excalibur212 Reviews

Wrong Turn (I) (2003)

aka The Jersey Shore / J. Crew D-Bag Murders

[1/10 · 5 May 2019]

I couldn't even watch more than 10 minutes of this movie with these plastic d-bag, spray tanned pathetic B-rate actors. I think this whole movie is an ad for a J. Crew or Brooks Brothers collared shirt, or perhaps Sun Tanning Salon.

Maybe if you raised on Jersey Shore (in real life or the the TV show), you know people who look or dress like this in real life. In the woods. Or maybe not.

I'm not sure what's more fake - the plastic looking body parts of the murder victims, or the silicone and plastic bodies of these actors.

BARF.

Road House (1989)

one of the dumbest most ridiculous movies ever made

[1/10 · 26 May 2018]

After seeing this movie promoted and satirized for over 20 years I thought it was finally time I watched it (really had no desire to ever see this when I was young, and now I know why). This has to be one of the dumbest, most insanely ridiculous movies ever made. Almost every scene and the entire plot was so laughably fake and ridiculous, it's amazing to me anyone in this film was ever able to land another acting, directing, or writing job after this (not sure about the latter two)! I mean come on, the daily "bar fights" where they're destroying half the bar doing $10,000-30,000 worth of damgae and everyone sits by like this happens every night. It immediately brought to mind the flashback scene in Airplane!, where "a fight broke out almost every night"....it was that ridiculously staged and directed. Give me a break. I don't care what "subplot" they had going on, if that kind of damage was done to a bar every night, they coudln't stay in business more than 2 days, even if they were being run by the mob! They'd have to rebuild the place, order tens of thousands of dollars of new furniture and liquor every day. What a joke!!! Then the cliched and hackneyed scene, one after the other, where the story just centers around Patrick Swayze's chest and a bunch of 3rd-rate actors giving each other "evil eye"! I love how everyone from big fat guys, to the 50-60 year old owners and crooked townspeople, apparently know Ju Jit Su can fight off entire crowds Bruce Lee stytle....LOFL!!! I've seen a lot of bad 80's movies in my day (and many that have held up extremely well over the years...this is definitely not one of them, as it was never worth even filming to begin with)! I laughed so hard at almost every line of dialogue and laughable scene that took itself so seriously. If you gave this a good review, you must have doo-doo for brains. If you own this movie, you must be mentally challenged and should really take an IQ test. Haahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

What are all these 24-25yo's still doing in high school?

[3/10 · 28 October 2017]

OK right from the beginning I was trying to understand why this high school kid was hitting on like a 22-24yo waitress. Then I realized, oh wait, everyone who's 23-25 year old in this movie is still in high school. LOFL!! OK admittedly even the original cast actors 20-21yrs old (which was more common in "teen" movies back in the 80's, but not in 2010+)... But mid-twenties actors pretending to be in high school? This is really over the line. Who exactly is not supposed to notice this, the real 17-18yo's watching who wonder why everyone is 5-6 years older than them in the movie? Or people over 30 who don't know what their 25 year old friends or kids looks like? LOFL!!

Rebel in the Rye (2017)

amateurish C+ movie making.... Salinger is rolling in his grave

[2/10 · 18 September 2017]

I was excited and optimistic to see this, to see if these relatively unknown (to me) filmmakers would approximate anything close to a realistic portrayal of the man who bore the fictional legend. Sadly, it was a big disappointment. Admittedly I know as little about Salinger as most anyone does, but from what little I have read and learned about the person and his life, the whole film just seemed ill cast and played like a very contrived, superficial depiction of the man and his work. I would question how much research the film makers actually did, or perhaps just their sensibilities at understanding an aloof, isolated, lost soul, who is depicted a bit too pretty, perfect and dapper even in the pinnacle of his youth...not the Salinger I think anyone who really related to or understood someone deeply tortured as he would characterize him. It kind of felt like Matt Damon/pretty boy of the week doing his best Toby MacQuire (he would have actually been a better casting choice, the pre-Spiderman less Hollywood Toby we knew from The Icestorm or Pleasantville Days, that is...or perhaps even a Zach Braff circa Garden State type lead, if one must cast an up-and-coming star with socially aloof predilections). But Nicholas Hoult, whoever you are (I don't really follow current celebrity trends)...you are no young Salinger.

