| The Yards | | Cast : | Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix, Charlize Theron | | Director : | James Gray | | Studio : | Miramax Home Entertainment | | Format : | Color | | Released Date : | January 01, 2000 | | DVD Released Date : | January 13, 2004 | | Language : | English (Original Language), French (Original Language), Spanish (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | June 12, 2005 | | Summary | Interesting plot! | Content
 | Three dramatic vertices converge in this smart script: The painful stunt's death and the sad memories left behind in a famous director characterized precisely by his dangerous EFX; a murder who has been hired to kill him; and the last act of love redemption when the things are out of control and you have no time to put the things in its real context.
Interesting thriller that shines by the presence of James Caan as the fallen in disgrace director and Mathew Broderick as the mercenary. Some problems with the poor photography diminish the sum of the final result.
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| Rating | | | Date | July 18, 2004 | | Summary | GRITTY NOIR THAT MOODILY TRIPS ON ITS HACKNEYED LINE | Content
| Ten minutes into the film I was drawn into the noirish pace and presentation, and a theme of how inconvenient life is when someone who's tainted as an ex-convict wants to straighten himself out. The feeling of paranoia is well achieved, partly because of the brooding score and very well-toned cinematography. But what kills the movie is its derivative story -- the strinking semblance to Godfather, City Hall, Heat, James Caan's own The Thief, and about a hundred other crime capers is hard to overlook. To make matters worse, the plot is also sloppily constructed such that it can't resolve itself without losing its grip on the tension that it creates. James Caan is sharp as he brings his snakey charm into the role, come to think of it, all actors do very well to maintain the general grit, including a power-crazed Joaquin Phoenix and the good-hearted criminal Wahlberg. But about halfway through the movie the denouement already peeped out, making the rest of the proceedings merely a formality. Probably a decent rental for anyone who likes crime procedurals with family businesses going over the top in tandem with public officials, but not exactly an astounding achievement in cinema. |
| Rating | | | Date | February 12, 2004 | | Summary | TRAIN OF THOUGHT | Content
| Director James Gray has elicited some marvelous performances from a really eclectic cast: Oscar winners Ellen Burstyn and Faye Dunaway play domestic characters with the professional verve they always bring; Oscar nominees Charlize Theron, James Caan and Joaquin Phoenix are superb in their roles as Wahlberg's cousin, best friend and uncle-in-law; and then we have Mark Wahlberg, Steve Lawrence and Tony Musante rounding out the cast. This is Wahlberg's shining moment; he has none of the macho bravado usually associated with him, and his performance is complex, multi-faceted and courageous. Caan is also brilliant, and someday he'll get the Oscar he deserves. Phoenix also shows great emotional depth in his role as a borderline sociopath. Theron proves that she is not just a pretty face, but a capable and engaging actress. The film's slow pace is in line with the psychological nuances of the film. I'd never heard of it until I saw a trailer on another video. An outstanding film. Highly recommended. |
| Rating | | | Date | February 07, 2004 | | Summary | Fascinating character study though clearly not for everyone | Content
| Some films simply seem to divide people. The Yards is such a film. As the plot has been hashed over in these reviews many times, I won't go into it. What I will say is that The Yards almost perfectly captures it's subject matter. Everything about the characters, the locations, etc. FEELS like modern day Queens a little bit south of the right side of the tracks.
Mark Wahlberg, as the central character, gives what I think is the performance of his career. The melancholy and regret that he brings to his character, who has recently been released from prison for a stupid, youthful "crime of exhuberance" will draw in anyone who likes getting inside the head of strong, silent characters. This is a complex psychological drama without a single loud bang or crash, so those who require such pyrotechnics to be entertained will probably be very bored. Having noted that, for those who can slip easily into the rich interplay of about a dozen different perfectly acted characters and into a realistic and fascinating description of one aspect of modern day organized crime, the Yards is a real treat. Every character, no matter how minor, has an arc of their own, and every character, whether ostensibly "good" or "bad" can be understood and sympathized with. Far from black or white, The Yards lives in shades of gray, much like we all do. Recommended. |
| Rating | | | Date | November 06, 2003 | | Summary | thumbs up is right | Content
| this is a good movie about Mark Wahlberg who comes back after some period and starts working for his friend Joaquin Pheonix and his dad James Caan. anyway while at The Yards someone gets killed by Pheonix and things start to heat up. good performances all around, especially Wahlberg and the psycho Pheonix. Pheonix finds out that Wahlberg was in love one time with I think Charlize Theron's his cousin, yeah his cousin and then Pheonix tries to pin the murder on Wahlberg and it just bellys into a series of emotions and chaos when Pheonix accidently kills Theron. James Caan, Ellen Burstyn and Faye Dunaway also star |
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