Change Your Image
tomweeks
Reviews
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
Pointless, disgusting , fascinating and thoroughly enjoyable.
Hunter Thompson probably liked this movie, and it is likely that Depp's characterization was greatly influenced by his consultation with Thompson.
The rambling narrative is full of psychotic energy, and the more bizarre it gets, the harder it gets to avert your eyes from the screen. It is like watching a series of train wrecks hanging upside down from a helicopter over the tracks.
I discovered reefer, mescaline and acid more or less at the same time in my 27th year (1969), and must admit that the roller-coaster ride of the "psychedelic experience" was always as frightening and enjoyable for me as it seemed to be for Raoul and Dr. Gonzo. I can't say that these marvelous drugs made me a better person, but they let me look at the world in a different way. Thank you, Hunter S. Thompson and Terry Gilliam for giving us this guilty pleasure!
Heartlands (2002)
A nice little story, well told
I am an American, so I guess I missed the stereotypical treatment of the "hero" and his small town friends. I thought this was a charming little movie about a simple man who discovers some simple truths about himself and the world around him. The northern English countryside was beautifully presented.
Since I live in a small town in the southern U.S., I am sensitive to stereotypical treatment of us provincial folk, but this movie seemed to be genuine in its affection for its protagonist and the denizens of the "north country".
This well told little story shows us that life constantly takes strange little detours, and that sometimes it's best to go with the flow, and it does it without beating us over the head with the "message".
Jeremiah Johnson (1972)
A true gem of a movie
I am a movie addict. When I saw this movie in 1972 I was a graduate student at the University of Florida and I went to the movies every day. As you might imagine I exposed myself to a lot of cinematic crap. This movie, however, simply blew me away. It was 95 degrees out side but I sat in that theater and shivered as Johnson tried to light that fire. Jeremiah Johnson was, as Will Geer's character always referred to him, a pilgrim. It was as if he kept climbing higher and higher in search of God, or peace, or truth or something. What he found was himself. And he liked what he found. How absolutely beautiful is that?
Dune (1984)
Still awful after all these years
I saw this film in 1984. I watched it on TV a couple of weeks ago. In 1984 I thought the movie was bad. The story made no sense, the acting looked like a high school play and the score was to the ears what a visit to the dentist is to the mouth.
After watching this epic on television in the year 2000 I have reevaluated my opinion of it. It is actually dumber, duller and a bigger waste of time than I had previously thought.
Still awful, after all these years.
Fast-Walking (1982)
Didn't do the novel justice
James Brawley's novel 'The Rap' was a long and beautifully written commentary on a great many things. It captured the atmosphere of its milieu (the 1960's) perfectly.
Although the plot of the novel is held together by the glue of the conspiracy within the prison, the novel itself is filled with a rich cast of colorful, fully developed characters who force the reader think about all those things good novels do--life, death, love, hate, family bonds, freedom, bondage. James Woods is a fine actor, but this poor adaptation of a truly great novel was so thinly drawn that I didn't at first even recognize "Fast Walking" as having come from 'The Rap'. It's a decent little movie, but would have been better had the film makers tried to put more of Brawley's viewpoint, characters and keen observations into it. See the film first, then get a copy of 'The Rap'. If you do it the other way around as I did, you will be disappointed in the movie.