Strummer's Reviews

Well my main point was that the characters and dialogue were not that great but they were given a back seat to the fun twisting plot. In short, it had its bad points that were outweighed overall and so it was a solid three. I tried to weigh the good and bad points, but I guess I wasn't clear that the good outweighed the bad. I'll work harder (ha!, nifty literary reference ) soon I expect to be reviewing The Woodsman

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"Like all dreamers, Steven mistook disenchantment for truth."

Cool. I haven't had an opportunity to see it yet, even tho' I really want to see Bacon shine. He's such a cool guy.

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"Today, war is too important to be left to politicians. They have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought. I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids."

I guess I liked The Spanish Prisoner more than everyone else, but a good review nonetheless. I was pretty gripped by the film, the acting never bothered me (although nothing was truly standout), and the script not only had some fine dialogue, but a plot that has quite a bit of surprise twists and turns. A 3.5/4 in my book.

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"Sleep is the best form of meditation."- Dalai Lama

The plot was definitely a lot of fun but I couldn't stand the dialogue. I don't think anyone talks like that in real life. It was mostly a problem I had early in the film, when the conversations were casual. They just didn't sound casual. There was just no hiding that it was carefully scripted dialogue rather than spontaneous banter. Some of it even made me cringe. The acting wasn't bad it's just that like I said, IMO they couldn't have done too much with that dialogue. That said it was a entertaining film overall and a solid rental.

No one said they did. Mamet is a playwright who's dialogue has a rhythmic quality, it's not meant to be realistic. It's a bit lazy to compare him to Shakespeare but people didn't speak blank verse in the 16th Century either, it's a stylistic device.

I love Mamet's writing but don't prefer it to other skillful screenplays, just a refreshing change...

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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan

Hmm, the Jacket; I saw this movie for Adrian Brody, so I did not expect much except superb acting. The movie didn't do to well in theaters so when I rented it, I was just looking for the acting. Brody was great, I wouldn't say Hoffmanesque, but more his own style, much more mellow than Hoffman. The problem I found with this movie was the foundation was a bit flimsy. There were times that I said "what the hell" to myself. The movie itself reminded me of the structure of Sleepers, but with a weird setup and intergeneration sex. Kiera Knightley was just a little too weird and didn't really fit in. I could not stand watching the 'sex scene' due to what it involved; just a little too weird for me. However, I did think it had a great musical score and Jennifer Jason Leigh was great. The movies story held a lot more similarities to Butterfly Effect. This comparison made the Jacket seem much better than it really was because Butterfly Effect, well I don't really like to talk about that.

Comparing this film to 12 Monkees or possibly Jacob's Ladder before viewing it can lead to just too much hatred towards this film. I wouldn't say this is an exact ripoff of Jacob's Ladder, but it does hold way too many similarities for comfort. What can you do about that though, hollywood never seems to have an original idea these days.

This is a quiet and subdued film, but it manages to pack a powerful punch. Walter (Kevin Bacon) was sent away from his hometown for a reason not to be revealed as it would dilute the impact of the scene in which he says it himself. The film is about his return to the community, the alienation he is put through upon his retun and his attempts to deal with the problem that caused his departure.
The film has many subtle ways, from music to signs to repetition of actions and phrases to get the point across. However the main component is the shining performances. Kevin Bacon delivers some of his most challenging lines ever with a quiet grace that suggests that he has really become his character. Mos Def plays the role of frustrated, passionate cop with an air of confidence that is both surprising and highly impressive. The director does the best thing he could possibly do by staying out of the way and leaving things up to the actors and the extremely solid script. There are no unnessesary stylistic flourishes in this movie except for one regrettable scene in which the voice of a sports commentator can be heard giving the play-by-play as a dramatic scene unfolds. Since this would never really happen and the movie is intended to be realistic, this detracts from the scene and highlights the fact that it is just a movie. However the ultimate redemption is delivered in the climax of the film which unlike in most movies, contains no music and is simply a conversation between two characters but gets its power not from the scene itself but from its significance in tandem with all of the other events in Walter's life. It literally had me yelling at the tv which I practically never do. What more can be said, other than: this is one of the best movies of 2004 and I highly recommend it.




Strummer's Grade ****

Very interesting! You've made me want to see this one, and after Stir of Echos I was ready to swear off Bacon. Nice review!

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Review: Cabin in the Woods 8/10

Is it better than Tremors??

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I feel kind of lame for starting up this thread and then calling it quits after only three reviews. However, since joining the forums, I have kept a journal of the movies I have seen writing my reactions to many of them, so I have decided to include some of these ramblings here. Of course they are not as polished as a real review but they are what went through my head immediately after watching the film.

Sideways

This movie rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, but I was really groovin' on it. It's a movie with a lot of implied internal dialogue that makes it feel like a book if you read between the lines. It's one kind of film I really like: very character driven without a strong plot. One of those that just takes a few deeply flawed, conflicted characters that are very nuanced to begin with and lets a loose series of events develop them further for you. Mia is really the only pure character. Giamatti can pull most of the emotions that exist together into one compact character and not feel like he's grasping.

That's just amazing.
Get a job reviewing. I'd read you. OK, I already am, but you know what I mean.

Yeah, I'm going to have to echo Sammie here - excellent thoughts about Sideways. I'm glad to see so many people see it (and enjoy it) for what it really is.

In other news, I bought Sideways (the novel) yesterday. I hear good things, and I loved the film so much, I figured I'd give it a go.

I've been thinking of reading it too. As I've said I think the film really views like a novel, and I'd like to compare. Be sure to let us know what you think of it.

I might if I had the chance. Then, instead having way less time than I'd like to watch films, I'd be able to (and have to) watch them every day. Sorry for the double post, but I don't really feel the need to fix it.

Through calculated confusion, this movie manages to stay a step ahead of the viewer. It is always just a little over your head yet you experience exactly what the characters are feeling. Masterful work by Shane Carruth, the film gets you interested and keeps you intrigued by never giving too much away, so you are starving for the morsels of information it is slowly feeding you. You won't really be sure what happened by the end, but like a good magic show, the entertainment is all in the confusion and misdirection.

Good review for an awesome movie. I rented this movie during the summer because i heard it had done well at Sundance, and i absolutely loved it. I went out and bought it right away. I'd like to see Carruth do some more stuff, because the guy clearly has talent.

Nice reviews Strummer, you've got some talent & good on you for not just choosing mainstream films to review. Which means your reviews are useful because I wouldn't normally know that much about these movies. This is especially because a lot of my friends aren't movie buffs (foolish people) so keep up the good work

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Concert Tab!! MOFO poetry Been Dreaming Lately?

Thanks Spooky.

you know, this is great reading material review-wise...why'd you stop? you should keep going...

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