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Freak-7
Reviews
Palindromes (2004)
Alternating Between Boring and Painful
I almost never write comments on films although I go to films 3-4 times a week. I have seen all of Todd's previous films and although never a fan of his work I have always found his films watchable. I have also always enjoyed his perverse sensibility even when the films themselves seem pointless and indulgent. Palindromes has pushed me over the edge and now I feel unlikely to ever see a TS film again. Why? I suddenly feel that all of Todd's films are part of a big sick joke that he is playing on us all. I pity the critics who revere this film. You are kidding!
The notion of using 7-8 different actors to play Aviva was extremely distracting. The actual "story" was very unpleasant and offered no perspective or point of view on the unpleasantness. The Sunshine family musical parts were so offensive. I truly felt as if these poor children were being objectified by some effete freak so he could make some "point". At least in films like "Female Trouble" or "Pink Flamingos" JW is reveling in a kind of trashy aesthetic which I can enjoy. The flat-liner performances were excruciating (Jennifer Jason Leigh).
At the end I felt like I had really wasted two hours of my life. Horrifying.
Driven (2001)
This film is truly genius!!!
Really. Watch this film. It is BETTER than you think a great effort. Stallone gives his all. The racing footage is almost lyrical in it's honest expression of energy and emotion. Please, watch Driven and be moved.
Tumbleweeds (1999)
A tour de force for Janet Mc Teer
Watch out, Janet Mc Teer is going to be the next big acting phenomenon. Her performance in this film is simply the best I've seen in years. Forget the banality of "Stepmom", or just about any of the rubbish that Hollywood foists on us. Janet's performance,and this film, are truly unique and universal at the same time.
The story line is simple and the characters are ones that we have seen before...but none of this matters. O' Connor is to be lauded for having the guts to cast a relative unknown as the lead in his film.
The only drawback...annoyingly fussy hand held camera work which becomes distracting. At times the jittery camera threatens to trivialize the content. To Janet's credit, her performance is so strong that she overcomes this.