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City by the Sea (Full Screen Edition)Rating:
Release Date: 03 February, 2004 Retail Price: $14.98 OUR Price: $12.99 You SAVE: $1.99! Cast: Complete Cast (13 total) |
City by the Sea (Full Screen Edition) Reviews
When You're searching For A Killer... The Last Suspect You Want To See Is Your Son!
De Niro is Vincent LaMarca. His father was a kidnapper and accidental murderer. Now his son, a junkie, has also killed a man. Will LaMarca be able to stop the generational cycle of violence? The Long Beach settings are very effective, combining rotting former grandeur with Stalinist architecture. So far, so 70s, and the hard-luck characters fit right in. Frances McDormand however, is stuck with a woefully underwritten part as De Niro's girlfriend. The plot, as well, is strictly by the numbers, you won't be surprised by a single twist. Enjoyable enough all the same, but not what it could have been.
The sound is pretty much flawless. The music and sound effects have great surround presence, and the environment is almost total (especially during scenes that take place in thunderstorms). The grimy look of Long Beach is enhanced by the cold, gritty look of the cinematography. The ratio is a gorgeous 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen.
The commentary is the essential extra here. An interesting conversation between writer Ken Hixon and producer Matthew Baer, it focuses less on the technical aspects of filmmaking, and more on the actors, the themes, and the ideas. "Six Words About Filmmaking with Michael Caton-Jones" is a featurette-style interview with the director. Rounding out the features are cast and crew filmographies and the trailer. The menu has a scored and animated main page.
You can't help but think about how this could have been really, really good with a more original script. That said, this is still an eminently watchable police story.
I was not that impressed....
As far as crime drama's go, this one is down, way down on the list...cannot hold up to recent greats like Taking Lives or Insomnia. DeNiro starred in HEAT but it was directed well and had an great storyline. This story just doesn't add enough suspense..it reminds me of some cop show from the 70's or early 80's. If you can, I would recommend skipping this movie and watching HEAT, Taking Lives, or Insomnia. Much better on a scale of 1-5.
More Customer Reviews (21 total)
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