ManiakJiggy This is How Movies Should Be Made

Nonureva Really Surprised!

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

morrison-dylan-fan Franticly looking around for a Neo-Noir to watch for a poll that was being held on the Classic Film board for the best movies of 1993,I was disappointed to find that my original choice of Neo-Noir viewing in John Dahl's Red Rock West was being sold at a too expensive price.Not giving up on tracking down a Noir from 93,I was thrilled,when after spending an hour of searching around everywhere online,I finally found a Neo-Noir that seemed to offer all of the dark delights that I had been searching for.The plot:Frustrated over his job being at a standstill and there being a huge gap between his dreams and the money in his wallet,police officer Jack Grimaldi decides to become an informant for a powerful gangster called Don Falcone,with Grimaldi's leaked details to the mob over current police investigations being exchanged for more cash than Jack has ever seen,which leads to Grimaldi deciding that the only safe place where he can safely keep this vast bundle is in a sewer drain,that is based in the back garden of the house which he lives in with his wife,Natalie.Happy over now having enough cash that allows Jack to buy whatever he and Natalie dream of,along with also being able to afford keeping a mistress/girlfriend on the side for the first time ever,Jack accepts Don's new request of helping to "get rid" of a former friend/fellow gangster of Falcone's called Mona Demarkov,who along with currently being held by police,is also being very vocal in saying that she is now bigger and more powerful than Falcone.Planning to get rid of Don's "problem' right away,Jack finds from the moment that his eyes set on Mona,that he becomes tantalised by the alluring sensual powers that she posses,which leads Grimaldi to excitingly suspect that he has finally met a Femme Fatale,who will turn out to be more deadlier than any of the "Julliets" that Grimaldi has spent his life being round.View on the film:Proving that Neo-Noirs do not just come from "a mans world",the fantastic screenplay by Hilary Henkin gives the movie a deliciously Black Comedy scar deep across both its cheeks,with Henkin showing Jack Grimaldi's (played by a wonderfully scrambled Gary Oldman) happiness over feeling the garden drain with a newly discovered flow of cash,slowly transform into an addiction,where the whole meaning of his existence lays in continuing to make his money pit go "deeper" by any means necessary.Working closely with the precise editing of Walter Murch,cinematography Datiusz Wolski and director Peter Medak shoot this terrific Neo-Noir in stylish low angles,which along with showing how "low life" the characters are,also creates a strong subtle atmosphere for the viewer that they are seeing Grimaldi's life slowly sink into the pit,which he has unintentionally dug out for himself.Along with the stylish low angles,Medak and Murch also give the film a surprisingly surreal edge by revealing the unrolling state of mind that Jack finds himself in,from having nightmares in a fairground ride,to seeing every woman that he has gone with aim a gun at him.Featuring not 1,but 3 Femme Fatale dames!,each of the actresses show a determination in making their own pointed-heel mark in being the leading dame of this Neo-Noir,with Annabella Sciorra slowly revealing a real bite as Natalie,whilst Juliette Lewis brilliantly shows Grimaldi's girlfriend/mistress Sheri finding out that she has gotten too close with sinister folk who will now not let Sheri going back to her normal life,and steaming up the screen the moment she arrives,the beautiful Lena Olin mixes a strong,erotic sensual appearance,with a psychotic,demon like laughs that leads Jack to realising how deep in his self created money pit he has sunk.

