La rivière du crime

I was kinda looking forward to this movie having seen some of the media pictures and after watching 15mins of it, I was ready to take a nap. Ray Liota has never really been the 'up-front' guy that you expect to see in a movie like this and he does nothing to change the outlook in this movie either. Often seen walking around with his pot-belly sticking out and frequently mouthing a bunch of 'cliched' sentences, his character is so different from the portrayed 'guy who has slept with hundred's of women and even old flames can't keep there hands off' type of guy that the weak script calls for. The story is weak to the point of being funny. Its like the script for this has been made up from scenes and lines from some of the (much) better offerings in this genre. All of the characters are way too predictable and offer nothing that hasn't already been done to death. I even found the soundtrack also very annoying and repetitive. I'm no real film buff nor a real movie critic but this movie really owes everything it makes from the promotion. Unfortunately, if you pay to see this you'll come out of the movie theater feeling ripped off.

I mean I wasn't expecting a blockbuster hit but this movie is just pitiful. To begin the movie wastes no time getting the ball rolling but the mood is far from suspenseful or thrilling. Each scene just kind of drags on to the next with a stale sense of predictability. The killer is so obviously revealed early on and lacks any real depth or originally outside of the lame stigma appointed to the character. The music doesn't help much as it sounds like the same continual track being repeated from the beginning to the end of the movie. The pace is lackluster, uneventful and plays out mediocre at best. Overall this movie suffers from a weak run of the mill script that fails to draw in the audience to the point where you don't care to finish the movie. Sorry to say but this movie is truly boring.

Okay, there's been a plethora of serial murder type movies in the last 20 years. Is this just another one ? Probably. It's not exactly ground breaking but it is fast paced and keeps you guessing. It is unique in some ways because although it exposes the killer fairly early on it conceals their motive until late in the movie. I've always considered Ray Liotta a 'B Grade' actor, guilty far too often of merely reading his lines and showing fake emotion. Whilst there are times when he's guilty of these shortcomings again in this movie, his performance for most part is solid and convincing. The support cast is equally strong and the underrated Christian Slater also shines but is sadly lacking in screen time. A haunting soundtrack and tight dialogue makes for enjoyable movie if the genre is your thing. Recommended viewing 8/10

I have to admit I'm not a big fan of Ray Liotta's. I've seen him in a lot of films, but usually in a co-starring or secondary capacity, and usually as a psycho, but the trailer looked good (don't they always?) so I watched this one.

The River Murders is surprisingly good. Liotta does a decent job portraying an aging cop victimized by a serial killer for some unknown reason. His character is mostly believable (100 women? Really? And you remember all of their names?) as he looks into reasons why his past lovers are suddenly being killed off. Severely underused actors Christian Slater and Ving Rhames go along for the ride as an FBI agent who thinks Liotta's the one killing the women, and his boss, who suspends him pending further investigation.

Although you figure out early who the real killer is the movie keeps you guessing the reasons why until the end and, even though he's a little over the top religiously, is believable.

This isn't the greatest movie you'll ever see, and it does have it's flaws, but you won't walk away thinking you killed an hour and a half for nothing.

Ray Liotta and Christian Slater are names, for whom you would say they are A class actors. So they are, however they cannot save poor scenario and a poor movie. Furthermore, such a movie does not bring them some good reputation and in future I will apparently have to avoid movies in which they will be acting. An hour and a half of your life spent to watch this movie is a period, which you will never get back. It is a poor TV-like movie with unrealistic scenario. (well, at least for majority of us normal, ordinary people, family guys). Very poor developed characters. Christian Slater role is marginal, not developed, his role could have been played by any guy from the street who never acted before. Just forget it ... grab a book or go for a walk ...