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The Acid House

The Acid House

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: I LOVED THIS FILM!!!
Review: "the acid house", reunites 3 different stories written by irvine welsh...(writter of "trainspotting" , and co-writter of "dockers")...about misfortune,football,drugs,god,neighbors and of course,coco!

these hilarious shorts are really bizzare!...the title says it all! it's very "acid".

the first segment of the film is called "the granton star cause"...in this introduction, boab (stephen Mccole) an apparently mediocre football player is being rejected from his team, his fiance,his parents and to top it all,beaten by a bunch of cops and punished by GOD!(maurice roeves)...after a long arguement with boab.,god finaly decides to transform him into an insect.(what happens next is just too long to explain)

the second part of the film is entitled " a soft touch",it's the most depressive and detestable moment of "the acid house"..johnny,(kevin mckidd) is married to catriona (michelle gomez),a self-destructive,dumb wife who sleeps with her neighbor,prostitutes herself and eventualy gets pregnant..the neighbor,larry(gary mccormack) uses johnny's electricity,he comes and goes in johnny's flat,sleeps with his wife..etc..the ending of this short film is very annoying!...but the acting in this segment is simply magnificent, and frightfully realistic!
...

the final, and 3rd part of the acid house...called "the acid house", and is without a doubt the best short of this trilogy. it's about coco (ewen bremner),who is struck by lightning and suddenly swaps his mind (or soul) into a newborn baby...the reslut is simply hysterical!...

the direction: the acid house was paul mcguigan's first film . after that,followed the exellent "gangster number one" and recently, "morality play"...his style is very recognizable!,and works even better in "gangster number one",(it's a more mature work IMHO)...the same goes for andrew hulmer (his editor),who also worked on G.number1 and Morality play. his style goes pretty wild on the final segment of the film!

the acting and cast:
the best thing about the "acid house" is it's cast of incredible actors...from michelle gomez (who also played in michel blanc's "the escort" starring daniel auteuil & who also was in the "stage version" of trainspotting), to kevin mckidd (also known for his part in trainspotting as "tommy", topsy-turvy, small faces) , there's also maurice roeves (beautiful creatures , last of the mohicans) , stephen mccole (orphans , band of brothers , my name is joe), garry sweeney (small faces) , gary mccormack (gangster n.1 , gangs of new york) and ewen bremner or "spud" (trainspotting , naked , julien the donkey boy , snatch , black hawk down, morality play )

the music...if you dont own it already, make sure to buy the soundtrack of this film ,it features great groups such as "primal scream" , "oasis" , "chemical brothers" , "texas" , "the pastels", "beth orton" , "arab strap"..etc......etc..

the acid house is not as good as "trainspotting" but it's worth checking!. (try fo find the dvd version of the film if possible, it contains interesting stuff such as irvine wlesh's commentary and interview,theatrical trailer,and of course a glossary (you'll need it!,some words have different and several meanings..)

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Rough around the edges...
Review: As I review more and more films they are slowly becoming more and more difficult to review. Why? There are just some films out there that are this solid mix of great and average that it is difficult to give a definitive answer. Did I like it or didn't I? The lines are getting more and more fuzzy as the films continue to pour on. The only ones that I do not have trouble with are the uncreative lacklusters that Hollywood is notorious for releasing. Thankfully, that is not the case with The Acid House. Considered by some to be Trainspotting 2, I think that in actuality it is below Trainspotting. While Trainspotting had a definite plot and characters, this one is simply random stories that have come together in the end. There is no doubt in my mind that Irvine Welch's stories are superb. The styles in which these are portrayed and carried out are very imaginative and realistic (in a surreal sort of way) which really kept my attention. What they do lack is structure. That is why I have added this collection of stories to my list of books that I would like to own, but not the film. I cannot read the other stories that Irvine Welch has imagined for his home country, sadly, I am not interested in seeing anymore short stories theatrically released.

Don't get me wrong. This was my type of film. It was graphic, yet poignant, subtle yet powerful, and very brilliantly written with some interesting messages about life, it was just that I think it was too much for the director to handle. This was director Paul McGuigan's first film, and you could tell that he was just a little rough around the edges. He has transformed into a brilliant director since this film, but it just seems like this first film was pushed and again, rough around the edges. For example, the child in the final story eerily resembled Chucky from the Child's Play films. This cheap way of creating this character thoroughly distracted me from the story, but McGuigan was able to redeem himself with the final scene of this film when CoCo comes back to his body. This was the type of "give and take" that you had to accept with this film. While there were some horrible scenes, there were equally amazing scenes. I almost felt that I was watching a rough-cut of a Guy Ritchie film. There were just scenes that stood out that seemed like they were his classic moments.

I enjoyed the way these stories all came together. I loved the second story the most because it was so brilliantly depressing that you just couldn't help but find a piece of you somewhere in there. The first story was decent, but a bit too grotesque for my liking, while the third was surreally comical. I loved the subtitles (that were random throughout my version of the film) that allowed me to fully understand what these characters were saying. It was a good film. Not quite the potential that Trainspotting had, but still a decent film. I cannot wait to read the book and see what I missed from watching this first.