Spikeopath Romeo Is Bleeding is directed by Peter Medak and written by Hilary Henkin. It stars Gary Oldman, Lena Olin, Annabella Sciorra, Juliette Lewis and Roy Scheider. Music is by Mark Isham and Gary Alper and cinematography by Dariusz Wolski.Oldman plays corrupt cop Jack Grimaldi who does favours for The Mob in exchange for considerable payments. He has a loving wife and a mistress, but even that can't satiate his lust leanings. So when he is assigned to babysit Russian hit-woman Mona Demarkov (Olin), he is soon up to his neck in sexual yearnings. Something which spells trouble for everyone...A box office flop and savaged by some pro critics, Romeo Is Bleeding is clearly not a film for everyone! Yet for those who like their neo-noir sprinkled with satire and Grindhouse flavours, it's definitely the film for you. It's possible that some folk just didn't get it, that it has its tongue firmly in its bloody cheek? While some of the charges of misogyny and it being a macho fantasy are kind of moot given it's written by a woman! Undeniably it is guilty of going too far over the top, where as it cheekily laughs at itself it forgets to rein itself in, a problem since the finale is surprisingly touching but difficult to accept given the carnage previously.The trajectory of story is classic noir. Hapless corrupt copper Jack Grimaldi loves his wife but finds it easy to cheat with other women. Once the incredibly sexy Mona Demarkov slinks into his view, he's in big trouble. Add in The Mob after him due to not carrying out a "hit" and you get a noir protagonist spinning towards misery. Grimaldi narrates in snatches to keep the mood simmering on desperation, while visual smarts like a triplicate mirror image - or a scene at a amusement park - further enhance the noir atmosphere. While Olin's Demarko has to rank as one of the most potent femme fatales to steam up the screen.Superbly performed by the principal actors and backed up with solid support, film doesn't lack for quality in that department. And with Wolski's photography and Isham's music also leaving indelible marks on the sleaze and greed mood, tech credits are impressive. If only Medak had not tried to take too bigger a slice of cake then this would be talked about as a neo-noir classic. As it is, as appendages are lost and the pulses raised, this still plays out as a disgustingly sexy, weirdly off-kilter and bloody fun piece of film. 7.5/10

Carson Trent But it is Oldman with his lack of inspiration who pushes this collection of random plagiarized film noir clichés into the self dug grave, as he moonwalks thru the entire movie obviously too stoned and drunk to let anything show on his wax like facial expression he carries around here. The script is a mess, as we are being served an already cold meal of voice-over detective story with a limp, ludicrous plot points like the one where Mona waits for Jack to arrive to kill her, just so she can talk him into killing Falcone and set her up with a new identity, him falling for it when he could have easily got out, as it was already clear he had to kill at least one person. They blame it on the voice, but actually it's the dumb alter ego of both director and writer who is at fault. And the casting director, because given some chemistry between Jack and Mona, his moves might have been more understandable. Oldman, terribly miscast here, fails to portray an average Joe, mainly due to his emotional over the top acting style, more fit for a conflicted crack addict, or a flamboyant pimp, but under no circumstances a functional guy in society. The slow witted story teller walks us thru what is supposed to make us witness the down fall of a guy who gets stuck inside his own web of mistakes, but as it turns out, the only part credible enough is the one where he drives himself into a pole losing all his leverage. The whole things rapidly plunges from laughable to dumb and pretentious crapolo, and finally to involuntarily breaking the fifth wall, and making the viewer search for the remote control. Terrible and boring. What a combo.

moviesleuth2 The hardest reviews to write are the ones about movies that are impossible to grasp. Some examples are the ultra-subtle dramas like "The Constant Gardener" and "Michael Clayton." Of all the movies that I would predict would be in that category, a movie like "Romeo is Bleeding" would probably be the LEAST likely to be included on that list. It's a full-blown noir film, with interesting characters and a decent story.But to my surprise, I find myself at a loss when trying to find words to write this review. The movie has a great sense of atmosphere, and talented actors (Lena Olin in particular), but the story is a complete mess. It's really hard (if not impossible at times) to figure out what is going on. Hence my troubles.Here is what's clear. Jack Grimaldi (Gary Oldman) is a corrupt cop who plays both sides of the battle between the cops and the mob, run by Don Falcone (Roy Scheider). Trouble starts with Mona Demarkov (Lena Olin), a Russian hitwoman (or so says the IMDb synopsis says) that Falcone wants dead and the cops want alive to bring down Falcone (I think). Grimaldi is caught in the middle, but Mona offers him a solution to play them both and get away with a lot of money.The acting is solid all around. Gary Oldman is solid as Grimaldi. Oldman is not afraid to show a wide spectrum of emotion, and that's what makes him great here. Lena Olin gives promise as a complete psychopath, but strangely Mona isn't as developed as she could be. Still, Olin does what she can with what she has, and Mona is uncannily like Catherine Trammell in "Basic Instinct" (except that when compared to Mona Demarkov, the Sharon Stone character has the viciousness of a housecat). Anabella Sciorra is terrific as Grimaldi's wife, but again, she's not that developed. The only actor that doesn't work is Juliette Lewis as Grimaldi's lover. Lewis seems out of place in this role, but fortunately her character isn't on screen very much."Romeo is Bleeding" has a great noirish atmosphere, complete with the soft jazz soundtrack. It's a throwback to the noir movies of the 40's, even though it's in color (director Peter Medak uses this to his advantage). It would be a great movie if the story had any coherence.