REVIEWS

"L.A. CONFIDENTIAL"

"LA Confidential" is one of those movies where as soon as it's over, you know that you've just finished watching something great. Maybe you'll do what I did and open your eyes wide, let out a deep breath, and say "wow." I know that sounds corny, but I really DID do that.

When I first saw the movie trailer for "LA Confidential," I had no interest in seeing it. It became the movie trailer that I would always seem to have to sit through before every movie I went to see. I eventually decided to see it after reading several very positive reviews on it. All of those great reviews are well-deserved

Director Curtis Hanson ("The Hand That Rocks the Cradle," "The River Wild") gets some great performances out of Russell Crowe, who was so phenomenal in "Romper Stomper," Guy Pearce ("The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert"), and of course, Kevin Spacey. James Cromwell is also in it, and he's really come a long way from playing Lewis Skolnick's father in all of the "Revenge of the Nerds" movies. He's excellent as one of those authority figure types that seem like a swell guy until he's pissed off. Danny DeVito and Kim Basinger each do a great job, even they're not known for their acting. Here, they prove that they DO have talent.

The movie is almost two and a half hours long, but the time flies by. It has one great scene after another, and it keeps going. And just when you think you know where the movie is headed, something happens that totally catches you off guard. "LA Confidential" is one of the best films of the year, and it WILL be noticed around "Oscar" time, I assure you.

Scale of 1-10: 10