50 lines
4.2 KiB
Plaintext
50 lines
4.2 KiB
Plaintext
romeo is bleeding wants to carry the unusual flavor of reservoir dogs or bad lieutenant .
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with director peter medak , whose previous credits include the good films let him have it and the krays , and top-notch character actors gary oldman and lena olin , they seemed likely to be a successful combination .
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those mentioned films , however , brought something to the screen that romeo is bleeding did not : a solid , well-written screenplay .
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call me cynical , but the jobs of writer and producer don't seem to mix well .
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gary oldman plays jack grimaldi , a good cop turned bad , selling information to the mob and cheating on his wife .
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his cheating is obvious enough to obtain his nickname , although the name doesn't provide any insight or analogy to the shakespearean character .
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jack has become addicted to " feeding the hole " , a hole in the ground where he stores his payoff money .
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when he realizes his colleagues are being shot , he feebly attempts to get out .
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gary oldman's performance is disappointingly weak ; he seems nearly bored .
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in the process , he also gets tangled-up with mona demarkov , a russian mobsterette who wants to take over the territory from top boss falcone , played adequately by roy scheider .
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demarkov , played by lena olin , is a tough but tremendously sexy woman with seemingly no problems maneuvering within the mob world .
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this character is combination of both linda hamilton and arnold schwarznegger from terminator 2 . i can't remember seeing a character quite like her .
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after being shot , handcuffed , and thrown in the back seat of a car , she still manages to cause an accident , kick out the windshield with her legs , grab a suitcase full of money ( plus some important documentation ) , climb through the rubble , land on her shot leg , and still succeed at running for safety .
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what a woman !
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lena olin's performance is the only glimmer in this dismal film .
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anabella sciorra is wasted in her role as romeo's wife .
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there is little insight into her character .
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she's depressed , she makes obvious references , she mopes around the house .
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juliette lewis , as romeo's girlfriend , is treated with the same cliche attitudes , although ms . lewis' portrayal certainly didn't improve it .
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both women were anything but sexy or attractive .
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poorly developed characters aside , the screenplay also suffers from several logistical problems .
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it is so discouraging to watch a film and want to shout at the main character ( not ) to do something .
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for example , jack and his friends attend a funeral to hang in the background to scope-out the mob scene .
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fine .
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jack spots the big boss with his goons by the gravesite .
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fine .
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what does jack proceed to do ?
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he brushes his friends off by telling them he isn't feeling well , then strolls over to the boss .
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why ?
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the boss had all ready threatened him ; falcone simply takes the opportunity to issue more threats by ordering his goons to take off some of jack's toes by the gravesite .
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i guess they weren't worried about any federal agents lingering around after the funeral . . . .
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or here's another : demarkov set-up her own death by cutting off her arm with a circular saw .
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she proceeded to set the place on fire .
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wouldn't the flames burn off the fingerprints ?
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aren't dental records more important ?
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as bright and resourceful as she was supposed to be , couldn't she come up with a better plot ?
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( and it took her no time at all to get a good-fitting , functional prosthesis . )
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lack of attention to detail certainly adds up in a film .
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this film doesn't even add up the large details .
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there is little or no consistency in the story-line .
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not much makes sense .
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the direction lacks cohesion , surprising from a director whose previous credits are impeccable .
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the moods shift , the styles shift , and no one can seem to decide if it is a serious film or satire of one .
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so while it certainly isn't reservoir dogs , it certainly isn't diva .
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there's plenty more to tear apart in this film .
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my advice to someone who hasn't seen it to to wait until it comes on video .
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there are some quotable lines that would provide a campy evening if not taken seriously .
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it's not a boring film , just not a good one .
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or an intelligent one .
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