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Visitors Review

rarematters 2013-05-20 06:33:43

What section will Blockbuster place this after it's no longer a "new" release?

I counted way too much on the potential of this film being "a good one" withHarrison Ford being the ace up the sleeve. None of his strong suits getplayed during this movie. Rather, the idea of him being wasted bothered methroughout the film as ultimately we the viewers get exploited by hisinvolvement. The biggest problem (out of many - including lame acting,lackluster script, and failure to develop any one strong plot) is this moviecannot decide if it's a comedy, drama or action genre. While this traitcould be refreshing in some cases, not here, because it tries to go way toofar in each of these directions. In one given evening, would you ever be inthe mood to sit through a hilarious comedy, then a gripping drama, then amind blowing action flick? Even if they were all great you probably wouldn'tunless you were in a body cast, try watching three bad ones. When thewriting began for this movie it was doomed, the plot is illogical and thecharacters never get close to the viewer. Some of the most misplaceddialogue imaginable. Now the only thing I can figure is, the original ideawas meant to be "Indiana Jones goes to Hollywood" because there are plentyof Hollywood location shots and some Indy-ish spoofy behavior. If you thinkabout it, those movies mixed genres and did so in legendary fashion. It'sthe only logical explanation somebody could have had for attempting this anda big boulder should have chased everyone off the set before anyone couldyell "that's a take." I can guarantee you will be highly annoyed by thecellphone ringers that interrupt from start to finish, and while you maylaugh a little, have a fleeting interest here or there, rivet yourselfmomentarily to a couple of the action parts, it'll be more akin tosuccessful channel surfing than being involved in a meaningful way. Andtrust me - you'll want to surf before it's all over.

2013-05-19 08:18:13

Very Good

This is a very good movie. Harrison ford is in it so it's not bad, well what movie is with Harrison Ford. great actor. this movie rocks recommend it for everyone

