Stylized neo-noir...

Rating: 8/10 (13 October 2014)

One of the more interesting (if theatrical) westerns to come down the pike over the years was TOMBSTONE: the performances were sometimes over the top and the progression of events pared down to their absolute bare minimums, but it worked. Ditto, L.A. CONFIDENTIAL. Many of the performances are theatrical in the extreme (those of Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito, and Kim Basinger, in particular), but the film overall is effective. While some of the twists and turns aren't exactly unexpected (especially not for fans of films Noir), as a whole the story succeeds admirably: it's Neo-Vintage Crime Noir at its best. We haven't seen very many of these kind of movies in recent years. More's the pity: we could sure use More Noir.