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Urbania

Urbania

List Price: $24.98
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A brilliantly realized nightmare
Review: Urbania is the kind of film that, after watching it for the first time, you have to immediately see it again. The second viewing is essential not only to convince yourself that what you have just experienced is real, but to take in all the minute details that you would never have noticed the first time.
Dan Futterman turns in a skilled and subtle performance as a lost and troubled New Yorker on a journey of guilt, anger, redemption and, at times, frightening apathy. The script, editing and filmography are first rate. These things, as well as an amazing supporting cast (including Josh Hamilton and Alan Cumming in tailor-made roles) come together to give us a disturbing, emotional and very sincere look into the darkest parts of human existence in the face of the thing we call fate.
While the film is very dark, showing us a seedy side to life, it balances it's central heavy themes with light moments and even comedy that are integrated seamlessly into it's overall atmosphere. The best and worst that life has to offer are portrayed as being symbiotic. Even when we are happiest there is still strife, and life can turn on a dime. This film is about what we do, how we react, when life takes these sharp left turns.
A beautiful and haunting story of paradise destroyed and peace obtained from the rubble, Urbania is a must see for anyone who dares to live and love.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Wow!
Review: One of the best entries to the gay film canon. This film is one involving mystery within a series of mysteries and urban myths. The perfomances are beautiful. Futterman is amazing in this as he strolls the night tripping from one situation to another. It is scary, funny and heartbreaking. Highly recommended for both gay and straight audiences. If you liked "After Hours" you should enjoy this one.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: it's just...really good
Review: Urbania is definitely one of the few films I've seen in recent years that will really stick with me. The suttle brilliance of the film makes it so you can watch over and over, and still find things to catch your interest in new ways. It leads us to further delve into the ever haunting question "Why?". Whether you know what's going on from the beginning or every new thing is a complete surprise, Urbania is sure to leave you breathless.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Chilling, haunting, and very well done
Review: This movie is great. Dan Futterman turns in a wonderful performance as a man still looking for his "lost" lover. The plot alone could probably be enough to sustain the film, but then we get added doses of quirkiness in that all around him, urban legends (you know, those stories that we all hear about people getting their kidneys stolen or people who microwave their pets) play out around him.

Futterman puts forward a great job as the tormented soul. For a really good portion of the movie, I found myself wishing and hoping that his boyfriend would come back, or at least call. We only come to realize what's really happening later on in the film, when it all just makes sense.

Put together well, hiding just enough of the ball to keep you guessing for at least a little while, I'd say this movie is definitely a keeper.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Haunting and elegiac masterpiece
Review: I went to see Urbania (the first time) because Dan Futterman starred in it. He does not disappoint. I have seen it twice since, although it took some effort of will...not because it's a bad film. On the contrary, it is one of the most authentic and touching explorations of grief that I have seen. Putting yourself into that obsessive and disjointed world is not a pleasure, but the film is so respectful of the edgy rhythms of loss that I could not resist. Futterman is splendid; the story gives him a chance to reveal the darker masculine energy that hides behind his boyishly handsome face, a face that is capable of such a range of expression. I lived through the worst 15 years of the HIV epidemic and if you'll forgive me for falling into allegory, I couldn't help feeling that the murderer was almost like an embodied plague, with all the eros of death. It probably takes a couple of viewings to get oriented in the film, but the journey, if you'll take it, is raw but so richly human.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Take the time...
Review: This movie is well worth it - for a number of reasons.
It's an INTELLIGENT film. You, the viewer, will have to actually think. Nothing is handed to you on a silver platter. If that's not for you - watch Gladiator again.
It's a film with layers. Moments of humor. Touching moments. Terrifying moments. All backed right up to each other... a lot like life.
Unique and insightful performances. These aren't performances that leap off the screen... they are performances that find a way into your heart. All of them. You wouldn't hate the characters you hate nearly as much if they weren't performed so well... and those you love are suffused with humanity - complete with all the flaws that come with it - leaving you uncertain about your feelings toward them. Exactly like the people in your life, they're not perfect.

This is a tough movie, but it's a brilliant movie and worth 2 hours of your time (if it's even that long). Now when was the last time you watched a movie and REALLY felt it had been worth the time?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I loved this movie...
Review: ..and its main character. I rent / buy a lot of independent films and to find one of this quality is rare. Futterman plays his character masterfully. It is sometimes difficult to watch him because he is so intense but overall this movie, as a whole, is worth watching more than once.
I liken this film to Memento but, at the end, you know what the hell happened.

The most memorable part of the film is the "white" scene (see the DVD version) not because of what is happing with Dean but because of the interplay between Charley and Chris. It is rare to see that kind of love conveyed in a movie. It feels so genuine. I can just watch it over and over again.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Grief Unmanaged
Review: Thankfully, "Urbania" isn't so much a "gay film" as it is a film with a gay main character... and bravo to the screenwriter for that. Beyond that, it's a dark, stylish, involving and disturbing tale of grief gone unmanaged. Anyone who has experienced a profound loss can identify with the walk-on-the-edge that Charlie, the film's protagonist, takes. Pleasant? No... watch "Big Eden" if you want happy. But well-done? Absolutely.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Beautiful, Creative, and Heartbreaking
Review: I watch a LOT of indie films, and I just, by chance, walked by this one at the movie store and had heard about it from somewhere, so I picked it up. Not too hopeful, and was completely knocked flat by it! It was, no doubt, the best film I've seen in a LONG time. The storytelling was genius. To use mainstream urban legends (very cliche) and mix it up with a saddening, but intimate and romantic [same sex] romance, indie filmaking techniques (which were very imaginative), and a huge twist at the end! A lot of indie films are repeats of each other. Especially nowadays. But this one goes beyond any I've ever seen into its own category. It's definetely worth your time if your into indie films that actually leave a mark on your emotinal state at the end instead of trying to impress you with computer-made violence and action.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Your worst Urban legends come true!
Review: I own this movie & let me tell you. I was scared, shocked, & still I came back for more. This movie is Great! The title of the movie lived up to the scenes with urban legends happening left & right, even behind the character. Alan Cummings looking beautiful as always put on an interesting face & act in this movie, certainly something new for him. I suggest buying this, have a soda & popcorn handy, & hold-on... You'll be stunned!


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