Couldn't have made it any better.

Rating: 10/10 (10 April 1999)

Often when I'm watching movies, I'll say to myself during the course of the film "this could have been so much better if the director only did _______."
I didn't do this at all when I first watched L.A. Confidential in a packed theater in Toronto. I must have seen it a half dozen times since then and I still haven't done it. I honestly can't see how Curtis Hanson (the most unlikely of all writer-directors) could have possibly created a more perfect film. Everything from the great acting to the fantastic direction to the remarkable screenplay (which contains some truly great lines... "Go back to Jersey..."), is so perfectly executed that I find it amazing how studios consistently release such mediocre junk these days when they could elect to finance films like this. I mean, seriously, will society as a whole really benefit that greatly from another Home Alone movie? Or how about those ultra-lame teen-oriented comedies written by a bunch of married 30-somethings and staring a bunch of talentless 20-somethings? (the answer is no, by the way)
L.A. Confidential is definitely one of the all time great film noirs, ranking with (if not surpassing) such other landmarks of the genre such as The Big Sleep, Chinatown & The Maltese Falcon.
If nothing else (certainly not winning Academy Awards), L.A. Confidential proves that great films can still come out of Hollywood.