Rating: 
Summary: Less Than Zero
Review: ....I'm at a loss to say how unrelentingly bad this movie is. Acting (except DiNiro, who bails), dialog, plausiblity, pointlessness... and of course, utterly predictible from start to finish. All the stuff about fame, the media, etc has been said & done over and over and over--but this time, its for comic book readers only. Its utterly obvious and very, very dumb. I usually enjoy movies that make New York look like a dangerous dump--not a stretch, really--but this is rock bottom. Even Kelsey Grammer deserves better and Robert DiNiro should be ashamed to foist this [stuff]. I thought Magnolia was the worst movie I'd seen but this makes Magnolia seem like Citizen Kane. Avoid.
Rating: 
Summary: A&V Excellent but Cannot Turn Off the Subtitle
Review: Movie is ok. Audio & Video is excellent. One problem: I could not turn off the subtitle (no matter how hard I tried). It's so distracting & annoying. This is the 1st time I experienced something like this. (I have a Pioneer DV-525 which is pretty good.) I can't imagine a DVD being produced w/ this problem. Would appreciate hearing fm others if you experienced same thing.
Rating: 
Summary: Cool
Review: This movie is great like most DeNiro movies. Reminds me a bit of the media/TV problem of the end of Arlington Road and the movie Natural Born Killers. Great!!!!
Rating:
Summary: a grate action movie
Review: This movie had a lot of grate action sences. And the acting was wonderful and I liked almost evreything about this movie. But I gave this movie 4 stars because to me it just wasn't worth that one extra star.
Rating: 
Summary: One terrific, underrated film!
Review: 15 MINUTES (2000, R= Strong Violence, Language and Nudity) The Cast: EDWARD BURNS, ROBERT DE NIRO, KELSEY GRAMMAR. The Genre: Action/Drama The Plot: After two escaped convicts hitch a plane to America, one of them comes up with the idea of filming their crimes to earn their fifteen minutes of fame. Then, a famous investigator (De Niro) teams up with a firefighter (Burns) to crack the case. What Works: An ammusing plot with edgy twists and unexpected, sometimes sad, surprises. The performances are extroardinary and the crafting from Director John Herzfeld is spontanious. What Doesn't: Lots of the language and disgusting brutal murders that depart from something that could've been the perfect film. Reality Check: This film is very realistic in means to show the world how drastic and violent the media can be. Everyone at some point wants their fifteen minutes of fame, no matter how they can get it. The Catch: This film is definetly not for young kids. So parents, make sure the kids are in bed AND SLEEPING when you pop this flick in. OVERALL: "15 MINUTES is an edgy suspense thriller that will keep you guessing, with extremely wonderful performances and wonderfully crafted filmmaking. This twisting thriller is the one we've been waiting for!"
Rating:
Summary: A finely-wrought satire.
Review: Hollywood has never satirized itself or the media quite so effectively as in "15 Minutes," a thriller which begins with a whimper and ends with a satisfying bang. Writer/director John Herzfeld's story of two men on a twisted journey to stardom, and the police and reporters who follow them, is an almost gripping reminder of just how bloated things can get once the media gets involved. Vacationing Europeans Emil (Karel Roden) and Oleg (Oleg Taktarov) have come for a hefty sum of money, but when they arrive at the apartment of Emil's friend Milos, and discover the money gone, they kill Milos and his wife, all the while videotaping the murder with a stolen camcorder. The one witness to the crime flees, later falling into the hands of homicide detective Eddie Flemming (Robert de Niro), and arson investigator Jordy Warsaw (Edward Burns), who met at the scene of a fire set the make the murder appear as an accident. Since we know the identity of the killers, we know this is not a mystery thriller. Instead, the movie becomes a touch more interesting by introducing the media and all its propaganda tools. Oleg has a fascination for movie-making, and Emil's growing interest for the way in which Americans easily get away with murder and make money from it send the two of them on a murder rampage that gets the attention they want and the promise of money they desire. Watching the news and tabloid shows only fuels their goals, as does the promise of a hefty sum of money from Top Story anchor Robert Hawkins (Kelsey Grammer), in exchange for their videotapes for his show. A major key to making the issues this movie addresses work is a credible cast, something this film is never without. De Niro is cocky and witty as Eddie Flemming, the ideal inner-city cop, while Burns gives a unique performance as Jordy, who wants nothing more than to learn from Eddie the nuances of cracking a case. Grammer makes Hawkins an easily-contemptible character, while Roden and Taktarov fill their characters with fiendish insanity. In the interest of keeping the rest of the film a surprise, I shall go no further into plot details. The beginning is somewhat slow, almost to the point of causing the audience to lose interest. It takes its share of unexpected turns, some predictable, others you never see coming. The early death of a major character sent me reeling in my chair, while a secondary fire set by the two "visionaries" is predictable in its outcome (you know the second major character will make it at least until the end). But rather than pay too much attention to surprising us, "15 Minutes" is more concerned with giving us a rock-solid portrait of the circus that has become the media, and the evils that control it. Eddie sees his growing fame as a helping hand, but the film turns this fame against him, with chilling results. Hawkins is as despicable as reporters get, selling his soul to the devil for his share of the fame. Even Emil's lawyer, after his arrest, is more concerned with his share of the movie and book rights than he is about keeping the city safe from a dangerous felon. Perhaps the most effective scene, that which sums up everything that the film is trying to say, comes with the early death of that major character. As the two hold him hostage in his apartment, Emil reveals his master plan, his concoction of portraying himself and Oleg incompetent to stand trial, protecting them from criminal charges so they can go on to sell their story to screenwriters and authors. This particular moment poses the audience the question of what is more twisted: Emil's insane plans, or the fact that everything in his plan happens everyday in trial across the country. I enjoyed "15 Minutes" because I was able to connect with the issues it addressed, and the way in which it addressed them. The fact of the matter is, the movie is truthful in its portrayal of how the media can blow something way out of proportion, and then everyone wants something out of it. Halfway into the movie, a magazine vendor says, "It pays to be a killer in this country." Apparently so.
