Little Murders Reviews

This is a brilliant black comedy based on a great off Broadway play. The story is fantastic and comments on city life and the postmodern world in an outrageous way. I love this movie, and I recommend it.

When my friends recommended this movie to me, I expected something a little different than what I got. Not that I was disappointed at all, this movie is probably one of the more original films I have seen in a long time. I loved the monologues and enjoyed the performances (Elliot Gould is amazing and it's a damn shame that some only know him as Monica's dad from Friends). The climax is a little out there, but I didn't mind it because I thought it fit with the rest of the film. The only problem I had was the performance of Alan Arkin who I thought was just annoying. Overall, very enjoyable and nice to see something out of the ordinary.

probably a better play; movie sort of hammers in front of you but scenes are great on their own; Donald Sutherland's monologue is incredible

If Kafka did nitrous, this is what you might get.

Such was the depth of quality in seventies cinema that many movies of the era have been unfairly forgotten. While stars like De Niro, Pacino and Hoffmann are still lauded it's easy to forget how great Elliot Gould, Alan Arkin and Donald Sutherland were. All three feature in Arkin's directorial debut, a surreal black comedy which originally had Godard attached. Gould is great as a photographer who has lost the ability to feel and wanders through life with detachment. Marcia Rodd is the young woman obsessed with waking him from his emotional coma. Watch for Sutherland's hilarious cameo as the preacher of the "First Existential" church.

A great satire that looks at a man that has just given up on society all together. What better a backdrop than NY in the 70s. Elliot Gould rules as the man who wanders the streets taking pictures of shit, cause nothing else gives him pleasure. The supporting cast really helps bring this story to life. Donald Sutherland as the crazy minster should have had his own film that character was so strong. I'm with Cody though the last 30 minutes turned this really good film into a down spiral. It made no sense why the film went in that direction and strayed off the perfect path it was on. I would really love to see the play for this sometime. I bet it would be real interesting to see on the stage.

Great writing and great acting. Early 70's Gould is always gold. The only problem I had with the film was it went from light to dark comedy in an instant and I didn't enjoy the film once it became dark. The movie was a bit long and that could be why I didn't enjoy the last 30 minutes as much. Gould and the supporting cast are awsome and the dialogue goes at rollercoaster speed. Good Flix.

Dark, funny, and occasionally shocking satire about the decay of America, especially New York, in the 70's. One of the great Elliot Gould roles, and every supporting character is used to the fullest. Great cameos by Donald Sutherland and Alan Arkin (who directed), and Vincent Gardenia as the father -in-law is hilarious. The dialog in this is great. This is an overlooked film you should check out.

Such was the depth of quality in seventies cinema that many movies of the era have been unfairly forgotten. While stars like De Niro, Pacino and Hoffmann are still lauded it's easy to forget how great Elliot Gould, Alan Arkin and Donald Sutherland were. All three feature in Arkin's directorial debut, a surreal black comedy which originally had Godard attached. Gould is great as a photographer who has lost the ability to feel and wanders through life with detachment. Marcia Rodd is the young woman obsessed with waking him from his emotional coma. Watch for Sutherland's hilarious cameo as the preacher of the "First Existential" church.

An obscure, little-known black comedy that is really demented but very funny!

Um retrato notorio sobre a vida na cidade grande. Contendo detalhes comicos sobre a rotina,a visao é cheia de ironia e compexidade. Gould esta formidavel como um homem tao conformado que nao apresenta sentimentos e emocoes. Arkin faz otimo trabalho como diretor com cortes e sequencias comicas como os monologos cheios de movimento. Embora pareca demasiadamente caricatural e chocante em alguns pontos,uma vez que conhecemos as instigantes personalidades,nao temos como recuar. A consequencia é eletrizante.

Throughout its first hour, "Little Murders" has the makings of a typical, wrong-side-of-the-tracks, boy-meets-girl rom-com. Then things get a bit headier, as we find the characters asking each other questions no one asks in a typical rom-com. Without giving too much away, as the less you know about this film the better, the film uses New York City as a metaphor for human cruelty. A pandemic of homicides has flooded the city's streets, and the only thing they have in common, is that they're all unsolved. The film handles these "little murders" gently, keeping them in the background, and at times, even seems to present them with a smile. It's not until the end of act two that the film takes one of the darkest, most sudden turns a film can take, and boy does it nail it.

For the fuck of it, some movies I've seen recently:

:fresh: [B]Bad Lieutenant[/B]

The great [B]Harvey Keitel[/B] gives the performance of his career in [B]Abel Ferrera's[/B] twisted and kinda brilliant [B]Bad Lieutenant[/B]. '92 must've been some hell of a year for acting because the Academy, in their infinite, infallible wisdom, decided not even to nominate Keitel's work. He's so heartbreakingly fantastic as the desperate, drug/gambling addicted, unnamed lieutenant you might actually find yourself not just sympathizing, but empathizing with his seeming complete lack of control. We meet the titular Lieutenant at the denouement of his life; just when you think there's nowhere to go but up for the Lieutenant, the film finds him a new, crushing low. It's sad, but so well acted and grittily directed, I couldn't have turned away if I wanted to.

