New movie reviews, DVD reviews, interviews, and all things film.

Follow Me

• Dark Shadows ***
• Darling Companion **1/2
• God Bless America ***
• Marvel's The Avengers ***1/2
• ReGeneration ***
• Sound of My Voice ***
• The Pirates! Band of Misfits ***1/2
• The Raven ***
• Safe **1/2
• The Lucky One 1/2*
• 4:44 Last Day on Earth **1/2
• Blue Like Jazz **
• The Cabin in the Woods ***1/2
• Damsels in Distress ***1/2
• Lockout **1/2
• The Three Stooges ***
• The Turin Horse ****
• We Have a Pope **1/2
• American Reunion **
• Goon ***
• More

• Bird of Paradise
• Maniac Cop
• Miss Representation
• Mother's Day (2012)
• Murder Obsession
• Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie
• Underworld Awakening
• The Vow
• Clueless
• Haywire
• Hit!
• Men in Black
• New Year's Eve
• The Red House
• More

• Peter Lord
• Abel Ferrara
• Nicholas Sparks
• Whit Stillman
• Sean Hayes
• Terence Davies
• Peter Lord Interview
• Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
• Taika Waititi
• Will Ferrell
• Interview: Ewan McGregor [SF Examiner]
• Interview: the 'Project X' stars [SF Examiner]
• Interview: Oren Moverman
• Interview: Rachel McAdams
• Interview: Ti West
• Interview: Elizabeth Banks
• 2011: The Year's Best Films
• Year's Best DVDs and Blu-Rays
• San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards
• The Decade's Ten Best Films: 2000-2009
• My Top 100 Films [Updated]
• My Top 60 Directors [Updated]
• Christmas Movies
• Essential Halloween & Horror Movies
• Cult Movies
• More Features and Interviews

• Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas, by Alonso Duralde
• Not Quite a Memoir: Of Films, Books, the World, by Judy Stone
• James Agee: The Library of America Collection, by James Agee
• Just Making Movies, by Ronald L. Davis
• More Books

• Home
• Reviews A-C
• Reviews D-F
• Reviews G-J
• Reviews K-M
• Reviews N-Q
• Reviews R-T
• Reviews U-Z

The online film magazine Combustible Celluloid offers new movie reviews, DVD reviews, film reviews, actor interviews, actress interviews, director interviews, film books and all things cinema related for the thoughtful and passionate. Online for ten years! Over 3000 reviews!

SEARCH MOVIES / CELEB

Mulholland Falls (1996)

Rating: 3 Stars (out of 4)

Reservoir Dudes

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy Mulholland Falls on DVD

The missing link between Chinatown and Reservoir Dogs, Lee Tamahori's Mulholland Falls introduces a band of independent Los Angeles cops (Nick Nolte, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn and Chazz Palminteri) who drive around wearing hats and beating people up. Tamahori spends a good deal of time showing these cool guys just walking around, crossing the street and entering buildings, just because they look so good. A plot involves a murdered mistress (Jennifer Connelly, perfectly cast as a 1950s glamourpuss) a scientist (John Malkovich) a jealous wife (Melanie Griffith) a soldier (Treat Williams) and others, and has something to do with nuclear testing, but screenwriter Pete Dexter is no Robert Towne. (Nor is he Curtis Hanson, who did this movie right the following year with L.A. Confidential.) Dexter's idea of a character trait is to put Palminteri's character in therapy and make him talk about it all the time. Despite the convoluted story, though, the amazing cast and Tamahori's command of place and time make Mulholland Falls a decent rental.

Starring: Nick Nolte, Melanie Griffith, Chazz Palminteri, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Treat Williams, Jennifer Connelly, Andrew McCarthy, John Malkovich, William Petersen, Rob Lowe, Daniel Baldwin, Aaron Neville
Written by: Pete Dexter
Directed by: Lee Tamahori
MPAA Rating: R for sexuality, violence and language
Running Time: 107 minutes
Date: November 2, 2004