User reviews

Written, directed, and starring... Frank D'angelo. Some heavy hitters in this one: martin landau, james caan, kris kristofferson, doris and eric roberts, a couple sorvinos. Having lost his wife and daughter in a terrible car accident, Agent Palermo spends every waking minute buried in his work. When the daughter of the ambassador is kidnapped, a team is brought in to find her. Headed up by Palermo, who has his faults. Many of them. But is still good at his job. This one is okay. Solid story underneath it all, but you can tell its a script by the lead actor, for the lead actor. It needed tightening up. D'angelo had started as a musician, and appears to have worked extensively as a cameraman prior to writing and directing his own projects.

An interesting indie film filmed in Hamilton, Ontario Canada. The acting by the lead and his detective partner was good and sometimes amusing. The others were given an opportunity for an easy final paycheck.

Okay, someone needs to stop this fraud before it goes any further. About ten minutes into the movie, you realize that it is a low budget amateurish piece of crap. The story line is ridiculous and disjointed, the acting for the most part terrible, and the producers have filled out their cast with a bunch of aging Hollywood actors whom no one hires any more. Even people like Paul Sorvino and Martin Landau could not bring their usual dignity to the pathetic lines that they had to work with in the movie. From a technical point of view, the sound mix is of poor quality, the editing unprofessional and really quite choppy, the set decoration gives the impression that all of the indoor scenes were filmed in some one person's apartment and the ending had me almost laughing out loud. Maybe that's just the point, Mr. D'Angelo set out to "put one over on us" and succeeded brilliantly.

Like many of the others who have reviewed 'The Red Maple Leaf' here on IMDb, I've created an account just so I can review Frank D'Angelo movies.

It's sort of enjoyable in the sense that every Frank D'Angelo movie is a colossal train wreck, a festival of bad acting, poor writing and a soundtrack of Frank D'Angelo songs - this time, though, including a soulful medley of the US and Canadian national anthems at the end. You'll want to leave early to avoid hearing that. It's kind of bizarrely entertaining. I am one of many who actually pay for tickets to Frank's movies just for the fun of seeing how bad something can actually be.

The acting is so scintillating that you'll wonder if Doris Roberts and Robert Loggia actually died before filming started rather than after. Plus - Phil Esposito! An all time-great! (In hockey. Not in acting.)

I hope my review brings the average rating down closer to where it should be.

The highest compliment that I can give the new film, The Red Maple Leaf, and there are in fact quite a number of things that I really found myself admiring during my viewing of the film this evening, all of which I hope I am able to discuss with this review, but the thing that I think is most evident is how much writer/director/actor Frank D'Angelo has matured both in front of and behind the screen. His last directorial effort, Sicilian Vampire, was a film that I personally had a lot of fun with. The film had a lot of laughs as well as being quite tongue in cheek with some of it's over the top and sometimes campy dialogue and storyline. It was a film that you certainly had to be in a fun and lighthearted mood to watch and anyone who likes more bizarre, or downright cult, or offbeat films would have certainly had their day made by that film, but whilst the film was over the top and campy, I still found that D'Angelo still was able to assert his own brand of storytelling and artistic craft to the film which gave it a certain uniqueness as well as making it a film all of it's own. I can recognize criticism where some say it was perhaps an act of self indulgence, or even trying to really paint a glamorous and favourable picture of D'Angelo, but I could ignore that while watching Sicilian Vampire, because the film was still an overall very fun and entertaining watch and quite frankly it is better than a lot of other films I see on a yearly, or monthly basis, so I was all for something new, silly and downright fun, even if it did at times appear to be in D'Angelo's favour, or basically trying to make him look "cool" as one reviewer put it. I knew from the moment I saw Sicilian Vampire, and have since become a fan of his weekly program, The Being Frank Show, that I really wanted to see more of him as a writer and director because the talent is definitely there and he shows much potential and I think a lot of that showed with Sicilian Vampire, but now even more so in his latest film, The Red Maple Leaf. The writing for one thing feels a lot more focused and I think D'Angelo knew exactly how he wanted to tell this story and knew where he wanted to go with it and it shows. The fact that this new film features a storyline that is compelling within the first few opening shots of the film to it's end credits is really a great credit to D'Angelo both as a screenwriter and director. The film is over two hours long, but not once does it ever feel too long, or like certain scenes could have been trimmed down, or ended up on the cutting room floor. It is quite impeccably edited and it makes for a very smooth and yet compelling film with no moments of filler, or scenes that may have just been put in there for other reasons, but everything here feels quite focused and on the mark which ultimately makes for a better looking and an ultimately more satisfying film experience. The film in some regards is a mystery about a missing girl and both as a mystery and the detective who is trying to solve the case as he unravels the pieces of the puzzle that come about from his great insight and intuition truly makes for fascinating viewing because we never once know exactly where the film will go, or who the culprit may be and it certainly is quite a fascinating and captivating two hours plus that kept me guessing the whole time while sustaining my interest of the whole thing. The other aspect of the film which is just as strong as the mystery elements and just as satisfying is the story of our main character who has just gone through a devastating loss and how it is affected him and completely changed the man who he is. Turning to alcohol and living a painful and tormented existence where his only sole means of satisfaction, or perhaps purpose is a better word, is his job and solving this case with the missing girl. We see both these two aspects of a mystery as well as one of a man who has lost everything who needs to find closure in his life and yet while on the job he is the best detective you can find and this makes for viewing that is interesting with both it's mystery elements, but also adds some very well sought out character study and a certain dimension to this and the other characters that is pulled off perfectly due to the more polished writing as well as some very capable performances. The acting this time around also feels more rounded and feels more rehearsed and more perfected than Sicilian Vampire, but at the same time, please keep in mind that these are two totally different films and each have totally differing moods and agendas. The acting is well done here though and while some performers outshine others, generally everyone is pretty good here and gets the job done right. The film also looks and feels more professional and put together and perhaps not quite as amateurish as the last outing, but I do not use this as a criticism, but again only pointing out that D'Angelo seems to have matured and grown not only as a filmmaker, but perhaps as a person as well because this is a more mature outing and also one that feels more personal and complete as a film.

