Pity there's not more movies like this one. Its definitely my favourite from Martin Scorsese. Twisted story with a vibe that screams, I've been here before. What we do for a little company. It definitely falls into the category of 'Weird' movies for me.

When people mention great Scorsese films, I rarely hear "After Hours (1985)" come up as one of them. Following up The King of Comedy (1982), Scorsese created yet another offbeat story filled with tension and danger set against the juicy backdrop of New York street life in After Hours (1985). This film finds the perfect note in combing aspects of black comedy with a general sense of unease. Definitely NOT your typical Scorsese film.We've all had those bad nights; Maybe we missed that subway coming home from work or got showered with a puddle by that car driving by. But we'll forgive those nights after seeing what Paul Hackett endures - he's just your ordinary word processor and one night we find him reading his book in a Manhattan cafe. He meets Marcy, a seemingly normal girl who shows genuine interest in Paul. The two hit it off. Naturally. And Paul decides to see her later that night.Perhaps the first bad sign should have been the abnormally out of control cab ride he has. The cab flys so fast down the road that the only money Paul had on him for the night flys out the window. Little does he know of the series of problematic and life-threatening events that await him. We'll learn that he tries to escape but (in almost a perfect embodiment of 'Murphy's Law'), by one inexplicable happenstance after another, something will prevent him from doing so."After Hours (1985)" showcases Marty's true filmmaking skills - the beautiful tracking shots, the extreme close-ups, the dark and foreboding lighting; it's all there and brilliantly keeps the viewer in a state of paranoia and discontent. The story of Paul is like a Kafka-esque nightmare combined with the surrealism and peculiarity of a David Lynch film. A colourful array of characters, a strong visual style. And the perfect example of why Scorsese is one of the best living directors out there.

Like it or not. This film does one thing really well. It does really, really well at catching your attention and never letting go of it. You can regard it as one giant attention-catching moment that is the whole film in its entirety, or a series of attention-catching spurts that somehow don't get formulaic and redundant.The events happening aren't even that interesting or brilliant, but they do so well at keeping you, the viewer, hooked and curious what happens next. At very, very least, even stripped of its symbols and what not, in its most plain viewing, this film must be considered an entertaining watch.Not being a Scorsese fan at all myself, the directing is really good. It conveys that sense of a Kafkaesque-nightmarish sort of feel and does really well at being straight to the point, and not dwelling too long on its weirdness. It's strange, original, but efficient. It is not self-indulgent or edgy like such films always are.It's also just the right length. The story of a man who can never get home, in a familiar but equally surrealistic environment, told in just the right amount of time, with just the right start and ending to it. Doesn't get cute with itself.Also, very good job from lead actor Griffin Dunne.Really well done. 8/10.

In terms of films that play on the shtick of all night adventures this feels more like Martin Scorsese then Harold and Kumar. The movie features a man who goes to meet a girl up for a late night date and possible action. The girl Marcy, played wonderfully by Rosanna Arquette,is a weird, spacey, and mysterious girl. Her troubled past and her possession of burn ointment send our protagonist Paul running. Over the course of the night he finds himself running about Soho dealing with everything from an angry mob to two burglarizing Latinos played by Cheech and Chung. The biggest problem I had with this movie was that it felt a little too rushed. I feel like this could have been 20 minutes longer and focused on some of the funny dialogue and crazy set pieces like the hectic, crazy, and loud Club Berlin. By this time Martin Scorsese had already directed the movies, Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, and now he was trying his hand at comedy again. I have yet to see his comedy drama Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore so I didn't have much insight unto how he might deal with the comedic elements. I must say it was a masterfully done. I compared it frame to frame with The Hangover and although one must concede the much stated phrase "apples and oranges", I felt that it was clear who was the master film maker and who was going to lose his touch. Some of the other things I loved about the movie was the appearance of Will Patton as a goth and John Heard as a bar keep. Something about Scorsese I have also noticed in his films is he is able to balance the comedy and drama well and not seek out side bursting humor. He focuses on subtle humor that gets lost among the drama but doesn't kill the comedy altogether. And he manages to have scenes of high drama without losing the comedic edge. I would have to give this movie an 8/10.