Then there's Kevin Spacey, who, looking plump and unpolished, is still one of my least favorite actors (House of whatever, shut up, yes I know)...he's the same in every movie to me. For the first few scenes in the classroom, I actually found myself questioning if it was really Spacey indeed, for the first time in my life finding him in a persona where I didn't immediately recognize, "Oh, I'm watching Kevin Spacey being Kevin Spacey, trying to act." I'm almost certain those classroom scenes were looped (ADR) with his or another actor's voice, because mid-way through the movie Kevin's distinct lispy dialog crept back in, and suddenly I was just watching Kevin Spacey be himself again. I'm not sure who the actor was who dubbed over his voices during the first act, but I did enjoy that side of Spacey, a side where for once I forget who he was. An uneven performance? To say the least.

Perhaps most annoyingly, Basil Exposition kept popping up...the writers/filmmakers over-use of catchwords like "phonies" and "giving' her the time" ripped from the pages of Catcher were cute the first time, not really the second time, and by the fourth or fifth repetition I wondered if they really understood anything beyond a cursory textbook, tabloid interpretation of Salinger and his life at all.

I found myself waiting for the movie to end. Like many, this is one of my favorite books of all time, and this film attempt flopped short of any hopeful expectation.

Perhaps this first deeply flawed attempt will serve as an impetus for better writers/filmmakers/historians/researchers to come along, and finally do justice to the man and the masterpiece that have captivated and touched lost souls across this lonely planet for so long.

I'll still be waiting in the rye.

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Awful.... Horrible execution, I know I'm watching a MOVIE from minute 1....

[1/10 · 21 August 2016]

Add this to the list of movies that are so bad, I could not finish. And I'm the kind of guy who can sit through almost anything (read: royalty-free download) knowing that at least I made a commitment to start watching it and, therefore, should at least finish it, no matter how poorly made it is. So the coke-head hooker era was about to come crashing down and I thought, well, OK, at least this is almost over...but no, hit Pause, and 3 HOURS....only 1 HOUR in...TWO HOURS of this crap left??? Are you f-ing kidding me!?? Never hit resume. The whole farce is executed in such a silly, slapstick way that not for 20 seconds do you believe you're watching anything but a hyperbolized RE-ENANACTMENT similar to events that may have occurred. Sorry, I watch movies to live/experience/feel/get lost in the reality. Not to realize every second that I'm watching a MOVIE. Epic FAIL. And amatueristic attempt at noir. Not. Loved Titanic, Leo. At least then you had someone who knew how to make a movie. Goodbye. 1:02 minutes in and could bear no more fakeness. "NEXT!!!!!!!!"

Vacation (I) (2015)

Horrible acting, editing, not funny... F word for no reason like 5 times in first 10 minutes!

[1/10 · 9 July 2016]

I thought I'd give this a chance knowing it would never be even close to as well made or acted as the original (which I could tell just from the trailer) but I couldn't even make it past the first 10 minutes on video. HORRIBLE ACTING!! HORRIBLE EDITING! HORRIBLE FAKE CGI! Everything from the opening "plane" looks fake, like a cartoon, and it plays like a bad Naked Gun rip-off instead of a road trip comedy. Ed Helms can't act and neither can any of the supporting cast including the kids, except for Christina Applegate. I also find it hard to watch Helms as his fake-looking, too-perfect capped teeth are nearly blinding (it's like watching Friends where Ross whitened his teeth!).

Then there is the over-the-top, completely out of context use of profanity for no reason other than to get an R-rating. I'm the last one to care about profanity in a movie (and I don't have kids), but the parents and kids walk saying "F" this and that like it's nothing. In the first 5 minutes there was so much cursing it was ridiculous. No parents talk this way around their kids, or would allow their kids to talk like that! So unrealistic and jarring. It's so out of context and pointless. Horrible screenplay/writing. Trying to "shock" you with profanity from the mouths of babes to get a laugh because nothing else is funny.

