2 Days in the Valley

Writer-director John Herzfeld's mining of the multi-layered, heavily populated neo-crime genre sparked by the popularity of Pulp Fiction is an above average, if workmanlike, movie that should satisfy most aficionados of the style. Weaving together the stories of more than half a dozen interesting denizens of the San Fernando Valley, Herzfeld makes the most of his situations, allowing talented performers like Danny Aiello, Eric Stoltz and Jeff Daniels to show-off their chops. Additionally, Paul Mazursky shines as the depressed, suicidal director Teddy Peppers and Charlize Theron delivers an electrifying turn that should have made her a big star.