 Synopsis:
 We
Own The Night is a good example of why I built
this site. On paper, this looks like an
amazing film. Robert Duvall, Mark Wahlberg
and Joaquin Phoenix as headliners of the film
have massive acting chops. Now that you
know the potential for acting, let's get the
story down. We Own The Night is a police
drama about a police chief (Duvall), his star
cop son Joe (Wahlberg) and his other son Bobby
(Phoenix). Bobby runs a night club, does
drugs and is the loser of the family. As a
precaution, Bobby has forgone his father's last
name to elicit trust from fellow criminals,
effectively isolating himself from his family.
After Bobby's law enforcing family requests his
assistance in nabbing a Russian bad guy at his
nightclub, a unique situation arises that
forces Bobby into choosing sides.
That is essentially pulled
from the DVD case. It sounds fantastic
doesn't it? Come on, Bobby Duvall has the
Midas touch with projects and Mark Wahlberg did
such a good job as a cop in The Departed!
Heck, I even liked Joaquin Phoenix in Walk The
Line. This film must be good. I'll
spend my money to rent it. Can't fail,
right?
The Freak's
Rating: C- : This is the reason I have
the site...to keep those away from movies they
think will be good but aren't. All the
signs point to a good flick, but We Own The
Night is extremely disappointing. There
are flashes of genius in the storyline, but the
screenplay adaptation is amateur at best. Why Sony
would choose to put a novice in charge of this
project is beyond me. James Gray is the
writer and director of this flick and I hope someone
was canned for giving him this much control. Had Scorsese helmed
this, it would be up for awards. Because
of this guy it is on its way to the $5 bin at Wal Mart.
We Own The Night has a
poorly written flick with some lines incredibly cheesy and some interjected
forcefully into characters' mouths for effect but having little to none.
One bright spot for me in this film was Eva
Mendes. Though Hollywood has been trying
to push her down our throats in movie after
movie as a sex symbol, I never got it until this
film. So I'll give you that she is sexy,
and can play her role adequately but the fact
that you add a hot chick to this mix of talent
and still can't come up with a good film says
even more about how poorly it is put together.
The best part of the entire film is a car chase
in the rain near the end of the film. It
is fantastic! For that alone I can't give
the movie less than a C-. The adaptation of this brilliant idea was awful
and though the cinematography, acting and
direction in some scenes had my heart racing,
nothing could overcome this poorly written
script. Though the performances are solid
by all, I was very disappointed.
Angie's Rating: C :
The acting was pretty good, but I think this should have been a made
for TV movie.
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