There is nothing worse than when a director/editor can't even keep an actor on screen to finish 1 sentence of dialog (because he's so bad) that he has to constantly switch cameras. Am I really the only person bothered by this? It's so distracting and unnatural. An obvious chop-shop editing job attempt to cover up bad takes and poorly written/delivered lines. I can't even watch movies like this because the bad acting/constant camera switching is so distracting it gives me a headache. F- for flop central.

WTC View (2005)

Really, REALLY bad acting... but could offer some closure / worth a view for some

[3/10 · 3 March 2016]

I stumbled upon this movie somewhat randomly, as someone with a similar experience living in New York City and searching for roommates after 9/11, and had no idea anyone had ever made a film on this topic, and did enjoy and find commonality in a few brief moments and scenes. While I am straight, I went through much of the same emotional turmoil as the main character in my desperate search to find a roommate and continue my New York City life in the days and months following Sep 11. I ended up having to leave my apt, and began the first serious romantic relationship of my life in October 2001, an intensely passionate and largely dysfunctional relationship which ended horribly, yet nonetheless I will always love her dearly. In truth, we were both still grieving and dealing with these events in our own ways when we met, only weeks after these events, and if not for 9/11, we never would have met.

I still feel a lot of guilt over my anguish over the years and how Sep 11 affected me personally, because in comparison I was so fortunate compared to so many others who lost their lives, friends, loved ones, or suffered permanent health issues. But the emotional toll it took on all of those who lived through it directly, even those of us seemingly spared from direct loss, should not be overlooked. I am glad someone made a film about this. I only wish they had found better actors!

Unfortunately, the acting and directing are so bad that it's mostly hard to watch, as it takes away from the impact of the script (which isn't that bad and has some strong, cathartic moments). All the body language and interactions between the gay lead and his potential "roommates," were just "off", as if he had no idea how to relate to other straight or female actors. Even the way he interacted with his female best friend felt phony and forced. The only time the main actor seemed comfortable at all was during the gay scenes (nothing pornographic but definitely might be uncomfortable to some viewers), which I think says more about him as a bad actor than any statement about the film or events.

The Overnight (2015)

Perfect execution... Makes Eyes Wide Shut look like Mary Poppins

[10/10 · 4 January 2016]

What might be an average French film, makes a spectacular American tale about love and friendship, and the lines that blur them -- that abstract thing we all seek, which is human connection and understanding, in a place free from judgment. Any open-minded and free- thinking person, who has experienced a lot, or maybe not lived quite enough but yearns for something more, should enjoy the emotional awakening experienced among these four thinking and deeply feeling humans. This is at the same time a story about the comforts of stability and the drawl of temptation; it is a seduction more of the mind, than the body, that drives these characters. Don't be fooled, sex has very little to do with what any of these people really are after deep down inside. They are not so different from the rest of us.

The Big Bang Theory (2007–2019)

Perhaps the most unfunny show on TV

[1/10 · 6 November 2015]

I have no idea why people like this show so much, or think it's funny at all. Every time someone has it on, I cringe at how horribly "set up a one liner, deliver a punch line, play a laugh track" the jokes are. The humor is like something my grandparents would find funny. Oh, geeks/dorks are funny, that's so funny! Not really. The characters are trite and lame, and the jokes just aren't funny. A great show for people with no sense of humor or a sophisticated sense of comedy, who are easily amused by 4th grade giggles. IMDb tells me i need to write more here, but i can't even think of anything else to say about this show. There are so many funnier and better-written comedies that have come and gone over the years. I hope this show is long forgotten as soon as it goes off the air. It is a 1 compared to master comedies like Seinfeld, Friends, Frasier, Night Court, All in the Family, Family Ties, or any other 100's of way better shows that have come and gone over the years. I still laugh way harder watching 1 re-run of Night Court from the 1980's than I ever have at a single joke in this show.