Now I do believe IMDB has become the Disneyland for hired guns and mouthpieces to give other viewers fake, phony and lying reviews. When a film is such a lousy production, yet there are so many fake 10/10 reviews rushed in like swarming locusts giving blind praises to it. Obviously, these reviewers are either friends, relatives or all those people who are friends or relatives of these friends and relatives.

This film, before it's even showed its title, was doomed to be a lousy film. The script was so poor and the directing so lazy. After the traffic accident, this guy's wife and daughter were both killed in the crash, yet this guy who survived, just sat on the rear bumper of an ambulance, without any bruise, any trace of blood, the guy was still in a perfect condition. If his wife and daughter were both killed in a fatal crash, this guy at least should have some bruises, wounds and some bleedings, yet he's in perfect condition. Then when his colleague knocked on his door but he didn't answer, the guy just found the door key in a colorful ceramic cartoon figure which was so stupidly put on a stone in this guy's front yard. Who would be that stupid putting his front door key in such obvious place? What a lousy arrangement.

Then we got the more damaging proof that this film is a bad one, since there are so many bad actors who only showed in bad B movies. When film proceeded along, you just couldn't help but jumped out of your chair and yelled: "Jesus, what a stupid movie!!"

I hate long reviews about how good the cinematography was or how good the direction was, i watch a film because i want to be entertained for 90 minutes and this wasnt it,2 hours of dribble,started well with a kidnap,after that it was so bad i watched it cos i thought it couldnt get any worse....it did, anyone that can watch this for 2 hours and say it was good you really need to get out more,and the folk that said they stood up cheering at the end.....REALLY !!! it was very very poor very poor,even the good actors were bad!!!

I asked my girlfriend to see this film with me at the Sunrise Film Festival where it won "Best film of the Festival". I thought she would enjoy it since it was starring many terrific actors. And we were told that it was the last movie that Robert Loggia and Doris Roberts appeared in before they passed away.

You might say the film has a familiar story of a father who has lost the only thing that matters most to him, his family. But that is where the familiarity ends. It is a unique story told in a way not seen before and I was hooked from the beginning; I just couldn't look away. The all-star cast was impressive but it's Frank D'Angelo who steals the limelight as Special Agent Alfonso Palermo. There is a lot of pain and anger in this film, his character displays a full range of emotions. Kudos to Frank, he did a wonderful job. The rest of the cast includes Hollywood greats who turned in phenomenal performances which we've all come to expect over the years. Every following scene I found myself saying "no way, he/she is in it". In the end the main character finds some peace and closure, but I don't want to say anymore and spoil it for anyone. If you are debating seeing this film, debate no further, it's a must see!

When watching this movie I was actually glued to my seat! Seriously, If I hadn't been glued to my seat I would of got up and walked out after the first 5 mins!!LOL When I saw the cast I thought Cool but after watching it was more Drool. When viewing parts of the film and its various characters I thought I was watching scenes from the Walking dead, no offense to Martin Landau, Paul Sorvino and Margot Kidder etc. I'm sure the positive reviews on here are from the casual film fan shall we say and to add comments like " I was entertained throughout" and " There were so many plot twists" Haha!! I was more entertained reading some of the reviews on here.

