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Blackmail, Murder & Mayhem

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King of New York

King of New York

List Price: $14.98
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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: surprisingly dissapointing
Review: To have the audacity to utter the Name "Scarface" in the same sentence as this film's name is an insult to the brilliance of both Pacino and DePalma. The plot: Sad and predictable and manages to somehow cliche the urban drama without any surprises. A seasoned, brilliant actor like Walken lowers himself to such a film and it is an insult to his skill. He relies to much on his purposely awkward speech to define the role, along with a sullen countenance of a tired old man, which is not hard to do...we have seen it by many great actors in coming of age films (pacino, godfather III), (Deniro, Raging Bull). Walken taints his reputation as a serious actor with this film which is mostly a barrage of bologne. I do like the early performances by Fishburne, Snipes and Carusso. They all turned out to be wonderful additions to the action/drama film genre. Overall, a dissapointment.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Scarface wannabe...
Review: Not too bad, but it's a little over-stylish and tries to re-do what De Palma's Scarface did. Film's best feature: Laurence Fishburne. He was amazing in this and steals the movie. The opening shoot-out is great by the way. If you liked Scarface, this is probably worth a good look. It is pretty much the unofficial sequel to it (just look at what it says on top of the picture on the movie box). The dialogue was great, but there wasn't really too much of it. Abel Ferrera was concentrating too much on style and not enough on actual "talking!".

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Stylish But Badly Structured.
Review: "King Of New York" seems like a "Scarface" wanna-be. It has style, some good action scenes, but it drags ON. The story is not as interesting as the film's look, and Christopher Walken looks so...miserable. At 3 hours, "Scarface" is much more superior drama. "King Of New York" just sinks in an over-rated story. This is a small thing which the director and writer try to bloat. The look of the film is great, I'll give them credit for that, but the script is uninteresting. The ending leaves you so empty, that they should re-make this film. This movie almost works but chokes in it's own blood baths. What it needs is more interesting characters and situations along with better dialogue and less absurdity. I still stick with "Scarface," now that's a REAL gangster movie.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Transitional period for director Ferrara.....
Review: Abel Ferrara's 1990 crime/gangster film 'King Of New York' represents a transitional period for the talented and criminally misunderstood director. This change is exemplified by the utilization of 'European style' cinematography and emphasis on character study. What seriously detracts from 'KONY' is Ferrara's inability to sustain a consistent tone or feel throughout the duration of the film. His reliance on stylised action sequences, no matter how technically proficient, and inclusion of rap music after dramatic scenes, particularly in the final sequence, lacks the effectiveness that such a juxtaposition requires. On the plus side, Joe Delia's haunting score perfectly compliments Ferrara's visuals, particularly in the scenes where a blue lens is used to create a thick, brooding atmosphere. Christopher Walken potrayal of a charismatic gangster with a slight philanthropic inclination is easily one of his best performances. His performance elicits strong feelings of ambivalence from the viewer(IMO) and I'm positive that was Abel's intention. There is an interesting subtext residing within the plot that questions the notions of equality and justice that are fundamental to our democratic society. Luckily Ferrara has adopted an emotionally detached style and refrains from judging his characters, irrespective of their profession and moral/personal choices. This film is definitely worth purchasing.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: one of the best mob movies ever made
Review: This is one of the best mob movies ever made. It is not a movie the dwells on the plot it is purely an action filmed based around the drug world. Christopher Walken playsa great drug boss as Frank White. This is a movie everyone must see especially if you like action like in Scarface. Wesley Snipes, Lawerence Fishburn are just some of the actors that are in this movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best uses of tampons as a prop ever!
Review: This is a movie that shows the true sexuality and beauty that the dark side of life can bring. Where Wesley Snipes and Lawerence Fishborn are the best side of evil, Christopher Walken is the evil side of good. The silent but deadly supermodels that adorn Walken's side with garters and semiautomatic wepons give beautiful women a strong and fantastic name. And of course who ever thought a suitcase full of tampons could be so cleverly used for comic relief. This is a wonderful movie and the reason I love Christopher Walken!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Christopher Walken's Best Role
Review: This is truly Christopher Walken's classic performance. He plays his role in this movie very good. All the acting is good and the story is also pretty good. If you're a Christopher Walken fan get it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A completely over the top ensemble acting piece.
Review: If you would like to see what some of your favorite stars were capable of before they got spoiled this is the movie for you. David Caruso, Christopher Walken, Larry Fishburn, Steve Buscemi and Wesley Snipes deliver it all in this action packed thriller. Walken plays Frank White, a career criminal with a conscience who has just gotten out of jail and puts the old gang back together in order to save an inner city hospital from being closed down. His gang includes an incredibly fresh Fishburn and a suitably smarmy Buscemi. The good, (or not-so-good,) cops trying to bring them down are Caruso and Snipes. If you've got a couple of hours to kill and don't mind a few buckets of blood, drug use, profanity, nudity, glorification of violence and racial epithets this one's for you.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great!
Review: The best movie Walken, Christopher has appeared in thus far. The acting is brilliant and the Gotic scene is excellent.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A worthy film though not really up on the classic scale.
Review: Okay, the only reason why I really bought this movie is cause it said on the front of the box: "WHERE 'SCARFACE'LEFT OFF...'KING OF NEW YORK' BEGINS..." This made me say, "Oh, my God! I gotta get this!" (I said that because Scarface is my favorite movie). When I watched this movie, it was off to a great start! 5 minutes into the movie there was a big shootout and the movie seemed to have had a great score to it! But then, as it got deeper into the movie, I began to notice that this movie really isn't going anywhere. It's plot is indefinable since it doesn't really have one. And they didn't play the score anymore! Overall, it was a good shoot-em-up and had great performances by Christopher Walken and Larry Fishburne. But I wouldn't rank it up with the classic gangster flicks like GoodFellas, Scarface, The Godfather Trilogy and so on. If I were you, I would still buy it!


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