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

Horrible acting, writing, and directing... Just cheesy

[1/10 · 13 September 2015]

The acting and writing was so bad I couldn't even make it past the first 20 minutes of this film. Overrated poorly-made film that was just riding on the coattails of Haley Joel Osment's short-lived early Sixth Sense fame. Utterly forgettable. IMDb says I need 10 lines of text to fill up this review, but I can't even think about that much to say about this film. Hyperbolous dialog that makes you say, "No one, even in some fantasy future time period, talks like that." Can I stop writing yet? Admittedly, i'm not a big sci-fi fan. Mostly because most science fiction movies, like this one, are stupid. But i couldn't get past the over-dramatic exposition to even make it into act one.

Still Life (I) (2013)

Perfect movie (drama/dark comedy).... If you liked this, also see About Schmidt

[10/10 · 5 April 2015]

Perfect movie! Easily 5 stars. From watching the trailer i knew it would be a dark/emotional film, and it was flawlessly executed and delivered (written/directed/edited)!

Do not expect a happy feel-good movie! This is a masterpiece for the thinking/intellectual/soulful human, not your average idiot moviegoer.

Themes include: family, estrangement/reconciliation, empathy, loss, life, death, loneliness/isolation, personal/spiritual journeys, and ultimately finding peace/happiness and freeing the soul).

If you liked this movie and aren't the type of moron who calls it "depressing" because it's not your Hollywood feel-good bubblegum nonsense, you'll probably also enjoy some other great dark films that explore similar themes: "About Schmidt", "Leaving Las Vegas", and "My Girl". I highly recommend all 3 films.

p.s. You also may need to turn on the subtitles to catch some of the slang in just a couple of key/funny scenes if you're not a Brit or really good with UK dialect (90% of the movie is perfectly intelligible to an American ear, but i definitely had to google some of those great local euphemisms in a few fast-spoken lines), but well worth it... I'm ready to watch it again. Definitely needs a few repeated viewings to catch all the metaphors and inside jokes.

Watch it. :-)

Playing God (1997)

94 minutes you'll never get back...if you can stay awake

[1/10 · 4 December 2012]

One of the most boring movies i've seen in a long time, with a story that never really takes off, and a plot that goes nowhere, makes no sense, and can be summarized in one line. The only reason i even watched it was because i was having trouble sleeping, bored, and it was on a "2 for 1" Blu-Ray with "Color of Night" with Bruce Willis and Jane March (a GREAT B-movie, that is one of those it's so bad it's good...highly recommended and underrated!). I would never have paid to watch this movie or even taken time to download it for free...i can't imagine who would. I never understood why some actors have a career (David Duchovny, Kevin Cline, Kevin Spacey) who can't even act and deliver all their lines like they're stoned or asleep, in every single movie they're in. I guess they have good agents. Funny to see Angelina Jolie before she got all buffed and toned; her face actually reminds me of Christina Ricci in a strange way, without the toning and slimmed cheeks. I found nothing in this movie believable, including the strange casting choices (is Timothy's Hutton's character supposed to be bi/gay, because he certainly gives that vibe...i have never seen another movie with him in it either, and can't say i'd desire to). Basically no point to watch this movie unless you're having trouble sleeping, or out of curiosity because you bought the Color of Night Blu-Ray. Nuff said.

Twilight (I) (2008)

Perhaps the most linear, amateurish, subtext-free film ever....

[1/10 · 7 April 2009]

I could tell from the trailer this movie was trash, but out of curiosity and boredom/insomnia i gave it a download (would never pay a penny to watch this). I couldn't even make it halfway through without turning it off. The storytelling was like reading a children's book: everything told in linear fashion, and then spelled out with "flashcards" two seconds later in case anyone was still too dense to understand (e.g. say wolf, then show a picture of a wolf on the screen...show a book she wants, then two scenes later show her in the library...gee, thanks, i wouldn't have understood without the spoon-feeding). I think this movie was meant for 12 year olds or people of very low intelligence. They should show movies like this to film students and do play by plays, "OK, here's how NOT to shoot a scene/edit a movie...." How do studios actually give people with no talent money to make crap movies like this??? Do yourself a favor: Go see "Let The Right One In" instead. That is, if you have an IQ over 80.

