Reviews

A very entertaining look at naive hippiedom. The glimpses and interviews with the not-so-well-groomed attendees are often hilarious (unintentionally) and sometimes heartbreaking (A man admits to regularly giving his 3 year old son acid and marijuana) The hippyspeak is also very enjoyable. The word "money" is never used--its always "bread, man" etc. The hippies feel that they have an entitlement to free music, (It was only $3 to get in. Boy, hippies were cheap) ,while the promoters claim that they are just trying to break even. Meanwhile some of the artists (Never "musician" or "bands", always the "artists") are not being paid. Tiny Tim wisely demands to be paid up front in cash. The diverging interest set up an interesting backdrop for the music- like when one promoter states that not so many port-o-johns are needed because its a well known fact that everyone gets constipated on vacation. This guy has never been to Mexico. With some exceptions, the music is of the plodding, indulgent, extended jams variety. Thank goodness, punk rock came around and ended people like Emerson Lake and Palmer from doodling on the synthesizer for ten minute stretches. Mix in a hook, ok? Their performance in particular reminded me of Spinal Tap as their pyrotechnics accidentally catches the entire stage on fire. Meanwhile the emcee asks the crowd if there are any fireman out there. We did like Ian Anderson's codpiece, though.

I saw this film in the 70's (on PBS i believe) and remember laughing out loud at the unlikely inventions offered up with earnestness and enthusiasm by their slightly delusional inventors(before watching them go wrong, horribly wrong). Great b/w vintage footage. Its like America's Funniest Home Video's for The New Yorker readers.

Probably the worst of Mamet's recent entries. Some of the action/suspense sequences are laughably unbelievable, but I'll watch any movie with a line like "She could talk her way out of a sunburn". Shades of Raymond Chandler. There were enough snappy one-liners to barely keep my interest and forgive the indulgences. I liked the affected delivery of the actors, unlike a lot of my fellow amateur critics. (Hey, its a movie about a "Heist", what do you expect?) See Spanish Prisoner or State and Main well before this.

As noble and as grandly ambitious as this film is, the characters and their relationships are never fleshed out and each generation's narrative resolutions are annoyingly abrupt, almost as afterthoughts. I believe the characters were meant and used as symbols more than as actual humans. I never sensed much difference between each of the three protagonists (nor in Mr. Fiennes portrayal of same) and the total effect was numbing. I applaud the film's reach and assimilation-at-what-cost? themes, but the disjointed narrative and thin characters proved its undoing.

I laughed several times during the course of this movie. But those few laughs did not redeem this mess. I liked that the film was overtly sexual...it just wasnt very funny. Very juvenile, and the bad, groan-inducing jokes outweigh the funny ones by a factor of 20. I mean, were the makers trying to set the cinema record for most fart jokes? I prefer a movie that keeps the number of flatulence gags in single digits. Another gripe-other than a nod here and there, the film was a send-up of Scream only. I would have liked some parody of older horror movies. But thats probably not where this film was targeted. Verdict-Skip if you're over 12.

I suppose its easy to simply dismiss a film like this that mawkishly wears its heart on its sleeve with each and every scene. I tried to resist this impulse and was able to look past the first 20 groaners. The film beat me into submission. I love Jennifer Connelly and really wanted to like this film but the corny dialogue, too-artsy pretentious editing and monotone emotional stance (Supersensitive Fielding is "forlorn" the entire running length) ,wore out their welcome. The leads did have a good chemistry and I applaud the ambition of the film (as well as the maker's non-use of worn out Big Chill-like music to soundtrack the flashback scenes), but mark this one as an earnest failure.

I wanted to like like this film. Having spent some time in Thailand , I was eager to see a film in which Koh Phagnan was portrayed. Wow, was this dissappointing. No character development. Implausibility. Silly changes in tone. This film has more shark attacks than Jaws. In warm water Thailand? The community's compound was reminiscent of a luxury resort, not a slacker hangout. The film's final third simply makes no sense. While I applaud the audacious and Non-Hollywood approach this film takes, it is a bold failure. Pretty locales, though.

Something About Mary showed signs, beyond the hilarious and ribald gags, of emotion and real storytelling in the filmmaking of the Farrelly's. It was a quantum leap beyond their previous efforts. Unfortunately, with this entry, they focused too much on those new aspects at the expense of their strengths. In fact, I do not believe this film was intended as a comedy. As such, Dumb and Dumber fans be forewarned. While I applaud this attempt at a heartfelt, personal film, the movie fails. The simple kids vs. establishment narrative is lame, the characters are stock and the inclusion of a handicapped brother seemed pandering and desperate to me. I did like the father-son relationship and Alec Baldwin's non-leading man turn as well as some of the well observed period details (Remember "clackers"? ---- I ,too, got "Goodbye Yellowbrickroad" as a Christmas gift). The soundtrack is also solid. Rent Dazed and Confused instead.

A movie that takes a page out of Tim Burton's book, it will not be liked by those that need their films grounded in any kind of reality. As a comedy, it succeeds well indeed (the very idea of basing a film on superheroes who only think that they have superpowers is funny and provides the setup for many of the film's funny moments), however, there is less to recommend on the action side. The film retains a comic book sensibility, that you you will either like or hate. I liked it. Recommendation to its filmmakers: make the lead villain more dastardly and remove "spleen man" altogether. Positive notes: the different styles of the gangs (my favorite being the frat boys) and the line "We're on a blind date with destiny and it looks like she' ordering the lobster"

Lighten up fellow reviewers. This is a slight, likeable teen romp. Good moments (mtv guy's bad dance, pretentious performance art) overcome a few slow periods. I must admit, though, that I am already confusing this film with 10 Things I Hate about you.

