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jaylee33
Reviews
The Attic Expeditions (2001)
Stop the Insanity!
If this is some hackneyed tribute to H. P. Lovecraft, it falls short. Really short. Those of you out there who have actually read Lovecraft will hear mention of Azathoth, the Old Ones, and seemingly blatant references to the Necronomicon. But does it make ANY sense, or add value to the plot? None. In fact the whole movie is a big tease.
Those reviewers who believe this film is for the "thinking man" and not for stupid people who can't understand its convoluted plot are being unfairly condescending. They probably didn't even catch the mumbling Lovecraft references because they were too busy not reading books and mistakenly thinking they understood the plot and everything in it. Good luck. A word for the MTV generation-- a good story is not a downfall in a film. Confusion and mindf*cking are not the signs of genius. It is a trick to make you think you are smarter than you are.
This film is not hard to understand, it is just disappointing once you figure out you wasted nearly 2 hours of your time thinking about it at all. It is purposefully confusing. If you want to spend your money on that, have at it.
The whole thing seems painfully staged. The dialogue is uncomfortably stinted like an adapted stageplay, or a bad attempt to gain atmosphere by copying the cadence in David Mamet's works on film. (Hint: It works for Mamet.) Normally Seth Green is great, but I get the feeling the director asked him to play the character as two dimensional as possible. (And very much a pasty rip-off of Brad Pitt in 12 Monkeys, as mentioned before.)
Jeffrey Combs is the best part of this movie in his white suit and cool redneck sideburns. Too bad he has so little screen time. Raimi is not bad, either. But really folks, if you are looking for good content and strong story, don't be fooled. Don't be intrigued by the comments about how deep it is, that only the special few who use their brain can understand it. Don't think of it as a challenge. The story is simply uninteresting and indulgent.
It can be compared to Mulholland Dr., but only in the structural sense. Kasten ain't David Lynch.
Wired (1989)
Possibly the worst film I have ever seen...
and I have seen a lot of films. I saw this in the theatre in 1989 and to this day I remember the sickening urge to walk out. If you like John Belushi, respect his talent, or even the sanctity of the cinema-- this film has nothing to offer you. It is mostly a pathetic showcase for the writer of Belushi's biography, Bob Woodward. As we see the progression of Belushi's life pass on the screen, Woodward actually shows up in the film like a ghost character. The most offensive scene occurs when Belushi is dying, looks up from his deathbed to see the author standing above him and he weakly utters "Breathe for me, Woodward." There are too many terrible things to mention them all, the least of which is the opening that has Belushi jumping out of his body bag in the morgue and getting into a taxi driven by a guy named "Angel." I'll leave it at that.