Black Widow (1987)

One of the worst acted, directed, edited, and lighted films I've seen in a while

[1/10 · 17 September 2008]

I can't believe how many positive reviews there are of this movie. If you read them, they all start to sound suspiciously similar in their praising, which makes me wonder if they are planted by the people involved with this film or some obsessed fan of bad 80's movies. Anyway...

I caught this movie on FMC and started watching it out of curiosity, because the only mention I've ever heard of it was during a scene from In Living Color's "Men on Film". After about 15 minutes of viewing, I could see why! This is one of the most poorly realized films i've seen in a long time. I watched the whole thing only out of morbid curiosity, hoping it would get better or that i was missing something, but i wasn't. The entire thing was predictable and ridiculous (are we really expected to believe that cops and FBI agents in any part of the late 20th century are stupid enough to ignore a string of blatantly related homicides involving large inheritances?), but moreover it is just incredibly badly acted and assembled full of choppy scenes that go nowhere. The thing that bothered me right from the beginning was how dumb any casting director could be to cast 2 brunettes who looked so similar, with a crew who refused to provide any lights on the set? I'd ask who lighted this movie, but obviously no one. With the poor quality of the broadcast and dark, barely visible scenes, for the first 30 minutes of the movie, i wasn't even sure if i was watching two different women. Of course, as the film progresses with its pandering, blatant style and symbolism (that jewelry gift is so subtle, where did the writers come up with it?), you realize the similarities are intentional, yet struggle to cope with the insult of such "beating you over the head with the obvious" attempts of amateur movie-making. And why is it categorized as a "mystery", when every single plot element and scene is spelled out for you like you're a child? I guess they had to have a "surprise ending", otherwise you'd have no reason to watch it! It lacks pace, good direction, editing that makes any sense (what is with that scene in the shower where she can't get the water to shut off...I mean, what kind of exposition is this??), and all these TV-movie-like fade-outs that made you feel like you are expecting commercials. I wish there had been some...it would have given me a good reason to glance back at the screen again while I multi-tasked doing other more productive things than wasting time absorbing how people so unskilled and untalented can produce a film. Do yourself a favor and enjoy this movie the best possible way it can be: As an obscure 80's reference while laughing out loud to the first season DVD box set of "In Living Color"!

Affliction (1997)

The worst "affliction" is watching this entire thing from beginning to end...

[1/10 · 25 May 2008]

This piece of sloth won an Oscar? You've got to be kidding me. This is perhaps the most slow moving, boring, uneventful "drama" I've ever watched. You kept waiting for something to happen, and nothing did. Half the time you couldn't even make out the dialogue (I think Nolte was drunk or stoned in real life as he mumbled through the script; and, no, I don't think it was intentional). There's a toothache, a murder, a divorce....and why do I care? This movie struggles trying to decide what to be. Is it a murder mystery? A drama? Or just a pointless waste of time? Mostly the latter. The ending made absolutely no sense at all and was completely unfulfilling to the script and the audience. The expected gradual buildup one anticipated was completely absent...there is no "descent into madness" or anything like that. It is more like 2 hours of nothing, horribly drawn out, followed by about 5 minutes of a series of events that should have been the climax, mostly reduced to flashback and 3rd party offscreen narration! (And bad narration, I might add - Willem Dafoe might be a great actor, but he should never be allowed to read/narrate a film again. He sounds like he's reading out of a book.) I understand the deeper intent, but the execution was pathetic. I would not curse sitting through this entire film again on anyone. There are much better movies out there to deal with substance abuse and violence...this is not one of them. Mostly it's just a bunch of exposition and wasted time. Quite an affliction on the viewer indeed!

The Invisible (2007)

Thank God there was a car chase scene to spike some originality into it...

