Worst of its decade, with 2 good scenes.
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — The Black Dahlia
bradjanet — 16 years ago(February 04, 2010 03:43 PM)
This was so woodenly acted, badly scripted, soporific , it has to be one of the worst of the decade. Only the scene with K.D.Lang singing "Love For Sale" and Fiona Shaw's scene as the mad Mom, had any merit whatsoever.It has some of the worst cigarette-acting I've seen, (where smoking is used by lazy actors as a substitute for a performance).
But you ARE Blanche and I AM. -
absolutebloodyshower — 16 years ago(February 14, 2010 01:10 PM)
Couldn't agree more, absolutely diabolical.Everything LA Confidential did well this did completely the opposite.It felt like wading through treacle & how could such a supposedly decent bunch of actors (& Josh Hartnet) all turn in the the worst performances of their lives all at the same time? De Palma, I'm talking to you!
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bradjanet — 16 years ago(February 14, 2010 08:34 PM)
Brian de Palma has to count as one of the world's most uneven directors look at his record:
THE GOOD, or NOT BAD
Blowout outstanding thriller. One of the best in the genre.
Carrie a beautifully acted and directed horror classic
Phantom of the Paradise dated, but interesting and quirky for its time.
Sisters slightly disjointed but gripping early effort.
The Fury a bit suspect in the sexual politics but gripping
Dressed to Kill .. looks a million dollars, but a bit over-rated in my opinion.
Body Double more glamorous misogyny, confusing, but with the great
tunnel scene.
Scarface over the top, but almost great.
Raising Cain a cheese-fest, but I love it. Another great extended take.
TRULY AWFUL:
The Untouchables Only the railway station sequence worked.
Unbelievable situations, awful dialogue AND Kevin Costner.
Obsession Tedious "Vertigo" rip-off.
The Bonfire of the Vanities after a masterful opening sequence,
goes nowhere.
Snake Eyes Flash trash with one good sequence and a mail-in
Nick Cage performance.
The Black Dahlia Boring, boring, boring, badly acted, badly scripted and
atrociously directed. (Ellroy said he liked it, which
means that as a critic he makes a great novelist).
Mission Impossible meh not really a personal effort, it was always
going to be a franchise.
I may have been a bit hard on Kevin Costner Open Range is very good.
But you ARE Blanche and I AM. -
henrimaine — 9 years ago(October 28, 2016 07:31 PM)
The movie was not spectacular, but there were more scenes than two that deserve to be commended. The screen test scenes were good (it's interesting that De Palma himself was the voice behind the camera). Also, the scene were the police officer spots a blonde girl in the park and starts to chase her - that scene had great Hitchcockian tension. De Palma often likes to emulate Hitchcock in his movies.