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15 Minutes (Infinifilm Edition)

15 Minutes (Infinifilm Edition)

List Price: $14.97
Your Price: $7.99
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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Painful.....
Review: This is one of the worst movies I've seen in the last 10 years. It is one of those movies that makes you genuinely sad that you've wasted time watching it. I'm actually embarassed for De Niro, as I can't quite understand why he allowed himself to be a part of this travesty.
The film is full of ridiculous scenes that you possibly could ignore, if the film was otherwise intact. But TRUST ME! This is the worst the worst the worst flick De Niro has ever acted in, although he wasn't awful himself. The story line reads like a high-schooler wrote it. No regard for reality. Its not smart, its not sexy, its not hip, its not funny. It IS an awful film.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: 15 Minutes DVD is terrific cinema
Review: This movie kicks ... It stars DeNiro as a homicide detective and Edward Burns (most notable for his portrayal of Brooklynite Private Reiben in "Saving Private Ryan") as an FDNY arson investigator, on the trail of two foreign hoods (1 Czech, 1 Russian), who come to NY to collect a debt. The Russian, played with a child-like brutality by wrestler Oleg Taktarov, gets a video cam, and decides to chronicle their "vacation." Veteran Czech actor Karel Roden plays his insanely (?) homicidal partner to the hilt.

The film is a commentary on our video-ized culture and beautifully unfolds the story of these two "immigrants" and their perceptions and misperceptions about American culture as they engage in their killing spree.

The biggest surprise is Vera Farmiga, who plays the enigmatic Czech girl Daphne Handlova, who witnesses the first murders, and becomes the focus of a race between the hoods and the cops as to who can get to her first. Farmiga has magical looks (those luminous eyes!), with a face that could have easily launched 1000 ships in another context. Her riveting presence steals every scene she is in. Vera Farmiga is a new talent with the promise of becoming a major actress in this new century. To see her scenes is sufficient reason by itself to buy this DVD.

The DVD is rich with detail, and has an excellent director's commentary. Director John Herzfeld took a few major risks in his conception of the film, and the result is an action film of the highest caliber, incorporating the frenetic hand-held video footage into this non-stop New York City action thriller.

Robert DeNiro shows his superstar quality and career courage by magnificently portraying the character of Detective Eddie Fleming. -- the idea of a major box-office-drawing actor going for a part where his character is killed in Act 2 shows his star power. (His death was very much an essential part of the plot development.) The gritty scene where, tied up, he understands his closeness to death and has a "loogie" duel with the Czech hood is a truly amazing cinematic moment.

This is a truly great movie. Buy it! The performances of De Niro, Farmiga and Burns by themselves are a total joy to watch.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great film, well I think so Anyways
Review: O.K. so I went down to my local video store and rented this puppy, I enjoyed it alot the scenes with the killers were really really great. Sure like most movies there were some things that the movie could of gone with out but I thought over all it did allright. I was especially impressed with the two immigrants, I thought there acting has superb and I know I mentioned it already but there scenes were so frikkin good. Anyways so I saw this movie last night and today first thing in the morning got online and bought it. When I saw it though I couldn't help but notice that there were some bad reviews about this film. Well I guess it's imposible to please everyone. The gave their opinions so I'm giving mine. I suggest you rent this first and make out your own opinion about it and if you are like me then you to will get online the following day and ad it to your collection cause it's worth it, well I think so anyways.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: why do people not understand this movie
Review: I can't understand why everyone hates this movie. It is a smart and exiciing satire on the media. People seem to be complaining it's too violent, when its is no more violent then most tv show's like nypd blue and nowhere near as violent as any paul varhooven movie such as total recall, robocop or hollow man. Mabe because these movie are sci fi and fantasy we don't veiw them the same way. The acting by deniro and burns is very good and the two killers do a deccent job also, but the best performance is from kesley grammer of frasier as the talk show host who will do anything to keep his fifteen minutes of fame. The dvd is also great with deleted scenes,a music video informative documentries and a audio commentry by the directior john herzfeld. Give this movie a chance and ingnore all the negative reveiws, this movie like the vastly undrrated nurse betty is very misunderstood and deserves a larger audience. At leat rent it and make up your own mind. One final word even though it's not near as violent as the above mentioned films it's still not for young childeren.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: mindnumbing and mindless
Review: It's really amazing how great films such as "Natural Born Killers" and "Fight Club" can come under attack for their depiction of violence, while something like "15 Minutes" goes unnoticed because it's somehow lumped in with 'slam-bang action thrillers.' This movie truly believes it's satirizing the very elements it's exploiting, but in reality doesn't have a brain in its head or any hint of complexity or surprise.

Robert De Niro sleepwalks through yet another role as a media-savvy NY cop, and Edward Burns is the typically inexpressive arson investigator collaborating on the case. Two snivelling, stupid, Eastern-European extortionists come to America with the brilliant notion that if they kill someone and film it, they'll have their '15 minutes of fame.' And Kelsey Grammer is wasted in a nothing role as the host of a scummy talbloid-news show. Well, can you guess how these characters connect to each other?

Understand that I have no problem with violence in movies; I don't protest Marilyn Manson either. But there are films out there (yes, some are actually big box office hits) that are stifling in their emptiness, intellectually vacant, and use violence to prop up a juvenile, under-realized storyline. In the minds of the filmmakers (in this case, writer-director John Herzfeld), they're addressing issues of social and political relevance, when in reality they're just exploiting them. "15 Minutes" is a movie that's not only horrible in its execution, but so low-down and hate-filled that by the end you'll be pretty fed up with all of mankind. There is absolutely nothing positive to be extracted from this waste of celluloid, videotape, and DVD space.

