<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Fall-on-the-floor Funny
Review: Having recently seen a segment of this film on tv, I recalled my reaction years ago to the whole movie. It's just plain hilarious. Linklater has accurately captured a subculture of post-college self-preoccupied fringe people who rattle on, airing pretentious musings to anyone in earshot including the deaf. Somehow I know these turkeys: the guy in the second hand book store with the most complete collection of self-published books about the assassination of JFK, the juvenile philospher who regails his completely unreactive cabdriver with alternative scenarios had he, the passenger, not chosen to ride in the cab, the blankfaced driver who runs over a pedestrian but doesn't let it completely ruin his mental fog... This is just a brilliant and casual walk through the streets and minds in a late 20th century neighborhood in Austin, Texas-- Greenwich Village for onanists. Linklater revisits this human zoo in "Waking Life", which more cleverly put together than its older cousin. I have only one complaint about Slacker--it's not available on DVD. If it were, I could show it to my film society on my 8 foot wide DLP system. Does anyone know what the story is?
Rating:
Summary: SLACKER ON DVD. AMAZING. THANK YOU CRITERION.
Review: I am so happy Slacker is finally getting a dvd release, and the fact it's going to be released as a special two disc set, as part of the Criterion collection, is awesome. Dazed and Confused, and Waking Life were great, but Slacker is Richard Linklater's best film. Strange, funny, and sad, it is the most unique film I have ever seen. If you have seen it, then your probably just as stoked as I am. If you haven't seen it, holy cow, your in for a treat. One of the best films of the 90's. I still don't understand why Slacker has been under the radar for so many years, it's a classic. There is a free flowing structure that works perfectly for the characters, (there are about 80) and locations. The only way I can describe this movie, is that it takes place in Texas, bounces from character to character, getting to know a little about each one along the way. Like all Richard Linklater's movies, It has a very dream like quality. This is a great film.
Rating:
Summary: Finally on DVD, and a double-disc Criterion no less!
Review: Linklater's brilliant debut done in one continuous shot. You've never seen anything quite like it. If you loved Waking Life, then here's the more organic live people version. Oh, how I miss the early 90's, and they were captured here so well. The look, the feel, the fatalism. He successfully captured a moment in time (the 70's) again with Dazed & Confused, another double-disc set coming soon.
Rating:
Summary: The definitive movie of the 90's.
Review: This movie did for the 90's what FLASHDANCE did for the 80's: It defined the particular decade in which it debuted and set the tone for the decade's mindset. FLASHDANCE perfectly epitomized life in the 80's with its flamboyant music and clothes and over-the-top attitudes. SLACKER does that for the 90's as well: Its title became THE major buzzword of the decade, and it underscored the lassitude and apathy of the downtrodden, nascent Generation X. If you watch this movie in hopes of enjoying the zest of young people burning the midnight oil and achieving grand ambitions, you'll be disappointed. What we see is the characters' world and how they react -- or don't react -- to what goes on -- or doesn't go on -- in it. The camera pans from one slacker to another; when we are finished with that character's story, we never see him or her again. Each slacker is cleverly and subtly linked to the other without an obvious seam in the transition of the narrative -- or lack thereof. This lack of narrative may come as an annoyance to some, but understand that that's the beauty of this film, and I find it very refreshing. They're everyday people with lackluster lives, and very similar to all of us. The lack of pretension in this film, I think, really set the stage for the monumental 90's grunge/alternative music movement. That style of music, like this movie, wasn't mainstream and insisted it not be. This film was a hint of things to come. My favorite characters: the hitchhiker awaiting his true call (ALL his dialogue is quotable, and he has THE attitude about life), the old anarchist (a sweet guy if you can overlook his rampant desire to blow up the texas legislature building), and the post-modern paul revere (a young man with too much time on his hands!). You'll need patience to sit through this movie, but if you can cultivate it, you won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Full On Idle
Review: When the film "Slacker" opened in 1991, it wasn't long before its director, Richard Linklater, found himself in the spotlight, fielding questions about the generation portrayed in his movie. This enlightening companion book was published a year later and not only addresses some of the media hype surrounding the film, but includes a wealth of additional information, insights, and trivia for fans. There's a brief section on Texas' slacker past, a bit on why Austin was the perfect backdrop for the film, and Linklater describes the ideas that led up to its creation. An early 'roadmap' of the script lays out the basic action of each scene, followed by the full transcription of the final film (which is very handy for quoting the dialogue). There's also actor profiles, providing over 70 entertaining bios of each of the folks who appeared in the movie, as well as a section of notes from the crew. The pages often recall the feel of a fanzine, filled with numerous photos, stills, clip art, and flyers from Austin rock shows and film festivals. The sidebars are peppered with Linklater's diary entries, chronicling the "Slacker" project from the beginning brainstorming stages to the eventual screenings and publicity. All in all, this is a fantastic book for both aspiring directors and devotees of the cult film.
Rating:
Summary: Strangers die everyday
Review: With documentary-like realism, experimental art film structure, and a title that became a '90s buzz word, Richard Linklater's brilliant study of the life of idlers has acquired cult status. Eschewing the typical film syntax, he follows a string of characters through a 24-hour period in Austin, Texas, using basically the same camera angle and lens for the length of the movie (with the exception of a brief segment shot in pixlevision). The dialogue acts almost as a monologue, with each scene linked together by one character 'passing the baton' to the next. The cast was made up of crew members and locals (Linklater plays the opening character), and an improvisational overtone provides for many memorable moments (the video backpacker, the JFK buff, and of course the infamous Madonna pap smear). Austin band Ed Hall are seen playing live in a club, and Louis Mackey, Professor of philosophy at University of Texas, has a great role as an old anarchist. After this, Linklater started directing more linear, mass audience-friendly films ("Dazed & Confused," "Before Sunrise," and "SubUrbia") but still kept the stories within a 24-hour time frame. An excellent companion book (including the full movie script) was published in 1992.
<< 1 >>
|
