The Score

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Buy This Item The Score by Paramount  Available from Amazon  $7.99  on 8-9-2008     Robert De Niro plays a weary thief tempted by wily old associate Marlon Brando into, yes, <I>one last job</I>, a plan to rob a priceless scepter from Montreal's Customs House. Director Frank Oz's heist thriller partners De Niro with hotshot upstart Edward Norton, and you'd have to be determinedly grumpy not to get half a kick out of Brando, DeNiro, and Norton--more than holding his own--coolly bouncing off one another in a Method paradise. Brando may be enormous and breathing heavily with every move, but his technique is as agile as it ever was; he still seems spontaneously clever. Oz doesn't have the most crackling visual style in the world, as the film is far too smooth for tension, and keeps tapping Howard Shore's music score to do most of the work in that department; the divine Angela Bassett is once again totally wasted in a 10-minute throwaway role as De Niro's girlfriend. <I>The Score</I> isn't anything new, and there isn't a single surprise, but if you're into this sort of thing you do respond to its polished familiarity. <I>--Steve Wiecking</I> Reader Reviews The Score is a standard heist movie with good direction (Frank Oz) and great acting. Although the plot is predictable fare for a high-tech theft caper, the movie is also a character study with an intelligent script and a cinematically interesting locale (Montreal). Robert De Niro, Edward Norton, and Marlon Brando's superb acting lifts this film above the rest of the genre. My favorite parts of the movie were whenever Brando was on the screen. Norton plays a hotshot usurper with pyrotechnic acting, while Brando plays a burnt-out old pro. Brando takes the acting awards by merely lifting an eyebrow or using a chuckle to punctuate a sentence. De Niro is the perfect bridge between these two interesting characters and effortlessly comes across as smart and meticulous. Perfect casting to match the roles in the script. The Shopkeeper

The Score Available from Amazon Price: $7.99 Updated on 8-9-2008.

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