12, 2007 8:13:26 PM CDT
'pwn' is what 12 year olds say on the Internet thinking it's coo
by jimmy_009
But it wasn't cool 10 years ago, and it just tags you as an immature poser these days.
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Oct 12, 2007 8:24:46 PM CDT
"You're a respected journalist and screenwriter Mori..."
by alonzo mosely
What? Did I miss that memo... I keed, I keed...
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sucky
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All righty then..
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I'm *still* pissed that her nude scene in Training Day featured her in the background and out of focus. DAMMIT!
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She's ugly and can't act. Whose dick did she suck to get this role?
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What is that thing on Eva's upper lip for Christ sake.
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Ugly? Are you fucking INSANE?!
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Just curious.
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I thought it was well made and engrossing crimedrama. Also, I am not a big fan of Eva Mendes as an actress but she wasn't half bad here.
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Yeah Mark Wahlberg is kind of a puss...so what Phoenix is moody...despite what Capone says this movie is decent. James Gray slowed down moments that were already dragging and didn't pause when he needed to. But all in all, everyone turned in solid...especially Mendes who usually just plays her turn as wank-fodder...go see it
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I really dug the hell out of The Departed and Four Brothers. I think Wahlberg's starting to become one of Hollywood's finer anti-hero types. It'll be interesting to see this one in theaters.
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They're basically selling it as this year's departed.
And you can tell that it isn't. -
when there are 5678965356467847 movies coming out??
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agreed, well said!
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Just watched it. How can you go wrong with weresheep.
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Oct 13, 2007 9:32:01 PM CDT
Who came up with "Pwned" and why do so many people think it's cl
by jesus of suburbia
It's like when "gangsta" rappers try to prove they're cool by intentionally misspelling their name or something. This shit needs to stop right now!
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and why can't topics exceed a single line. Very gay!
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I mean the Departed just came out last year. So I guess this is what happens to David McCall's character after he kills Jason Bourne while wearing hair nets on his shoes, and a circa 80's sweat suit (i guess that was a little wink wink, nuge nuge about this movie huh?). The yards sucked.
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Ad box in the corner for CASSHERN is giving me a nerd boner I want to see it soo bad. Anyone else having that problem these days??
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if you are still reading this thread. Black Sheep was awesome. I did a little double feature with Night of the Living Dorks (Finally a movie Aptow wishes he had made). Both awesome I really do feel the double feature is the way to go on these movies (ARE YOU LISTENING WAL MART?) But seriously do yourself a favor go see Night of the Living Dorks the Original, before all your friends are trying to get you to see the new movie with Johna Hill as a fat dead guy being unfunny (or funny if you think that unfunny people are funny). That kid being famous makes me want to rethink any dreams a may have had. I hear he does cup???? Probably going to be the next side kick in the upcoming Carlos Menstruation movie, what a dynamic duo they will make.
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it was basically a straight foward cop movie. no big reveal or twist at the end. at least we got a shot of Eva's boobie and we got to watch her scratching herself down there.
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what was up with that?
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Were the boobies worth the price of admission?
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Not really. It was only 1 boobie that was shown. The boobie appeared for only about 5-10 seconds when Joaquin Phoenix pulls down her bra and then stuffs his face on it. But watching Eva Mendes scratch her cootch for what seemed an eternity was definatly worth it. Then she slides Joaquin's hand down there and she makes noises.
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I constantly sided with the crooks throughout the movie, I wasn't upset at the beginning when Joseph gets hit, I thought "good, he was a dick". The cops constantly break the law such as when they refuse to tell Joaquin why they are raiding the place and detaining him. They are constantly stupid, such as when they somehow forget to surround the building they are securing and when they conveninetly appear AFTER they are needed (during the awesome car chase, which is one of two good scenes in this movie). Also, lets not forget when they forget who their mole is and go in guns blazing, putting everyones life in danger.
The movie is clumsy, stupid, and I couldn't give two shits about any of the characters. Pheonix was strong as usual and can someone tell me what the hell was up with DuValls stupid comments? "You can only piss your pants and stay warm for so long" and that other one about slipping on a banana? What the fuck? -
I've seen Casshern on an import DVD, and it's terrible. There's some nicely art directed bits and pieces, and maybe two action scenes are kind of neat, but the story is utter drivel, and it's directed by some wanna-be music video director who seems to subconsciously realize he's making the only movie he'll ever be allowed to make in his entire life, because he's trying waaaaay too hard to impress you. Constantly. It's tiresome.
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