L.A. Confidential (1997)

Directed by Curtis Hanson
Written by Brian Helgeland and Curtis Hanson, based on the novel by James Ellroy
Starring Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kevin Spacey, Kim Basinger, Danny DeVito

My Advice: Don't Miss It.

One of the best stories I have seen on the screen in a long time.  And a refreshing change of pace from all of the crapola we've been given this year.  Despite considering myself a movie geek of the second degree--Hanson, Crowe, Pearce--who are these guys?!  Don't get me wrong, you've got solid performances by DeVito and James Cromwell, Kevin Spacey is excellent which goes without saying and we get probably the best performance by Basinger to date--but the show is run by the characters of Crowe and Pearce, who I pray that we see on the big screen again very soon.  Crowe's tortured avenger and Pearce's ambitious second-generation cop are the best character interps I've seen in a while.  The twists and interconnected turns of the film keep you guessing until the very end, and it leaves you feeling satisfied (an emotion that Hollywood has forgotten of late) as to how everything turned out.  No surprises as to why this one will give Titanic a run for its money come Oscartime.