Customer Reviews

15 Minutes (Infinifilm Edition)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(25)

 

 

I got passes to a screning of this film. Waiting in line some of the other folks and I discussed the violence of the video games in the lobby in that polite, well mannered, educated liberal manner. Then we settled in to watch the movie, and got to the climax scene where the good guy punches out the villian. You could literally watch the same group of well educated, properly opinioned liberals sit there, with there hands held out in front of them, perplexed. We knew we were supposed to clap, but then again Kelsey Grammers' character would have tugged at our emotions in the same way to elicit the same response. As such we were left as an impass as to what the correct behavior was, our gut saying clap and our brains saying don't. That is the sheer brillance of this movie--it doesn't say what to think, it just says think.
This movie is very bloody--to the exent that some people wil not want to watch it. If you have a weak stomach turn it off. However, that can be points in its favor. I was particualrly happy in the scene with the blond prostitute. She was the sort of character that only enters the scene to get killed by the bad guys, but she actually fights back. The scene is bloody and everything, but she didn't just lie there and wait for them to finish her off like so many other horror film women.
The best thing about this film is that every single second is dedicated to forwarding the plot. There is no extraneous speeches to forward the theme or create the characters--it is very nice to have a film that doesn't assume that we are stupid. There is some very good dramatic tension and some wonderful twists as characters are tested and changed. That being said this isn't an Oscar film. It is a popcorn film, a fairly straight forward action film. It is, however, refreshingly, an action film that lets you think.

You see it in the tabloid tv shows such as Roseanne, Maury Povich, you name them. As in this film, a family humiliates themselves in front of millions all for that fifteen minutes of fame; singers appear on American Idol and disappear into the mediocrity of their fame, having had that 15 minutes. In this movie, a tv anchorman sinks to new depths to acquire a disgusting videotape of a cop's murder, not realizing that by letting the villains get away, he endorses further murders. All in the name of fame.
We all know that the media has little conscience in its attempts to one up each other, to get the "big story" first; to spread lies and rumors. In this movie, a petty thief who attempts to rob one of the characters is suddenly a hero because the arson investigator handcuffed him to a tree and forgot about him. The "victim" was assaulted by a bag lady and pissed on by a dog, and now he's a hero in the light of the media. Everything that's done is done to manage the impression of what the world thinks of us.
This message is brought home in expert fashion in John Herzfeld's compelling 15 MINUTES.
Robert DeNiro plays a homicide detective who has used the media to its best advantage, and he knows it; Edward Burns is an idealistic young arson investigator who joins in on the investigation of the brutal murder of an immigrant couple; Kelsey Grammer is the acerbic and selfish newscaster; Melina Kanakaredes is the love of DeNiro's life, a news journalist who fears for DeNiro's safety. Capable and strong performances from these actors lay the background for the movie's two most impressive performances: Karel Roden and Oleg Taktarov as the criminals Emil and Oleg; their cold cruelty is frightening; Oleg's fascination with film-making is both comedic and tragic, and the resonance of their performances underscores the other actor's performances as well.
There may be inconsistencies in the plot; there may be some derivative touches, but I found myself glued to the screen and awed by the message this powerful movie sends.

3 stars may be a bit harsh for a movie with one of the most unsettling scenes I've seen, but the problem with the film is that it never becomes a whole. There's a conflict of tone that's never successfully resolved--director John Herzfeld wants to make a dark comedy full of satire aimed at Jerry Springer, Geraldo Rivera and the like; but he also wants to make a grisly, gritty action film filled with blood, murder, fire, and tragedy. These two aspects rub against one another uncomfortably, and although life may indeed be like that, the juxtaposition doesn't work well in this bit of art.

The dichotomy plagues the work further: there is terrific imagery, some great acting, some terrific writing; there's also lots of very typical Hollywood run-of-the-mill work. De Niro, as one of the two protagonists, is superb until the writers feel it necessarly to give him a girlfriend. The other protagonist, played by Edward Burns, is the stereotypical young hothead, who in spite of being an ace fire inspector, can't control himself around other people. I must admit that the two villains are both terrific, in terms of both writing and acting; but a bit of clowning at the end really destroyed the effect of the final scene for me.

