The Parallax View

A Warren Beatty '70s-era conspiratorial thriller, so technically flawed you have to crank up the sound to even guess at what the characters are saying. The only good line is what Beatty says to a drunk cop accosting him at a bar: "Don't touch me unless you love me." It has some striking cinematography, but huge plot holes that ruin the claustrophobic feeling.

Now my rant: The next critic who refers to this and "3 Days of the Condor" as classics -- and with the implication that every other conspiracy film must derive from these -- without explaining it gets demerits. They're on my list. Most recently, this emerged during reviews of "Michael Clayton," and perhaps the worst recurring offender is Peter Travers of Rolling Stone. Why is "The Parallax View" good? And why is the '70s the golden era of conspiracy films and not the '90s, with "The Game," "JFK," "Dave," and, dare I say it, "Conspiracy Theory"? The only way to get off the list is to write an in-depth article backing up the claim that Robert Altman films are worth watching -- another oft-stated but as yet unexplained belief of film critics.