richlandwoman

This, for me, was mostly a solid eight, but the last few minutes trailed off in a disappointingly undramatic, almost perfunctory manner -- even if you grant that such an ending is consistent with the subject matter (retirement).

Otherwise, though, I really liked the level of detail in the script and the performances, including De Niro's. In contrast to the ending, the rest of the movie is filled with moments that are presented quietly but remain dramatic. Just a few examples - - the light-hearted back-and-forth when De Niro's Costello calls into question the legality of a Detective's extremely important search; Costello's brief explanation of why he was willing to shake someone's hand; a number of occasions when the paranoid, psychotic Genovese (also De Niro) is nevertheless right in his suspicions; and a moment when, even in the midst of every-man-for-himself panic, one gangster gives his arm to his elderly boss.

Worth seeing, despite the weak ending.

Until almost the end, this film does an exceptional job of accurately concentrating the plot and characterization of Conrad's great novel into a fairly short running time. The performances are all good to excellent, with Cedric Hardwicke particularly well cast as the languidly menacing Mr. Jones. And the direction and photography are occasionally inventive - especially memorable is the arrival of the three main antagonists, first seen as fast moving shadows that seem to emerge from the neck of the dark carriage horse that has brought them into town.

Unfortunately, the novel's incredibly moving and complex ending is replaced by a totally different, Hollywood, conclusion, which isn't awful but also isn't particularly good.

I've watched a lot of zombie movies and TV over the years, and I thought All of Us Are Dead was among the best. The action was often incredibly exciting and tense, and the high school students' developing relationships seemed emotionally believable to me. (I mostly watched in Korean with English subs - the English dubbing struck me as weak, causing many dialogue exchanges to sound stilted and overacted.)

Also, even when I like an action show where a group of characters is in constant danger, I usually think repeatedly, "You're such an idiot, you deserve to be killed." But I can't remember thinking that here. Sometimes the characters make mistakes, but, to me at least, they're realistic mistakes that might actually happen in stressful moments.

Anyway, it's the rare new series like this one that keeps me from cancelling Netflix.