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Reviews
Dirty (2005)
Wasted talent
Collins is one of my favorite actors, and Gooding has shown that he is a major talent. While they both portrayed their characters well, I thought the whole thing was a waste. I saw it on cable TV where it was described as a "gritty" police drama. Gritty to me means that it shows how life really is, warts and all, and it isn't pretty. This wasn't gritty; it was sordid. It was *way* over the top in portraying police corruption. Are there corrupt cops? Sure, go ahead and portray them, it would be interesting. But these characters, particularly Gooding's, were so far beyond corrupt that it became ludicrous instead of unveiling corruption. There wasn't a single interaction Gooding's character had, that wasn't a betrayal, a lie, a theft, an insult, an act of violence, or a molestation. The word "mother******" was probably used four hundred times. Watching it, instead of being an interesting drama, just became depressing. Collins' character showed signs of a conscience, and of gradually being corrupted, and was the more believable of the two. I really hate to see great talent like this wasted.
Zabriskie Point (1970)
Bus scene
I never saw the movie, but I was an extra in it, and participated in a scene on a bus that was filmed at the Santa Monica Police Station. (My entire film career. We were a bunch of anti-war protesters and were recruited for the scene). The director told us to walk around in the bus. Then a few minutes later he came on the bus with a megaphone and told us to show some life, to run around and make some noise. We did so, and then he again came on board and told us to be quiet this time. As the filming was taking place there were mirrors reflecting the fading sunlight on to the side of the bus, and by this time it was getting dark. I don't know if the scene ever made it into the movie and would like to find out. One day I hope to find the movie at a video rental store so I can see my great film career, probably about 3 seconds long. Brent Poirier Las Cruces NM 2007.