Word: hansons
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...fine version of the somewhat beefy Ellroy crime novel, director Curtis Hanson portrays the cool, brutal world of Hollywood glam and corrupt police in 50s Los Angeles, with all its gradations of questionable ethics and morality...
...engrossing enough to watch this twoheaded beast of a police force at work, which is what Hanson lets us do for a bit, before the appropriately twisty plot really gets under way. The story itself is impeccably paced, a well-orchestrated series of cover-ups and discoveries, as Exley skillfully and stubbornly cuts his way through the many layers of the blue shield and those who profit by it (like a man who runs a service of call girls cut to resemble movie starlets). Surprises and not so teensy-weensy ethical decisions are sprinkled throughout as we wonder whether Exley...
...Hanson shoots L.A. as a land of shadows, borrowing judiciously from film noir past and present, whether through atmosphere or little tricks like light beams through bullet holes in a door a la "Blood Simple." Fortunately, unlike distant cousins like "The Usual Suspects" (which tortures us with things like cross-fades from coffee cups to cave mouths), it's all very bearable and, more importantly, very enjoyable...
...Hanson has translated Ellroy's hyped, dirty-real crime writing (some chapters consist of fictional headlines and news clippings) into a solid flick even a little sleeker than the original. Where the gritty could have turned grating, the dark places of "L.A. Confidential" hold up.Photo courtesy of Regency EntertainmentQUITE THE MORAL GUY: Ed Exley (GUY PEARCE) takes his search for crime off the street and into his own department...
Summer 1997 was witness to a few undeniable and unforgivable overproduced pop groups. Can you say Hanson and the Spice Girls? I hope so, because if these names aren't permanently placed within your internal musical file cabinet you've missed out on a few essential ditties that earned deserved spots on the pre-millennium pop rock landscape...