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| Movie Review: We Own the Night Alternate Title: My Brother's Keeper
Story: You can't go wrong with
stories that revolve around family, betrayal and revenge. It is the
meat of engaging cinema. And it works predictably well in this latest
piece by director, writer James Gray (Little Odessa
and The Yards). It is 1988, Queens NY. The City is besieged by
drugs and the ruthless Russian mob is in control. Cops are at their
wits end. Enter an estranged family that includes a father and one son
who are both cops and the other son who walks on the wild side. Family
loyalties are tested when there is an attempted assassination on one
member of the family. Testosterone levels are high, female presence
is decorative and there is lots of action, including car chases, shoot
'em ups and very scary threats from the Russians. That said, even though it is heavy on the predictability
scale it is an entertaining two hours of cinema. Acting: Joaquin Phoenix looks a
bit drugged for most of the film but I always find him an interesting
actor to watch. Mark Wahlberg does not have much to
do as the cop brother - but I like him too. Robert Duvall
is fine as the Dad and Eva Mendes, as the girlfriend
does not have much to do - but she sure is pretty.
Predilection: None.
Food: The Russians like food and they always have
quite a spread.
Sex Spectrum: There is an opening sequence with Joaquim
Phoenix and Eva Mendes that is pretty steamy but after that it is all
shoot 'em up.
Blatant Product Placement: Jack Daniels
Visual Art: The City of 1988 is filmed pretty well
with few errors. You can even get a glimpse of the World Trade Center
out of one of the windows.
Theater Audience: A few NYC film lovers
Weather: It was dark for a lot of the film or it was
raining. Sappy Factor: 0
Quirky Meter: 0
Squirm Scale: The Russian mob is indeed squirmy.
Drift Factor: I was entertained, though not riveted.
Predictability Level: Over the top
Tissue Usage: 0
Oscar Worthy: No
Big Screen or Rental: Rental would be fine.
Length: Under two hours
LOBO HOWLS: 7
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