[1/10 · 23 April 2008]

The biggest mystery in this film is how people who have no talent and have been in the business like 5 years doing nothing but TV are able to land starring roles in a major motion picture. From the hackneyed writing, to the misguided delivery of the lines, to the slice and dice MTV editing job, this was one talent-free performance. When people say a movie like this is good, I really question their intelligence. Sure, it's mildly entertaining, the kind of movie you'd watch out of boredom during the downtime in your hotel room or on a flight, but there's not a single moment of originality or noteworthy performance here whatsoever. The trailer basically tells you the whole plot, everything is told completely linear, there is no "mystery", no surprises or unexpected twists and turns, and the first 15 minutes of the movie solves the murder, so what is the point of watching? The romance might have been interesting, if we hadn't already seen the same plot in Ghost. Basically everything is spelled out loud with no subtext at all. You can even predict every moment when someone is about to get grabbed from off-screen. Then there are the characters, who are basically all pathetic and loathsome, so why would you feel sorry for any of them? The droopy-eyed lead is miscast as he looks like a total sociopath (what's with that emotionless gaze? is this the opposite of the Method?), and the girl's character actually is one. Then there's the fact that less than 24 hours after a teenager disappears, we have a plain-clothed "detective" show up (and 10 seconds is devoted to how great he is at his job--um, who cares? His character is just exposition anyway and is never developed, so this is just a movie cliché). First of all, no special agent, detective, or other non-uniformed officer is going to show up at your doorstep just to file a report for a teenager missing less than a day. Do you know how many people get reported missing each day? You'd be lucky if you could get 1 uniformed cop to fill out a report (they'd probably make you phone it in). Then before you know it, there's an all-out manhunt for the kid with police dogs and a whole crew of rescue workers, even though no one has any reason to suspect foul play. Right. That always happens. If you're a rock star. I think someone's been watching reruns of Rescue 911 too much. Then the Mom tells the detective she found a ticket to London in his coat, and the detective doesn't even wince...he still thinks this is the missing person's case of the century! Uh-huh. You know the acting and writing stinks when they have to repeatedly edit the picture with awkward cutaways to the back of the speaking actors' heads in the middle of lines (for you non-techies, it's called "looping"--in post-production, they re-edit the film to trim down or insert lines and footage to cover up the mistakes and bad acting). There are so many loops and cutaways you can barely get anyone on screen long enough to develop their character, as if the script left any room for it, which it didn't (it threw in a car chase scene instead, because we haven't seen enough of those in every movie ever made since 1964). These characters aren't developed well enough to become likable, and there is no redemption except in the face of death (and selfish attempts at preservation), so you don't really have any valid reason to feel sorry for anyone. The lead himself is basically an a-hole. You kind of are glad that he's killed. Wish the screenplay had been.

Bush's Brain (2004)

Poorly made, biased and meandering....and I hate Bush!

[1/10 · 26 September 2007]

This documentary was really a disappointment. I've been meaning to watch it for a while (even though it's all old news now) but was shocked at how uninformative it actually was. It basically meandered on in this "wild" allegation that politics are dirty and highly successful Republicans, namely Karl Rove, do whatever they can to get their candidates elected, including smear campaigns and so on. Well...DUH!??? What, have I been living in a bubble all my life? No kidding, Sherlock. I didn't need a documentary to tell me politics is a dirty game and there are many dirty players, especially the most successful ones. There was really very little specific information and virtually no hard evidence whatsoever. Don't get me wrong, I think Bush and Rove are a disgrace to our country but I can glean more from their slimy smirks on TV than I can from this loose documentary. It basically amounted to gathering everyone whom Rove has ever destroyed politically or personally in a room and having them lament (shouldn't this have been a lot more people?). It reminded me of the scene in JFK where Kevin Costner is in bed with his wife, and he sees the guy on a TV documentary smear him, and says "Oh look, there's the guy I sent up for murder!" The whole thing was just completely one-sided from people obviously very hurt personally by Rove, instead of a factual investigation into his many wrongdoings and an exploration of how he maintains and manipulates such control in the White House, which is what I was expecting from the title. The personal accounts really provided little insight. I also didn't appreciate the 20 minute lead-up since I thought this was his role in the Bush campaign and not what he was like in the 4th grade. It was all just very meandering and poorly thrown together, and very uninteresting. Anyone who's surprised by anything in this film has no idea how politics actually work, which sadly I suppose is most of our country who was obviously stupid enough to be manipulated by people like this....(twice!) And yes, the whole 10 minute diversion about "our son was killed in Iraq" was a stretch and totally out of context as an obvious sympathy ploy...and quite hypocritical considering it amounts to the same type of tears-and-eyebrows tactics the film chastises in regards to campaigning! A dirty trick I would expect from the likes of someone like Michael Moore, who is about as balanced as a see-saw but at least entertaining. This film was neither. Hence the 1 star rating. Bush is a puppet moron and Karl Rove is a master manipulator. But I already knew that. Maybe when this film originally came out, people didn't, but there's little to learn here. Hopefully a better documentary on how Rove/Bush really works(ed) exists or will come out in the near future...

