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sufi
Reviews
The Tourist (2010)
Worse than the reviews
Knew reviews were bad, decided worth watching Depp and Jolie. Twice as bad as reviews.
Jolie's role and acting unbelievably flat. Depp wonderful for first 3 minutes on screen because he managed to hide his charisma. A few scenes later he didn't bother.
This would be a great film for a film class, as some pundit once said: great art disguises itself....whereas this masterpiece of lazy incompetence would be a wonderful discussion piece for how to choose music that's bland for a thriller, how to write dull dialogue, how not to build suspense, etc.
The Caller (2008)
Wretched waste of time
A great film for film students to watch as it's been said one can learn the most from the most bungled projects. The endless use of trite symbolism, pointless bits of plot, total lack of character development make this a mess based on someone's unedited, overloaded psyche.
What might suck you in as it did me, is that Langella and Gould are fine actors and always interesting to look at. As you get further into the movie you may find yourself watching to see if the write's/directors can top themselves with corny, sentimental symbols and pseudo-deep meaning gobbledegook.
Wow, one of the thugs is watching a movie on TV about blood and horror. How many times have we seen that f trope? Wow, one of the main characters likes children....what a heckuva guy! Wow, someone feels guilty for helping a corporation kill innocents in pursuit of profit (when does that ever happen in real life?). Elliot Gould and Frank Langella have cut their credibility in half with me (though everyone should see him as Nixon) for taking whatever money they took to star in this thoroughly inept, amateurish tangle.
I'm Not There (2007)
like a richly budgeted student film, tedious, long, artsy in the worst sense
By all means rent it so you can fast forward to the Cate Blanchett scenes. But even her scenes are too long and the theme of how Dylan changes and the 'man', the BBC reporter, just don't get it is repeated eight or nine times.
Even if I wanted a rehash of the Dylan mythology, I don't need a pretentious meaningfulness to it. And I don't need the same ideas over and over. Give me a story with some flow.
This was a chopped up mess, albeit with a few brilliant flashes. And wayyy too long. And wayyy too much about the filmmaker being clever. Gosh, Dylan is different people and he changes. I get it.
Clockwatchers (1997)
Dreamlike comedy about lost people - excellent
For once our "Oregonian" reviewer stated it brilliantly. This movie successfully "marries Kafka with Dilbert." The visual beauty and serenity of this film is astonishing and mirrors the dreamlike drift of the film's plot, a wry look at the lives of 4 women lost in a vapid corporate office where they are temp workers. I imagine this is what a movie made by Edward Hopper (working contemporarily) would look like.
Con Air (1997)
awful, awful, awful
I trusted that anything Cusack was in would be good. He owes me a couple of hours back in my life. What a load of garbage, cliches, no one is of interest. Save your time, if you want an action movie, see the Replacement Killers, even the worst Gibson/Glover movie is better than this
The Daytrippers (1996)
mini-road trip flick, clever and with a sneaky heart!!!!!!
Kind of a mini-road trip film, only with Anne Meara nagging you all the way along, and you drop into strangers NYC lives at every turn.......it's a fun, verbal movie. I've fallen in love with Parker Posey as a result. Also, there's her boyfriend who expatiates and expounds on his novel who is a perfect representation of me (or let's face it you....whoever you are...if you're an artist or wannabe artist/writer/etc). Clever and with a sneaky heart!!!!!!
Rushmore (1998)
a failure, tries to be fantasy and real, fails at both
People, what are all you Rushmore fans thinking? I'm a gonzo Bill Murray fan, I loved the fantasies of Caddyshack, Groundhog Day, and Kingpin. But Rushmore tries to be a black mayhem comedy and tries to be meaningful heartfelt, etc. and thus does neither.
As to the raves for Bill Murray's performance. He was okay, but it wasn't any big acting challenge. I kept feeling angry during the film, when they'd get to a part that required good writing to deal with emotions, they escaped by just blowing up something else or running it over. A big bummer, big disappointment. What a relief to see Replacement Killers, a comic-book visually groovy 3000 bullet movie that accomplished exactly what it set out to do, and whose 42 seconds of emotion are 42 seconds more than Rushmore exhibits.
The Replacement Killers (1998)
finely done comic book bulletfest with excellent actors
This accomplishes what I believe it sets out to do: A visual treat of comic book, simple good vs. evil, sexy, rhythmic violence. Yet much less violent than most such movies, it's mostly the sound and flash of bullets, speeding cars, etc. Only a few moments of up close gore. Both Chow Yun-Fat and Mira Sorvino are great to look at, and carry off their emotionally cool yet highly ethical postures superbly. I was completely entertained.....what a relief after seeing the disappointing, posturing Rushmore the same day.