Chris Knipp 2013-05-19 05:28:20

Casual laughs and a mad chase

[SPOILERS]I'm sorry to see the critics aren't generally being very kind to "HollywoodHomicide." It's a lot of fun, its plot is deliciously complicated, itsdialogue is witty, and it ends with a chase that qualifies it for the titleawarded it by Roger Ebert: "the most exciting film ever made about realestate." How some reviewers can say such an entertaining romp is full oftired clichés, when the same writers have endorsed franchises like LethalWeapon, is beyond me. Obviously some people just don't get what's going onhere. Sure, the police procedural buddy cop adventure is a cliché, andthat's precisely why Ron Shelton and his cast are having fun with it. You'vegot to understand that this is a comedy, and not for one minute aconventional cop flick. You've also got to enjoy the premises, which are several. First and foremost, the joke is that LAPD cops take second jobs, or eventhird ones. Being a cop is, therefore, just another job, and not evennecessarily one homicide detective Joe Gavilan (Harrison Ford) and his newyoung partner K.C. Calden (Josh Hartnett) do particularly well. Not, atleast,until the plot starts cooking, in which case they turn out to becapable of the most absurdly wild chases and shootouts, as well as quite upto catching the villains in their case, rounding up all the bad cops intheir district and getting them locked away, and scoring a success or two attheir second jobs in the bargain. Josh Hartnett's character teaches yoga toa veritable harem of beautiful babes but like any handsome guy in Hollywoodhe wants to become an actor. He also wants to avenge the death of hispoliceman father. Joe's got to try various capital ventures to pay all hisex-wives, and the latest such venture is real estate -- which, as anyoneknows, happens pretty much any time of the day or night.All the fun and originality lie in the way the two sets of jobs andaspirations cross-fertilize and interfere with each other (Joe's accused byI.A. of "commingling funds," which is another -- more narrowly mercantileand legalistic -- way of putting it). When the two homicide detectives areassigned to a hip hop murder case, K.C. tries to get information by offeringto peddle a studio assistant's script ("Nasty," a title the author's palsconsider brilliant) to an aging Hollywood producer (Martin Landau) whosehouse Joe wants to sell to the hip hop club owner. This deal involves aprice tag of six or seven million. What with the record exec's "security"wiping out the hip hop killers, Joe and K.C. are pretty busy and the deal tosell Landau's mansion goes sour. Cell phones play a key role here. Once the final mad chase gets going, thehouse deal simultaneously picks up steam again -- all through the magic ofthe portable phone. Joe is the object of an Internal Affairs investigation,and an absurd but hilarious sequence occurs when he and K.C. are questionedin adjoining hot boxes. Joe does nothing but take cell phone callspertaining to romance, real estate, and the case they're on, while K.C. goesinto yoga poses and gives his female interrogator a massage.This isn't a serious cop movie, and it isn't one of those frantic MartinLawrence comedies either. Both Hartnett and Ford wear their roles like anold shoe. There's no struggling for laughs. If some audience members takethat as "boring," it's because they aren't paying attention. When theaction heats up and the chase gets frantic in the second half and thefinale, it's all the funnier because the boys have been so laid back beforethat. Their first reaction on the scene of the crime, the club where therappers got shot, is just to stand there and look up and down. Then Gavilanorders a cheeseburger, and K.C. orders veggies on whole wheat, and thecharacters and their priorities are established. K.C. doesn't even want to be a cop. Joe is stuck with the job because he'sdone it for decades, but he's hoping his real estate ventures will get himout of debt. There's no star ego here. Ford the action hero lets himselfappear frumpy and befuddled, and Josh allows his modest acting skills be theobject of fun. It's a climactic absurdity that K.C. stars in Streetcar NamedDesire to showcase his acting talents: K.C. has the chest but not thepassion. It's a laugh to see him scream "Stella!" over and over warming upfor the role. But actually he's not bad as a cop. It's he who has to go tothe morgue to look at the killed rappers and spots some other stiffs placednearby, compares shoe sizes and earrings, and announces -- on a cell phone,of course, while trying not to throw up (because he hates being aroundcorpses), "those guys shot these guys."The cutthroat nature of the recording industry, especially the hip hopbranch, is taken literally here when it turns out that the ultimate solutionto the multiple homicide case is that a big black producer has offed one ofhis more ambitious new rapper crews to show what can happen if any others inhis stable of "artists" try to walk out on their contract. Another joke isthat Ford's character is into Motown romantic stuff (hence the SmokeyRobinson cab driver cameo) and doesn't "get" rap, while K.C.'s tastes, ifany, must run to make-out music or raga. There's no competition between thetwo -- that wouldn't be laid back -- but there's the contrast that K.C. hasan endless string of gorgeous sex partners (so many he can't ever get theirnames straight) while Joe shadow dances alone with a glass of scotch and aMotown hit after work or modestly tells his one new girlfriend, psychic Ruby(Lena Olin) "If I take my ginko I may remember to take my Viagra and thenI'm okay." There hasn't been as detached and cool an aging detective since Fred Ward inArmitage's "Miami Blues" (1990). It's all in the spirit of vintage JonathanDemme (who produced "Miami Blues") and should not be mentioned in the samebreath with noisy, macho action flicks like "Lethal Weapon."Other cameos besides Smokey Robinson: Lou Diamond Phillips as Wanda the copin drag, Gladys Knight, Dwight Yoakam, Isaiah Washington, Master P, Kurupt,Eric Idle (rounded up for soliciting), Dre and Dr. Dre. I haven't donejustice to the women in the movie, of whom Lena Olin is certainly the mostlovely and appealing as Joe's new girlfriend and a psychic who is able touse her powers to coordinate shopping on Rodeo Drive with spotting the hitman -- which in turn starts the chase. The plot of this movie is a triumphof intricate contrivance far too ingenious to do full justice tohere.

ahmed elshikh 2013-05-18 19:33:29

Sour Ice Cream !