If you do decide to see the movie--and in spite of my negative comments, the positive aspects of the film (especially the scene with De Niro and the two villians) make it worth viewing, be sure to stay tuned after the credits begin--Kelsey Grammer has a final bit that begins a minute or so into the credits.

This movie is better than what I had expected. Featuring Robert DeNiro (although he played a relatively small part in the movie), it is a Hollywood self-reflection on the relationship between mass media and the society. Two Czech people wanted to become fame in America and the way to choose was by committing serial homicides, capturing the process by a hand-held camera and then sold the film to TV news station for a large sums as a top story. On several occasions, the director reminded the audience that the movie was just a factitious event in itself as well, trying to lower down the overall tone on the accusation. Nonetheless, this is somewhat in contrast to the overall power of the film as the director tried to tell the story in a realistic manner. Overall, the movie delivers the message and has a strong point on the sex and violence coverage of the mass media.

Right off the bat, I must say that the only reason I first checked out 15 Minutes at all, was because of Robert De Niro. When I saw the previews, I kept thinking, this looks like it's going to be a retread of Natural Born Killers. For the most part, that initial opinion, is confirmed. The film is watchable but wont really wow you as much as is promised.

Two Easten European criminals arrive in America to pursue dreams of fame and fortune. They decide that, the fastest way to achieve their goal, is to go on a murderous crime spree. Convinced that even if they hide in plain sight and taunt officials they can get away with anything. As the crime wave begins, the case brings together veteran detective and media darling, Eddie Flemming (De Niro), and gung ho arson investigator, Jordy Warsaw (Edward Burns). These two men must learn to work with one another, in order to catch the deadly duo, before they kill again. Of course, in our media saturated society, these killings are just what tabloid anchor Robert Hawkins (Kelsey Grammer, in a nice role, other than on TV's Frasier) is looking for. Melina Kanakaredes plays Nicolette Karas, Flemming's girlfriend, and reporter.

I am a big fan of director John Herzfeld's 2 Days In The Valley. Here though, as frenzied as the pace may seem, the story still plods along at times. Instead of a thought provoking thriller--things are quite static. The script disappoints because it misses a great opportunity to comment on the state of media today, and barely does any of that. The film's "twists" are very predictable and easy to spot from a mile away. De Niro and Burns or ok--even though De Niro doesn't seem as into it as Eddie does.

As part of New Line's Infinifilm DVD line, 15 Minutes is loaded with extras, but as usual if the film is sub parr--getting through the added material may be tough. The audio commentary from Herzfeld is ok, but better realized is the subtitle-style trivia track. The deleted footage with director's comments, was wisley cut, and wouldn't have added much. The questions that I hoped the film would dive into, are discussed, in two documentaries called, "True Tabloid" and "Does Crime Really Pay?". All they are though is a bunch of talking heads, making the film, seem better than it is. You also to look at "Oleg's Video," which is actual video footage captured from actor Oleg Taktarov's perspective. This wears on you after about 5 seconds. The cast/crew interviews are fairly typical, a music video called "Fame" by the group God Lives Underwater, theatrical trailers, and a DVD-ROM Script-to-sceen option tops off the disc. Most of these bonus features can either be accessed, while watching the movie, in Infinifilm mode, or separately...it's your choice.

Certain things about 15 minutes work, but, the whole still doesn't quite measure up to the sum of its parts. It's a movie of missed opportunity and saddled by a poor script

15 minutes is all it will take for the watcher to realize that this movie is something special. The premise of this movie is different from any other Cop/Crime drama that I have ever seen. Mainly the portrayal of the two villians who give both a halariously humorous performance but at the same time an extremely brutal and psychotic performance. Quite different.

