Rating: 
Summary: NOBODY TO CARE ABOUT.
Review: "The Yards" is a movie about a bunch of shady people doing shady things. These illegal and often violent acts all revolve around the family business...building and repairing railway cars. Supposedly it is all in the name of fair competition. We are asked to believe that these are all relatively good people whose circumstances cause them to do not so good things. Whatever. The tone of this movie is WAY too serious and is about as fun to watch as a funeral. You should steer clear of this one unless you like depressing, slow-moving movies with criminals as protagonists.
Rating: 
Summary: FORGET "GLADIATOR" , TRY "THE YARDS"
Review: After LITTLE ODESSA in 1994, THE YARDS is quite an impressive second movie of american writer/director James Gray who plays in the same league than Martin Scorsese, Francis Coppola or Sidney Lumet. Furthermore, James Gray has given two important roles to James Caan and Ellen Burstyn and a choice like this can only be made by a clever and talented person. If you are not so fond of Ridley Scott's bodybuilt gladiators, try for a change a movie with more brains than muscles. In the long run, it gives more satisfaction. THE YARDS is a movie about ambiguity, a mood created firstly by the images of the movie, cold and almost metallic for the exterior scenes but warm and always red, brown or yellow for the interior scenes. This antagonism is also underlined by the recurrent theme of the electric lights which suddenly plunge the characters in a black no-man's land several times during the course of the movie. James - Frank Olchin - Caan is the most ambiguous character of the movie. He may appear as a rotten businessman ready to corrupt anything that has power at times but can also develop a "Don Corleone" à la Brando attitude when trying to protect his family. Superb job from James Caan. Mark - Leo Handler - Wahlberg is also not a straight character and one important scene of the movie confirms this point. After having been abandoned by his pairs, he's ready to join the enemy and crucify his former friends. THE YARDS is smart, beautifully filmed and has a superb cast. Why not try this Miramax DVD ? It offers a - for once - interesting behind the screen featurette, seven or eight extra-trailers, a commentary by James Gray, a french dubbed version and a gallery of paintings that has influenced James Gray for the special lightning of the movie. A DVD zone your library.
Rating: 
Summary: GRITTY DRAMA
Review: After spending time in prison for auto theft, Leo (Mark Wahlberg), decides it's time to go the straight and narrow. Returning home from prison, Leo, takes a job at his uncle Frank's (James Caan) company working on contracts with the New York City subway system. Once on the job, Leo, meets his uncle's top guy (Joaquin Phoenix), and before long, he realizes his uncle is involved with corruption, and payoffs. "The Yards" is a gritty drama that sports an excellent cast;Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix, Charlize Theron, James Caan, Ellen Burstyn, and Faye Dunaway. Although, slowly paced, the film puts a smart, and interesting spin on big city corruption. Very much a character driven film, "The Yards" will disappoint those looking for fast action. But anyone looking for an intelligent, well acted movie will be pleased with this one. Nick Gonnella
Rating:
Summary: Heavy Drama about Moral and Relationship That Went Wrong
Review: Anyone who wants to see the complex characters with superb acting should watch this film. If you are just interested in suspense, you just get bored and we won't blame you for that. "The Yards" is certainly gloomy and dismal. Its story is very slow, and in essence is never friendly to audience. It deals with corruption in politics, business, and even human relationships in a relentless way. Still, to me, what the film is trying to do should be considered admirable, and what it tells is worth our attention -- "How far are we allowed do to survive?" "The Yard" is about our moral as human, and inevitably the film is too serious for us to simply enjoy watching it, as I said. It's like "City Hall" without its detective story element. I also thought of "The Godfather" while watching it (James Caan in both films), and this feeling is not surprising, considering the serious subject matter about your fatal decision that changes your life forever. However, I must say several negative things about "The Yard." Though it is filled with first-rate cast from veterans (it's always a welcome thing for me to watch the veteran Victor Argo) and newcomers like Mark Wahlberg and Joaquin Phoenix, and their performance is all perfect, the development of the story is sometimes contrived (for example, the double assaults on the Sunnyside Yard, the railroad yard) and the ending is a little predictable. The good location helps, but the photograghy capturing its dark atomosphere, though I thought it fabulous, may cause some people to fall asleep. And perhaps, the way the female characters are depicted may be off-putting, because all three key females in film suffer not a little from various reasons. Fans of Charlize Theron should especially be warned as she plays a role whose relationship with Joaquin Phoenix becomes kind of torture. "The Yards" is overall a superb work, but too dark and heavy for fans in general.
