SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Ultimately too Ugly for its own good. Yes, the Andy Warhol Proclamation is a Psychologically Ugly Thing that may Motivate many Disturbed Individuals to Commit Heinous Acts to acquire Their said 15 Minutes of Fame. But Wallowing in the Close-Ups and the Bile of this extremely Excessive Mocking Mirror, a Reflection of its own Satirical Target, may be too much for the Normal Psyche to endure.Robert De Niro, Edward Burns, and some Actors in Pre-Star Roles such as Vera Farmigo, Charlize Theron, and others Fade In and Out of this Over the Top display of a Media Gone Nuts, Exploiting Nutcases and Vile Criminals. There is a lot of Shaky Camera, doubly so, because the Cinematographer Shakes the Camera with Whip Pans and general Jitter, and the on screen Amateur Vidiot's Visuals are Shown to the Audience anytime He presses Record. It Gets to be an Overload on the Senses and distracts with Nauseating Regularity. The Movie is Sickening.It is Unappealing with its Ugly looking, sweaty Villains doing Nasty Things to Anyone who gets In Their way. Their Motivation is Disturbing and Focused on with Loving Tight Closeups sometimes Bathed in SFX for that Extra Gleam. It's basically Just One Unattractive Thing After Another happening until the Loud and Frenetic Ending that may or may not be Cathartic depending if You Buy into any of this.If You like Lurid and Loud, Shaky Camera, and Ultra-Violence, and have a Stomach of Steel, This One's might be for You. But have the Peptol-Bismol at the Ready.

15 Minutes (2001): Dir: John Herzfeld / Cast: Robert De Niro, Edward Burns, Kelsey Grammar, Vera Farmiga, Karel Roden: Thriller where two psychotic killers commit murders via camcorder as if it was their 15 minutes of fame. They believe that the media will support them in their plea of insanity. Robert De Niro plays a celebrity cop who arrives upon crime sites with cameras trailing him. Edward Burns plays a rookie cop who believes that a woman on the scene is connected. Kelsey Grammar plays a talk show host hoping to make a name for himself filming De Niro's investigations. Great concept is well directed by John Herzfeld who plays this like a reality TV segment. De Niro does well as the celebrity cop investigating the crime. He is set to propose to his girlfriend before tragedy strikes. He is involved in a nonsense scene where he fights two guys while taped to a chair. Burns steals the film as the rookie cop pushed to the limits when someone close to him is murdered for entertainment. When made a concluding offer he answers with swift aggression. Grammar as the media host is a corrupt sort who learns rather bluntly that Burns cannot be bought. Vera Farmiga plays a witness whom the killers track down through escort services. Karel Roden and Oleg Taktarov are well cast as the criminals and they steal the film with their media frenzy and 15 minutes. Score: 9 / 10

Society's fascination with murderers is in itself so fascinating that people can't stop making films about the notion. Oliver Stone's "Natural Born Killers" may have covered everything there was to cover on the subject, but that shouldn't suggest "15 Minutes" has no right to exist. Everything in this movie has sorta been done before, but that doesn't hurt it at all. You have your semi-likable good guys, you have your repulsive bad guys, here and there there's a surprise built in, what more could you really hope for? Writer/director John Herzfeld manages to keep the pace high, but is clearly not that into subtlety and creates some very unbelievable story elements. I love how Hollywood still thinks you can avoid every sentence there is by pleading insanity. It's a bit more complex than that, guys. Still, "15 Minutes" is quite an enjoyable ride, rough around the edges but it does make you think.

This movie starts out interestingly enough, but right from the start it suffers from Identity crisis. Who's the main character? Bad guys, good guys? Firemen? Police? It has split your attention 3 ways and it's not easy to enjoy from that mistake. Also, the film is supposed to be funny sometimes, and you think Deniro has a new sidekick. Is it a comedy? Is it a drama? Is it a cop movie? Or a news movie? Then before you know it, the character they spent the whole movie teaching you about:with details about his love life, his crime scene investigation, his history with the media, is dead. Not a good way to go 3/4 of a way through. If Titanic had detailed the lives of 5 characters on board the ship, killed of Jack before the boat went down, made the ice berg a character, and gone in so many directions it would have been a flop too. The producers new they had a flop on their hands, and they tried to fix it by releasing it late. Woops....did not work.