Cebalord Very best movie i ever watch

Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Mjeteconer Just perfect...

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Skytze Eztyks Just not that great. The era that this movie was supposed to take place in was a bigger mystery to me than the actual mystery the detective was to be solving. Main character looks to be from the 70s, drives late 70s car, uses payphones, no computers in the movie, etc. But, there is one scene in front of a convenience store where the sign above clearly says LIKE US ON FACEBOOK. As well, other cars seen are more modern, as well as the background people's dress style. I don't know, laziness in making it appear truly 1970s, or is it present day and this guy is just severely old-school? I enjoyed the Buffalo setting, as I've been there numerous times myself, but the era thing really bothered me.

Mark Turner The genre known as "film noir" is probably as popular now as when it reached it's heyday in the 40s and 50s. Described as films that were "marked by a mood of pessimism, fatalism, and menace" the genre was best represented by films like DOUBLE INDEMNITY, THE THIRD MAN and THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE. It almost always had a flawed hero who more often than not ran afoul of the law and in some instances lost not only the girl but his life as well. Attempts have been made to replicate the genre, some good and some bad. THE American SIDE does a good job covering the style but at times gets too confusing for its own good.Charlie Paczynski (Greg Stuhr who also helped write the screenplay), is a private eye in the Niagara Falls area who makes a living helping set up the spouses of his clients and then taking pictures he can use to blackmail them with. While never stated you get the impression this wasn't always the way but what he has turned to in an effort to make a living now. With regular assistant Kat, a dancer at a local gentleman's club, he gets the pictures he needs with ease. Until one night when he hears gunshots and sees the car she was in disappear.Charlie then begins a search for Kat trying to find out what happened to her. As he does so he finds himself drawn into more than he bargained for. As he begins his search he's hired by a woman named Nikki Meeker to find a missing person. Following leads from Kat's last meeting he tracks down Tom Soberin (Harris Yulin), the man she was with only to find that the man is the missing person he was looking for. A brief meeting at the falls and minutes later Soberin is found dead.Things get even more complicated when Charlie is approached by a young woman in a dark alley for help who claims to be Nikki Meeker. As if this weren't confusing enough Charlie soon finds himself talking to a reclusive millionaire business partner (Robert Forster) who knew Soberin, a brother and sister pair (Matthew Broderick and Camilla Belle) who were his partners and interested in Soberin as well, learns more about what is really going on from the real Nikki Meeker and is approached by a strange government agent with ties to DARPA.All of it revolves around a discovery made by Nikolas Tesla decades in the past, a discovery worth killing for. It seems that when Tesla died the FBI swept into his home and took away all of his documents and work that was left. With the exception of a missing notebook. Now a single page from that notebook is the main focus of every character in the movie. But all Charlie wants to do is find justice for Kat and stay alive at the same time.Confused? Actually what you've read so far will make things clearer for you if you watch the movie. While watching it if you deviate from the film for just a moment odds are you'll find yourself scratching your head wondering what happened and what is going on. Even odder is that while you'll find yourself lost more than once in this movie it won't make a difference. It still offers an entertaining film that is well made and gives you more story than any ten multi-million dollar films from the Hollywood factory. When it was over I found myself wondering what I had just watched while at the same time thinking maybe I'd like to watch it again.The number of cameos in the film makes you believe that the actors involved at least thought they were making something good. In addition to those mentioned Robert Vaughan makes a brief appearance as Soberin's neighbor and MURPHY BROWN's Grant Shaud is a victim of Charlie's that happens to be a scholar of all things Tesla whose help is quite handy. Then again maybe the names are bigger to me than many young people will recognize today. Stuhr does a great job in the lead, at times reminding me of films made by Burt Reynolds when he was much younger.If you're willing to take the time to watch and pay attention this movie mystery may be right up your alley. But don't watch it while doing laundry, while the kids are running around the room screaming at each other or while painting your toenails. You have to stick with it. If you do you might find yourself enjoying the film and rediscovering a genre that isn't replicated well very often.

Tyler Kidwell Saw this film at an independent movie theater and plan to rent it to watch again. Quite frankly, it requires a second viewing because of its very intricate plot. I've read some reviews on here that make me think the reviewers went into the film expecting a more sensationalists film with lots of nudity and violence and were inevitably disappointed. This movie is much more of an art house film stylistically, actually the kind of movie that would've been in the mainstream theaters in the 70's. It's a great alternative to the current slate of Hollywood thrillers, where one action sequence is piled on another and the dialogue is totally generic. This movie moves along at a decent clip, but might seem slow if you're used to hyper kinetic editing. There is minimal violence, no sex or even nudity, and barely a curse word. There's some patter to the dialogue, but it's not self-aware.The actors (a lot you will recognize) all seem to buy into the world of the story and play it straight, which is something I personally prefer over all the smugly oh-so-clever dialogue we usually see today. To his credit, the lead actor, who co-wrote the script, surprisingly underplays his great banter and one-liners, the way actors used to before feeling the need to wink at the camera like they do now. I'd actually like to see this character again in another mystery. The real strength of the movie is the growing sense of a larger conspiracy that the down-on-his-luck detective has stumbled into. The stakes keep getting raised and the alliances keep shifting, and we're trying to sort it all out right along with the detective. Ultimately, that's the fun of this movie and why I want to see it again.

Ty Dibble Fun movie - exciting chase through the mystery and thrills of one of our countries greatest inventors - Nikola Tesla within one of the great wonders of the US - Niagara Falls. Surprising twists and a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the inside of fascinating places like the Niagara Power Plant. It may seem slow at first, but pay attention, it all matters. You will want to buy it, it is much better the second time around when you see how things fit together. Well made, well acted, many laugh out loud moments. You get to see familiar actors in unfamiliar settings. Robert Vaughn doing very good comedy. Matthew Broderick as the Bad Guy! Greg Stuhr as a PI in over his head, and Robert Forster at his Noir best. Enjoy!