L.A. Heat (1989)

I love this movie so much

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Absolutely Brilliant!

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

In 1989 to 1990, Lawrence Hiton-Jacobs starred in three movies as detective Jon Chance: CHANCE, L.A. VICE, and L.A. HEAT. All three of these movies were also early efforts by the studio PM Entertainment. If you've seen any of the other Jon Chance movies - or any PM Entertainment movies made during this same period - I think you'll have a good idea what to expect with this movie. The production values are unbelievably low - it looks like they shot on videotape and transferred it to film. A lot of dialogue was obviously looped in post-production. The script and direction are awful; scenes end abruptly before the viewers get all the information they need, the dream sequences are goofy in nature, and for the longest time the story comes to a complete halt and the characters do nothing important at all. There is an occasional chuckle from the utter lameness, but for the most part the movie is painful to watch. If you do decide to watch the movie, beware of the DVD - the DVD manufacturer used a TV print of the movie, which not only results with all the foul language being bleeped out, but with some video glitches. Obviously, quality control was not a high priority for the DVD manufacturer, though seeing the movie one can understand why.

I saw this movie on one of the cable channels today...don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of 80's culture and movies. But this was absolutely the most horrid, cheesy, poorly acted, disgrace of a film I have ever witnessed. As I watched it, I felt myself cringing at almost every aspect of the film.Every actor looked as though they had no experience. The sets were cheesy. The music was awful.If I could have rated it a "0", I would have. Just terrible.There is a reason that you have seen almost no one from this film in anything of consequence...it is because having taken part in it probably stained their career forever. If you are ever bored and find yourself entered in a "Find the worst film ever made" contest, do yourself a favor and check this one out. You will not be disappointed in its failures.

Ill keep this short; writing about stuff like this really makes me realise to what extent the English language is limited.From concept to post-production, this film is flawless. The direction and, specifically, the editing of the piece show years of creative experience in the field. Laurence Hilton-Jacobs returns to the screen with a proto-naturalistic approach to the portrayal of a broken man living in a world which does not appreciate him. The beauty of this is that it seems to reflect the life of Merhi so far. His unique style when directing his works has not always been accepted by an audience of which the majority are used to much more mainstream, commercial films.The overall 'feel' of the film is of perfection and finesse. It maintains this finish while keeping its art-house status and evading the glossy overcoat which is becoming more and more popularly associated with the industry in America. Over the years I've familiarised myself with the abstract writing style of Kanganis, and it has become a little habit of mine to expect these little surprises that he has for us with each release. The reflection mentioned above seems to have come about naturally; the troubled mind of Merhi and artistic aptitude of Kanganis come together to bring the film together with a fine-tuned taste, but not pretentiousness, and to end it with such a gritty climax as it does.Merhi is an overwrought genius whose presentation, when grouped with the textual gold of Kanganis' script and the on screen presence of Hilton-Jacobs of such charm and without antecedence is, frankly, magical.

There are so many classic cinematic moments in LA Heat, too many to choose from (SPOILERS AHEAD!!!). For instance the titanic chase scene; a scene, it seems, that was too big even for Hollywood (that could explain why they run round the same block three times, passing the clearly signposted shops as they go, lets just say a certain restaurant got a LOT of free publicity THAT day!). Another great thing about this movie is how it was shot in a way which negated the need for a director's commentary afterwards, genius! The director's voice is clearly audible during a lot of the actual film, giving direction to the cast, or simply passing judgement on their sterling work on set. Who needs DVDs now?! And of course, hats off to the editor for the movie, who felt it necessary to leave in all the said director's requests of the cast as well as sometimes, just having the characters repeat the same line twice in "voice over" format, just to give a scene that certain edge. The "home video" scenes too were stunning. By this i mean the scenes where, to give the film a gritty, real LA feel, they haven't just gone on location, oh no, they've gone on location on an open street, full of onlookers who take every opportunity they get to wave at the cameras. This 'fly-on-the wall' style of film making was something relatively new at the time of shooting, making LA Heat a real rule breaker and trend setter in cinema history.In conclusion, I would recommend this film to anyone lucky enough to get the opportunity to see it. Viewing it has had a deep impact on my life, changing my whole outlook on the world. Thank you to everyone involved in its production. If i'm one day lucky enough to be blessed with children and I have a boy and a girl, I'll name them Jon and Chance.