In the Bedroom (2001)

Hello Paint, This is Air... Have a Nice Day in Nowhereville, USA

[1/10 · 25 March 2007]

I think this whole screenplay took 10 minutes to write. This was the most agonizingly slow and pointless, reservedly acted, incredibly boring movies I've seen in a long time. I could tell after about 15 minutes it would be one of those I would be sorry I was forcing myself to watch and that it would have one of those open-ended, unsatisfying climaxes that would leave you wishing the movie had a point. And I was right. (For the other reviewer, Sissy Spacek, an Oscar? For what!? I think the entire film she says a total of 20 lines, and I've seen better character development and better acting on Friends.) There is nothing unique that I can come up with that makes this story worth telling.... If my life ever gets this slow and boring, and I had to put up with such an apathetic lifestyle and passive spousal existence, I'd probably put a gun to my head and just end my own misery. It's no wonder the characters in this story go nowhere. That's what happens when you life devolve into the excess that is American suburbia, until there's nothing left to do except feel sorry for yourself because your life is so boring and mindless that you have to take pills just to fall asleep and have a kid just to find a reason to hold your marriage together and even get up out of bed at all. This movie reminds me why the human mind should never be left to rot! Sometimes violence is the only thing people have to make their pathetic and unchallenging lives have any meaning at all. Yawn.

Chasing Sleep (2000)

Sex scene / psychological interpretation (SPOLIER)

[5/10 · 20 August 2006]

Just saw this and wanted to add my interpretation of the sex scene.

At first, he's really into it. You'll notice, though, that when things really start heating up (i.e. she goes down on him), he starts hearing voices and having flashbacks. This is because the pleasure he's experiencing is also causing the powerful memories he's been suppressing with the drugs to come flooding back (pleasure/pain = same area of the brain, the hypothalamus, part of the limbic system which also controls rage and memory). That is why he has to stop the sex; it conjures the return of painful memories of his act of rage that his mind has repressed.

An interesting definition found online: "pleasure-pain principle - (psychoanalysis) the governing principle of the id; the principle that an infant seeks gratification and fails to distinguish fantasy from reality" Basically here is a character who has been numbing his mind with drugs to block out the memory of his act of rage, and has become delusional and lost his sense of time (side effects of sleep deprivation). He is no longer able to separate fantasy from reality. Many of the characters are figments of his imagination/projections of his guilt, which is why they all act similarly and are all also popping pills (they are extensions of himself).

And the Band Played On (1993 TV Movie)

Bad acting, bad writing, totally contrived... Doctors talking like teenagers

[2/10 · 8 January 2006]

I was really disappointed to see how badly this movie was made. Obviously it was well received because of the subject matter, not due to the quality of the film itself. I lived and worked in Atlanta and have been to the CDC, and I can assure you no Georgians talk like the characters in this movie (mostly badly cast New York actors, with people like Richard Gere and Steve Martin brought in to do cameos). But this movie is just plain badly made, even for a TV movie. All the "stand up and shout" moments are clichéd one-liners ("How many people have to die before this disease is recognized?" "Do you mean to tell me, that they knew they were giving AIDS to people, and they continued to do it?" etc). At one point the researcher is drawing on a chalkboard and checking off items as if he's explaining it to a soccer mom, when the other character (supposedly another doctor) obviously wouldn't need the dumbed-down version the writers think the audience requires. It was like watching a bad play. I wish I knew of better AIDS movies out there. This is a really bad movie.