When a hip art dealer (Brooke Shields) tells Leon (Bradley Cooper of "The Hangover") that he is failing as a photographer, and suggest that he needs to be brave to capture New York City the way it really is. Convinced of this, Leon goes out late at night to shoot its seedier elements.
Cinematerial.com |
When occult elements start appearing in the film, it leads one to believe that the story could not have had the photographer’s quest play as big of a part in its original form. We are discussing Clive Barker material, and he must always have a demonic element to his tales, so detective work inevitably end up being secondary like in 1995’s "Lord of Illusions". Demons are what his films usually advertise, so when they appear the viewer wonders, “did we need a twist?”
Especially when Kitamura had presented a scene that should give any horror fan me a gorgasm 20 minutes in. The action sequences are where the direction shines making sure never to waste any use of the gore which allows for an awesome climax too each scene. Otherwise, there was a lot of extra time taken for each shot which drags the film a bit. These shots are beautiful with their selective lighting, but just because the crew took a lot of time to get the scene to look great, does not mean you have to shoot the hell out of them.
The actors do a great job presenting the film. Cooper does what Ryan Reynolds tries to do with each one of his dramatic roles. That is presenting his straight character with a degree of arrogance that his comic characters seem to possess. It makes the viewer root for him instead of shouting at the screen, “you are only as valid an actor as Dane Cook is.” Vinnie Jones is awesome as Mahogany being the mysterious, unbeatable fellow who leaves us wondering what his story is.
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