2008 Woodie Awards
New movie doesn't 'own' viewers appreciation
Bill Harding
Issue date: 10/24/07 Section: Features
An up-and-coming New York night club hot shot and his "top-cop" older brother clash heads in this struggle between success on the streets and social values in the city. Joaquin Phoenix stars as Bobby Green, a young, hip night club manager on his way to being the big shot in the NYC.
Living a life of drugs, sex and parties, he is unaware of the escalating violence that comes with this growing narcotics scene of 1988. With his connections to drug-runner Vadim Nezhinski (Alex Veadov), Bobby's club is the target of a bust that puts the lives of his whole family in danger.
Temperatures rise and loyalty must be defined as Bobby has to choose between the night life that calls him and the allegiance to his family.
His father Burt (Robert Duvall) and older brother Joseph (Mark Wahlberg) try to describe the brutality and bloodshed that is about to occur in the city, but Bobby closes his mind to the idea of any choices that would hinder his ability to live free.
As things go from bad to worse, he becomes disillusioned and is thrown into the vicious path of angry drug lords and hitmen.
The film starts out with a glitzy touch, adding desire to the night life that will soon be anything but desirable. The club is fancy, maybe too fancy.
With the huge emphasis on sex, drugs and power, it is no wonder that Eva Mendes is dropping more than her standards as Bobby Green's scantily-clad girlfriend, Amada.
The director unnecessarily adds crude sexual contact and vulgarity to display the dirty relationship between the two within the opening scenes.
I was almost confused as to whether he was her boyfriend or her pimp.
Someone actually left the theater after the first scene alone.
In the next scene, the feel of the stuffy policemen's ball pretty much lays the feel for the next two long hours of the movie. Nothing really flows as the director tries to introduce the relationships between main characters that have little in common.
The acting roles do not do the stars justice, as they could have been working on a better paying movie, or taking a vacation somewhere sunny, just like I was wishing while watching this movie.
In my opinion, this movie could have been made in 1988, and it would not have been any different.
It did not feel up to today's standards of cinematography, and I believe that moviegoers will be disappointed when they have to watch characters make unrealistic decisions and stay through two hours in order to give the ending a yawn.
I believe Joaquin Phoenix forgot to read the script before signing. Mark Wahlberg and Robert Duvall had way too little time on screen, and Eva Mendes needs to put on more clothes and start working in Hollywood instead of on Hollywood Boulevard.
"We Own the Night" is currently showing in local theatres.
Living a life of drugs, sex and parties, he is unaware of the escalating violence that comes with this growing narcotics scene of 1988. With his connections to drug-runner Vadim Nezhinski (Alex Veadov), Bobby's club is the target of a bust that puts the lives of his whole family in danger.
Temperatures rise and loyalty must be defined as Bobby has to choose between the night life that calls him and the allegiance to his family.
His father Burt (Robert Duvall) and older brother Joseph (Mark Wahlberg) try to describe the brutality and bloodshed that is about to occur in the city, but Bobby closes his mind to the idea of any choices that would hinder his ability to live free.
As things go from bad to worse, he becomes disillusioned and is thrown into the vicious path of angry drug lords and hitmen.
The film starts out with a glitzy touch, adding desire to the night life that will soon be anything but desirable. The club is fancy, maybe too fancy.
With the huge emphasis on sex, drugs and power, it is no wonder that Eva Mendes is dropping more than her standards as Bobby Green's scantily-clad girlfriend, Amada.
The director unnecessarily adds crude sexual contact and vulgarity to display the dirty relationship between the two within the opening scenes.
I was almost confused as to whether he was her boyfriend or her pimp.
Someone actually left the theater after the first scene alone.
In the next scene, the feel of the stuffy policemen's ball pretty much lays the feel for the next two long hours of the movie. Nothing really flows as the director tries to introduce the relationships between main characters that have little in common.
The acting roles do not do the stars justice, as they could have been working on a better paying movie, or taking a vacation somewhere sunny, just like I was wishing while watching this movie.
In my opinion, this movie could have been made in 1988, and it would not have been any different.
It did not feel up to today's standards of cinematography, and I believe that moviegoers will be disappointed when they have to watch characters make unrealistic decisions and stay through two hours in order to give the ending a yawn.
I believe Joaquin Phoenix forgot to read the script before signing. Mark Wahlberg and Robert Duvall had way too little time on screen, and Eva Mendes needs to put on more clothes and start working in Hollywood instead of on Hollywood Boulevard.
"We Own the Night" is currently showing in local theatres.
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