I powerlift, I write poetry, I watch films. Oh and Im a weirdo!
I powerlift, I write poetry, I watch films. Oh and Im a weirdo!
Member since:18.01.2001
Reviews:24
Members who trust:7
Two eastern europeans, Emil (Karel Roden) and Oleg (Oleg Taktarov, who is an Ultimate Fighting Champion!), turn up in Manhattan after a stint in jail following a heist in which they got arrested, hoping to claim their share of the money. When it is not forthcoming things start to go wrong. Oleg, feeling he has it in him to be a top film director decides to film the whole torrid affair. Compounding our thugs’ problems is the fact that a beautiful immigrant Daphne (Vera Farmiga) witnesses the gruesome scenes. They then decide to light a fire, which brings in arson specialist Jordy Warsaw, played by Edward Burns (‘Any Given Sunday’, ‘Saving Private Ryan’, director of ‘She’s All That’), and celebrity homicide detective Eddy Flemming (Robert De Niro) to track them down.
The film is mostly taken from the perspective of the two criminals, and as the bodies mount up, and after watching a bit of daytime talk-shows, they decide that perhaps they could use the film footage to get their ‘fifteen minutes’ of fame, roping in the tabloid TV reporter (Kelsey Grammar) to assist with their plans. What follows after that is a depiction of how thirsty and avaricious the public are for blood and violence, and also a Ben Elton ‘Popcorn’ style depiction of how nobody is ultimately responsible for their actions. Mixed in with this is the explicit portrayal of media power and media manipulation, not only on the side of the criminals, as in John Travolta in ‘Mad City’ (a better film than this despite its shortcomings), but also on the side of the investigators, as Warsaw is rebuked for not getting enough attention or coverage for his work, and for his treatment of an armed attacker.
Edward Burns is a man a of talent not just as an actor, but also as a director and as a writer, but this is his worst film to date, and possibly his worst performance, bringing no charisma or strength to the role. In his defence, he is saddled by some strange actions by his character written into the script, and the way he ‘loses it’ in a pathetic sub-plot is sheer farce. The presence of Robert De Niro also fails to save the film, and it is interesting to speculate when his last good film was, especially after reviewing ‘Men of Honour’ (See). Mindful of poor films like ‘Analyse This’ and ‘Meet the Parents’, I believe that we have to go back till 1998 and ‘Ronin’ before we find a good film.
‘Fifteen Minutes’ fails for a number of reasons. Firstly, the subject area, whilst being interesting, is totally unbelievable, and is not helped by a poor script which deteriorates throughout the film. Secondly, there is little character development, and their actions seem totally unjustified on numerous occasions. Jordy Warsaw meets Flemming for the first time and has little time for flirting with the media as Flemming does, both as a whole, and also with his darling girlfriend reporter. His relationship with Flemming appears a little icy at the start, yet a short time later he seems to go crazy and risk imprisonment in defending him. The beautiful witness Daphne seems to do nothing all the way through the film, apart from her attraction to Warsaw, and her character appears perfectly expendable. Thirdly, and most importantly, there is no subtlety in the film’s handling of the subject area of media manipulation.
The concepts of violence, media manipulation and the resultant public reaction, are no doubt potentially explosive ingredients to ultimately produce a classic film. Unfortunately, ‘Fifteen Minutes’ is not this film.
Overall 3/10
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Thriller - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Timothy West, Neil Morrissey, Tara Fitzgerald, Annette Crosbie, Pauline Quirke, Rob Brydon, Denise Van Outen, John Thomson, Kevin Whately, David Suchet
Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: Bharat Nalluri, Rob Bailey, Andy Wilson - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Matthew MacFadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, Peter Firth, Jenny Agutter, Lisa Faulkner
You have written some excellent ops on film, now I know where to go if I need advice on what to see! Just a tip, if you read a few more ops than you do at present, you will end up with the success that your ops deserves. DAN
Fifteen Minutespartners Robert De Niro andSaving Private Ryan's Edward Burns in a thriller ... more
satire on America's "reality TV" industry. De Niro plays celebrity detective Eddie Fleming, who must reluctantly work with arson investigator Jordy Warsaw (Burns...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Fifteen Minutespartners Robert De Niro andSaving Private Ryan's Edward Burns in a thriller ... more
satire on America's "reality TV" industry. De Niro plays celebrity detective Eddie Fleming, who must reluctantly work with arson investigator Jordy Warsaw (Burns...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Some people will kill for their 15 minutes. Now two of New York's finest must stop the ... more
media madness. Seasoned celebrity homicide detective Eddie Fleming (Robert DeNiro) teams up with young arson investigator Jordy Warsaw (Edward Burns) to hunt down ...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Some people will kill for their 15 minutes!! now, two of New York's finest must stop the ... more
madness.A seasoned homicide detective (Robert DeNiro) teams up with a young arson investigator (Edward Burns) to hunt down headline-hungry killers who dare to vide...
Advantages: Action, Action, Action. Disadvantages: What if you want more from a movie than superficial action? Sadly this doesn't offer a great deal more.
![15 Minutes [DVD] [2001]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78542725.jpg "15 Minutes [DVD] [2001]")
Apr 9th, 2001
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