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Cool. I really liked the script when Fincher was attached. But I heard that DePalma... well, DePalmamized it.

The movie is awful. At least at the test screening I was at a few months back. Maybe they've fixed it, but probably not.

If it's half as good as L.A. Confidential, then it'll be worth seeing. De Palma's up and down for me.

The more DePalmaized, the better, as far as I'm concerned, although Hartnett's casting looks problematic from the trailer.

That blows, Wrecktum. What was so awful about it? The draft I read was great.

Harnett clearly looks the like the standout problem of this piece.

Then again, the plot and setting all feel very paint-by-numbers.

"That blows, Wrecktum. What was so awful about it? The draft I read was great."

Well, I don't want to get into specifics because that would be unfair to the filmmakers (as I said, it's possibly been fixed up). But mostly my problems were with the casting (all the leads are terribly cast, especially a woeful Hilary Swank) and the story was way too convoluted, even with Hartnett's omnipresent monotone narration trying to help the viewers along.

Honestly, the only positive I can recall is a truly great perf by Mia Kirschner. Sadly, she's only in the film for about 10 minutes.

Ellroy's always convoluted. The thing that bothered me most about L.A. CONFIDENTIAL was the extent to which Helgeland and Hanson defanged it when they streamlined the narrative. Obviously, you've got to pare Ellroy down, but it's important to preserve his cynicism, which CONFIDENTIAL did not. Having read the De Palma-fied draft of DAHLIA, I'm confident this will be the first Ellroy adaptation to do the author's bleak worldview justice.

To let you know, I have read the Ellroy book and I found little of Ellroy in the version of Dahlia I saw. Especially the way the filmmakers totally destroyed the best and most tragic character in the book (Lee Blanchard).

For the record, L.A. Confidential is one of my favorite movies of the past decade.

Well the cover up there looks nice Dave.

oh no Mr Wreck say it aint so. When I saw Eckhart cast as Blanchard awhile back I was a little squeamish and wondering how they were going to direct him--I fear too hammy. :(
I really needed this to be a good movie.

The casting seemed almost Woody ensemble-ish not good for a book like this.

LA Confidential is definitely in my top 10 of the last decade. (I can't remember who on this blog, was insisting that it was awful a few months back. oh well. obviously a dummy :P ).

LA-C and Sonatine were my favorite crime pictures of the nineties.

I was the one saying I thought LAC was highly overrated. Wouldn't go so far as 'awful', though.

I've been anticipating this film for yonks, and, for some unknown reason, have been predicting it for a Best Picture nomination. It looks solid, could do decent box-office (it's not opening in December, thank god) and it's got a great cast and a director they've never rewarded with anything before. Plus, I just love this time setting and the whole noirish nature of it all. The trailer was great. I really don't like Hilary Swank at all but that bit where she goes "I slept with her to see what it was like to be with someone who looked like me" or whatever she says was great. I dunno why. Seems twisted.

The press kit looks nice too.

Is the disc the movie or just press material?

Wait, sorry, you said it was a press kit not an Oscar FYC thing, so obviously its press kid material.

Am I the only one who doesn't think Hilary Swank and Mia Kirschner look much alike at all aside from being brunettes? I had always guessed they would get the same actress to play both parts with makeup/wardrobe differences.

oh it was you, dummy. heh heh, just kidding Jeff. :P There's just no accounting for personal taste I guess, inlcuding my own.

'highly overrated' is not the same as awful, no, but when ascribed to a movie like LAC feels as a similar insult to me I suppose.

Highly overrated is a term I'd reserve for Tepid bait films that win Oscar or several Oscars. Like Beautiful Mind.

Mia Kirschner looks more like Rose McGowan than she does Hilary Swank!

'scuse me, it's Kirshner, I guess.

Yes, "Kirshner." I always make the same mistake. She's very good in the film (enough so that they built the trailer around her) but, as I said before, isn't on screen long enough to make a difference.

Hollywoodland looks more promising than this. Performances look consistently better and even the story is more intriguing to me...at least from the trailers.

Jeff, did you rewatch LAC yet?

"L.A. Confidential" was excellent, but I still wish I could make a few cuts - most notably, Guy Pearce sleeping with Kim Basinger (never believed it), and Russell Crowe living at the end.

Let's get a Gurus blog entry, so we can all ask why the heck so many people are so high on a genre film getting a Best Picture nod at a studio that already has a clear Oscar horse - JUST BECAUSE IT'S MARTIN SCORSESE.

DePalma has NEVER stuck to source material (Carrie and Bonfire jump to mind) so I doubt he will now.

I also agree that Kirshner and Swank look NOTHING alike...espeically cuz Kirshner is smoking hot and Swank does nothing for me...at all.

I'm still stoked for this but you never know what you'll get with DePalma...and there's usually a better than 50% chance of it sucking. Yet, he remains one of my favorite directors.

If more than 50% of his films suck why on earth would he be one of your favorite directors?

I think if studios took as much pride in the actual DVD's as they do with trying to convince you it's worth an Oscar, I bet DVD sales would go up.

that's what, the size of a vinyl? not only would it be a collecters edition, but it'd truly be frameable. but you know, blame the consumers and all that crap.

Wreck-

Even when he's bad, he's rarely uninteresting...for one. Second, for every BONFIRE, THE FURY, FEMME FATALE, MISSION TO MARS and SNAKE EYES there's a CARRIE, SCARFACE, BLOW OUT, RAISING CAIN and THE UNTOUCHABLES. Third...even though he sometimes seems all over the map, he still has a distinct vision and is a smart director. Plus 2 words: hot chicks.

Ha! Petaluma--put the hot chicks reason first dude...that's the answer.

If I were a guy and hot chicks were priority in film I think I'd pick Paul Verhoeven because he's only crap ~20% of the time, and has had some moments of brilliance like The Fourth Man.

I love DePalma as well, plus Femme Fatale belongs on his 'good list', and even his less good movies, like Mission to Mars or The Fury, will have excellent sequences or at least shots in them, even if they're ultimately ridiculous.

There's one virtuoso DePalma money shot in the Dahlia cut I saw: a long tracking shot over several blocks when Liz Short's body is discovered. If you love DePalma, you'll love the shot.

There's one awful DePalma money shot in the Dahlia cut I saw: when Bucky meets Hilary Swank's family for the first time, the whole scene is one long steadycam point of view shot where the actors talk directly to the camera. Loathsome.

Yipes, Wreck...that sounds lamer than lame.

And I really ahted FEMME FATALE....and I was bummed because I looooove Rebecca Romijn and she had some priceless lines and looked great...but what a lame movie.

You gotta hand it to DePalma, he's definitely one of the most interesting directors around. You never quite know what you're gonna get. And, he's definitely a love/hate director. For instance, I absolutely LOVE Femme Fatale. I was with Ebert 100% on that one.

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