American Crime (2004)

Too much of everything

As Good As It Gets

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Ever since Blair Witch Project, movies with little or no plot use a documentary style to fill up the 1 and a half hours, or so, they're given by the film company.This piece of trash is no exception. It starts off well - the first five minutes a teeny bit scary-ish - but then drops into this very tiresome documentary mode, full of crap interviews, laced with painfully unfunny "humour" and "wit".The guy hosting the documentary is annoying enough with what sounds like a fake British accent. And the make-up sucks. He's obviously heavily made up to look like someone he isn't. Maybe perhaps a spoof on a real TV news host! Who knows! And the character Jesse St Clair, played by Rachael Leigh Cook, wears this badly-made blonde wig that's obviously too big for her head. The sets, the script, the plot, the make-up department, not forgetting the embarrassing acting, all make for a movie to avoid at all costs.I had to steel myself not to get passed the first twenty minutes without whizzing through to the end.Dire. Zero out of ten if I could give zero. Unfortunately, I'm stuck with a one!

The crew of a television of a small town composed of the reporter Jesse St. Claire (Rachel Leigh Cook), her lesbian supervisor Jane Berger (Annabella Sciorra) and the intern cameraman Rob Latrobe (Kip Pardue) are investigating the disappearance of the stripper Diana Cox (Julie Cialini). Rob received a videotape and found the shooting of another woman, Linda Mitchell (Amy Arce), in the same video, and he is convinced that the killer stalked his victims while filming them. When Jesse vanishes without a trace, the reporter Albert Bodine (Cary Elwes) from the syndicated television show "American Crime" joins the team in their investigation.First of all, I can not say if "American Crime" is a thriller supposed to be funny or a dark comedy. Indeed, it is a very boring low budget movie, with a promising beginning, but silly in the end story. Cary Elwes is simply awful, being a caricature of the most important character of the plot with one of the worst performances I have ever seen. Consequently, the direction is terrible, wasting what could have been a good story. My vote is three.Title (Brazil): "Crimes em Série" ("Crimes in Series")

This is a great movie for what it is. The story I like, the docu-cam feel helps, RLC is in it and she's looking well, shame she's gone blonde.The highlight of the film, and why I like it so much is Cary Elwes... his part in this was great, the comic relief of watching him lose it is fantastic, he does go over the top, but not as much as he did in Saw which, I liked him in.No to give away any thing from the end, but I liked the fact that the whole film wasn't 100% explained... much better than a crazy yeah dumb twist like in Saw.for a lighthearted horror with toned down gore and a peeping tom killer then give it a go. If not then rent out Red Eye that was also a great show.Enjoy the show!

A series of gruesome murders has brought terror to a small town, and they are made all the more horrible by the method by which they are documented. The killer stalks his victims with a video camera, recording their every move before he strikes; he then sends a tape of the killing to his next victim. Jessie St. Clair (Racheal Leigh Cook) is a young reporter who sees her shot at a big break and goes for it, launching an investigation into the murder of a topless dancer; she is assisted by her cameraman Rob (Kip Pardue) and her producer Jane Berger (Annabella Sciorra). But before Jessie gets any closer to the truth, she receives a videotape in the mail, and she knows she's next on the killer's list. As tensions mount and the murderer closes in, the whole crew begins to suspect one another; the arrival of solitary reporter Albert Bodine (Cary Elwes), sent by the nationally syndicated show "AMERICAN CRIME", only serves to heighten their misgivings. This stylish, suspenseful thriller boasts the excellent digital cinematography of director Dan Mintz, and is sure to keep audiences guessing right up to the end.