WE OWN THE NIGHT

First of all, this whole American Gangster bootleg movie thing is so aggravating! I will not watch a bootleg movie, I feel like that is so disrespectful. Being a movie buff & aspiring actress causes me to have strong views on this. Actor feels the same way. There's been times where people have given us bootleg movies & we don't care how clear it is, we will NOT watch it. We're planning on going to see it today. Go pay for the movie people! Stop being cheap!

Anyhoos, we saw "We Own the Night" last Saturday. For those who haven't seen the trailer, here's a brief synopsis: It's 1988 & Bobby Green (Joaquin Phoenix) is manager of a banging Russian club. Being wild, rebellious & distant from his family he changes his last name to hide the fact that he comes from a long & distinguished line of cops: his brother Joseph Grusinsky (Mark Wahlberg) is an up & coming NYPD officer & dad Burt (Robert Duvall) is the deputy chief. NYC's drug trade is escalating & he keeps his distance from the Russian gangster that's operating out of his club. Joseph raids Bobby's club to arrest the Russian gangster & the war starts from there.

This is an emotionally charged story filled with love, hatred, rebels, gangsters, drugs, sex, loyalty, revenge, family, and everything inbetween. Bobby has to choose between his blood & street family, his girlfriend & career, and living or dying. It was a good movie, but not as action packed as we expected. It focuses more on relationships, internal & external, than action, which isn't a bad thing. The trailer was explosive so we thought that they were gonna kick alot of ass but... not as much as we'd like. haha. And being a Mark Wahlberg fan I was biased & disappointed that he didn't get alot of screen time. The whole movie was really about Joaquin Phoenix & I don't like him as much. His character was powerful but I feel like him & Mark Wahlberg should've switch roles.

The rest of the cast are personal favs & their characters were great: Mark Wahlberg looks good in a uniform, Robert Duvall (Godfather consigliere, come on!) is a great father & respectable officer, and Eva Mendes is sexy, supportive & strikes a good balance between being a ride or die chick & keeping her & Bobby from getting killed.

The opening sequence caught us off guard but in a good way; it was wild. lol. Watch it & you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. The ending wasn't as explosive as the culmination of events had led us to expect but it was a decent completion. We felt like they showed too much "middle" & ran out of time/money for the ending & had to rush it. The rain sequence was banging though. It was one of the most intense & heartfelt scenes that we've seen in a picture. Overall I give this movie a 3 1/2 out of 5 stars. It's not Oscar worthy but I don't regret my $8.25. Go see it & judge for yourself!

WE OWN THE NIGHT

"Better to be judged by twelve than carried by six."