Of course Robert De Niro is brilliant as always and Ed Burns isn't bad either. The stand out performance has to be with Kelsey Grammer who gives a drastically different performance leaving comedy behind to play a really despicable reporter who does some very unspeakable things in the name of news.

The social commentary is also very interesting bringing to our attention the way the media portrays the villians in our society and the double edged sword of fame. The results in 15 Minutes is a heart pounding ride through twisted circumstances and political correctness gone off the deep end.

I felt close with the characters and deeply disturbed by the certain actions (which I won't give away) by the two psychos against the protagonists. Very unexpected and shocking.

I was entertained from beginning to end and didn't feel a dull moment. I highly recommend this film.

DVD includes a ton of special features and is great in anamorphic widescreen.

This movie was awful. De Niro is a media savy cop, who, with the help of an arson investigator (played by Ed Burns), is hunting down a couple of Eastern European criminals. The criminals decide they can get away with anything if they can appeal to the media. If the intention of this movie was to poke fun of the media, then it seemed to take itself too seriously. If it was a serious movie, it was just too over the top to be enjoyable. I kept trying to find something to enjoy, but just couldn't. If you want to watch a better movie with De Niro, try "City by the Sea".

While the premise of '15 Minutes' sounds interesting, that is all the inspiration the film makers could muster for this ultimately predictable cop (melo)drama. Some films get extra points from me for ambition. Even in failure, they go for something special. This film aims at a highfalutin purpose, and doesn't deliver.

What it has going for it though is a very clever self-referential notion: a film about films, but one that directly indicts its own audience. It also has two excellent bad guys. Plus we have De Niro in a role that is more apt than any of his recent ones. He plays someone who lives to be seen by a camera. He uses a different set of moves than the visitors, and which are natural to the man, and are already common enough to be self-parodied. But watching an actor act like an actor is a treat, especially when we have two guys who turn into actors and a slew of TV folks who are in front of cameras, but who don't know the moves.

The beginning is somewhat gory, the middle picks up a little and sets up an intriguing theme, but then all of this by turns formulaic and unbelievable spin progressively drags things into the mediocre, until the banal ending where our protagonist walks away with his predictable revenge.

The movie is worth a watch though. If nothing else, for the marvellous soundtrack:

God Lives Underwater "Fame"
Maxim "Carmen Queasy"
Breakbeat Era "Ultra Obscene"
Rinocerose "La Guitaristic House"
Moby "Porcelain (Rob D. Remix)"
Prodigy "3 Kilos"
David Holmes "Out Run"
Gus Gus "Gun"
Ballistic Mystic "52 Pick Up"
Johann Langlie "Exedrene"

15 MINUTES is a disturbing look at the delicate balancing act that the media has to face in deciding how much to show of disgusting and psychopathic behavior in its pursuit of high ratings. From the first few minutes, director John Herzfeld presents a media that will stop at nothing to score big time with the audience. It is this quest for gonzo ratings that drives the film so energetically that the audience cannot be sure that what it is watching is caricature or literal truth. Director Herzfeld wastes the talents of its twin stars (Robert DeNiro and Edward Burns) while surprisingly enough showcases the screen presence of Kelsey Grammer as a tabloid reporter who will whore himself for a hit and the over the top performances of Karel Roden and Oleg Taktarov as two Russian criminals who take to heart the American dream that anyone with a vision can make a fortune, even if in so doing he manipulates the media shamelessly.

Roden and Taktarov are thrill killers who carefully video tape their victims' last gasps, hoping that they can cash in big time by having the tabloids show these tapes. Their rationale is that only crazy people could kill on film, thus guaranteeing a short stay in a mental asylum and riches afterward. Since most killers would not film their killings, either they are truly insane as they claim in public, or as they admit in private, they are pulling a scam on the American system of avoiding responsibility of crime due to a deprived childhood. It is not entirely clear which is the case. In any event, what comes across is a morally blighted America that seems a cross between NATURAL BORN KILLERS and TAXI DRIVER.

