Rating: 
Summary: Hollywood Havoc
Review: L.A. Confidential: rated R, 2 hours and 17 minutes With the ultimate cast of Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Danny DeVito, and Kim Basinger, L.A. Confidential is a well-played, dramatic murder mystery.
Los Angeles during the 1950's was looked at as a paradise, but crime, corruption, and sleaze ran this 'Garden of Eden'. Hush, Hush, the tabloid magazine written by Sid Hudgens (DeVito), lives on the themes of these three unethical, social attributes. At the start of the film, Devito narrates by reading an article from the magazine aloud. These occasional excerpts provide an interesting viewpoint on the Hollywood of the 50's. Spacey and Crowe are the hotshot cops of California, renowned for their brave deeds. Spacey plays Sergeant Jack Vincennes, who has been giving Hush, Hush the meaty stories it thrives on, in return for the fame and publicity that he lives for.
One of the leading crimelords in L.A. dresses prostitutes to look like movie stars. Basinger, the Veronica Lake look-alike, becomes closely involved with Lieutenant Bud White (Crowe). In doing so, she plays a major role in solving the many murders that take place throughout the movie.
In the beginning, everything seems to be going according to plan, but as the characters develop, and the plot thickens, it becomes clear, things are not at all what they seem. Racism, possession of narcotics, conspiracy, and mass murder all become elements of this dramatically well played film, where each character serves his or her purpose. L.A. Confidential, directed by Curtis Hanson, also starring Guy Pearce who is fantastic (also see Memento!), is a perfect combination of superb acting and nail-biting suspense for a flawless A+.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome Crime Drama!!!!
Review: A movie that made you feel for the characters and at the same time made you think. Although I was saddened (...to..) discover who the real bad guy is. Great movies like this just arent made anymore. If you like this watch "The Usual Suspects". Also with Kevin Spacey.
Rating:
Summary: One Of The Greatest Film Noir's Of All Time
Review: Curtis Hansen's Brillent film noir is one of the best films ever made. A great cast of charecters great script and brillent direction what more could you want in a film. This film keeps you guessing as well as keeping you on the edge of your seat the whole time. The DVD is a great with a ton of goodies. This film is a masterpiece and shouldent be miss't.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite mob movies
Review: a fantastic 50's style mob movie with a brilliant cast, Kevin Spacey being amazing as usual. A gripping noir movie that balances action with dialogue. An excellent film. If you like this, try Goodfellas (the best ever,) Pulp Fiction and Donnie Brasco.
Rating:
Summary: True American Cinema
Review: This is the American fairy tale. In America we don't have knights in shining armor or pure regal ladies. In America there is no black, there is no white, there are only shades of gray. America's Shakespeare is Edgar Allen Poe. If the Western is the American Epic, then the Noir film is the American Romance. Grime wrapped in glamour, pervasive and persistent violence, and moral ambiguity characterize the genre of the American love story, and L.A. Confidential epitomizes this style. L.A. Confidential deviates from modern noir films like Blade Runner and The Last Seduction by returning to the roots of noir, the detective story that initially spawned the genre. Set in the city of angels in the 1950s, we follow three police officers, Kevin Spacey, Guy Pearce, and Russell Crowe as they investigate a gristly multiple homicide and try to unravel the series of events leading to it. The intricate (and well executed) plotting of this film alone would make it worth seeing. Remarkable performances from the lead actors as well as Kim Basinger, Danny Devito, and an aptly cast James Cromwell, by themselves would make this a worthwhile and entertaining film. Combined with the horrifyingly believable characterization, intense pacing, and superb cinematography, L.A. Confidential becomes worth of many of the platitudes showered upon it. With each turn and twist of the plot, we come closer and closer to understanding the characters themselves ' not only their motivations and goals, but their dark underbellies, the tarnish and rot just beneath the surface. Watching you can't help but become engrossed by this exemplar of the American film tradition, this archetypal American story.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent flick
Review: This movie won Oscars and the accolades were well-deserved. There aren't many movies set in this era and this is THE period piece from that era in my opinion. Very well done.
Rating:
Summary: Smart screenplay, tightly directed
Review: L.A. Confidential is a movie just frankly out of place in the modern cinema. A wholly realized vision of studio-run Hollywood, the movie feels like an old studio film.
A love triangle, corruption, ambition and celebrity scandal all swirl about a plot that is well-executed and has the look and feel of a classic.
The character-driven screenplay has plenty of twists and turns, and top-flight actors Kevin Spacey, Kim Basinger, Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce (among others in this all-star cast) give Bogart and Bacall a run for their money.
Rating:
Summary: On my Top 10 list of the Best Films of the 1990s
Review: When I first went to see this film, it was only because it was based on James Ellroy's novel of the same name. The amazing thing about this film is that it actually captures Ellroy's terse narrative into bottles that lightning on the screen. The only problem I have with the adaptation is that Ellroy provides no redemption at the end of his novel, as the guilty continue on, while the film demands some affirmation of redemption.
I agree with all of the other reviewers that the performances in this film are uniformily the best that these actors have given, with the exception of Spacey (I still prefer his work in The Usual Suspects). What is wonderful about this film is that this is the quintiscential American mystery film. Unlike mystery films or police dramas anywhere else, where the investigation eventually leads to a single individual, the American mystery film starts off with a single act, and like a pebble in a pond, radiates out into its own corrupt little world until it encompasses a massive conspiracy.
A wonderful film overall.
Rating:
Summary: Damn you Titanic!!
Review: This movie is awesome! Russle is the man and Spacey is excellent!
Rating: 
Summary: Always enjoyable to watch
Review: I always enjoy watching this movie. Russel Crowe, Kevin Spacey and particularly Guy Pearce do a remarkable job portraying various angles on the LA Police Department. As a "period piece" it doesn't give you quite the nostalgic feel as does, say "Chinatown." The story could be told just as well if set in today as in the '50's. It's a story of what it takes to get "justice" for a night-club shooting that shows there's more to it than what we're first shown. The seemingly separate stories of these three cops slowly come together as they investigate their own individual crimes. And the climatic scene is one of the best of its type that I've seen in quite a while. It's still exciting to watch even after you know the outcome. It is one of the best movies of the late-nineties.
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