Rating: 
Summary: Mindless Prattle
Review: Don't be fooled by the innovative animation techniques. This movie is filled with unrealistic situations and improbable dialogue. I knwe that when I am with my friends in a sports bar or club, we ignore our surroundings and chat about the complexities of life while sipping our beers and chomping on chicken wings. I get the concept of what the director was attempting to do, but the idea of random people who just happen to all be educated about quantum physics, exhistentialism, and sociology is just plain nonsense (esp. Ethan Hawke. Come on first you see him in Training Day then in a deeply philosophical musing? Come on.) If you want to be bored for 99 minutes, peruse this tripe.
Rating: 
Summary: The first truly original animated film since _Fantasia_
Review: _Waking Life_ is not just the best animated film of last year; it's also the most original animated film to come along since Disney's _Fantasia_. Director Richard Linklater's plotless meditation on existence occasionally grows a bit monotonous, but the ingenious, state-of-the-art visual style never fails to astonish. The film doesn't reward multiple viewings so much as demand them.The DVD features a flawless video and audio transfer of the film. Extras include a director's commentary, a second commentary by twenty-five computer animators who worked on individual scenes, a gallery of deleted and rejected animation, and excerpts from Linklater's raw video footage (which was used as a template for the animation). The overall package offers an in-depth look at the creation of this technical marvel. For Linklater fans, animation buffs and philosophy junkies, this DVD is a must-own.
Rating: 
Summary: beautiful, innovative, moving, thought-provoking and....
Review: ... possibly too much to absorb. I'm so glad that Richard Linklater made THIS movie. I think it's akin to something Kubrick might have tried if he were a young film-maker today (not that it's all that Kubrickian, but it's such a bold undertaking in terms of ideas and technology , it's similar to the experimental advances forged with "2001"). I also think this will prove a benchmark movie, 20 years from now, when we can re-examine the point in cinematic history when digital methods became more widespread -- "Waking Life" is a bit like a metaphysical "Steamboat Willie" in that sense. And the ideas the film addresses are truly interesting. A lot of critics have rapped on it for sounding like a lot of stoned, 'college student navel gazing,' but they're just jaded. College is generally the last time most of us have a chance to talk and think in philosophical terms. In a world where most of us are locked into thinking about our jobs or our daily concerns 24/7, what's wrong with listening to characters talking about slightly more esoteric ideas and concepts? In that respect, "Waking Life" ALMOST makes up for Linklater's other movie this year, the heavy-handed and aggressively knuckleheaded "Tape." Plus, this is a beautiful movie. The animation is basic but sly and expressive, the colors are rich, and it's neat to see cinematography subjected to animation -- the film is worth watching just to see the way the artists play with light they're animating over. But having said all that, the film may be too much. You're trying to watch and keep track of the images (which are busy and constantly changing), you're trying to absorb and process complicated dialogue on top of complicated dialogue, and you're also trying to just keep it all straight. Basically, this is a movie that REQUIRES repeat viewings and yet... something about its basic density also discourages repeat viewings. I watched "Waking Life" two days ago and enjoyed it... but I can't say I'm in a big hurry to rewind it and start all over again. Perhaps this will be a movie that grows on me more over time, perhaps it'll be a film that I watch once a year and get something new from gradually. "Slacker" certainly is, but "Slacker" also has a flesh-and-blood immediacy and a sense of fun to it that "Waking Life," due to its own innovation, simply doesn't exude. Nevertheless, love it or hate it, this is a movie that will be discussed and referenced well into the future. (Just a note: this year, the Academy finally created an award for animated features; "Waking Life" was not nominated in that category; "Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius" was. I have 36 blisteringly smart remarks about that fact but I can't chose a favorite so I won't write down any of them)
Rating: 
Summary: Are you dreaming now?
Review: This is a brilliant and highly original animated film, directed by Richard Linklater. It is definitely not a children's movie, not because it contains "adult" themes, but because it is very verbal and intellectual. It is actually a series of discussions on philosophical topics. The unifying theme is dreaming. The protaganist is a young man who cannot seem to wake from his dream. As he encounters many eccentrics, who expound on existentialism, evolution and rebellion (real life conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is the voice of a rabble rouser), he gradually realizes he is having a long lucid dream (a lucid dream being a dream where you know you are dreaming). Can he ever wake up? Are dreams and waking really separate worlds? The highly creative and original animation provides a superb visual counterpart to the film's intellectualism, which would be a little dry if it was just people talking to each other. In this manner the film satisfies both sides of the brain. The voices are entertaining and diverse; among them are Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, who starred in Before Sunrise, another Linklater film. Waking Life is not for everybody; it doesn't have a linear plot, action or sex. It does, however, raise some very interesting questions about life, civilization and consciousness. It is probably the best conversation-centered film since My Dinner With Andre.