Josh Hartnett's dead eyes, the thick writing of it, and Harrison Fordbeing in a buddy-cop comedy ! Here's 3 reasons to hate it, avoid it,and to utilize 116 minutes of your life better.The buddy-cop movies are fun. However their real golden age was back inthe 1980s and the 1990s. Making one that tries to mix action and comedythrough the police of Hollywood itself is sure a good idea but thefinal result of that turned out to be not at least a spoof of thesubgenre but a reason to ask God to have mercy upon all the past moviesof the same kind whereas the worst of them was by all means greaterthan (Hollywood Homicide).What really did happen to this entertaining formula ?! Since a wholedecade the things hadn't been the same. You'd have a buddy-actionstubborn flop after another. I'll delight you with some titles to catchon the disaster well : (I Spy - 2002), (National Security - 2003),(Taxi - 2004), (Starsky & Hutch - 2004), and the worst of them all yet(Miami Vice - 2006) ! I believe one of the reasons is the natural case of saturation aftermany similar cinematic flicks and TV shows during 2 decades already.Add to that, particularly here, the negligent dealing and the dullhumor. Actually the matter this time is totally unbearable. Yes, we'vegot the characters of 2 loyal cops who have second jobs, and thebackground of sinful city, but what else was new ?! It's not aboutcliché; it's about few renewals mixed with clichés where both have beenbadly made.The acting, especially from (Hartnett)'s side, is terrible. This guy isanything but a comedian (or actor !). So his character was wanting torevenge for his father's death ! Revenge on yourself man, he probablydied out of watching your acting !!. Even the small roles got peoplethat have nothing to do with comedy (or that's what they seemed hereanyhow !).The directing fails in presenting something that comic or that harsh,some parts managed to be highly dull (arresting the black guy throughthe Lake ??) ; it's a rare time to be boring in what's supposed to beaction/comedy ! They didn't utilize Hollywood itself whether as anironic place where there is ugly face behind the superficial charm, oreven as a place which's full of shining or fallen stars (cameos thatcould've given it few interesting moments).It's a very easy movie that relayed on being watchable by only itsstars' glamour, and its form as a Buddy-cop movie, to end up as one ofthe worst cases of 2 stars with non-chemistry on the screen (one ofthem has no chemistry with the screen itself ! Guess who ?!), and aBuddy-Cop destroyer more than movie ! God, don't make me, or mychildren, live enough to witness (Hollywood Homicide – Part 2) ! Atlast, look at Harrison Ford's performance, he wanted to have a goodtime, but at least we didn't.

NHNeil 2013-04-29 22:01:43

Homicide is right, this movie is dead

This time you should believe the terrible things that the critics are sayingabout this bomb. Why Harrison Ford would act in this movie is beyond me;certainly not to raise money to feed Calista Flockhart. The movie was a likea game of Jeopardy played by stupid people, no answers for many questions.Once again, I want my money back.....this movie sucked.

whpratt1 2013-04-29 06:22:50

Harrison Ford can Even Do Comedy Roles

Enjoy Harrison Ford and I know it is not easy to do comedy roles and atthe same time try to make his role as a detective serious andconvincing. Ford played Joe Gavilan,"Randowm Hearts",99, a cop who alsosold real estate and had a hard time trying to pay off three wives andplenty of debt. However, his partner was Josh Hartnett,(K.C. Calden),"Sin City",05, who was not certain if he wanted to be a cop like hisdad or give Yoga lessons to a class of red hot great looking gals, wholoved to meet him in hot tubs. Joe & K C made a good team and managedto step on each others toes, but they still managed to hold onto theirjobs. It is not the greatest of films and lots of money was spent inproducing it, but it clearly shows what great talents Harrison &Hartnett have to offer their fans.

phanatic1160 2013-04-02 12:53:24

underrated

i don't understand why so many people hate this movie. c'mon, what did youexpect? the re-invention of the wheel? it's a buddy cop movie for goodnesssake! and a funny one at that!not a masterpiece but 2 hours of solid entertainment!give it a rent sometime.7.5/10

psychodan 2013-04-01 15:15:45

I sure hope everyone got paid up front...

