ThiefHott Too much of everything

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

cwade22 This movie had potential. The first time I saw it, randomly mid 2009, when I first moved to Los Angeles. It aired late at night, I was alone and thought it was a fictional movie. It was. But I decided to search the title of the movie. I ended up seeing pictures of Elizabeth Short, and I couldn't sleep for days! My first apartment was near a street called Norton Avenue! Elizabeth Short's body was dumped at the same street, albeit about 8 miles from my apartment. I imagined her crawling towards me in the dark. Ever since, I have been obsessed with this unsolved case. It's Trafic that Due to lack of clear evidence, there won't be any great, Honest depictions of Elizabeth Short's life/story. This movie was fiction, based off of Ellroy's Fictional book. Again, the best way to do a movie about Elizabeth Short's case is either very well thought out speculation of possible events, going by her actual suspects, or With real life Evidence that concludes the case. Neither was done. But if you read Larry Harnisch's review, it makes sense, especially stating VERY LITTLE OF BETH WAS IN THE FILM! If you ever researched this case, you really want answers. It hooks you in, and this film is a constant reminder that it didn't do enough. David Fincher(the Zodiac director) was set to direct this film, but stated he couldn't do it justice. Maybe lack of evidence. I'd rather he directed the film because if you watched Zodiac, he was detailed with all evidence. That case is practically solved, not officially, but definitely zeroes in on one person. The Black dahlia case has multiple suspects. No, Hodel didn't kill Her. It would've been nice to see a film dive into Walter Bayley and Leslie Dillon as suspects. Another aspect that ruins the movie, THE CASTING. The cast didn't seem to fit in their characters. I respect Mia Kirshner because somebody gave her Ellroy's book saying She resembled Beth, 10 years before filming the movie, so I don't mind her trying. But makeup was bad. Her hair looked nothing like beth's. Hillary swank didn't make sense. It's fictional movie, but casting didn't sit right with me. My friend is the nephew of the cinematographer of this film. That's nice. Zsigmond was nominated for doing this film's cinematography. It is a great aspect of the film. Some say the ONLY redeeming aspect of the film. In the film, there was a real moment that showed the Real morgue picture of Elizabeth Short, after the coroner sewed her mouth together. If you know the picture, you'll recognize it. But the mannequin they used in the film didn't even resemble the wounds Beth received. Everything seemed lazy about this film, except cinematography. As somebody who has spent HOURS researching this case, I wanted to see more of Elizabeth Short, alive. More about the torture sequence, which took Days! Only lasted few minutes in the film. This movie had potential, but it failed to do Elizabeth Short justice. Maybe one day, I'll have $1billion and will write a solid script about This black dahlia case, and make a great film that answers questions about what possibly happened to Beth in those last hours of Her life.

Bob An I feel relieved now that after taking a quick look at other reviews I see that I am not alone in the fact that I did not understand ANYTHING what was going on in the film! So... First of all, I did not understand whether the killed girl ( but there were many more killed - if I understood) was very famous in Hollywood or just some obscure wannabe star. I think I heard the both facts in the film !? And why and how is she important to the story of the film? Her connection to the main characters is very vague - to say the least! And plus, where were those black & white footage of her found? I can go on with the questions...but there are no answers. Maybe the film was conceived to be half told... but as this is not quite a mystery film ( to me) I do not thing that lingering questions add to the appeal of the film.Josh and Scarlett are both really beautiful / handsome in the film. They even kinda look as if they were really from the 50's ! Hilary is good too. Actually I think that those names kept me watching the film as the film itself is rather non-eventual and on the verge of being boring ...Five from me as I liked the brownish color of the film and for the costumes. Soundtrack could have been better ( if there is one at all).

Dalbert Pringle No. It wasn't just the presence of that little "dimple-chin", Aaron Eckhart, who ultimately ruined this utterly pretentious "Cop" movie for me. But Eckhart sure played a major part in bringing The Black Dahlia (TBD, for short) down to its sub-par level, but fast.TBD was the sort of below-average picture that quickly encouraged this viewer to keep his remote firmly in hand with index-finger waiting impatiently to press the fast-forward button at a split-second's notice.Here's a movie whose 2-hour running time could have easily been edited down to 90 minutes. And it's also a movie which proved that director Brian De Palma is clearly no longer a master of his craft as a film-maker (as he was once considered to be by many film buffs).As well - TBD was an atrociously dull and totally inaccurate re-telling of a true murder case that had shocked the public silly and sent the LAPD on a wild-goose chase back in 1947.Regardless of its $50 million budget and its meticulous attention to period detail, TBD was far from coming close to being a first-rate production on any level.And when it eventually came down to this film's final revelations (concerning the true identity of Elizabeth Short's murderer), it was such a stupid, laughable joke, that it wasn't even worth the 110-minute wait at all.

blanche-2 The only thing I got out of this is that Scarlett Johannson should at some point play Lana Turner."The Black Dahlia" is a 2006 Brian De Palma film starring Josh Hartnett, Aaron Eckhart, Scarlett Johannson, and Hillary Swank.However, don't let the title fool you. The 67-year-old unsolved Black Dahlia murder is only a subplot in this film, which primarily seems to be about the relationship between two former fighters turned homicide detectives, Bucky (Hartnett) and Lee Eckhart), and Lee's girlfriend Kay (ScarJo).In working on the Black Dahlia case in 1947 Los Angeles, Dwight gets mixed up with a wealthy but whacked out family, the Linscotts, where one of the daughters (Swank) resembles the Dahlia. Hillary Swank is a wonderful actress and a lovely woman, but she's not sexy, and I really didn't pick up any chemistry between her and Hartnett.The photography, atmosphere, and '40s depictions are of the highest quality. The story is gritty,slow, convoluted, and you really don't care about any of the characters. Style over substance.