Rating: Summary: BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO HOLLYWOOD Review: Only Wenders could have done it: shoot a film in Hollywood that is 100% non-Hollywood. And that is the best part of it! Even Mel Gibson plays a different role, perhaps one of his best - not a super hero, but someone with a human face, a human story. The music is fantastic, the story is well told. Hate to discuss the events, in case you still have not seen the film. If you are looking for something different than the usual senseless blockbuster evening entertainment with pop corn - see this movie, and you will never forget it...
Rating: Summary: A Contemporary Impressionist Film Review: The plot has nothing to do with reality, and that's fine; it's not about plot. The acting is all over the map, from a completely stiff Gibson to Davies' Forrest-Gump-meets-Tigger rendition of Tom-Tom, and that's exactly as it should be; it's about different characters playing off each other. Wenders focuses his sweet, gentle, character-revealing techniques on a cast of deranged, distasteful characters; we get to really like them, and really dislike them. It's a hodge-podge of magical realism, detective story, romance, and farce. It mixes stunning visuals with the filthy underbelly of L.A.It's not typical Gibson, Bono, Jovovich, or Wenders, although it's arguably more Wenders than anything else. It's a love story about Tom-Tom and Eloise. It's a love story about Wim Wenders, Bono, and Los Angeles. It's a love story about the pain and the joy that are life. It's a love story about light, music and atmosphere. It's a love story about film, and what film can do. Many movies entertain. A few make you think. This one made me feel.
Rating: Summary: I REALLY didn't like this movie Review: OK, judging from the reviews I suppose that some people were able to appreciate this movie. I gotta be honest, I found it extremely monotonous and boring. I like Mel Gibson, and respect the majority of the films he's made. Same goes for Milla Jovovich. So, halfway through the film I'm thinking, "It has to get better, maybe it has this extremely provocative ending." In case someone that reads this hasn't seen it, I won't "ruin the big surprise", but I knew I had to work the next day, and wish I'd slept rather than staying awake to watch it. I feel like I should forewarn you before you think about wasting 2 hours of your life. I love Mel Gibson, love Milla Jovovich. And I see that there have been people who adored it and it struck all the right chords, I'm just not one of them. I couldn't stand to sit through it again.
Rating: Summary: I HATE THIS MOVIE Review: OK, maybe it's just me. But I feel like I should forewarn you before you think about wasting 2 hours of your life. I love Mel Gibson, love Milla Jovovich. And I see that there have been people who adored it and it struck all the right chords, I'm just not one of them. I couldn't stand to sit through it again.
Rating: Summary: A title for your review. Review: I happened to tune into this movie about halfway through at 4 in the morning. The first thing I noticed was Mel Gibson, who turned out to be the only thing I didn't really like about the movie, and I was about to change the channel, but the character Tom kept me interested. What unfolded before me was not an "art film," but a love story and a slightly comical, ironic murder 'mystery' (mostly mysterious because I didn't see the first half). The character Eloise was probably my favorite and in my opinion the most moving element of the movie, partly because she reminds me of someone I used to know--a real person whose emotion I could feel. I didn't even know this was a "U2 movie" or that more than one song on the soundtrack was by them until I read some of the reviews this morning, which was probably a good thing; admittedly, I would have been a little turned off by the fact if I'd known. But the soundtrack fits for the most part and I didn't find it dull. I would definitely describe this film as a "more feral version of American Beauty," as a previous reviewer has stated, in many aspects. One last thing: I find it incredibly amusing how a lot of the people giving bad reviews seem to think this is a Mel Gibson movie; IT'S NOT. They're outraged by the simple idea that the high and mighty Mel Gibson could have accepted such a 'horrible' role, and then they have the gall to complain about pretentiousness and how they couldn't find a deeper meaning if there was one; they should stick to Lethal Weapon, I guess. If you really want to enjoy this movie, a brain is helpful.
Rating: Summary: cliché captured on celluloid Review: I'm sure the intent was to blow minds with indescribable brilliance, but sadly the outcome only raised the bar on cheez-ball arty pretension to new heights. MDH is one of the most contrived films ever. Let me give you an example. One of the loonies who inhabit the so-called Million Dollar Hotel is a "wounded soul" called Eloise. She also happens to be the resident prostitute and muse(i guess). At one point she says, "I'm not real, i'm fictional." At this point, I want to kick Eloise in the head. Oh....uh, the gushing blood and that throbbing pain in your head aren't real.....they're fictional. It'll be o.k.....just click your ruby red shoes together 3 times. In all seriousness, this movie is about as deep as the Taco bell dog's pee puddle. It is a by-product of heroin chic silliness. It is oddball for the sake of being oddball. It is a little too clever for it's own good(not that clever is bad, but I believe there is a point when it can come across as being forced, not to mention annoying). It is a big fat goose egg. Basically, this film just tried too hard to be profound, and it just wasn't [period] It has the poetic stylings of some pasty-faced Goth kid living in a suburb filled with palm-trees, golf courses, and subscriptions to Vogue. word up.
