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The Score

The Score

List Price: $14.98
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The Score,in 3 words.
Review: dramatic,good,interesting,the score is a sizzling movie and you never know what is going to happen next.The cast gives the BEST performance.The best is Edward Norton,who is the cream of the crop.Robert De Niro gives a great performance too.Marlon Brando has such a small but interesting roll.And of corse Angela Basset gives a ok roll but very small roll too.In the end you will be rooting for De Niro to get "The Score",but more for Norton.The ending is heart-wrenching for true Ed Norton fans and people rooting for him.This is a semi-must see.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good Acting saves so-so scripted, overlong film.
Review: The Score is a quieter film than most were probably expecting. It's not a film that is full of flash and style (Oceans 11) or one full of clever tough-guy dialogue (The Heist) or one that eliminates showing the audience crime preparations almost completely (Sexy Beast). It's a quieter, darker film that feels grittier and seems to have been inspired by an Elmore Leonard novel. There's a surprising lack of pyrotechnics, over the top action sequences or breaking glass.

The film boasts the contributions of three superb actors: Robert DeNiro, Marlon Brando and Edward Norton. You might think that would encourage excessive scenery chewing behavior on the part of the participants. It doesn't. Everyone showed up for this assignment ready to work and make a good movie. This means everyone in the film is very relaxed in their performances and rarely wear their "I am a damn good actor and movie star too" chops on their sleeves.

The actors trust their fellow actors and the script. The script doesn't try too hard to make these characters overly witty, colorful, quirky or overly repellent either. As we watch the set up and then the heist take place we actually find ourselves rooting for the criminals. There are no Police chiefs playing cat and mouse with any of the master burglars. The script however has some holes in it and it really needed another re-write to smooth some things out and cut out some extraenous material.

The film does have a few cliché's and caught up in one of them is the utterly wasted love interest Angela Bassett. She's given a couple of decently written dialogue scenes in which she is radiant, but almost any actress could have played the part. Bassett deserves more than being wasted in a nothing part.

DeNiro plays a master safe-cracking thief named Nick Wells who lives in the old part of Montreal, Canada where he owns and manages a jazz club. It's time for him to retire. At his jazz club he is visited by Max, a Sydney Greenstreet type criminal czar played by Marlon Brando. Max fronts Nick his expense money and usually has a buyer for the merchandise Nick steals. He of course has a doozy of a proposition for Nick, but it involves robbing a nearly impenetrable fortress that is located in Montreal itself. Nick Wells has a rule he doesn't want to break and that's robbing any place near where he lives. He tries to turn the job down. But this is too good of a job to turn down and it's worth 4 to 6 million dollars for Nick to say yes. That's more than enough money to retire from the business, pay off the mortgage on his Jazz club and take care of his flight attendant girlfriend, Angela Bassett for the rest of his life.

Edward Norton plays the guy inside. He plays Jack Teller who has been pretending to be slightly retarded janitor named Brian and has befriended his co-workers so completely they view him as an utterly harmless worker. Jack's got the blue prints of the building, and knows where the valuable smuggled French jeweled Scepter (worth 30 million) is located.... But he needs Nick's skills and experience to pull it off. Will the young upstart Jack take orders from old-timer Nick? Is the whole deal a set-up doomed to fail? Can they get away with it?

The last half-hour of the film is tense and suspenseful in the way few movies are anymore. There are no speeding cars, no giant bombing raids, airline crashes, helicopter duels ---... just a couple of robbers trying to pull off a very complicated heist.

Credit Director Frank Oz for giving his actors the time in their various scenes to quietly interact with each other. You haven't seen a film with this much breathing room in a long long time. Perhaps leaving them completely to their own devices and not demanding something in particular from them meant Oz failed to gain the respect of Brando and the two had their problems relating on the set. . . but it also gives the audience some juicy performances.

Edward Norton has the most colorful role in the film and although it would be very easy for him to overdo it, he never does. It's a marvelous performance and also uses the time he's given to great effect. The beats of his acting are perfectly tuned.

