Crappy film

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.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

There's really only one reason you'll sit through Broken City: to watch three good-looking people up on the big screen. It's always a more enjoyable movie when the stars are pretty to look at, isn't it? In this one, Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe, and Catherine Zeta-Jones headline, but it's really only Catherine who looks particularly pretty. Russell has a strange hairdo and Mark just looks tired.Ex-cop Mark is a private detective, and Russell, the mayor of New York City calls in a favor. He's up for re-election, and he thinks his wife Catherine is cheating on him. To pre-empt the tabloids and opposition team, he asks Mark to spy on her and find evidence. But there's much more than meets the eye. . .To be honest, there's a lot more than meets the eye, and it's called a handheld camera. I went to see this movie with my mom, who suffers from vertigo, and the film was so devastating to her health, it took her over two years to fully recover. The camera is nearly constantly moving, turning, and swerving, and there are several scenes with strobing police lights, so if you suffer from the same ailment, stay very far away from this movie.As far as "dirty politician double-crosses the average Joe" movies go, Broken City isn't above average. It's pretty predictable and will only really appeal to fans of the cast. Young, impressionable girls who want to drool over Mark Wahlberg and young, impressionable boys who want to drool over Catherine Zeta-Jones will probably be the happiest audience members. Rent it, you youngsters, for a fun date night!DLM warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie is not your friend. It's exclusively filmed with a handheld, active camera, and there are several scenes with strobing police lights. It will make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"

I was majorly impressed with Allen Hughes of the Hughes brothers 'Broken City'. I've seen a lot of political crime dramas before, but none like this. This particular story dives into the deep dark corners of politics and the police force in New York City at the end of a big mayoral election. I'm calling it now. Brian Tucker's debut screenplay deserves at least an Oscar nomination for next year. This multi layered drama and its intense characters made this film shine above the rest in its genre.We focus on the trail end of a mayoral election campaign between the incumbent Mayor Hostetler (Russel Crowe) and the new young and rich opponent Jack Valliant (Barry Pepper), who both are trying to win the people of New York over housing and tax issues. However there are a lies, betrayals, murders, and other atrocious acts of violence and crime that riddle this complex story.We see the film through the eyes of Detective Billy Taggart (Mark Wahlberg), who was forced to quit the police force by Mayor Hostetler several years ago due to a crime scene gone wrong. Now present day during the tail end of the new mayoral race, Taggart has opened a Private Investigative practice and works with his assistant Katy (Alona Tal). Business is very good for Taggart, though his clients haven't been paying him on time, and he is owed over $40k in completed work, or else he might have to shut down his practice. Much to his fortune, Mayor Hostetler calls Taggart and hires him to take pictures of his wife Cathleen (Catherine Zeta- Jones) and find out who she is having an affair with. Taggart accepts the job in that the Mayor has just given him more than what he is owed from all of his clients.From here on out, we are led into a dark territory that seems to fall under the noir category as we find clue after clue that adds another twist to the story and we find out it wasn't just an affair the mayor's wife was having. I've never seen a film where every character hates one another. Sure, Taggart and his assistant work well together, but there is not a scene that goes by with them together where she doesn't call him an "asshole." And we don't only get the relationships between politicians here, but each character has a family too, which all seem to have a high level of hatred and violence for one another.The script is very well done, with quick, smart dialogue that is fresh and new. Plus we get a glimpse of each characters strengths and weaknesses, which showcase just how well each character was thought out. Wahlberg did an amazing job, which I think might be his best work since 'Boogie Nights'. He shows what a tortured soul he is and how he wants to do good, even if it's his downfall. Truly remarkable. And Crowe's performance is perfectly played out as a charming and witty politician with a very sinister undertone. Plus his New York accent is very good and believable. Zeta-Jones' character probably has the most depth and mystery surrounding her. She plays it perfectly, never knowing what side she is on. Unfortunately, she receives little screen time, but when she's on, she's golden.If you're looking for an action crime movie, this probably isn't it, although it has a few very rough scenes with violence and a small car chase, but this film mostly relies on smart dialogue, two-faced characters, and surprises at every turn to keep you on the edge of your seat, which it does from start to finish. Usually, the films that are released in January are sub-par, but 'Broken City' breaks that tradition. Highly recommended.

(28%) Guess what? Politics is dirty, filled with rich jerks using their heightened influence to push the rules to one side so they can do whatever they want. That's the already well known message here with zero of anything else to make this well-cast flop anything more than a limp, quite dull miss-hit. This has three actors who are more than capable to lead a film by themselves, yet this feels oddly directionless, uninteresting, and tepid. What also doesn't help is the fact that this isn't meaty enough to pass as a decent political crime drama, and its way too slow to be an action flick or a thriller. Mark Wahlberg looks a bit lost, Russell Crowe is in second gear, and Zeta-Jones's character could have been played by any actress. By the end it becomes all too clear why this lasted in cinemas for one single week only. Pity those who ventured to pay money to see it.

The movie was entertaining enough if you like the usual Wahlberg formula of cop-ex-cop against the establishment. One issue I always have with him is that Wahlberg mumbles his lines. He is frequently unintelligible. Another problem with the movie is C-bonics. The "writers" of a number of his movies, though not unique to him, are obviously not familiar with the rules of English. Anyone can call himself a writer or an author these days. You will frequently hear - "between you and I" - in the dialogue. Why no editor or even a minimally educated person picks this up is beyond me. There are the usual trite instances common to all movies nowadays. There is nothing new under the sun and I would not pay to see this at the movies.