because this movie was terrible. First of all, musicians orpseudomusicians(rappers) should never be cast in movies (with the exception of Mos Def).Secondly, is this movie a comedy or an action movie? The action isn'tsuspenseful and the comedy is rarely funny (exceptions Hartnett drivingtheminivan & Ford's lude gesture in the interrogation scene). Thirdly,IsaiahWashington is not a good actor (time to find a new career buddy, sorry).Fourthly (if that's even a word), there is a point where the number ofunusual characters gets annoying. In Hollywood Homicides case, about 20minutes in. Fifthly, when in the history of detectives or cop movies istheCaptain only referred to by first name both in the dialogue and thecredits?Never; there must be a reason for this. Sixthly, not every characterneedsa love interest. This movie may have actually been better had HarrisonFordnot had a "ladyfriend". Seventhly, in what universe can a cop fire hisweapon at a vehicle in public without an investigation? Apparently inSheltonland. Eigthly and finally, with a former detective as co-writerandadvisor all previously said mistakes in realism should be nonexistant.Therefore, if you wish to see a buddy/cop movie that is both funny andaction packed rent Lethal Weapon 1,3, or 4. These were and are how it'ssupposed to be done.Hollywood Homicide: 2 stars out of 10.

2013-03-29 19:34:03

Two great actors=great movie

This review is from: Hollywood Homicide (DVD) I got this to replace an old vhs copy, love it! Sometimes the oldies really are the ones to watch!

2013-03-29 19:02:14

Sorry to Say This But What Ever Happened to Harrison Ford?

Yes, the basic idea is this. Make a buddy-buddy cop action with two bankable stars, one veteran and one upcoming. And throw some humor (of sort) in between the actions, plus the cameo appearances. Then you get "Hollywood Homicide" which is, I frankly say, a total misfire case of how not to make a film.The story is about two cops Harrison Hord and Josh Hartnett, whose main concern seems to lie not in arresting the criminals. They both have some part-time job (real estate agent and yoga instructor), which are more lucrative than police jobs (now, the script is provided by Robert Souza, ex-police officer in homicide division, so I do not question this part).And one hip-hop group are gunned down (reminding us of some real-life incidents), and the case throws the pair into the investigation behind the music business. But of course, you see many twists and turns of the story ... which are so many that I started to lose interest. Probably you will, too.The problem is twofold; the film has too many sub-plots, which only detract our attention. The actions happen, but it is not easy to tell who is who (or who is not who). The film seems to mock the trend in Hollywood celebrities by introducing yoga or fortune telling, but this part just makes us feel "So what?"The other problem is its misguided humors. Harrison Ford is guilty of being too comical, but it just does not work. The idea of his riding a bicycle when chasing a bad guy looks funny if the cop is played by actors like Jackie Chan, whose down-to-earth character makes the situation natural. In Harrison, whose best remembered role is still Indiana Jones, it is simply embarrasing and impossible.Slightly interesting is the film's cameo. There are so many of them -- Eric Idle, Robert Wagner, Lou Diamond Philips, Frank Sinatra Jr., Gladys Knight, and even Smoky Robinson but few are effective. Perhaps, some of them refer to the famous cases involving celebrities (British Eric Idle arrestd or Philips in women's dress, both of which remind us of the two real-life incidents), Whatever they are, these brief cameo appearances are amusing for about ... ten seconds. Maybe, as the title suggest, the greatest thing about the film is its location -- Hollywood. You can see many famous places of the Tinseltown, plus an unexpected glimpse of Venice Canals. And compared with the fine locale, the film's actors (including Lolita Davidovich, wife to the director Ron Shelton) are all boring. Excuse me for giving this negative review, but the lack of charisma of Harrison, Josh, et al is too painful to see.

mjrother 2013-03-28 00:50:52

A new definition of Bad has been achieved

It is sad that this movie was made with millions of dollars that couldhavebeen better used as toilet paper. A horrible dysfunctional plot, that ahyperactive 8 year old mainlining pixie sticks could not keep up with. Ifelt after the movie I should open a mail boxes etc with all the actors onthe screen mailing in their scenes. What is most tragic is this formulaiccontrived cop story is so typical of hollywood today. This is whyeveryonemust support independent films to get rid of this junk.The movie has a good idea with the complicated lives of Hollywooddetectives. They have moonlighting jobs while still trying to solvecrimes.Interesting idea, but the execution was pathetic. Do not see this EVER!Pity anyone involved in this disaster.

rosscinema 2013-03-27 19:16:29

Film becomes its own joke!