DeNiro is a homicide detective who has no trouble playing a role that he has often done, that of the wordly-wise policeman who has seen too often up close the incestuous relationship between crime and the media coverage of crime. He plays it straight, a note that stands out as jarringly different from everyone else who acts either bizzarely or out of character. DeNiro's partner is a fire marshall (Burns), who inexplicably tags along on a homicide investigation, and promptly shows why he is a fire marshall rather than a cop. Burns makes mistake after mistake, including a whopper at the end that surely should result in his own arrest for the mistreatment of a suspect in custody. The real stars are the Russian killers, who somehow manage to escape capture so often that their real names might have been Richard Kimble and the One-Armed Man. Roden and Taktarov are beasts, but their bestiality merely highlights their maniacal drive to manipulate a television media that has less journalistic integrity than Jerry Springer. They kill, they laugh, and generally whoop it up on camera, with Taktarov seeing himself as a perverted Frank Capra capturing the essence of an America that is probably closer to his own warped vision than we might like to admit. Except for DeNiro, everyone else in this film had their own 15 minutes of fame. Whether 15 MINUTES continues to resonate with future audiences will likely depend on whether we see ourselves as taking responsibility for our own actions, as Frank Capra clearly sought in his imaginative comedies, or whether Americans continue to flock to the tabloids to further expose the putresence that passes for tabloid journalism. 15 MINUTES forces the viewer to make that choice now.

I just recently saw this on DVD and I have to say I think "15 Minutes," is the most underrated, and deliberately ignored movie I've seen in a number of years.

The filmmaker forcefully illustrates the ambivalent feelings the American public has about violence, media, and fame. We sit in front of the television and turn criminals into celebrities, we are fascinated by the most sordid details of crime, and we watch, enthralled, as murder is served up as entertainment. It's the train wreck mentality: we're horrified and repulsed; yet we can't look away. A lot of people have been confused and angered by this collective consciousness and I've noticed in the past ten years many filmmakers, writers, artists--myself included--have tried to mesh all of these themes in various stories, plays and movies. But John Herzfeld manages to get it right. He gets the message across while putting together a compelling plot, without being contrived or preachy. This extraordinary film forces (we) viewers to take a good hard look at ourselves and face the things hidden in our nature--qualities that we don't want to see. But it stays entertaining. It builds and builds. Herzfeld skillfully weaves plots that display our obsessive fascination with violence, sex, and degradation in the media and he accurately conveys our intricate, complicated feelings of hating it while at the same time being inexplicably drawn to it.

I was so happy to be amazed by Robert DeNiro again. After seeing him in a string of lame comedies, it was exciting to see him give a complex performance as a tough, smart, cocksure, but ultimately likable hero. We like our brilliant actors to be brilliant.

This is heavy stuff and I feel that the reason so many people have been fiercely negative about this movie is because they don't want to confront their own dark feelings or admit the collapse of morality in the USA which has made our tolerance for horrible behavior way too high. But what do we do about it? There are no answers, but this movie explores the mindset.

The negative reviews I read also rather obviously demonstrates a portion of the American public's outright refusal to admit that evil exists--and that there are some people (many in this day in age) who are so inherently evil that they become expert in their ability to exploit the humanity in other's in order to get away with the most unspeakable acts. Many people prefer to believe the outdated "abuse excuse" a defense this movie satirizes.

Other reasons I've read in the negative reviews for disliking this movie claim that the story is improbable and even unbelievable. I wish these people would tell me how to arrive at the Utopia they are living in. In a society where, at any given moment, we can turn on the news and see stories about teenage girls giving birth in a bathroom stall, murdering the child and then, minutes later dancing at her prom, where guilty celebrity-killers walk free, and where brutal murderers get marriage proposals in their prison cell (or market their artwork online, or start a ministry) I don't see what's so difficult to believe in this movie's storyline. Gruesome things happen every day, jostling for attention, and we watch, while the corpses are paraded in front of a popcorn-munching public.

One final thing: the last 15 minutes of "15 Minutes" had my heart racing and my blood boiling.