L.A. Confidential (1997)

In the Star Trek universe, we have the Cardassian race.  In a Deep Space Nine episode, Garak and Bashir were talking about Cardassian Enigma tales.  Bashir’s main complaint was that all of the suspects were guilty of something.  Garak points out that the fun of the stories was to figure out who was guilty of what.  L.A. Confidential is a bit like that.  It seems that all of the main characters (and many of the suspects) are guilty of something.  If they haven’t done something yet, they will.

The movie is set in Los Angeles in the 1950s.  Ed Exley is a by-the-book sergeant who wants work his way up the ranks.  Captain Dudley Smith asks him if he’d be willing to bend the rules; since the answer is no, Ed probably won’t make it far as a detective.  Bud White is more of what Smith would consider a good officer.  He’s someone who is willing to beat the crap out of a suspect if it means that a guilty person goes to jail.  Then, there’s Sergeant Jack Vincennes, who’s not above taking some money.  He works with Sid Hudgens, who publishes a tabloid.  Vincennes also works as a consultant on a Dragnet-type show.  If money is changing hands, one of those hands probably belongs to Vincennes.

Early in the movie, several prisoners find themselves in a jailhouse fight with several police officers, including Vincennes and White.  Exley witnesses it, but is powerless to stop it.  Since Exley testifies, he’s given a promotion, but is not well liked by his fellow police officers.  Still, life goes on for White, Vincennes and Exley.

As detective lieutenant, Exley responds to a call involving several murders, including that of a former police officer.  This leads to finding three suspects who appear to be guilty of the crimes.  Exley is considered a hero for solving the crime.  He’s not convinced that this is all there is to it.  Vincennes agrees to help Exley look into it, which opens up a can of worms neither of them expected.

There’s that famous line, “It’s not what it looks like.”  In all of the television and movie that I’ve watched, this is probably the one time that the line was uttered where it was true.  The movie is complicated.  If you miss a detail, you may not understand the rest of the movie.  There are certain aspects of the movie that aren’t what you might assume.

Everyone likes to think that they’re a good guy and there are some good guys in all of this.  However, all of the main characters eventually do something that’s less than good.  That seems to be the distinguishing characteristic between the main characters.  Exley is the one that is most willing to follow the rules.  He does make a few mistakes, but he likes to think he tries.  The trick is figuring out what, exactly, everyone is guilty of.

IMDb page

Robin Hood (2010)

The story of Robin Hood is one of those tales that’s been retold so many times that only the names and basic story seem the same any more.  You have Robin Loxley (or Robin of Loxley) coming back from the crusades.  There’s a love interest named Maid Marian.  Prince John is usurping King Richard’s power.  There’s also the Sheriff of Nottingham basically making everyone miserable.  Somewhere in there are characters like Little John, Friar Tuck and Will Scarlett who help out Robin, who becomes known as Robin Hood for getting on the wrong side of  John and the Sheriff.

In this incarnation, we have Russell Crowe playing Robin Longstride.  He’s coming back to England from the Crusades following King Richard’s death.  Longstride just wants to make it back before news of the King’s death.  On the way back, he comes across Sir Robert Loxley, who’s dying.  Robert makes Robin promise to return his sword to his father, Sir Walter Loxley.

When Robin gets to the family estate, he comes to realize that the Loxley family has seen better days.  John is literally taxing the will to live out of everyone.  Yes, it’s for the war and all, but people are hurting.  To boot, if Sir Walter dies without a son, the family land will revert to the King, leaving Robert’s widow, Marion, with nothing.  Robin assumes Robert’s identity and does what he can to help.  The new King doesn’t take a liking to this, of course.

You can only watch so many interpretations of a story before you get bored with new ones.  This one is at least entertaining and has enough action and new/different plot to keep me interested for 140 minutes.  It goes more into the history and back story of Robin Hood, showing his childhood.  We also get to see Robin trying to negotiate with the new King John instead of just fighting or stealing, but that doesn’t go well.

Robin is a reluctant hero.  He used the Loxley name out of convenience.  He never planned to have the deception go as far as it did.  It isn’t until the end that Robin is declared an outlaw.  This movie is more of a prequel, setting up another movie.  I don’t see anything on IMDb, which could mean that the studio canceled plans or that a sequel hasn’t been started yet.  However, I wouldn’t be surprised to see one eventually.

This would definitely be a good starting point for people who haven’t seen too many Robin Hood movies.  Even for someone who has seen a few, it will probably prove entertaining.  It did seem a little long, although I don’t recall constantly checking the time.  If a sequel does come out, I may or may not watch it depending on the reviews.

Official site (Universal)

IMDb page