I do not claim to be a film critic but seriously it sucked big time but hey what do I know about the Film business. Mr S S Pielberg

When I read the first few reviews for this film I thoought I was watching a different film to everyone else. , terrible acting. Laughable at times and poor editing. Don't think I will be watching anything with Deangelo involved in again.

Watching a pile of horse dung will be more entertaining! The worst movie ever... not hard to see the 9/10 and 10/10 reviews were bought and paid for by D'Angelo. He really thinks hes this hotshot director/actor...clearly NOT!

Honestly cannot recall a worse film. This is in terms of, firstly, the incredibly bad acting. Also can't leave out the total lack of suspense, unbelievable plot line and special effects (the fight(?) scene has to be seen to be believed). I think another reviewer likened it to a train wreck, from which one cannot turn away.

We we're in the Rheem theater for the California Film Festival deciding which movie to go see when we spotted a poster for The Red Maple Leaf. We noticed all these wonderful actors listed on the poster, many favorite stars of mine, and some that I did not see in a long time like Margot Kidder and Kris Kristofferson who I truly love. So we line up to purchase tickets and the theater is buzzing with people everywhere. It's like everyone Moraga came to see this movie. We we're not disappointed in our decision as it was a very good dramatic movie with a breathtaking story and some of Hollywood's finest actors. After the movie they introduced one of the stars of the movie Frank D'Angelo, who was in the audience, he also wrote and directed the film as well. He answered a barrage of questions from the audience which made the evening even more entertaining. He took us through some of the scenes and explained how they shot them, and gave us some background information on some of the actors, and let us in on some of the interesting things that went on during the shoot which made the entire night really fun.

I lasted 27 minutes on this gem. Do not let the cast members fool you. The dialogue is woeful, and the lead actor is absolutely terrible.

I usually don't write reviews, but I can usually sit through a bad film.

The Red Maple Leaf provides for an intriguing and captivating story, although it might sound predictable, it is not. There are moments of darkness, of drama and funny enough, even comedic banter. There is an incredibly large cast of renowned Hollywood actors, perhaps the most I've seen besides the Expendables. I understand that Frank D'Angelo produced, wrote and directed the film in addition to starring in it. That is quite the undertaking, but this film delivers the goods and more. I think I will have to watch the film a second time in order to appreciate it even more. Overall I came away from watching this film feeling fulfilled. Many movies leave you wanting by the end but not this one. Bravo to the cast on making a fantastic film. If you are looking for an interesting and different take on a familiar genre, then give this movie a try, you will not be disappointed.

Frank D'Angelo is kind of a joke in the Hamilton community because he inherited a family fortune and has frittered it away on vanity projects trying to make himself a famous singer, actor and filmmaker.

The singing was funny because he comes off so desperate but you know what, he actually doesn't have a bad singing voice, and his band is first rate. When they would pop up at a CFL game or HMV or the annual street festival it wasn't my kind of music but I didn't hate them or his voice. When he would talk he was annoying and full of himself, and he was by no means a professional singer with star qualities, but he was far from garbage.

So his move to TV and films is a confusing one because his talents in those areas are completely non existent.

As many others have said here his TV show is actually purchased air time, like a late night TV infomercial, with a disclaimer stating such and everything. He runs commercials for his family's business products (D'Angelo juice etc) so he is hosting the "show" but also in all the ads by his "sponsors". As a host he is unfunny and uncomfortable with no interviewing skills whatsoever.

Following that he decided to become a movie baron of sorts who pays has been actors cash to appear in his movies, which he always writes, directs, stars in, does the soundtrack for, and so on (you get the point). He has zero training or talent in any of those areas, so predictably these movies are not any good at all.

In this, the latest one, he lays another egg in a paint by numbers detective story where he stars as a brilliant but difficult detective.

It's boring, it's amateurish, it's destined to be seen by fewer than a hundred people probably, but it won't stop him from making more because he is a man on a mission and a man completely in denial.

Also, like so many others, I feel a duty to point out that the thousands of votes here and particularly the thousands of thumbs up votes on the questionable rave reviews here on IMDb, are incredibly suspicious and I believe not real at all.

It's nauseating that friends of the writer/director, and maybe even paid reviews litter reviews of most of the movies produced/written and directed by this stunningly untalented hack.

If you are considering making the mistake of wasting your time watching this pile of feces - PLEASE do yourself a favor and check the reviews. And when you see some idiot giving this trash a rating of 10 - please check the other reviews that idiot has written - and voila - what a coincidence - that reviewer gives ALL the other pieces of refuse created by dunce dangelo a rating of 10 as well.

Reviews written by friends of this no talent hack? Please check for yourself.

Not a bad story but could have been so much better. Acting felt very wooden despite some very good actors. Definitely a average film.

