17 February 2010

Once Upon a Time in America (1984)


My boyfriend was in the mood for a gritty crime drama last night and neither of us had seen this one so he went and rented it. I really didn't like it much from relatively early on and I never liked it much more as it went on. It's four hours long and the screenplay seems like a mess. It's yet another American glorification of criminality and it's particularly kitschy. It's sort of on the elliptical side the way it bounces around between three different time periods but that might just come off as a way to camouflage the holes in the plot. My boyfriend and I both saw the twist ending coming a mile off and it was completely gratuitous. I don't think I'm morally corrupt enough to know what the point of this movie is. It seems to be shot well and the acting is fine but pretty much every other aspect is kind of terrible. D-

5 comments:

  1. Watch 'Once Upon A Time in the West' it's so much better. That one you are talking about, I remember enjoying so much when they were kids. Then the stuff when they are grown was totally boring. Isn't Jennifer Connely nude in it at like 14 years old?

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  2. Well, technically, it's an Italian's glorification of American criminality. Leone was obsessed by America.

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  3. I also wanted to ask: I've seen a few D- ratings on yr blog -- but I don't think I've come across an F (if I have, it must have slipped my mind or been something I hadn't seen). So can you give me a few examples of what you would rate an F? I think that would put things into a better perspective, for me at least.

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  4. Three movies I gave an F to this year are The Hurt Locker, A Single Man, and The Road, I think.

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  5. It looks like I actually gave a D to A Single Man. I rated them all one star though on Netflix.

    I'd also give an F to Anchorman.

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