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venuswicked
Reviews
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
do not see this movie...
Do not see this movie if you thought Julia Roberts really deserved that Oscar. Do not see this movie if you really dig romantic comedies. Do not see this movie if you don't enjoy thinking....or being pushed to the edge and left for dead. Do not see this movie if you don't want to be haunted, moved, sickened, and utterly amazed.
This movie did for smack what even "Trainspotting" failed to do. Although "Trainspotting" had a definite anti-smack message, and some people died, and it was pretty disturbing it pales in comparison to this movie. "Trainspotting" had a few really disturbing scenes, but even they were "prettier" than half of what goes on in "Requiem For A Dream". Renton crawls down a toilet; Harry shoots up into a festering wound and has his arm amputated. And while no one dies physically in "Requiem" (at least no major characters), in the end everyone is left with a large part of their soul missing....not to mention their mind. There are other comparisons and contrasts to be made, but the point is: if you can still think drugs are "cool" or anything other than "mind bending-ly terrifying" after watching this movie you are scary.
Don't get me wrong, I loved "Trainspotting" and I know that it wasn't meant to be what "Requiem" was. But the similarities were too obvious for me to ignore. "Requiem" isn't meant to tell a story as much as "Trainspotting" was. "Requiem" is meant to put the fear of God into you, and it succeeds. And Ellen Burstyn is INCREDIBLE!
Yes, the movie has flaws. But I still haven't seen the "perfect" movie yet, so that can hardly be held against it's brilliance. Darren Aronofvsky is going places. "Pi" was really good, "Requiem" is great, I can't wait to see what's coming next...
So don't watch this movie if it sounds too hard to watch (and it is very hard to watch) and don't watch it if you don't want to be depressed (in a beautiful way). But if you do decide to watch it, don't do it alone.
I don't usually give stars, but just to show how much this movie moved me: 9 out of 10. And it only got 9 because I'm still sane.
Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000)
Oy Vey! (some spoilers)
It's been about 6 hours since I finished watching BW2 and I'm still not exactly sure what I think of it.
I saw BWP after all the hype and was pretty glad I waited for my best friend to take me; not b/c it scared me (which it didn't until I got home to my apt. which is eerily close to a creepy wooded area from which odd noises emanate in the middle of the night while I am *trying* to sleep) but b/c I found myself actually caring about the characters and I was glad that they were just actors and not really dead. That is, they at least seemed like real people; not just actors. Sure, they were a bit over the top in some scenes; but who wouldn't be in that situation - if it were *real*? Maybe it was just the fact that it looked "real" (more so than the sequel, to be sure) but it did creep me out a bit more than I expected it to; knowing it was "fake".
On to BW2, which - as we know - isn't a sequel, but a followup to the first. I just didn't care about anybody in this movie. I was surprised that they actually portrayed a believable (if not completely accurate) Wiccan, but even that character failed to arouse my empathy. The goth girl was gorgeous, but just a bit too apathetic. All of the goths I've ever met are far more passionate (and interesting) than Kim. The two guys were just slightly less retarded than your average drunken frat boy; and the scariest one wasn't the "crazy" one. The "pregnant girl" (yes, I remember her name was Tristen, but does it even matter that she had a name?) was actually the most disturbing and least believable one of the lot. I would have pushed her, too.
Also, the early scenes from the "mental institution" disturbed me more than I think they were meant to; and in the wrong way. It wasn't the hose in the nose or the goo dripping from his mouth that bothered me, rather the blatant disregard for another human being's dignity and physical comfort. Why exactly was the "doctor" smoking while performing some sort of unnecessary "procedure" on little Jeff? At least in "Jacob's Ladder", the hospital from hell had a purpose, as well as an explanation.
There's more to say, of course; but I only have 1,000 words and I'd just end up venting and rambling about why a film with a decent premise and real potential was mutated into this. I read somewhere that they rushed to release it for all the college kids and fans of the genre (and the first movie). I'd buy that. Too bad, BW2 could have been really spooky-ooky.
As for a reccomendation: see it for yourself. I can't tell you whether or not you'll like it; but at least you'll be able to make up your own mind. There's nothing worse than not thinking for yourself.
PS. Every story has a moral: Don't have a drunken orgy in haunted woods unless you have lots of high-tech film equipment. Oh, and things going backwards are much more interesting than things going forwards. But that's not really a moral, now is it?
Strange Frequency (2001)
I'm kind of ashamed I liked this one...
Okay, so I watched it because the Masterson brothers are too cute for words and Eric Roberts is always a believable psycho (deliciously so) but I actually liked it!
Not entirely original (some of the stories were quite predictable) but fun nonetheless. The last story with Judd Nelson was definitely the best...and that ending actually made my jaw drop!
Might have been a bit edgier (and less predictable) if done by another channel (ahem, not necessarily MTV) and the reference to "Behind the Music" was pretty shameless, but overall an entertaining way to spend 90 minutes. Would probably make a good weekly series if they could push the envelope a bit more.
As a fan of "The Twilight Zone" I was impressed with how they put a rock and roll spin on some "classic" spooky stories and intriguing ideas about human nature and the supernatural.
Unbreakable (2000)
this *was not* The Sixth Sense
The biggest obstacle this movie had to face was this it wasn't The Sixth Sense, yet it was written and directed by the same man.
This means, if you liked The Sixth Sense, you will be expecting Unbreakable to be as good or better than Shaymalan's first film (or, if you hated the first one, you will expect this one to suck or *possibly* get better, but you might just not see it at all)...which is all fine and good, but this is a totally different movie and can't really fairly be compared to The Sixth Sense.
I really wanted to hate this movie b/c it was slow, poorly acted (despite the presence of Bruce Willis and Sam Jackson), and depressingly predictable. Duh, we all knew there was a twist in the end (thanks to The Sixth Sense)....could it have been a bit edgier, please!? The premise was good, though....and needed to be better developed.
The major problem was that Shaymalan was riding the wave of success that The Sixth Sense created for him and he didn't try hard enough with this movie. I truly think he is capable of and will offer us better in the future. The question is: will anyone go to see it when he does?