The problem with the film is that besides the acting, the film's script not only has a couple of holes but is pretty bland refusing to reach very far for a clever line for a character to say, preferring to keep everything about the film low-key and unhurried. The screenplay is by Kario Salem, Lem Dobbs, Scott Marshall Smith based on a story by Daniel E. Taylor, and Kario Salem

The film's laid back pace, and lack of flash are on one hand refreshing in a summer full of some of the most god-awful excessive junk like Peal Harbor or high concept noisy comedies like Cats and Dogs or action movie re-treads like Swordfish and Kiss of the Dragon.

DVD STUFF:

The Score has been given a good visual and audio transfer by Paramount. A lot of the film is show with low light and the black levels are strong. The one looks and sounds very good on DVD.

There are a few worthwhile extras. A behind the scenes puff piece featurette, a dry but very informative director and cinematographer feature length commentary and several alternate/extended scenes that are worth watching.

Christopher Jarmick, is the author of The Glass Cocoon with Serena F. Holder a critically acclaimed, steamy suspense thriller.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The movie scores!
Review: A superb cast, a continuously surprising plot, and breathless action sequences mark "The Score" as a terrific heist thriller in the tradition of the caper genre. Director Frank Oz has created a movie that deals out its suspense in spades, supplying the intelligent story with an intensity that one-ups itself right up to the finale. This is one of those movies that requires your utmost attention to its many intricacies; if you're like me, you'll readily accept.

There's not much to talk about in terms of fresh ground: everything seen here has been done in one way or another in many other heist films. The story introduces us to Nick Wells (Robert De Niro), an expert in lifting valuable items who has had enough of the scoring business and wants out. But not before his partner in crime, Max __ (Marlon Brando), pulls out the old "one last job" cliché: this time, it involves sidestepping the high-tech security system of the Montreal Customhouse and lifting a precious scepter valued at thirty million dollars.

Nick is skeptical and hesitant about the job, especially after meeting Max's insider, Jack Teller (Edward Norton), whose ego tends to cloud his judgment once things get underway. Working as a night janitor under an assumed name and a mentally challenged demeanor, Jack supplies Nick with information vital to their success, from the location of surveillance cameras to the make and model of the safe that holds their goal. Meanwhile, on the outside, things begin to get murky, as Nick finds out the real reason for the heist, and Jack begins to lose sight of their plan.

To put it simply, this is an actor's movie, showcasing big-name talent in powerhouse ways. Take De Niro for instance, who starred in "15 Minutes" earlier this year as a New York City cop, and is now playing a criminal; two completely different characters, and yet he plays them as if they were one and the same. He may merely be playing De Niro, but he does it with a wit and presence all his own. Norton nails Jack to the wall, playing his egotistical attitude to sheer perfection while at the same time making us believe in Jack's knowledge of the facility's various areas. The film's other big-name stars, Brando and Angela Bassett, who plays Nick's girlfriend, make small appearances, but since so much of the central story focuses on De Niro and Norton's characters, it hardly matters.

The script, written by Kario Salem, Lem Dobbs and Scott Smith, is ingenious in the fact that it doesn't come off as an insult to the audience's intelligence. It's easily accessible to even the most clueless of moviegoers, allowing its logic to unfold in a manner that doesn't overload the mind. And with the exception of a few key points (why would a high-security facility allow access to its most vital areas to its janitors?), the plot comes through unscathed of logical pitfalls.

Anyone familiar with their heist and caper films will delight in pointing out the overused sequences and situations. The characters spend incredible amounts of time scoping the target, exchanging priceless lines of dialogue, gathering materials, all of which leads up to the big final act in which the actual heist will take place. But here's where "The Score" scores its points: it takes a well-known genre and whips it into shape with a heightened energy and intensity to match its smarts, building the suspense layer by layer as our characters get closer to attaining the scepter.

