fifty movies: Gangs of New York

I was in high school when this movie came out...I remember wanting to see it, but too scared because of the R-rating. Well, it was on AMC today, and I realized I needed to watch fifty new movies, so I kept it on while I sorted computer files.

My first impressions? Leo DiCaprio: awesome. Daniel Day-Lewis: awesome. Liam Neeson, Jim Broadbent, John C. Reilly: awesome. Cameron Diaz: what?

Seriously. I don't understand how Cameron Diaz got this part, or managed to keep it. She's just terrible. She's a rom-com, cheesy action flick, television show remake kind of actress in an A-list actors' film. Her accent is awful and she never seems to connect properly with anyone else around her.

On the other hand, the film is beautifully colored, historically authentic, and tells a compelling story. It's almost like Newsies for grown-ups, just without the song and dance numbers and with a lot more violence.

I might watch it again, maybe if it pops up on TV another day. I really enjoyed, but I'm glad I didn't watch it as a fifteen-year-old. That would have been too much.