If you see lots of movies, you will probably not find this to be shocking or "sick". You will find it to be boring. Its slick, but hollow. The victim is dead at film's start, so the viewer has no emotional investment in the case--other than your basic good vs. evil thing. So we are left with a sleuth movie devoid of plot twists (or much plot) or cleverness. The movie is too lazy to give us a couple of other suspects who turn out to be sleazy, sure enough, but innocent. Of course, the bad guys are very bad (and wear black and leather a lot) and the good guy is very good. (How about a little nuancing like in "Tightrope" where Clint Eastwood gets a little revved at the seedy things going on around him) Style and dark titilation are left to satisfy the viewer, but they are not close to enough. Stunningly bad.

Though the main plot involving a swindle was lame and bogged down the laughs late in the movie, there were more than enough funny dead-eyed observances ,asides and other quirks to strongly recommend this film, especially if youve ever worked in an office: eg reference to swingline staplers, the happy waiter with 37 pieces of "flair" and his appetizers (what were their names?, i forgot), the nebbish mumbler with the funniest over-the-top accent since Bill Murray in Caddyshack, the consultants(the Bobs)reverence for singer Michael Bolton etc. I was really surprised at the intelligence of this movie.

With Bullets Over Broadway, Mighty Aphrodite and Everyone Says I love You, Woodie had strung together a number of very likable and quite funny films. With this and Deconstructing Harry he gets more serious. Too bad. This bilious mess could have used an editor. I think, because he can get so many big stars so easily, he writes too many characters into this film, without the spread-thin script being able to support all of them.

"Do your parents know that you're Ramones?". Fashions aside, this basic rock-n-roll, high school rebellion movie holds up nicely today. I love the evil hall monitors. Great soundtrack filled with 2 and a half minute songs. An excellent antidote to Grease.

The similarities between this and "Heathers" seem more than coincidental. Heathers was a great movie and I'd be up for a remake or whatever ,but not this. A black comedy that isnt very funny. On the positive side , there is the impossibly voluptuous Rose McGowan.

Not Boorman's best ,but certainly watchable. I appreciated that the main character was not especially glamorized (I did not like him at all), but the narrative thread was weak and the running time was too long. I enjoyed it as a history/social studies lesson. Cahill's childish ploys to "pervert" the judicial system would not fly on these shores, but they appeared to work in the film. Also,to someone with an ear for these things, how was Jon Voight's accent?

First, I admire the audacity of the filmmakers here. But, alas, this is a very bad film. People tend to tread lightly over and treat with "kid gloves" any movie involving the Holocaust or serious homosexual themes. Criticizing such films is tantamount to anti-Semiticism or homophobia. These filmmakers were probably trying to multiply such sympathies by using both themes. Its theatre source is apparent. It's pretentious and tries too hard to push our buttons. Bad outing.

I was dumbfounded at how bad this movie is. So bad it's good. My brother thinks this is the worst movie ever and watches it over and over again for the camp appeal. SEE THIS MOVIE.

A sly satire on fame and celebrity from out of left field. This is not typical Bronson. Surprisingly good.

Fantastic. I've never seen a film quite like this. I was amazed by the visual flair of this movie, its kineticism and the choreography of the animals. I realize that the moving mouths were special effects, but most of detailed animal interaction seemed real. The dialogue was witty and the animal characters were drawn more richly than in most"grown-up" films. The best chase scene in recent years has to be the one here involving Spuds McKenzie. I,too, believe the stature of this film will grow in later years. Minor complaint: the "bouncy" sequence was out of place and too long (see the beginning of Thunderdome for a better version)

This is a better Marx Bros movie than the Marx Bros ever made (possibly excluding Duck Soup). Hilarious from start to finish.

I am a big Jonathon Demme fan, even going back to Handle With Care (Did anyone other than me see this film?), so I was very disappointed with this convoluted mess. Making a film from a richly loved book can be troublesome. The film feels like it came from a book, as if the director was afraid to leave out any of the details and alienating the book's legion of fans. Plus the supernatural side of the story is better left to the imagination. On screen, it comes off as ridiculous and hokey. Oprah is fine, but the title character is tremendously annoying. Stop reading here if you haven't seen the film, but she kept reminding me of those not-quite-right pets from Pet Sematary. I normally admire over the top acting, but this is more like over the top of top. Embarrassing stuff. I Have other issues:(1) what was up with that white woman who helps Oprah give birth? She was almost as annoying as Beloved;(2)What happened to the sons?;(3)Why did the makers cut to a seemingly gratuitous and graphic scene of Oprah urinating? I rewound my vcr to figure out the significance and it went over my head twice. Unless you've read the book, you'll probably find this to be an indecipherable, indulgent mess.

If you are a protectionist, you will love this movie. Otherwise its terribly overrated. Despite some laughs ,the politics of the movie bored me---like watching someone you categorically disagree with on Crossfire, Nightline or similar combative, political talk show pontificate for 90 minutes without counterpoint. Weren't the 90's (the most economically healthy decade,maybe, ever in the USA) set up in large part by the "downsizing" and other corporate policies attacked here. I understand that the allure of macroeconomics or "the big picture" is meaningless if youve been laid off, but Mr Moore's approach is disingenuous and one-sided---the wrong side.