I suppose the idea of playing in a comedy must be intriguing to HarrisonFord probably because he doesn't get offered very many but its a shame hepicked one so inane and pointless. Film is about an aging cop named JoeGavilan (Ford) who moonlights as a real estate agent and no matter whatcrime was just committed he looks to try and sell a house. His young partneris K.C. Calden (Josh Hartnett) who is thinking very hard of being an actorand he reads lines from popular dramas and prepares for a role in a verysmall production of "Streetcar". One night a hip-hop club is shot up and themembers of a popular group are killed so they decide to talk to AntoineSartain (Isaiah Washington) who heads the label that signed the group.Meanwhile, Lt. Benne Macko (Bruce Greenwood) of Internal Affairs is lookingto bust Gavilan because of their bad history together. Gavilan is dating aradio psychic named Ruby (Lena Olin) who also use to date Macko and she alsohelps Gavilan with clues with her psychic ability. The premise isinteresting enough and there are many Hollywood cop jokes written into thefilm. My favorite is the cameo by Eric Idle who plays a celebrity caughttrying to pick up a hooker! The film does a good job of showing how the copsof Hollywood are always thinking of doing something else since Los Angeleshas so many opportunities for other employment. But the dialogue is so sillyand inane that its hard to believe that someone like Ford would utter someof the things that he had to. Hartnett is especially drab and he doesn'tshow much flair for comedy but one thing I found surprising was that hedoesn't show the charisma that he showed in "Black Hawk Down". He's stiff asa board which use to be Ford's manner. You know your stiff when HarrisonFord is more lively in a film! There is also to many cliches like Greenwoodas the Internal Affairs Officer with a chip on his shoulder towards Ford.Haven't we seen that a hundred times? And I had to cringe when Ford isriding the girls bicycle and tooting the horn while riding through a mob ofpeople. Film is ultimately too silly and pointless. Ron Shelton directed andhe usually has a terrific knack for comedy but here the film comes across asvery uninspired. Don't waste your time!

2013-03-24 17:27:52

A buddy cop movie in 2003? Get a clue, Hollywwood.

Woof. A buddy cop "comedy" with intermittent violence and wise-cracks and rappers? Was this "movie" really made in 2003, or has it been sitting on the shelf since 1986 (because that's where it belongs)? This is exactly the type of heartless group think trash that tells me Hollywood is not going to make it in the 21st century. The only thing that baffles me is why Harrison Ford would do something like this? And who decided Josh Hartnett is a star? Just because he was in Peal Harbor? Well, we didn't want to see THAT movie either.Hollywood Homicide should be called Hollywood Death, because that's what it truly foretells. Skip it.

2013-03-24 14:19:41

Hollywood Homicide

I love this movie it took forever for me to find this movie on dvd. I was so happy I found a copy that was not a boot leg copy. I would recommend this to anybody who is buying from this dealer.

cine-11 2013-03-17 22:12:25

Wow, what a stupid movie!

This movie was such a formulaic, phone-it-in effort at making a typicalHollywood action film that it was almost a parody. There were about 20 minsof plot in this 2 hour movie (any Law and Order episode would blow it away).The rest was filler using sappy relationships, the usual police trouble withinternal affairs (with a cop-out (heh, heh, get it) resolution) and thestandard car chase seen at the end that went on so long, it began to getboring. Avoid this one.

Tim Gatewood 2013-03-17 01:43:45

Harrison still has IT, age notwithstanding

Harrison Ford does NOT disappoint, even when the script is not thegreatest.This one has a good plot and a great cast, although you really have towatchto find some of the names listed in the opening credits. There is somerealhumor here, too, albeit buried under about 5 or 6 cliches and standardstorylines. What really makes this one worth watching is that it managestopoke fun at the rap scene and at Hollywood and at all the cliches, whilestill working every last one of them as elements of the flick. The restofthe cast turned in good performances, too, but we watched this forHarrisonFord and will watch it again for him. The man still has IT, and he showsitoff in this movie.

2013-03-16 23:06:12

Shelve this movie in the cheap movies bin

This movie is not worth watching. It had a subpar plot and to be honest not a lot of action you would expect with a Harrison Ford movie. If you are looking for a great movie that stars Harrison Ford, please see another movie. By no means not this one!!!!.

