A Murder of Crows (1999)

At the core of this film is a good plot and gimmick. Cuba Gooding wasn't bad in it, but the writing, directing, and some of the lesser actors were RIDICULOUSLY bad. I hope some day a different director remakes this film with the help of a writer who can write the missing scenes and build the suspense to what this should be - a nail biting court room drama. It is imperative that the audience not know whodunnit until the last scene. However, this film gives everything away half way through the film! The whole story should have been told through flashbacks during the courtroom trial. A major plot point is never explained properly and once the makeup and masks were discovered the movie was over - there was no thrill left in this thriller.

I found this movie to be delightfully original (although a few parts were predictable) and it became more interesting and suspenseful as the plot developed.Its strength was in the acting and originality, and its weakness was in the non-development or quick-development of some of the main characters, Tom Beranger and Carmen Argenziano's specifically.The movie seemed to be rushed near the end, and could have been better developed as the plot thickened.SPOILER: just a couple points. I felt that Cuba Gooding's character should have disguised himself after escaping the first time. And why was Tom Beranger at the house of Mark Pellinger?

There seems to be a lot of negativity in the comments for this film. I thought it was pretty decent. Yes, voice-over narration is often a crutch, but it did not annoy me here. Cuba Gooding played it well even though his character was a little bit too good at evading the police. Tom Berenger was also just fine as a New Orleans police detective. Marianne Jean-Baptiste played all of the right notes as well. I guess I don't spend much time while watching movies trying to guess what is coming, or foretelling the ending. It seems that many people do. To each his own, I suppose. Nice scenery in both New Orleans and Key West. This never seems to have made it into theaters, but it is a nice diversion.

If you like shouting at the screen because the characters do so many stupid things, this movie is for you. Or....you might enjoy it while extremely intoxicated, so you won't notice that all the characters are one dimensional. I picked this movie up as an impulse purchase, hoping for a good double feature with Double Jeopardy. Well, this turned out to be a B movie, the second of a typical double feature, where the second movie is the one where you ignore the screen and make out with your lover. There are far too many problems with the story that could have been fixed by pretty much anyone who watches mysteries. I agree with previous critics that found holes in the script, and so don't have to elaborate here. Just wanted to vote 'awful' to bring the average rating down so no one will buy this like I did. Even at $4 from the discount bin, this movie wasn't worth it. I haven't hunted for other works by this writer and director, but I now shall so I don't accidentally pick up any of their other 'masterpieces'.