The only real downside to the film is that it suffers from "Raging Bull" syndrome: easy to appreciate, almost impossible to love. I was moved by the movie, I was into it, I was affected by it... but I'm probably not running back to watch it again anytime soon.

:fresh: [B]Sisters[/B]

[b]De Palma![/b] I love him. Sadly though, I can't say I enjoyed his 70's cult/horror/murder mystery/Hitchcock-wannabe/[b]Margot Kidder's[/b] titty fest as much as some of his other classics ([B]Blow Out[/B], [B]The Untouchables[/b], [B]Scarface[/B]... all rank in my favorite movies of all time). Of all the De Palma films I've seen, this is probably the most directly Hitchcockian. The film starts off very [b]Rear Window[/B] and eventually moves into some familiar [b]Psycho[/B] territory.

The film concerns a French Canadian model, living in New York, who takes home a young man she met on a gameshow (one of the more WTF? set pieces in the film). We soon learn that she was a siamese twin, who's sister, who happens to be visiting, is of questionable mental stability. It's not long before the young man pulls a Janet Leigh on us, and the film is handed over to a reporter who witnesses the young man's murder. She decides to get to the bottom of it and begins to do some research on our French Canadian friend.

When the dust had settled, I enjoyed it, not as much as some of De Palma's work, but a lot more than his more recent shite ([b]Mission to Mars dude[/b]? [b]THE BLACK DAHLIA?![/b] Did you even read that script before signing on?? You and John Carpenter man... you're hurting my heart.). I'd only highly recommend it if you're a fan of his or just plain a fan of some good old 70's blood and guts.

:fresh: [b]Flesh + Blood[/b]

Before I say anything about [b]Flesh+Blood[/b] picture this:

[b]Jennifer Jason Leigh[/b] being violated by [b]Rutger Hauer[/b].

If that sentence doesn't bring at least a tiny smile to your lips, you're probably not the target audience for [b]Flesh+Blood[/b].

[b]Paul Verhoeven's[/b] bloody, epic, grimy, sex filled 1985 opus stars the obscenely badass [b]Rutger Hauer[/b] in probably his second most twisted role ever (Sorry Martin, but this one goes to John Rider) and makes the film infinitely more watchable with his presence. I doubt I would've enjoyed as much if it didn't basically play like the Rutger show. He's the leader of a rape-happy group of bandits who kidnap the wife to be of a Nobel's son, after the Nobel screws them out of a paycheck. The Nobel's son suits up, ships out and uses his noodle to try and get his bride back.

The movie is incredibly depraved and sometimes kind of disturbing in its sexuality, but if you can suspend that shred of morality lingering in the back of your head I doubt it'll bother you too much. The violence and blood as well aren't really fun in that B kind of way, they're disturbing and realistic (the plague "swellings" nearly made me ralph). But hey, if sex and violence get you going, or if you've enjoyed Verhoeven's other work (And HOW CAN YOU NOT HAVE?! :D), definitely check out [b]Flesh+Blood[/b].

:fresh: [b]Hidden Blade[/b]

Wow. Wow. Wow. I knew nothing about [b]Yoji Yamada's Hidden Blade[/b] before watching it (I haven't even seen his previous, the much lauded [b]Twilight Samurai[/b]), but the idea of a feudal Japanese epic (Well, one that was actually made since the turn of the century) had me as excited as John Mark Carr in the training bra section of Sears. Boy howdy was I ever in for something... [b]The Hidden Blade[/b] was a deliberately slow, genius directed, written and acted musing on society and the necessity of violence. [b]Masatoshi Nagase[/b] stars as a Samurai who, despite being pushed by his family and (mostly) revered by his society, has never married and is starting to age. Among other things, the main reason for this is that he's in love with Kie (Takako Matsu), his family's old housekeeper and can admit it to no one, least of all himself.

The movie ties together several small plots, though the unspoken love between the housekeeper and the Samurai remains always at the forefront, and paces them through a Japan being slowly inundated by Western cultural (sound a little familiar?). [b]The Hidden Blade[/b] is a miniature masterpiece.

:fresh: [b]Little Murders[/b]

[b]Alan Arkin's[/b] debut as a director is one fucking weird movie. Weird and bloody fantastic. Little Murders stars [b]Elliot Gould[/b] (Yeah, Ross and Monica's dad from "Friends") as Alfred Chamberlain, a photographer registering just barely above catatonic on the personality scale. He meets Patsy (Marcia Rodd), who more or less twists his arm into a relationship and they eventually get married.

That description doesn't do the movie justice at all though. It plays like, well, a play (yessir, it was in fact based off one) as it moves from scene to scene and we meet strange characters who go on long rants (My personal favorites were [b]Donald Sutherland[/b] as the atheist priest who marries the two and Arkin himself, who plays a cop with a little too much on his mind.). A definite comedic gem with a great cast and a totally unique sense of humor.