![[Blind Spot 2019] January: LA Confidential](https://geekteller.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/blind-spot-2019-january-la-confidential-poster-809x249.jpg)
My first Blindspot entry for 2019 is LA Confidential, a movie I’ve heard everyone rave about and that I know won Oscars. Before watching it, I only associated this movie with an image of a sultry Kim Bassinger, and nothing else.
One of the most notable things about it is that “LA confidential” is a cop movie with a stellar cast. A young, bully-type Russel Crowe. An extremely smart and determined Guy Pearce (those cheekbones, man, those cheekbones). A sly, almost sleazy Kevin Spacey. An equally sleazy Danny de Vito. Young, fresh Simon Baker. And, of course, the gorgeous Kim Bassinger, who actually won an Oscar for her portrayal of Veronica Lake lookalike hooker. (I’m gonna be mean here and say she looked at least 30, if not 35, in this movie, and I wonder how old was she really and what she looks like today)
I liked the movie; I thought the story was strong and well built, especially the murder / conspiracy part (got a best Best Screenplay Oscar because of it). But to be honest, I feel like this movie would have been a TV show, at the most, in 2019. This would have not won Oscars in our days. But then again, there were different film standards back then….different acting, too. Actually, watching the ending, it reminded me of The Departed, and that got a lot of Oscars, including Best Picture, so I guess it would work today, too. Who knows?
Still, overall, I enjoyed “LA Confidential”. It’s not going into my list of Best Movies I Have Ever Seen, but it’s a good one, I’ll give it that.
For more Blind Spot Challenge info, check out Sofia’s post here. Also, here are my Blind Spot choices for this year’s challenge
Great review! I feel that way about a lot of past Oscar winners. That they wouldn’t even get near the Oscars today. I’ve never seen this one personally, I know I probably should.
Thanks! The film is good, a nice, easy movie to enjoy on a Sunday night. And yeah, there are different standards these days, I think (hope) for awards
I haven’t seen this one in a while but I remember loving it back in the day. I admittedly had a thing for Russell Crowe after Gladiator and watched anything and everything he was in! I did like the old Hollywood/50’s LA look of the movie some of Basinger’s costumes were beautiful.
And hell I think that of a lot of the movies nominated this year likely by next year we won’t remember them 🙂
Agreed on everything: Russell Crowe was really hot in this movie, the costumes were great and you’re right, most of the movies from this year’s awards circuit will be forgotten by the next show or in a couple of years. Thanks!
Such a great movie! i remember the twist near the end really surprised me in this. And yeha Kim always looked older than she was
I keep thinking I need to check how old was she in the movie, but I always forget. I will get to it someday :)) haha
Nice review! This has been on my Netflix watchlist forever, mostly for Kim Basinger, so I’ll have to give this a shot. The Oscars are kind of funny to me. There are a lot of great memorable performances/movies, and then so many others that are quite forgettable. It’s interesting to go back and see what everyone was so gaga over.
Yeah, I know. Surprisingly, it only won two Oscars, but it was nominated for more
I loved this movie. The story, as you said, is well built, the characters are interesting, the acting is great, and the dialogue is brilliant. It deserved more Oscars in my opinion. Nice review though 🙂
Thank you, although it’s not my best 🙂 I really didn’t have much to say about it….I guess I didn’t connected to it as much as most people did
This has been on my watch list for ages now but I just haven’t got round to it. You mentioned the ending reminded you of The Departed and now I’m worried – I’m in the very, very small camp of people who didn’t like it!
Hey, welcome! yeah, I did find some similarities with it, in terms of storyline, but the overall feel of it is pretty different. Try, anyway, it is a classic
Okay so… I actually haven’t seen LA Confidential yet No idea if I’d like it, but I’m honestly not rushing to see it.
Hope this month’s Blind Spot works out better for you!
I hope so, too….I have some big classics there, maybe I’ll tackle 2001 or Network, they sound great!
I love this movie, it’s a fine modern film noir and by necessity very stylized. The acting across the board is really top notch and the production design so sharp. Kim was more womanly than youthful but there was nothing in the story that intimated she should have been inherently girlish. What distracted me more was she really looked nothing like Veronica Lake which became even more noticeable when they ran the clip of the actual Veronica in This Gun for Hire. She actually favored Rita Hayworth but I suppose since they were working from the James Ellroy novel they chose to remain true to the source material.
Hey, thanks for dropping by! Interesting tidbit about Kim Bassinger looking more Rita Hayworth. I agree I am not very familiar with the golden age actresses, so I really didn’t see a difference, but it’s cool that you noticed 🙂