I_actually_am_sam 2013-03-16 09:39:47

Oh good lord

Well this movie actually made me feel so strongly that I signed up foran IMDb account just to warn people. It is patently AWFUL!! NOTHINGmakes sense in this movie. There is way too many subplots for a start.Josh Hartnett's character is an aspiring actor and yoga instructor aswell as a cop who seems to be living way beyond his means and onlyteaches yoga to hot girls (Some of whom wait naked in his jacuzzi forwhen he comes back from work). Add to that the fact that his dad waskilled by a crooked cop who just so happens to be in on the currentcrime being investigated by the hapless duo. Harrison Ford's characteris trying to sell real estate on the side and is sleeping with theInternal Affairs investigator's ex-wife who happens to run a psychicradio show which Ford's character calls from time to time. NONSENSE!!I can't remember the characters names (that's how forgettable this is)so I'll refer to them as Ford and Hartnett.Then there's the dialogue which is brutal. I mean cringe-inducing stuffhere. Throw in every cliché in the book (having a heart-to-heart in adark bar during the day over a drink where the bartender knows hisname; the duo being investigated by internal affairs (why??); hartnettconfronting his dad's killer) and you've got one hell of a mess.As I mentioned the plot is preposterous and continuity is non-existent:1) When Ford's car is being repossessed, how the hell did the repo guysknow where it would be parked? Were they following him?? 2) WhenHartnett goes to the morgue and it just so happens that the only cluefrom the crime scene (an earring) is replicated on of the charredbodies there (that was lucky!) 3) When the two are arrested and takenin for questioning - Ford keeps answering his phone and Hartnett"centers himself" with a yoga pose on the table. Instead of taking thephone from Ford the IA guy waits for it to ring each time and thentries to grab it off the table before Ford does. Meanwhile the femaleIA officer in with Hartnett is rubbing herself all over him. Then,inexplicably, the two are released without answering any questions. 4)During the car chase Hartnett's car is crashing and smashing its wayaround Hollywood but then suddenly the car is perfect again. Not ascratch! 5) When Ford chases the bad guy into the building and he getsin the elevator how the hell does he know which floor the bad guy gotoff at?? 6) When the two are chasing the bad guy around in hartnett'scar, Ford is trying to close a real estate deal. Come on! 7) The badguy is the most unconvincing record exec ever. His motivation forkilling an aspiring group of rappers on his label? They might leave hislabel and it's a warning to keep his other groups loyal. But hang on,how is he ever going to sign anyone new with that business plan?? 8)Why is the IA guy who is investigating Ford arrested in the end? Thereis no explication!! 9) And Hartnett gets to use his "acting" to capturethe bad guy in the end.I could go on, I really could. Anyone who is looking deeper into thismovie than a straight up action comedy needs their head examinedbecause that's all it is. There's nothing else to it! It's not supposedto be satirical or ironic. It's just crap.

altan317 2013-03-14 04:46:36

It was great

It was one of the greatest films I had seen before. If you didn't watchitbefore , I think you should see. In fact the names Harrison Ford and JoshHartnett make you know where you need to go.Enjoy!

boettcher30259 2013-03-13 15:56:57

Someone Missed The Boat

This movie would have worked better as a serious cop drama with thecomic relief but instead it was a comedy that drew more laughs fromembarrassment then humor. Josh Hartnett does a good job as an AshtonKutcher mimic. And Dwight Yoakam was a surprise, as was Lou DiamondPhillip as the hooker/decoy. I did have to look at the credits toidentify Gladys Knight because I was thinking she was maybe someoneelse I couldn't quite put my finger on, but there was no mistakingSmokey Robbinson. This movie also has a lot of other cameo shotsthroughout, such as Eric Idle, Martin Landau, Robert Wagner, FrankSinatra Jr., and for those that are into hip-hop and rap, (sorry, I'mnot) many an artist from that gene had cameos. Harrison Ford gave agood performance and had the only true laugh in the movie when he wasin the interrogation room and did the "hip motion" while up against thetwo way glass. My feeling is that this is a good dollar rental or amovie for Spike TV. This is not the type of movie I'd spend a lot ofmoney on, (I got my copy at Big Lots for $3) but I wouldn't avoid iteither.