John Herzfeld proved he was a mediocre director with "2 Days in the Valley," but he should be congratulated now because he's gotten away with murder. "15 Minutes" is just a sickening, stupid, and sad comment on not only humanity, but the Hollywood film industry in general.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Very good exposé/thriller...
Review: Know this going in...there is a message in this movie. An intentional message. Normally I tire pretty quickly of getting pounded by "deep themes," which have been done over and over. But 15 Minutes is very effective as a thiller and at getting it's message across. Rationalized violence, be it through tabloids or talk shows, in which the killer is the victim, rather than the one to blame (Very non-PC :) is the primary theme. What is unfortunate is that while the director and screenwriter have addressed "glamorized violence," an gratuitously long scene with a topless hooker, reveals that the same does not follow for sex. This did detract from the movie for me, since it made the Captain of the Ship (the director), come off like a hippocrite. Overall, though, a very tight thriller, with a contemporary message.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: A film with mixed messages and bad acting.
Review: When one makes a movie that is to star Robert DeNiro the most important thing one needs to do is cast an actor to co-star who can go head-to-head with DeNiro in talent. Excellent examples are Edward Norton in "The Score" and Joe Pesci in any of their Scorsese films. Edward Burns fails to live up to these standards and it is the most fatal flaw of a multi-flawed film.

The initial idea of the film is an interesting one and some of its interest shines through in the film. Unfortunately, for the most part, bad acting and garbled directing blocks it off. The idea of a criminal videotaping his crimes is a very scary and interesting one. The whole statement about the media that comes into play is also compelling. These ideas are wasted in this film though.

Why is it bad? Let's start with my first point. I enjoyed Edward Burns in "Saving Private Ryan" there his persona fit the film but here it seems out of place. He goes through the entire film looking bewildered and as though he is trying to do a subtle, method form of acting similar to DeNiro's but he just can't pull it off. Granted the part is not great to begin with but Burns' certainly did nothing for the character. He must have said "Get back!" seven or eight times in the scene with the fire in the apartment and nothing else! This is a perfect example of him not knowing what to do. He goes through the enitre film like this.

Other points are that the film seems unfocused and seems to want to make many points but never focusing in on one long enough to get the message across to us. The director seemed to have too much to work with and not a clear focus of what to do with it. Also, the initial story seems weak to me with the plot relying to much on circumstance and coincidence. Also, DeNiro was sold short in the film. If you've seen it you will know what I mean.

The killers were interesting to watch and I found the scenes with them to be the strongest in the film. The actor who played the one who did the killings was quite good and was probably the best in the film.

A below average film with some interesting but heavily garbled ideas. Watch it for DeNiro or for the actors who played the killers or watch to learn how to screw up a film by relying on stars to save the film but don't run to your local video store.

Thanxs...

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: THE PRICE OF FAME
Review: Being all the way over the other side of the world I only saw this at the movies last week. This is a good, if bloody, thriller which exploits the media as well as showing how the media can exploit others. Robert De Niro and Edward Burns are cops on the trail of a two killers (one Russian & one Czech) who enjoy videotaping the murders of thier victims and embark on a citywide spree, all continuously filming themselves and attempting to become national celebrities. To make matters worse a TV anchorman (Kelsey Grammar, in a very good performance) is trying to secure a deal to show the footage on prime time television. There is an unexpected twist midway through the film which earns the movie some bonus points,as well as making the viewer think carefully about the true price of seeking and attaining fame and notoriety as shown in the finale (which proves that the bad guys are really just a couple of egocentric dumbasses). Well worth a look

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: If Only 15 Minutes
Review: I wish this film were only 15 minutes long because then I wouldn't be writing this.
This Movie Is Really BAD! First off the acting is pretty terrible the Two Russians. Oh excuse me One Czech and one Russian Either way they both suck. One dimensional,scene chewers that they are they look like Oscar winners next to Ed Burns. How does this guy continue to work? He is unwatchable. I give this film Two Stars 1 for Robert Deniro Who is lucky enough to check out earl if you know what I mean. No big Surpise, and 1 star for Kelsey Grammer who does a nice turn as sleazy talkshow host.
If you have to see this movie. do it while you're cleaning you cat box or peel dead skin off of your feet or some other really exciting task you've been putting off. This way you will not completly waste two hours like I did.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: shoulda been 15 mintues
Review: They could have made this movie the length of the title, because the plot is not interesting enough to validate anything longer. The action sequences are rather routine as movies go, and without much character development, that's a huge drawback. At least we get to see two new actors. The guy playing the lead antagonist is absolutely amazing. This is the beginning of a super star, and I would even say that his performance justifies watching this bad film. There's also Edward Burns, a Richard Gere look-alike with a cool New York accent. Unfortunately, his character needed better work, so until better material comes along for him, we'll have to judge him on his voice.

I know the premise to the movie sounds interesting: guys video tape their crimes so they can make money off them later. But the directors seem to use this as an excuse to blow up buildings and people; about all that comes out of the action sequences is political squabbling between the fire and police departments. Plus, this movie seemed to have an odd habit of making references to other movies. I counted six (some admitedly obscure): Taxi Driver; Natural Born Killers; Rocky; The Raging Bull; Backdraft; and Dirty Harry. Perhaps this was to reference previous movies with violence as their theme, but I found it comical without the element of satire. The concept of the celebrity killer is interesting, but I have yet to see a movie pull it off. Hopefully it'll happen one day.


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