Slaughters.com

This is one of the finest movies I've ever seen. I don't even know where to begin with this picture. It's a piece of art in cinematography. The dialogue is profound. The plot is entirely unpredictable. This is not a non-stop action flick. This movie is like a patient roller-coaster. Very long slow climbs to the top of a steep drop again and again.

I won't try to describe this. It's something you have to see. I had no idea any major Hollywood studio could be capable of producing an action flick of this calibre. But then, most or all of the credit would probably have to go to director Michael Mann, whose obvious intrigue and understanding of LA makes the city a virtual character in this movie.

This is a very well-made movie with no coherent storyline. The story has something to do with racial enmity, gangs, slavery, a young boy's grudge, political corruption and a few other things, along with a hackneyed love story and and a lot of wishy-washy character development.

However, this movie is worth watching for Daniel Day Lewis' performance alone. He steals this show, playing a hardened "gang" leader who considers himself a "native American" and gives no quarter to any person arriving on a ship from abroad. He is a classic thug with a lot of flare and also the only reason I watched the entire, drawn out 180 minutes of this mega-flop.

The movie is also quite funny at times. My favorite is probably a scene where an actor crudely playing Abraham Lincoln dangles from the scaffolds in the background as the thugs shoot and knife it out.

This is more of a modern art piece: it makes no sense whatever, but it's fun to look at.

Dark Days (2000)

This is a documentary about the people living underground in the Amtrak tunnels in New York.

There is no recurring theme emphasising the filmmaker's point here. This is a hodge-podge of
various stories, each portrayed bleakly. The mood is depressing, but the stories each hold glimmers
of hope. I really felt drawn into the underground world. And the ending is great.