A most peculiar story, in which a small time hood falls in love while getting mixed up in gangland violence... but then there's the other half, involving the hood's sister and her obsession with an online video game. I can't really say it works as a whole, but it works in pieces, each half intriguing in its own quiet way, even if the two never gel together.

3/4

[Viewed for Dave's Couch Film Festival 2025]

Grimy, glum, and oh so boring. It's not a great sign when you step out to the bathroom without pausing the movie not because you don't think you'll miss anything but because you're hoping to miss everything.

1/4

[Viewed for Dave's Couch Film Festival 2025]

It never lives up to the magic, the electricity, the perfection of the opening scene, but hell, what could?

It comes darn close at times. The more kinetic the movie gets, the better; there's a vibrancy here that can't be bottled, and whenever De Palma lets loose, watch out, this thing is a firecracker. The cast is game, the music is on fire, but it's the visuals - those gorgeous, twisted visuals - that make everything sing.

3.5/4

[Viewed for #Oscar1974]