A real joy to watch and a pleasure for me to share with my friends. The Red Maple Leaf is an extraordinary simple film, yet it tells a big story, and what a story delivered by a super talented cast of some of Hollywood's finest actors. We happened to catch the film during the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival and we're glad we did. Don't expect special effects and explosions, this is a real life drama. The film is produced and finely crafted by an independent production company, but I will be surprised if a big film distributor does not pick this film up very quickly because it's a fantastic film. If you get a chance to see it when it becomes available, do it you will enjoy it.

Ok, this guy, the lead/director/writer has money. Thats the only thing that could explain this steaming pile of dookie got made. Oh my god.....the acting.... A littany of exceptional actors...sitting in chairs, yelling...an embarrassing scene with Martin Landau making himself a chopped wiennie plate....and all that yelling!

Hey, Sorvino/Sorvino/Caan/Roberts/Asante/Kristofferson, wanna make a cool $100 grand, and all you gotta do is sit in a chair, yell a bit, say cocksucker or asshole, it'll only take about an hour, and trust me, noone will ever see it. - Every Actors Agent... And geez, the cinamatograpy, the editing. Its almost comical. They should use this in film school on the "what not to do" day.

My Mom watched the film at the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival and told me that if I get a chance to see it I should because I would enjoy it. So, I looked it up and it was playing for a second screening as the closing film of the festival. I told my friends about it and we decided to make it an evening out to watch the movie and attend the closing festivities. I had no expectations as my mom just told me it was a great film. It started off tragically, with a detective losing his family in a car crash. The movie then changes gears into the life of a U.S. Ambassador and his wife whose young daughter went missing one morning in Ottawa Ontario, where the detective is asked to work on this case. Considering this is a movie that has so many moving parts and characters, I feel it was brilliantly directed. My friends and I were entertained through the entire movie, and were able to easily follow along with the entire story line. I was nervous recommending it to 5 girls to watch with me, as everyone is different, and usually people have different ideas of what is entertaining, however, every one of my friends enjoyed the film. I would definitely watch it again, and even recommend it to others. It also happens to feature Eric Roberts who is very sexy and one of my favorite actors.

A bunch of B-rated or old actors in a movie that makes it way by piling up scenes that we all have seen so many times before. It starts well but it's not long before the clichés are becoming patetic in it's atempts to be a interesting movie. It doesn't work - at all.

Frank D'Angelo is the adult equivalent of a little boy who gives the other kids his toys so they'll play with him. Vanity project doesn't begin to describe this... it's more of an incoherent jumble of scenes imagined by a loner who finished "watching and studying HUNDREDS of movies" (his words, not mine) and thought, "yeah I can do that". And what if that weird, awkward loner then actually had the follow-through and money to hire some old castaways who used to act sometimes and make a feature length image and sound collage (this is no movie)... If that sounds like it could be interesting, then you're on the wrong track. Pure garbage. and at over 2 hrs it's the longest D'Angelo project I've fast forwarded through.

I was glad to have found this movie. There is nothing like a good, taut, thoughtful and well written political thriller!

The story has a lot of promise. The young daughter of the American Ambassador to Canada and scion to a powerful political dynasty, is kidnapped in broad daylight on her way to school. After some jurisdictional wrangling, Canadian law enforcement assigns its best inspector to the case, whose own world has been shattered after the death of his family in a car wreck. However, that is where the promise ends.

Script, script and script. The scenes were too long and the dialogue in some of them was horrendous. There is nothing a director can do to save a horrible script. However, a good script can make a limited director look good.

For example, in the beginning scene where Alfonso's partner comes to his house to get him, he keeps saying his name Al, over and over. It's maddening!!! Why have that? And if it was improvised, when then I don't know what to tell ya. No one wants to hear "Al" over and over again.

Also, why not get rid of some of the characters. They take focus away from the movie. As much as I love Paul Sorvino, his character wasn't needed. Come to think of it, neither was the mistress, Ambassador Adams parents and what was Armand Assante's role about?!

Anyway, could of been good but the script was horrendous.

We live just outside of San Francisco and my husband and I love going to the movies. And we love film festivals because we get to see some wonderful films that sometimes never make it to the big screen. So on the Friday we looked at the schedules of the films that we're playing at CAIFF and spotted The Red Maple Leaf which stood out because of its amazing cast of actors. We decided that we would see it on Saturday night. Well when we got to the theatre, we were caught off guard, it was so full that we thought we were not going to get tickets. We took our place in line and luckily managed to get 2 tickets, I mean luckily, because it was one of the best movies that we have seen in a long time. It's so nice to see that they can still make movies with real stories every once in a while. The icing of evening was that the star and director of the movie, Frank D'Angelo was there in the audience. He was right there watching the movie with us to everyone's surprise. When the movie ended they introduced him to a great ovation and then he took questions from the audience which made the evening even more special.