Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Mulholland Falls

Top positive review

Noir wonderful

Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2021

A perfect film. Simple story. The best always are. Great acting. Great vibe. Great cars of the period. Also, nice to see Melanie before she f'd up her face. Jennifer Conolly, always nice to see. And we see alot of her. Magnificent (well, you know what's). I also appreciated all the carefree smoking. Remember back when you could smoke where and whenever you wanted to. Without having to ask permission from anybody. Hell, they smoked too.

2 people found this helpful

Top critical review

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Has many of the common features of film noir but the writing just flops

Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2020

Mulholland Falls was a neo-noir set in 1950s Los Angeles. The movie begins with a secret filming of a couple Allison Pond (Jennifer Connelly) and General Timms (John Malkovich) who was the head of the Atomic Energy Commission. Later Allison is found dead, pulverized to the point that all her bones were broken. A hardnosed Los Angeles detective team led by Max Hoover (Nick Nolte) and including Ellery Coolidge (Chazz Palminteri), Eddie Hall (Michael Madsen) and Arthur Relyea (Chris Penn) are tasked with investigating the murder which leads them to corruption in the government.

What the film does well is capture the tough guy heroes in Hoover and his team. They also represent the classic noir trope of the common man up against forces much more powerful then themselves.

What’s off about Mulholland Falls is that the story just isn’t that interesting. The audience is supposed to care about who killed Allison and all the intrigue surrounding her death but the writers just didn’t make it a good whodunnit. Without that there’s no motivation to stick with the film.
C

11 people found this helpful

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eltrojancito

Mulholland Falls Movie

Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2013

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I'd wish a 3.5 star rating had been possible. I am also biased. I have watched this movie countless times. The cast is great. IMHO the best part of this movie believe it or NOT is the soundtrack by Dave Grusin which is just terrific to listen to by itself. BTW I have it! I recorded this movie on S-VHS. Then I bought the AC-3 and DTS 5.1 laserdiscs respectively, AC-3 DVD and finally the DTS 5.1 DVD which I was very fortunate to get. I am hoping that it comes to Blu Ray DVD anytime.
I think New Zealand's Lee Tamahori is a very good director. My point is that this movie could had been improved with some directing and writing tweaks. Nick Nolte, Griffith, Palminteri and Andrew McCarthy's acting performances are definitely notable in that order. Also in this movie although NOT included in the end credits were Bruce Dern who played the Hat Squad captain and Louise Fletcher who played Esther the secretary. Both had almost cameo appearances.
Despite its flaws I highly recommend this movie and I sincerely hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

7 people found this helpful

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JayDee the Kayaker

One of the better movies - if you don't mind perpetual smoking

Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2019

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I was under the impression by the mid-90s smoking was a no-no in movies. In this one, not a minute goes by without someone lighting or smoking a cigarette or cigar. That distracted a star and a half to two stars out of me (a former heavy smoker!). Even though it may be period-correct, the constant emphasis on smoking does not contribute anything to the plot, the cinematography or the actors' performance. It just ends up being a nuisance in an otherwise very enjoyable movie.

One person found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

A fine film if you care little about plot

Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2017

Verified Purchase

Enjoyable piece of L.A. noir if you enjoy period clothes and cars. Beyond that, this films has plot holes big enough to drive a Buick through.

The entire film revolves around the main characters investigating the death of a young woman who was killed...why? Apparently because she secretly filmed the seriously ill subjects of U.S. nuclear tests in the 1950s. And just why did she film them? We have NO IDEA. Was she a Russian spy? Was her conscience bothered by seeing innocent Americans used as atomic guinea pigs? Was she going to use the film as blackmail? Again, we have NO IDEA.

Her death is the entire foundation for the film. Yet we have no clue what motivated her to make the pivotal decision of her tragically young life. So what we're left with is an empty film that tries to rely on sets, props, costumes and a syrupy musical score ...and lots of testosterone as the men swing their big...um, fists...at each other.

6 people found this helpful

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the sound barrier

Film noir lite

Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2016

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The cars are cool. The acting is passable. The Melanie Griffith and her make up are excellent. Nick Nolte is predictable. The story has a few worthy lines/themes about the few sacrificing for the masses and the ethics of truth. It lacks depth and complexity.

It’s not a total waste of time.

4 people found this helpful

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OK.

Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2021

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Lot's of great cars, great suits and lot's of smoking. As far as the story goes, it was just OK, nothing special.

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Spooky.

Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2022

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It is a bit scary to me.

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L. Ion May

Never before have I seen so many cigarettes smoked in a movie.

Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2021

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Movie wasn't great, but okay. Just can't believe all the smoking.

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wild oak

Doesn't quite click

Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2022

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This movie reminds me of Chinatown and the more recent L.A. Confidential. It has the making of another classic (as Chinatown and L.A. Confidential did), yet it doesn't quite click. The cast was solid. Music score is reminiscent of Chinatown and L.A. Confidential. Production is alright. The weakest link(s), is the mediocre directing, coupled with an average screenplay that wastes away a good plot. Cast chemistry is non-existent. Nolte is alright as the lead, but Melanie Griffith is boring. (She can't carry water for Faye Dunaway or Kim Basinger.) The other three members of the Squad are pretty charmless. It's such a disappointment, 3.5 stars at best.

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Amazon Customer

A good movie, not a great movie, but well worth watching once

Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2016

Verified Purchase

A good movie, not a great movie. Trying hard to be "Chinatown" and generally failing but not badly. MF is the story of 4 LA detectives that pretty much do what they want with the blessing of The Chief as long as he doesn't know about it too much. It's based loosely on the real life "Hat Squad" back in the 1940's and 50's. It starts off with Max (Nick Nolte doing his gruffy Ultra-Butch thing as usual) and his crew grabbing a Wiseguy from Chicago in a ROOM FULL OF A HUNDRED PERSONS, hauling him away and throwing him off Mulholland "Falls". Really? And they get away with it? One of many silly plot issues. Another is Max having an affair with The Girl. Why? Apparently to give Melanie Griffith a big crying scene at the end. I watched it and enjoyed it but would never watch it again. So if you like tough cops, looking at Jennifer Connelly mostly naked, and Film Noir-Lite movies I would recommend giving it a view.

One person found this helpful

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Chris MacCormick

All the actors are great, especially Nick Nolte and Melanie Griffith

Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2016

Verified Purchase

All the actors are great, especially Nick Nolte and Melanie Griffith. Well, maybe John Malkovitch isn't quite ideal, though he is game. But the loopy story is of a sort best tolerated in a pulp novel, and the movies within the movie are so ridiculous as to half ruin the whole experience.

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