Rating:
Summary: TRAIN OF THOUGHT
Review: Director James Gray has elicited some marvelous performances from a really eclectic cast: Oscar winners Ellen Burstyn and Faye Dunaway play domestic characters with the professional verve they always bring; Oscar nominees Charlize Theron, James Caan and Joaquin Phoenix are superb in their roles as Wahlberg's cousin, best friend and uncle-in-law; and then we have Mark Wahlberg, Steve Lawrence and Tony Musante rounding out the cast. This is Wahlberg's shining moment; he has none of the macho bravado usually associated with him, and his performance is complex, multi-faceted and courageous. Caan is also brilliant, and someday he'll get the Oscar he deserves. Phoenix also shows great emotional depth in his role as a borderline sociopath. Theron proves that she is not just a pretty face, but a capable and engaging actress. The film's slow pace is in line with the psychological nuances of the film. I'd never heard of it until I saw a trailer on another video. An outstanding film. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: TRAIN OF THOUGHT
Review: Director James Gray has elicited some marvelous performances from a really eclectic cast: Oscar winners Ellen Burstyn and Faye Dunaway play domestic characters with the professional verve they always bring; Oscar nominees Charlize Theron, James Caan and Joaquin Phoenix are superb in their roles as Wahlberg's cousin, best friend and uncle-in-law; and then we have Mark Wahlberg, Steve Lawrence and Tony Musante rounding out the cast. This is Wahlberg's shining moment; he has none of the macho bravado usually associated with him, and his performance is complex, multi-faceted and courageous. Caan is also brilliant, and someday he'll get the Oscar he deserves. Phoenix also shows great emotional depth in his role as a borderline sociopath. Theron proves that she is not just a pretty face, but a capable and engaging actress. The film's slow pace is in line with the psychological nuances of the film. I'd never heard of it until I saw a trailer on another video. An outstanding film. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: this was actually a good movie
Review: everybody is calling this movie a big mistake. i thought this was a great movie. the reason why i believe everybody is giving this movie bad reviews is the slowness of the movie. it is slow but its just setting the movie up. what the movie is basically about is Mark W. plays this ex con who comes back into town. he becomes involved in some wrong doings and...i can't tell you the rest. you have to stay focus with the movie. if you lose focus, you'll lose interest. if you stay focus you'll love the ending, not because it's over but because it was so well done.
Rating: 
Summary: Poor at Best
Review: I have this little (very little) section in my dvd bookcase that houses bad dvd buys. Currently "The Yards" and "Ghost World" are the only two dvds that are housed on that shelf. I don't know what to say, except the preview at best buy drove me to buy it on the spot and I was extremely disappointed that night when I watched it. Slow story, not enough character development. All I can say is don't let it be a dust collector in your dvd collection, like mine is.
Rating:
Summary: Poor at Best
Review: I have this little (very little) section in my dvd bookcase that houses bad dvd buys. Currently "The Yards" and "Ghost World" are the only two dvds that are housed on that shelf. I don't know what to say, except the preview at best buy drove me to buy it on the spot and I was extremely disappointed that night when I watched it. Slow story, not enough character development. All I can say is don't let it be a dust collector in your dvd collection, like mine is.
Rating:
Summary: This was a GREAT movie! Why all the doubt?
Review: I just watched this movie again, and I'm gonna have to say, its great! Deserves a 4.5, but, once again, no .5's...It's not the best movie ever, but definitely a really great film. I don't really understand some of the reviews here....First of all, there seems to be no doubt that the cast is excellent! Everyone does a great job, especially the director!! Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg, Elen Burstyn, James Caan, Charlize Theron, etc, everyone is outstanding! The characters are well developed, and James Gray has done a great job putting it all together! "The Yards" has been compared to "The Godfather", yet my comparison would have to be to a David Fincher movie, especially "The Game." That comparison is hard for me to say since Fincher is one of the greatest directors of our time, but the movie is filmed with such atmosphere and mystery, great shots and gritty backdrops, that its an easy one to make....The plot was complete and although some scenes seemed long, there was no need to cut them down...I really disagree that everything was predictable. There was a great deal of suspense and surprise...This movie is outstanding and well-rounded, deserving much more exposure than it has received...Placing it on par with a Fincher movie is a huge compliment, and i'm prepared to do that, although Fincher reamains supreme!! Anyway, its definitely a must-see and make your own opinions, because there are those that feel even the Usual Suspects was too slow..Poor misguided movie-goers...
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