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whitman4562001
Reviews
Ask the Dust (2006)
My favorite movie this year
I read the book 8 years ago. I was moved by it. I saw the movie today, and everything in the movie was the way I pictured things in the book. This has got to be the best movie of the year. I thought it did justice to the great John Fante's classic. I can also see why Charles Bukowski liked Fante so much... he was one of the first writers that wrote about the LA of rooming houses, cheap hotels and seedy lounges... although, I feel Ask the Dust, the book and the movie, made it seem a little more romantic. I can't say enough about Colin Farrell's performance; this is by far my favorite. Salma, I have always liked. The sets and the costumes were also spot on. I was transported back in time. I liked the fact that there was very little profanity, which kept the integrity of the book and was most likely accurate for the period that was being portrayed. I think no matter what station in life you were in back then, you always tried to put on your best face. This was interesting, because it contrasted with the dingy atmosphere of 1930's LA.
Deep Blue Sea (1999)
I'm now a true Renny Harlin fan
This movie put me directly in the Renny Harlin camp. Some might argue that is was too derivative of Jaws; but I would disagree. Renny used Jaws as an influence and created a very engaging fresh story... that stretched Jaws a little farther... in that the story provided a reason for the sharks to attack. And, believe it or not, I thought the sharks looked a lot more menacing than the one in Jaws. I am not sure why Renny gets such a bad rap on this site. Every movie I have seen of his delivers what it is suppose to deliver: wall to wall action, and likable characters( though not too deep) that we can all root for. I look forward to his future films. I think he is the best of the popcorn directors, and hope other aspiring directors follow his lead.
Gummo (1997)
Another Cheap Shot at Middle America
1. The people in this movie do not represent middle or small town America. I, like many others who live in the Midwest can tell you that small towns in those states are filled with good honest hard-working people. And, if there are any bad apples they usually wind up in jail.
2.I read a lot of reviews from people who claim to have grown up in a small town and then proceed to tell us that the characters in Gummo are representative of the people they grew up with. With that said I have some questions for you all. Are you like Solomon, Tummler, or the Bunny Boy? Are you that Dad who pimped his retarded daughter to two underage kids? Do you torture small animals? I imagine most of you would say no, you are not like that. And based on your writing all of you sound a lot more intelligent than those people.So,now, maybe you can tell us all how you escaped the fate of the so called Gummo-like characters you grew up with. Also tell us how you became so smart when you were surrounded by such despair. I truly mean this when I say your stories of how you transcended such dire circumstances probably are very inspiring.
3. Sarcasm aside. It is helpful when you watch movies like this to "read between the lines". If you do, you would see the Director does not like small towns or the people living in them and wanted to take a cheap shot at Middle America.
Bob Roberts (1992)
Not Prophetic or Chilling, It's funny...but not in the way it was intended to be.
What amuses me is how and why anyone would think anything in this movie would pertain to politics today. My guess is that Tim Robbin's actually does. I find this film very funny in that it highlights the truly, simple and "cartoonish" intellect and understanding that Tim Robbins and his compatriots have when it comes to politics. This is not to say that there weren't some good ideas. For instance,(spoilers)the idea of a folk singing Republican Canidate was quite funny. It's just that anything that was comedic was over run by some of the most sophomoric clichés. This script could have been made into something very good if it was given to the likes of Matt Stone and Trey Parker.
Unforgiven (1992)
Unforgiven is to westerns as the Dixie Chicks are to country music
SPOILERS SPOILERS
This was essentially a western for those who don't like westerns(the coffee shop and art house crowd). I felt it went way out of it's way to debunk the lore and mythology surrounding the genre. Along with that it was very preachy as it drove home its point about violence having consequences, along with all the other "pc" messages. The biggest problem I had with it though was the Scofield Kid's coming to Jesus about killing someone. In the west, a kid of that kind would have encountered the death of a man before. At the very least he would have gone hunting and killed an animal. Added to that, would a kid who was able to bust someone's leg with a shovel, really be that upset over a first killing? He might be moved by it but i don't think he would've cried. Also, why was he able to walk away from this. I would think it would've been more dramatic to show that once he has killed he can't go back to the way he was before. In closing, as I have said in the title, this was to westerns, what the Dixie chicks are to country music.