Reviews

In the vein of "Small Time Crooks" and "Trapped in Paradise," "Palookaville" tells the story of three screw-up, would-be criminals (Forsythe, Gallo and Trese) and their quest for the perfect crime. The film opens with a foiled jewelry store robbery that find the trio in a bakery instead of its neighboring store. The whole situation is goofy in an endearing way, especially when we find Trese crouched on the floor, hiding from police yet all the while chowing down doughnuts and brownies. With this film, Parker creates a familiar oddball trio with, while not completely appealing personalities, an overall charming combination. Forsythe's seriousness plus Gallo's wit and Trese's goofiness makes a film that made me laugh out loud and left me smiling, but in an independent rather that cheesy way. Definitely recommended.

Well, it wasn't a BAD movie, I've certainly seen much worse. And the story was very original, I'll give it that. But Christina Ricci's attempt at brutal and presumably endearing honesty left me with the impression of self-righteousness; like the director is saying "well, I can be honest, so I'm better than all of you that lie to yourselves." Perhaps I'm being to harsh on Roos' directorial debut...or perhaps he should look around and see that people aren't all that bad, and being evil and completely lacking in morals like Deedee Truitt doesn't make someone better. Still, I would recommend it so that you can make your own assessment.

While I enjoyed this movie as an overall pleasurable movie-going experience, I left feeling that it lacked something. Of course, it was visually spectacular; the scenery and the dance numbers provided something of a sensory overload. Nicole Kidman was beautiful, though her tragic part was rather cliche, as was the whole story. Anyone ever hear of La Boheme? or Cabaret? Put them together and you have Moulin Rouge. Don't get me wrong, both have terrific stories, but did we really need them to be re-hashed, with new songs? I think not. I would recommend this movie purely for the visual value and performance numbers, but certainly not if you seek something original with a plot that will leave any impression at all.

Well, I read a review of this movie, and it didn't sound too promising. However, it had been relentlessly plugged by one of my best friends (who happens to be Indian) and she practically forced me to watch it. I'm really glad she did. This was a hilarious portrayal of a Indian-American guy trying to come to terms with his heritage, all while his hormones were raging. I admit, if I had watched it by myself, I probably wouldn't have been all that impressed. But with my friend there to explain all the cultural and religious references and jokes, it was a truly unique, educational and wholly funny experience.

So I'm watching IFC's Short Film Collection and this comes on.It starts out like a cutesy kid movie about this sweet old man that owns an antique show and his beloved clown. Then the clown comes to life and starts killing people, what is THAT about? Despite the completely bizarre story, it was nevertheless an incredibly intriguing short film. The slide show style was something I'd never seen before and it really made for a different experience since there was really no MOVEMENT on screen, only stills. The dialogue-free narration was also interesting and made for a 'book-like' feeling to the movie, like a story being read to you. However, due to the graphic nature of the plot I would not recommend it for the faint of heart, only die hard indie fans.

...but honestly, it does have high entertainment value. If not for the sickeningly sweet, poorly written story and truly disgusting acting, then only for the sheer hilarity of the 70's fashion and ridiculous dialogue. It was amazing to me how everything in the Osmond family seemed to magically work itself out, including the impossibly high amount of harbored resentment between the siblings which seemed to vanish into thin air at the end of the movie. Still I laughed very hard at the bellbottoms with playing cards on them and the sequined lobster costumes, so all was not lost on the Osmonds...

...but not nearly as good as its predecessor, "Return to Paradise." The performances of Beckinsale and Danes were sufficient at worst, good, at best, but simply not mature enough to measure up to the "trapped in a third world country on drug smuggling charges presenting a moral dilemma and testing true friendship" standards set by Vince Vaughn and Joaquin Phoenix in the 1998 film. If you're just dying to see the inside of a third world prison and have your heart strings pulled by drug smugglers, definitely rent "Return to Paradise," but skip this one.

I have to admit, I was not a huge Kate Winslet fan after "Titanic" but this film is so unique and intriguing, I might just give her another chance. All the roles are portrayed marvelously. The intertwining and eventual overlap of the girls' real lives and dreams worlds is fascinating and makes the film addictive. I loved this movie, and I'm usually a rather harsh critic. It was actually interesting and not just another movie. It was a FILM.

Really terrible movie. I assume it was supposed to be an excuse for a porno...but it was bad, even for porno, and very stupid.

Could be because I'm a die hard South Park Fan. Could be because my Spanish teacher was in it. Could be a love for my home-town heroes...but I don't think so. This movie had me laughing non-stop from beginning to end. I have to go back and see it again because I missed half the jokes due to the uproarious laughter of the jam packed theatre. The jokes, of course, were vulgar, rude, and tasteless. However, if you can look past this you will find a strikingly cutting edge commentary on our society. Matt Stone and Trey Parker are, in my opinion, two of the most fearless filmmakers of today. They aren't afraid to offend people and are obviously opposed to the ridiculous extent that "political correctness" has reached. I applaud my two home-town heroes for being fearless and funny and hope they will continue for a long time to come.

We watched this movie in my chemistry class, so obviously it had educational value. I thought the film did a really good job of intertwining the subjects of the science, moral issues and personal experiences of the manhattan project, but wasn't exactly focused on strong acting. I would recommend this movie for the scientifically inclined or those interested in the moral issues behind Fat Man and Little Boy, but if the subject of nuclear bombs bores you, don't see it.

This movie was very funny. The performances of all the office girls were wonderful. Lisa Kudrow did a good job of moving away from her terminal "Phoebe" roles. The premise of the film was original, I was impressed.