Rating: Summary: not up to standards Review: This book is a low-grade rewrite of dream team, which is a copy of one flew over the cuckoos nest, witch if a rip off of Don Quixote. So we see that everything is a copy of some classic, and as time progresses, the copies get worse, like running Shakespeare through a Xerox machine so the copies get more and more degraded each time. The music isn't even up to par with u2's standasrds. I think that 'passengers' is a better soundtrack like miss Sarajevo which is really a monotonous song, but bono and the lads breath live and power into what would normally be a sub-B side song. But satellite of love isn't up to snuff there are better versions of this song. An odd film to be sure but are crazy people really that virtupus, and do they really see things saner than we do? We should get real with thementally ill abnd increase funding and nor glamorizeing a disease.
Rating: Summary: A Great Film From A Great Director Review: This is a great, original, unique film. It is novelistic in characterization and nuance, not pop trash like the majority of films... which may explain why it received very limited theatrical release in the U.S. The story, though, is simple enough: it is a love story. And a murder mystery. What isn't so simple is its self-reflexive nature, and this is where things get interesting. The actors play characters who are in turn playing roles. Milla Jovovich's Eloise announces early on "I'm not real. I'm fictional". Identity is a construct, it is armor against a very harsh world. It is a very imperfect armor, and then there is the need, the desire, to let the other person inside. Tom Tom (Jeremy Davies) and Eloise play this game, dance this dance. It is very touching. Wim Wenders knows how to get the best from his actors. Davies and Jovovich are outstanding. Wender's method appears to be to let the camera run forever, giving the actors an extroadinary amount of breathing room. As in his "Paris, Texas" the result is very natural scenes that look completely unscripted. There are long silences, long pauses that communicate... the way people communicate in their daily lives. The movie's soundtrack by U2 is, not surprisingly, terrific (the CD is well worth getting, as well as the movie). The only disappointment of this film is Mel Gibson's performance. He seems never to get a handle on his character. Perhaps the role was simply beyond his acting ability (demonstrating once again that there is a difference between being an actor and being a movie star). Perhaps his nose was put out of joint by having to play second fiddle to someone of Jeremy Davies' meagre fame. In any case, Gibson's lackluster performance is the only drawback to this must-see film from one of the world's greatest directors.
Rating: Summary: GIVE ME A BREAK BONO! Review: if your into romanticizing junkies and insanity, you love this pseudo-intellectual pretentious piece of garbage. Even a Bud Cort cameo couldn't save this trash. Bono must think he's some sort of prodigal son spreading the word of Mother Truth to us close-minded peon earthlings. Get over yourself. U 2 are just another brick in the wall.
Rating: Summary: Amazing! Review: I was forced to watch this movie through a group of friends, all U2 fanatics. Being a U2 fan myself, the decision to watch this film was a bit difficult as I did not wish to have to see what happens when one of Bono's big ideas fails.The funny thing about being a fan is that you feel embarrassed for the star when he makes a fool of himself, even if he doesn't (it's like wanting all your friends to like your boyfriend. Naturally, I was a bit apprehensive. I sat down in front of my TV preparing to admit that there were certain things even Bono (God bless him) couldn't pull off, writing the story for a movie being one of them. I just couldn't imagine anyone who was gifted at so many things. Within five minutes of viewing, all of my misgivings fell away. The movie somehow made an incredibly far-out idea real. From the moment you hear Tom Tom say "I just realized... life is perfect" your heart and soul are drawn in to this character's plight, wishing he would live happily ever after, while knowing all along this is impossible. Jeremy Davies does an incredible job portraying Tom, as does Milla Jovovich Eloise. Where any other woman as beautiful as she would look insanely out of place playing a poor prostitute, she pulls it off (seemingly) effortlessly. The soundtrack becomes an intregal part of the story expressing every emotion touched on during the movie. Ironically, the worst performance comes from Mel Gibson, who does not wake up until at least midway through the movie. Never the less, the film is beautiful. I fully recall sitting, staring at the screen, not breathing for a full minute after the last scene. It was that good. If this is what we can expect from Bono the scriptwriter, more power to him.
|