****Spoilers***Spoilers*****Don't Bother Watching This Movie!!!First of all there was absolutely no reason for this to be a period piece so why bother? The listening device wasn't anything like they had in 1988 and I'm sure there were other things that didn't exist back then. Next thing is that this just wasn't a very good story. The main plot twist hinged on nothing. The Russians try to kill a cop and the very next day they talk to someone they barely know about it and then they ask him if he wants to go see their drug stash house. Really? And then he's made some sort of cop and then he has a gun? Is it me or is that just stupid? The longer you watch it the stupider it gets.This deserves one star because it wasted the potential of everyone involved. What terrible writing! Epically bad and contrived and there wasn't a decent action scene in the entire film.

This is a film that I wanted to like, but just didn't quite do it to me. It's a fairly basic plot that's redeemed by a few really good sequences. There's also some great performances which help it, but it doesn't live up to what it could have been.The story is about two brothers, one who's a cop and the other who runs a nightclub and is involved with some criminals. A series of events causes the one brother to choose between his lifestyle and his police family members. The big issue is that it doesn't really give us anything original. It hits a lot of the plot points you would expect a movie like this to have, which is disappointing. It also feels really slow, but not in a good way. It just seems like they could have showed us what they wanted to show but in a more time efficient way.I wanna talk about the three sequences I liked the most, because these scenes really impressed me and just made me feel that the rest of the film was lacking. The first sequence is the drug house scene. While what occurs during it is mostly cliché, there is some crazy action towards the end that impressed me. Then comes the car chase. It's filmed from within the car essentially looking from Joaquin Phoenix' characters point of view. It's pretty tense and has not music, which makes it feel more real. The only issue is that there's something not visually right with it. What might that be? It was apparently filmed during a sunny day, and they then digitally made it stormy looking and rainy, giving it a slightly unreal look which takes away from it. Regardless, it's a good scene. Finally, my favorite sequence is the whole end shootout. There some stuff involving a field of tall bushes which makes for some intense moments, and it really looks good. Sadly, the rest of the film looks and feels pretty uninspired, aside from these three sequences.This is a film that is in need of some more creativity. Only those few sequences I mentioned feel like the director had some kind of creative ideas, but the rest is filmed so basic that it takes away greatly. Some people might be able to look past it's flaws, but I personally wanted more from it.

James Gray, also a tea brand, is your typical writer/director, as in he needs to pick one or the other and focus on it. For Jimmy G, I'd definitely point him in the direction of the typewriter. Although I could blame poor casting, I think the real issue is that Gray could be replaced on set with a poster that read "Act Angry" that was just waved at the actors before each scene shot. I've never seen such limited range purposely put onto film. Everybody knows how to act angry. It's what you tell actors NOT to do when they need to be "emotional."My other issues with the movie could probably be blamed on Joaquin Baca- Asay, the DP, but if the director walks up and accepts an award for a film, he takes the fall as well. Plus Baca-Asay DP'd Thumbsuckers and Super Troopers. To the point: far too many stylized shots mixed in with a very standard shooting style. The one that really stood out was the cool looking shot of Man-jaw Mendes walking down a hallway smoking a cigarette. It was excellent in the trailer, but was completely out of place where they decided to cram it. Another pointless Hollywood moment, one of many in the film.I'm also going to question Gray's sanity as a writer with is bizarre choice to set We Own the Night in 1988. Who sits down and writes a period piece based 20 years ago? I might have been more okay with it, but there's nothing significant about that year that would be a compelling reason for a crime/drug drama. They only indicators were typical 80s Buicks, and a few big hair women. Beyond that, it didn't matter and you didn't notice it was anything besides now. I guess that's an achievement. Nah.Overall, a very slow, predictable story. I enjoyed the absolute bleakness of it all, but the performances were weak, and the cinematography average. Better luck next time!

As you may have guessed from my summary I turned this movie off before it ended...and here's why:The plot: derivativeThe characters: StereotypicalThe direction: Cliché - too dark (literally)The acting: Just OK apart form Mark Whalberg who is extremely irritating.The score: AbysmalSo all in all this movie was pretty terrible. The pacing is so painfully slow that at 45 minutes I felt like I had been watching the film for at least 3 hours. Everything about this movie is boring, boring, boring and my advice to anyone thinking about seeking this one out is simply don't, as you will be left disappointed despite the ridiculous high rating the film has on this website that suggests otherwise.