What do you get when you take a bunch of leading and character actors, mix them together in a 1950s-era neo-noir, and sprinkle on a helping of Not Playing? You get L.A. Confidential, that’s what.

Dan knew Lex had never seen the Russell Crowe/Kim Basinger/Guy Pearce/Kevin Spacey/Danny DeVito flick. He also knew that the movie won Oscars (though it lost many more to Titanic), and, of course, that L.A. Confidential has a 99% fresh rating over at Rotten Tomatoes. What could go wrong?!

Hot topics include whether James Cromwell should even have attempted that Irish accent, how this may well be the spontaneously violent role that Crowe was born to play, and comparisons to The Untouchables (which Lex first watched last season).

You can support Not Playing by filling out our listener survey, and also by streaming L.A. Confidential from Amazon, or ordering the Blu-ray. Or heck, read the book! If iTunes is your cup of whiskey-infused tea, you can grab the movie there, too.

And while you’re in iTunes, think about leaving us a review or a rating. You can even keep your identity (L.A.) confidential.

"L.A. Confidential"

Lex Friedman and Dan Moren

As with every episode of Not Playing, there are two versions of the podcast. In the regular episode, we discuss what we know about the film before we watch, and then share our reactions immediately after the credits roll.

There’s also the Commentary Track, where we still discuss what we know about the film before we start watching it. Then, we provide a real-time commentary track on the film as it unfolds—and you can tag along. We’ll tell you when to press Play.

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