The third act of the film is the clincher, suspending us in time as we breathlessly await the outcome. In a certain way, we have to care for the characters, given the time and attention we have devoted to them as well as the story, which makes the film's final payoff a satisfying, if not totally original, conclusion. Looking past its reliance on familiarity, I think its safe to say that "The Score" is about three things: acting, energy, and smarts, and its meets these demands with supreme success.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: OK movie; average script; poor ending
Review: This movie reminded me (because of the way it was wrapped up) of "Boiler Room," that movie that contained less than 10 minutes of really good acting (Ben Affleck's cameos), with an OK script, but a lousy ending! Same here... When it was over my wife and I looked at each other like "What on earth happened here? Is that all?" The plot, pretty basic: De Niro is Nick: he steals expensive jewels and collectibles for a living and is faced with a very large coup, his last one, where he's joined by Edward Norton (Jack). It's SO predictable that Jack is going to try to set Nick up, that I don't mind saying it here! Plus, Marlon Brando's part is more than secondary: in fact, you could almost do away with it altogether... Don't know: the more I think about the movie, the less stars I feel like giving it. At least I didn't pay [money] for two movie tickets!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Something to fall asleep to
Review: Wow What a cast amazing actors old and new in this very bland and predictable movie about a big robbery(hence the score).
Nothing that great to offer in the story department(seen it all before), but worth watching for performances by Edward Norton Robert De niro, and of course a very annoying and hard to understand Marlon Brando.
This movie starts off very slow and continues on that track till the some what exciting end(although everyone knows or should know what is coming at the end.)
So I say this is just another average movie with an average story but staring a great cast.
Rent it but please do not buy (unless you are having trouble sleeping...
hammy

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Makes SMÝLE in your face like this :}
Review: Ýts a very good film
SOUNDTRACK ÝS SUBERB. JAZZZ OO YEAA
but it could be better if it was more drammatic. its just makes a smile at your face , they make plans and rob it , and i still dont understand that where did that metal( or iron )staff that deniro gave to norton. how could deniro think of it?
(...) actors are at their best! but i still think that the end was (...). is there anybody rememberr HEAT? thats what i call an end

BUT DONT underStANd wRoNNG. its a film which build on and on. everybody should see this one , it never bores (i think because of the actors , i love watching norton , deniro , brando)and it gets faster and faster (...)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A beautiful competition of acting skills of 3 generations
Review: The Score is a big movie with prominent actors of three generations - Marlon Brando, Robert de Niro (Ha! Both of them have acted the same role in the Godfather Trilogy) versus Edward Norton of the Fight Club. Edward Norton?s performance is very outstanding, and did not really show that he is a late comer in the industry, even when he was in the same scene with Marlon and Robert. The cast's performance is unquestionable, although the story was too slow and dragging at the beginning. If you like Sneakers, Mission Impossible or Thomas Crown Affair, this would be a movie that you would like - for it is talking about how professional, high-tech and scientific stealing things could be. As a result people would prefer to have more emphasis on the planning and actual actions in the movie, and less on other side lines stuff, especially when they don?t seem really relevant to the whole plot at all. Also, Angela Bassett who acts as Robert de Niro?s girlfriend is pretty disturbing, especially with her exaggerated attempts to make herself look sexy. Urh, should have consulted how other people really do those roles before coming up with her own version. Anyway, it a good cast with an average story, but just for the acting, you have no regrets for it.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: boring movie, same old plot.
Review: Robert De Niro should retire. Edward Norton is pretty good, but both of them looked fake. The story was very plain in the first half, then it went into the tried and tried formula of excitment----who is cheating who? It was nicely executed, but had not much new elements to it, which made the movie boring. By the way, Robert De Niro is too fat to be a super thief.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Triumvirate of Acting Ability
Review: The SCORE brings together arguably the best actors from three separate generations. While all are at their peak in this enjoyable movie, Edward Norton steals the show. I am never shocked but often suprised by the amount of talent that Norton has. This movie is somewhat of a pattern film, but it is the joining of talent that makes it worthwhile. Norton's performance alone is enough to make it worthwhile. Meanwhile, De Niro is the centerpiece of this movie and is brilliant as ever. Finally, as a younger viewer it was great to see Marlon Brando on the Big Screen for the first time. What a group of actors!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Legendary cast boosts fine heist flick
Review: This is an interesting entry in the heist movie genre. Very few explosions or gunshots intrude on the plot. The characters aren't exaggerated, but are made of real flesh and bone. They don't have mannered quirks, and their shadowy pasts aren't rolled out in excruciating detail. Rather, we get subtly drawn character studies, where the past is alluded to out of necessity, not as a crutch. And the heist itself, the planning of which encompasses almost the film's entirety, is complex and logical, while still providing multiple opportunities for true suspense.

