Ensofter
Overrated and overhyped
Voxitype
Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.
Patience Watson
One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.
lost-in-limbo
"The January Man" is a fairly offbeat, if thoughtful crime thriller set in Manhattan, where its main focus is on the characters leaving the serial killer elements to be secondary. So much so, you forget there's a vicious serial killer about until the underwhelming revelation. After figuring out the pattern behind the crimes all we get is; "He's a nobody". Still being the case, it's the quirky lead performance of Kevin Kline's beatnik character that drives this one home and along with director Pat O'Connor's able handling. Personal dramas and friction lead the way, which are actually a lot more interesting than the slowly pitched out investigative angle of John Patrick Shanley's jarringly unsure screenplay where Kline's disgraced ex-cop character is hesitantly asked (by his police commissioner brother played with stern mentality by Harvey Kietel) to rejoin the police fore to help track down a serial killer that for every month has been killing a women for 11 months. The concept had some promise even if the nature of it can be routine, but whenever it tackles Kline's character looking into the pattern of this serial killer, trying his best to work him out and beat the clock before the next murder. It suddenly takes a sidestep into uncharted area, involving his brother and his wife (who was his ex-girlfriend which Susan Sarandon gives a icy turn), the reason why he was originally sacked from the police force is shady and why would they get rid of someone who they think is smart and believe can get the job done. The script only seems to open up more questions then what it started off with and some occurrences are somewhat convenient to the story's progression, but it remains engrossingly witty with a certain edge about it. Then there's the romance with witness / mayor's daughter by the delightful Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. However there are some memorable moments, especially consisting of Rod Steiger's scolding performance as the Mayor and Danny Aiello's hot- headed police Captain. Also showing their faces are Faye Grant, Kenneth Walsh, Bill Cobbs and an amusingly dry Alan Rickman as Kline's neighbour / artist friend. The assortment of this cast really builds up a perfect chemistry to watch. "Hate this job".
uncledan-904-304382
I just saw this on TV by chance. I thought it was a great little movie despite the critics and mixed reviews. I really enjoyed it because I didn't take it too seriously as either a murder mystery or as a comedy. I just let it happen while I was working on a hobby project, and I liked it. The movie contains a surprising all-star cast, none of whom took their roles too seriously; I felt that they simply enjoyed doing the movie. So I think it's a greatly under-rated little gem of a flick. So if it shows up on your TV screen, give it a chance. It was engaging and very entertaining. Cast: Kevin Kline: Nick Starkey Susan Sarando: Christine Starkey Mary Elizabeth Mastranton: Bernadette Flynn Harvey Keitel: Frank Starkey Danny Aiello: Capt. Vincent Alcoa Rod Steiger: Mayor Eamon Flynn Alan Rickman: Ed And Errol Slue: Chief Sunday - Errol was a friend of mine from college and came to my wedding back in 1969. I knew he had been in some movies and had seen a couple, but didn't know he was in this one, so that was a nice surprise.
tireless_crank
The only superlative about this movie is Rod Steiger's role. This is by far, the worst role he ever played, totally overdone every time he is on the screen with a hairdo modeled on Harpo Marx and the expository style of Hitler. Danny Aielo gets short shrift from the screen writer and Harvey Keitel gets used and thrown away. Kevin Kline has a bizarre accent, strange affect and a great ability to suppress the laughs he must be feeling at the dialog he was asked to say. Alan Rickman was cute and extraneous, Susan Sarandon was there and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio has large and attractive boobs for a small woman - she didn't have much of anything else to do in this film.Plot - stupid, ridiculous, complex and extraneous.
Kansas-5
So how could it have turned out so awful? How can you have Kline and Keitel, Steiger and Sarandon, Aiello, Rickman, Mastrantonio, and yet produce such a stinker? Start with an awful script. 1,000 monkeys couldn't have done worse.From there, proceed to unbelievably bad direction.I kept waiting for it to get funny, since it was never going to get serious. It was never going to make sense. But the comedic talents of many of the cast were wasted as well.I thought the actors might revolt, mid filming. I mean, after all, why have your name associated with this kind of a stinker? I kept thinking of "The Producers." The producers of this lemon must have sold 1,000% of the movie, right? They needed to have it go straight down the toilet so they could pocket the investors' money without having to account for it. There would be no "Springtime with Hitler" to save the day.But Norman Jewison produced this. He's made a dozen great movies! This doesn't belong in the vault at MGM. It belongs in a crypt at Forest Lawn. With a stake through its heart.
