DVD Release Date: August 19, 2008 Studio: Fox Searchlight Pictures Director: David Ayer Screenwriter: James Ellroy, David Ayer Starring: Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie, Chris Evans, Naomie
Harris, Jay Mohr, John Corbett, Cedric the Entertainer, Amaury Nolasco, Terry
Crews, Common, The Game Genre: Crime, Drama MPAA Rating: R (for strong violence and pervasive language)
Plot Summary: Keanu Reeves plays Tom Ludlow, a veteran LAPD Vice
Detective. Ludlow sets out on a quest to discover the killers of his former
partner, Detective Terrance Washington (Crews). Whitaker plays Captain Wander,
Ludlo's supervisor, whose duties include keeping him within the confines of the
law and out of the clutches of Internal Affairs Captain Biggs (Laurie). Ludlow
teams up with a young Robbery Homicide Detective (Evans) to track Washington's
killers through the diverse communities of Los Angeles. Their determination pays
off when the two Detectives track down Washington's murderers and confront them
in an attempt to bring them to justice.
Extras: Commentary by director David Ayer, deleted scenes,
alternate scenes, 10 vignettes, "Street Rules: Rolling With David Ayer and
Jaime FitzSimons" featurette, "HBO First Look -- City of Fallen Angels:
Making Street Kings." (Fox).
Review:Street Kings
is a pungent bouquet of corruption, violence, multi-ethnic mayhem, macho glee
laced with macho angst, and fluorescently obscene dialogue from the mind of
James Ellroy. Its hero, though he'd scarcely consent to be called one, is L.A.
police detective Tom Ludlow (Keanu Reeves), for whom life is a wound that won't
heal and dealing out retribution to scumbags is the ongoing treatment. Ludlow's
the star player--"the tip of the [expletive] spear"--on a team of detectives
headed by Capt. Jack Wander (Forest Whitaker). Coach Wander relies on his boys
to keep breaking lurid cases, usually through deeply darkside underground work,
and raising his profile with the media and the department. In pursuit of these
goals, nothing is forbidden except failure, and the truth is what you make it
look like. This is familiar Ellroy territory, most effectively translated to the
screen in L.A. Confidential (which should have won the 1997 Oscar, and
would have if Titanic hadn't launched that year). If you know Ellroy's
ground game, you can pretty much guess where Street Kings is going, and
where it's been. Still, the twists and torques of its urban road-rage course
maintain the centrifugal force needed to hold us in our seats ...more
Movie Spotlight
Street Kings Release Date: April 11, 2008 Studio: Fox Searchlight Pictures Director: David Ayer Screenwriter: James Ellroy, David Ayer Starring: Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie, Chris Evans, Naomie
Harris, Jay Mohr, John Corbett, Cedric the Entertainer, Amaury Nolasco, Terry
Crews, Common, The Game Genre: Crime, Drama MPAA Rating: R (for strong violence and pervasive language) Official Website:
FoxSearchlight.com/StreetKings
Plot Summary: Keanu Reeves plays Tom Ludlow, a veteran LAPD Vice
Detective. Ludlow sets out on a quest to discover the killers of his former
partner, Detective Terrance Washington (Crews). Whitaker plays Captain Wander,
Ludlo's supervisor, whose duties include keeping him within the confines of the
law and out of the clutches of Internal Affairs Captain Biggs (Laurie). Ludlow
teams up with a young Robbery Homicide Detective (Evans) to track Washington's
killers through the diverse communities of Los Angeles. Their determination pays
off when the two Detectives track down Washington's murderers and confront them
in an attempt to bring them to justice.
EN 5 Second Review:
Who would have thought we would see Forest Whitaker and
Keanu Reeves together, much less that Keanu would hold his own in the
acting.
That's
how it ends, with pregnant men and pretty boy Keanu Reeves as the lead
in "Street Kings," Gary Thompson: Philadelphia Daily
News
If you can get past Keanu as a tough guy and you're an
action fan, you'll appreciate the lurid grandeur of the hard-charging
Street Kings...more
Another
day, another movie about dirty cops. Ho hum Christian Toto: Washington Times Street Kings wastes a better than expected turn by
Keanu Reeves. That means he never says the word 'dude' or
breaks into a mean air guitar riff...more
EN 5 Second Review:
Who would have thought we would see Forest Whitaker and
Keanu Reeves together, much less that Keanu would hold his own in the
acting. 
Another
day, another movie about dirty cops. Ho hum