The cast is staggering. How often do you get a chance to see the best actors from three separate generations together at one time? And they all do fine jobs. Relish this rare opportunity.

The knock on DeNiro here, and frankly I think people are reaching when trying to find a flaw in any of his performances, is that he "sleepwalks" through the movie. True, his Nick is not a flashy man. Even though he owns a hip jazz club and is a noted thief on the side -- two supposedly glamourous occupations -- he is very low key. But that's a necessary character trait. He's learned that to be thoughtful and deliberate is the best way to ensure that his risky moonlighting job is not so risky. Watch him in one of his first scenes with Edward Norton's character: Norton's Jack, a young upstart thief, lays out his risky plan in all its intricate detail. Nick just stares off to the side, never making eye contact, but carefully considering what he's hearing without any distractions. You can see DeNiro in deep thought here. Pay attention to that, and I guarantee you'll find his character fascinating.

Norton is DeNiro's equal in every way. His Jack is a know-it-all punk, a character we've seen time and time again. But Norton somehow manages to make him a unique creation. Jack's got a fiery intensity, and he's whip smart too. But he knows that he has a lot to learn, and is quite willing. And he's not a perfect thief-machine; he knows that things can go wrong with the plan, and even though he's ready to improvise, you can see his nerves jump when they do. Witness one scene where he's serving as a lookout for Nick, and all of the sudden a policeman emerges from inside a nearby store. Jack jumps into gear, quickly trying to divert the policeman's attention, but breathing and sweating heavily the whole time. The showiest part of Norton's performance is his role-within-a-role work as Brian, a retarded janitor. Brian serves as a cover so Jack can discretely study his target, the Montreal Customs House. Jack as Brian provides some of the film's funnier moments, as the audience knows that his stray comments are really subtle digs at his oblivious co-workers' ignorance and incompetence.

Marlon Brando is lively, even though he's long from being lithe. It's uncomfortable watching this gargantuan man walk into a room (remembering the thundering physicality of his "Streetcar Named Desire"/"On the Waterfront" years). But once he's settled into a chair, and free to use his voice and his hands, you remember why he's generally considered the greatest actor of his (or any other) generation. Compared to Nick's conservative character, Brando's Max is an entertaining and eccentric creation. He's quick with a quip, and more than willing to tell those around him exactly what they want to hear in order to get his way. You can't get away from the fact that he's fascinating to watch. Too bad his role wasn't bigger; the film could've used more of his energy.

Angela Bassett barely even registers. Well, to be truthful, she does fine with what's she's given. But I can't remember a more superfluous character in a suspense thriller. She has no function, either for exposition or motivation. Some would say that her character offers drama, in that her ultimatum to Nick gives him opportunity to re-consider doing this last job. But he was already re-considering his decision. So she's really just reminding him that he's re-considering! How redundant. It seems that the filmmaker's were just throwing a bone at convention, assuming that every movie needs a romantic interest. If her character were cut completely, the story would not change one iota.

It was great to see a Canadian city (granted not a Canadian city that I'm overly familiar with) get such significant face time. Montreal worked wonderfully as the setting for the heist, it's old world charm providing interesting visuals; it's labyrinthine streets providing further opportunities for something to go wrong. Although, hearing DeNiro and Brando stumble through their French dialogue did provide some moments of unintended comedy.

"The Score" is not the greatest heist movie ever made. In fact, its story is quite run-of-the-mill. What makes it a quality movie is its patience with the plot (credit to director Frank Oz; who knew this ex-Muppetteer had such a class touch?), and it's legendary class that delivers a series of absorbing performances.


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