True Crimes (2016) Reviews

• Two years later the ratings drop down

  john-demetriou-jd2018-06-03

  This movie was initiallly released in Europe. In 2016. Up until then the ratings had it at 7.6 Then it gets re-released to US and worldwide as Dark Crimes. Then the ratings and reviews drop it down to under 5. So you understand the differences of opinion here. I liked the movie. It is slow paced yes, but it does not drag too long. I enjoyed the filmography and the direction of scene (it actually reminded me of Mr Robot) with a slight twist at the end. All the shot/reverse-shot scenes between Jim Carrey and Marton Csokas were amazing. And Jim Carrey playing the cold detective is also very good. I recommend it, unfortunately, others do not becuase it's not an American cop drama with lots of shooting explosions etc. If you expect that, do not see the film

• Sad but true

  foxyking932018-05-16

  A film that in a blunt and true way shows what the real world is. It's sad but true. The world is not Wonder Woman, the world is brutal, if you are weak then you lose. It annoys me that all reviews of the film criticize the violence against women and the bluntness shown. Why? This story had to be shown just like that. The film is based on facts and these facts were brutal. Why are all reviewers so politically correct today? It limits directors! Hypocrisy is shocking because the same reviewers do not mind violence against men or bad exploitation of men but are obsessed with women. Stop. Stop to see everything through the prism of political correctness.

• Very Slow, but Good

  itsbobr2018-08-01

  Disgraced Polish Officer Tadek (Jim Carrey) wants to investigate the murder of a slain policeman to prove himself as he had botched a previous investigation. He is so obsessed with this case that he ignores his family. He finds similarities between the murder and details found in author Krystov Kozlov's (Marton Csokas) novel because the details of the actual murder were never released to the public, but Tadek sees them in the novel. He believes he has his man. This will be very slow going. In the beginning, we see a lot of nudity when scenes are shown in the sex club that Koslov goes to from time to time. After those scenes we no longer see any frontal nudity. . Talking about a sex club where girls were also tortured would have sufficed, but the Director wanted more. See? There are very few dialogues throughout especially from Tadek. As Tadek, Carrey uses a Polish accent, but I have heard better as he does it with almost no accent. Not good. And Carrey as Tedak sports a beard that makes him almost unrecognizable. I did wish that Carrey as TAdek spoke more about the case so we knew what he was thinking. Didn't happen too often. The two main characters alongside Carrey are excellent. There is Charlotte Gainsbourg as Kasia, who is Kozlov's girlfriend; and then there is Marton Csokas as Koslov and he gives off a such commanding presence, I kind of wished he was the good guy. I have always said that comedians have timing down perfectly when they go into drama. Jim Carrey has that in here. Kudos. There will be 2-twists later on. The first one almost surprised me, but the last one caught me completely by surprise. Will it surprise you? (7/10) Violence: No. Sex: Yes. Nudity: Yes. Humor: No. Language: Yes. Rating: B

• not compelling

  ferguson-62018-05-18

  Greetings again from the darkness. A neo-noir "inspired by actual events" and based on a compelling 2008 "New Yorker" article by the great David Grann (THE LOST CITY OF Z) seems to have the necessary components for a satisfying thriller. So what went wrong? Unfortunately, a messy script from Jeremy Brock (THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND) prevents this one from ever having a chance at grabbing our attention, much less holding it. This is the first English language film from director Alexandros Avranas (MISS VIOLENCE, 2013) and his cast is led by Jim Carrey as police inspector Tadek, a disgraced cop who takes care of his elderly mother while also obsessing over the now coldcase that ruined his career. Carrey sports a Polish accent through "most" of his performance ... a performance that is mostly subdued, especially given his career. Joining him as co-leads in the cast are two other excellent actors: Martin Csokas and Charlotte Gainsbourg. Csokas plays Kozlow, the main antagonist and suspect - an author with clues to the key murder highlighted in his novel. Ms. Gainsbourg is underutilized as Kasia, the former sex worker, now intimate acquaintance of Kozlow. She is the key to solving the case. Grann's article entitled "True Crimes: A Postmodern Murder Mystery" told the story of novelist/convicted murderer Krystian Bala. It's an article worth reading and one that bears only passing resemblance to this screen adaptation. The film is purposefully drab, bleak, dark, grey and dour, with a stark, cold look to the characters and most every scene. Tadek is a man on a mission to save his reputation, even at the expense of his family life, or really any life at all. The game of cat and mouse between Tadek and Kozlow never reaches the level of tension that the film seems to think it does ... even in the one-on-one interrogation scene or the seemingly endless blabbering of the recordings Tadek listens to. There is a terrific international cast of supporting actors including Vlad Ivanov, Robert Wieckiewicz, Piotr Glowacki and Agata Kulesza, but the cast is only able to do so much with the material. Perhaps the draw is supposed to be Jim Carrey is the darkest role of his career. On the bright side, the story is neatly wrapped up at the end thanks to one character who deserves a "win".

• I wanted to like this movie ....

  NpMoviez2018-06-03

  I would've never known about this if it wasn't for RT, and I would've been fine. But at the same time, I don't think it is as terrible as the critics and a lot of people claim it to be - but isn't good either. It is not original or unique. Also, it is not a typical Hollywood cop drama with shootouts and explosions, in fact, it is not a cop drama. It is a psychological crime thriller. That's the best way in which I can describe it. It is dark and filthy. It has a considerable amount of violent "intimate" scenes and some graphic scenes quite similar to that. So, if you find those grose - don't check it out. Speaking of the story, it has one of the most generic "previously prestigious cop due to some recent past events is now living a miserable life with a broken family and wants his prestige back" character played by Jim Carrey. And, a lot of it feels like an adaptation of "Basic Instinct" (1992) rather than some real events it claims to be - with some minor alterations. There is an author who writes erotic stories and is suspected to be the one behind it - but just not what it turns out to be in "Basic Instinct". The scenes, psychological manipulations, etc seem so similar to it - with different interpretations. Whatever they did with Carrey's character is simply the obvious cliché of what happens to a generic character like this in a dark world set up by the movie. The first reveal was predictable - after you know what's going on. And, it was the most obvious thing again. Doesn't make the movie worse, but at the same doesn't make it better. The second reveal was something I didn't really see coming in the way it did. But it feels really too much of a lazy writing and over the top. And, the way Carrey deduces things in the way he does while investigating is also something we've seen a number of different times. I didn't hate the pacing and the way it was going - I thought it was fine. Jim Carrey gives a very nice performance on his part. I loved him in this movie. I have seen his "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "The Mask" and absolutely loved them. And besides these, I might have seen Ace Ventura movies and probably "Bruce Almighty". I don't recall watching him in a role like this and giving a performance like this. But again, I have watched only few of his movies. So, I don't know if he has done a similar role and given a more powerful performance. Sadly, on the whole I found it frustrating. I really wanted to like this movie, but I couldn't. Score : 4/10 Grade : D+ Label : Okay, okay .... f**k! Nothing there