Rating:
Summary: Ambitious, but Not Good Enough
Review: This film tries, desperately tries, to have a point. As can be garnered from the title, the film deals with fame. That's only a half-truth though. The film really deals in fame when it isn't dealing in standard action film scenes. Though it does have a good intention in exposing one of modern America's many dark sides, namely its obssesion with violence, fame, and its twisted views of psychology, the film can only sort of bring up the point. The actors seem similarly lost, at least in the case of the stars. Although not bad, the performances are standard, not stunning. It's as if the performers realized this film was only half there, and so they only half-acted. The only spirited performances are those of the two Easter-European murderers, Emil and Oleg. Even if the film had been able to deliver more of a message, it spoils it all in the final scene. Now I'm not saying all movies should end with sadness, but this one could've been better off that way. Instead it throws away all its radical ambition and lets the good guys win with little consequence, and the bad guys die without really winning any ground. Even though the film didn't engross me much before, it really angered me when it took the safe way out and gave me the pitiful Happy Hollywood Ending. Possibly worth renting if there's nothing else around, but certainly not worth buying.
Rating:
Summary: Pompous and Lousy, To Be Avoided...
Review: Pompous movie that belittles your brain and attempts to beat you senseless making points over and over throughout an increasingly ludicrous, illogical excuse of a movie. Even Robert DeNiro fares poorly in a flat performance. These aren't characters, they just exist to further "the message" this movie supposedly has. Just take my advice and avoid this movie...
Rating:
Summary: What was this?
Review: This movie is just bad. It is supposed to make a statement about the media's obsession with violence, but it is hypocritical. Director/Writer John Herzfeld has directed these violence based movies: 2 Days In The Valley, The Preppie Murder, and even an Amy Fischer biopic. DeNiro is the only good thing about this, but he is still not very good. The bad guys are apparently the guy from Radiohead and some Austrian bodybuilder with a video camera obsession. Do not rent this, you will regret it.
Rating:
Summary: How far would you go for your fifteen minutes of fame?
Review: EDWARD BURNS, KELSEY GRAMMAR and ROBERT DE NIRO star in the nerve jangling thriller, 15 MINUTES. After foreign jailbirds head to America, one of the men interested in home films, steals a video camera and finds that filming their crimes can make them stars! Day by day, filming their every move (and murder), big time fame investigator, Eddie (Robert De Niro) teams up with a fire marshall (Edward Burns) in pursuit of the finding the killers. When the killers think they can make big bucks by making a film of their lives, they head straight to the news with their crime spree, and ultimate kill. If they plead insanity, they can go free to a mental institution where they can become the biggest stars ever existed. MY REVIEW: This film just is the biggest "top notch thriller with extreme plotted craft and slithering supense" since THE GODFATHER PART II! This film is powerfully acted and has great potential and means to show how the media and society really is today in The United States! There are many unexpected twists and action sequences that can be disturbing and turn the plot into a whole other direction. The plot is just awesome! ...Unexpected twists at every turn! Granted, the language wasn't needed as much as was in there, but this film just rules! Robert De Niro hasn't been in a film this good since... forever! His RONIN film was good, but not this good! THE SCORE, though, is a twisting caper with means of great fun and plot, so 15 MINUTES isn't De Niro's best even! But this film is one to look up to as a sweet crafted adventrous suspense film, that we've been missing for a long time!- MJV & the Movies.
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