Rating:
Summary: great film
Review: This is by far the most underrated movies of 2001. People can say that it is too hard to sit through with all of the extremely deep conversations, but that is the beauty of this film. Not only is this visually breathtaking, it is also meaningful, something so few films strive for. If you like challenging movies, i strongly urge you to watch this amazing film. It is a masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: great companion piece to Dazed and Confused
Review: This is such an incredibly beautiful and thought invoking movie. A lot of the themes and topics of discussion in the movie (which is more in form like the Dialogues that were oh so vogue with philosophers in the old days like Plato and so on) are by no means the sort of things you would overhear in a Mc Donald's or at the Blockbuster; discussions that if you were to bring them up with your friends at the bar it would most definitely sour the mood of those around you: reality, memory, the conflict of science and religion, death, and so on. There is most often too much white noise and distraction in our lives to bring out the things in the open that a lot of us think of within ourselves, and they end up being our pretentious little thoughts that have no true beginnings and endings. The ramblings of a consciousness that drifts towards a final destination, yet fades away in darkness- and so on. And so on. And so on- this movie is often remarked as being pretentious: going to many places at one time; never exactly sure what it's saying, so it says everything it can. Yet this is a film which explores those things in life which we may never have a hope of answering. How can you know death till you are dead? You can be as poetic and eloquent as you want, use your metaphors- you do not know a thing. All you can do is talk, and talk, and talk. And that is exactly what this movie does: talk. What truly disgusts me is that the Academy Awards (a "ceremony" which is far beyond that line of self-parody and is now bargain-binned into oblivion) overlooked this film in the Animated Feature category. I say overlooked loosely since it is obvious that this film is far beyond the minds of those who take such award shows seriously... No, how can you suggest that the nature of reality is of no importance to the average person?? Do those who hold no interests in art have no anxiety towards dying, as well? Is there any less angst in some then others? This is a movie for every man, woman and child, about the things which we all wonder within and keep like a secret to ourselves. Have you ever wondered if a body sleeps and never wakes up after it dies? Of course you have. We cannot all be Zen masters, and hypnotize ourselves into not being afraid of what lies beyond the dark. This is a movie that brings those things out- and has been ostracized for it. This is a movie (very much like Dazed and Confused) about being trapped and, triumphantly, escaping into... who knows? The last frame of the film, where the hero floats into blurring light is the end of this life. An end of bodily functions like intelligence which only add to the pretentiousness of living. It is an end that has a beginning. Raymond Moody, who has spent the better part of his life studying people on their deathbeds, those who were terminally dead for a few minutes, and so on- said something like "I don't really know what happens after you die. I don't think there is anything that really gives the experience justice you can say about dieing. After all these years, the closest I ever got to defining it is that its like watching TV for a long time, and then changing the channel- and even that by no means even scratches the surface of the true experience." Poe also said "All of this just seems as but a dream within a dream"
Rating:
Summary: FUN AND FUNDAMENTAL PHILOSPHY
Review: Richard Linklater's animated philosophical discourse, "WAKING LIFE" is similar to his "Slackers" in its meanderings and musings. However, this time around the visuals perfectly match the subject matter and in fact sometimes are the subject. This highly original and admittedly weird film is also a reaction and reflection of our drowning in the overwhelming "information age" wave that is sweeping down on western civilization. All the characters in the Buddhistic implied puzzles of "Waking Life" one way or another circle around the central questions of How best to find meaning? And even more importantly, How to discern what is real? It's the old, "Am I awake or dreaming I'm awake Zen" koan that's working full throttle here but in a slick digital mode. In his non-linear quest for fundamental answers, our hero (Wiley Wiggins from "Dazed and Confused") encounters animated Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Steven Soderbergh, and Adam Goldberg among others. The striking animation itself is a digital technique that paints over live action footage... The style is extremely eye-catching and carries one over the more tedious passages of philosophical discourse and naval pondering. About 15 minutes before the end, there's a great, theological riff by the animated Linklatter -- he's a minor character in the film -- about Philip K. Dick, the nature of time's illusion, God, and free will. Thought provoking and quite beautiful. This unsual disc is loaded with extras including deleted scenes, an animation tutorial, a text commentary and a terrific audio commentary by the creative team responsible for this unexpected treasure. Don't miss this one. And yes, it unfolds its meaning even more on repeated viewings.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie, great dvd!
Review: Hats off to FOX for really putting together a great special edition of this excellent film! The film itself looks great and there's so much extra material here, it will take you a few days to get through it all(if you go without sleep). So far I've only listened to part of the first commentary(with Linklater, Wiley Wiggins and the animation/art director) and it's really interesting. I haven't listened to the second commentary with all the animators, but that sounds cool too. I checked out the animation tests(very neat) and a few other short bits, but there's just so much material!
Richard Linklater continues to exhibit his specific and refreshing voice through cinema. This film really stays with you(and I can't say that about too many films these days) long after you've seen it. Very thought provoking and dazzling to watch. Well worth the price.
PS-if you missed it-check out TAPE(the other film Linklater released last year-also good-and the dvd has commentary!).
Rating:
Summary: Best Film of 2001
Review: I am so relieved that the best movie of last year was an indie flick. I do my best to be a snobby arthouse lover, but most years the indie world lets me down, and I'm forced to concede that Hollywood made the best titles yet again. Not so in 2001. Waking Life was by a long shot the very best picture that came out last year. Its beauty, its subtlety, and its overwhelming brilliance placed it far above even the good big-budgets like LOTR. This was the film for the thinking man in 2001, and actually, come to think about it, for the last several years. My faith in independent movies has been revived.
Rating:
Summary: one of a kind - amazing and thought provoking
Review: Waking Life is the kind of movie that you will see and then spend days afterwards contemplating what you have seen and heard. Not only is it a visual masterpiece, but the dialogue is incredibly deep and thought provoking. At first it was all a little too much to take in at once, with the crazy animation and the abundance of philisophical debate, but after about 30 minutes I really started to get into it. I can't wait to get the DVD so I can listen to the discussions all over again. This is truly a unique film in the best sense of the word. I highly recommend it.
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