By Mark David Blum, Esq.

Last night I watched this neat little movie titled King of New York starring Christopher Walkin, Laurence "Larry" Fishburne, Steve Buscemi, Wesley Snipes, David Caruso, and a plethora of other now well known actors. The producers definitely spent at least $2 for production and another twenty five cents for writing. As you watch, this little gem will force you to ask yourself the burning question: How can it be that when Christopher Walken is being his dark moody psychotic introspective fetching self, he is NOT the craziest person in the script? This film has to be the first one for each of these now huge movie personalities; now each with much more improved skills.

As a story, it starts out and runs pretty predictably; albeit almost cartoonish. But about 2/3 the way through what is a relatively weird stereotypical Walken vehicle, the flick takes a hard turn, and goes off the rails into a world only Quentin Tarantino could write if he were on LSD. The overkill on killing brings out some of the most well done death scenes imaginable. Death by fire hydrant was definitely a creative first for me.

Even this piece of darkness cannot go uncriticized for how heavily it relies and overplays racial and cultural stereotypes. It shameful some of these actors played into those images, but they did it with such panache and over the top exhuberance that you cannot help but laugh and enjoy the wild ride in the throw back Thursday stretch limo as it meanders all the way to the gun dropping end.

I loved this little film noir. definitely worth the watch