Overall, fun to watch the first time, but a continuous viewing will not be necessary.

Grade: *** out of *****

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Strong adaptation
Review: Bearing in mind that this film is of the same style and tone as "Trainspotting," it stands as a departure from what the casual Irvine Welsh (no pun intended) fan may expect. Whereas -- despite some surrealist sequences -- "Trainspotting" had a realistic plot, this effort is a sort of Twilight Zone set in the schemes (projects)of Edinburgh. The movie's three segments closely follow their respective short stories in Welsh's novel. One departure, which I actually liked, was that unlike the Coco Bryce in Welsh's short story "The Acid House," the character is portrayed as more of a protagonist in the screen adaptation. Admittedly, Ewan Bremmer wasn't who I'd pictured as Bryce based on having read the story (much like I hadn't pictured Carlisyle as Begbie in Trainspotting), but he does an outstanding job with the character. Really good sequence at the end, where Welsh used actual Hibernian FC fans in the final scene. Overall, it's worth seeing; although, I found it difficult to find in the U.S. and would have prefered that the subtitles be optional on the DVD version.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Strong adaptation
Review: Bearing in mind that this film is of the same style and tone as "Trainspotting," it stands as a departure from what the casual Irvine Welsh (no pun intended) fan may expect. Whereas -- despite some surrealist sequences -- "Trainspotting" had a realistic plot, this effort is a sort of Twilight Zone set in the schemes (projects)of Edinburgh. The movie's three segments closely follow their respective short stories in Welsh's novel. One departure, which I actually liked, was that unlike the Coco Bryce in Welsh's short story "The Acid House," the character is portrayed as more of a protagonist in the screen adaptation. Admittedly, Ewan Bremmer wasn't who I'd pictured as Bryce based on having read the story (much like I hadn't pictured Carlisyle as Begbie in Trainspotting), but he does an outstanding job with the character. Really good sequence at the end, where Welsh used actual Hibernian FC fans in the final scene. Overall, it's worth seeing; although, I found it difficult to find in the U.S. and would have prefered that the subtitles be optional on the DVD version.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Granton Star Rules!
Review: I hadn't read the Irvine Welsh book from which this movie is based. A friend of mine though said that he thought 'The Granton Star Cause' was one of the best short stories he ever read and of the 3 stories within this film it certainly works the best. I first saw the film in North America and if you happen to be from the Celtic side of the pond the use of English subtitles for English dialogue can be quite disjointing and takes away from the enjoyment of the film. Nevertheless the 'Granton Star Cause' creates a big impact in the guise of a modern fable. Add to that the satirical nature of the policemen's investment, God's theological justifications and Nick Cave's brooding, melancholic soundtrack and you wonder why more filmmakers (indeed writers for that matter) don't incorporate more traditional story-telling elements in their work.

'A Soft Touch' proves to be morbidly depressing, while 'The Acid House' story itself just works as an extended pop video. All in all it doesn't work as a full feature, the remaining 2 stories develop as a huge anti-climax to the magnificent and insightful narrative of the first. Watch just for 'The Granton Star Cause'.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: maybe a jaguar
Review: if you love irvine welsh, this is a MUST!! trainspotting left a <few> details out to be desired, but the acid house follows every element of the short stories. the scottish accent gets a bit thick at times, but you get use to it eventually. definately a great experience for those of us who love to get lost in irvine's realistically twisted worlds.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: maybe a jaguar
Review: if you love irvine welsh, this is a MUST!! trainspotting left a <few> details out to be desired, but the acid house follows every element of the short stories. the scottish accent gets a bit thick at times, but you get use to it eventually. definately a great experience for those of us who love to get lost in irvine's realistically twisted worlds.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Underrated Work of Madness
Review: The Acid House is an exciting trilogy of stories that involve God, a possessed baby, and some disturbing sexual material. The movie is a trip into the exotic and unexplainable. Irvine Welsh wrote the screenplay, that he adapted from his book, and he did an excellent job. Most people know him as the writer of Trainspotting. If you like Trainspotting, then The Acid House should be right up your alley. With twisted humor, intriguing characters, and twisted plot lines, The Acid House delivers a good time for the whole dysfunctional family.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Three phychedelic experience...
Review: The film expressed this atrocious resonance through-out the film. From the first story through the thrid one. It certainly showed lunacy with acid trips and switching of bodies and mind. Some satiric behaviors were inflicted upon two characters. One had a really awful day then meets a man that changed his life entirely. Then another, that was just fed up with his life and significant other's actions. I've yet to read the book but I think it's still too early to judge which is better. I'm guessing the book.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Worst movie I have EVER, EVER seen
Review: There is no way that anybody should see this movie. This is the most vulgar, unfunny piece of xxxx ever. The storytelling is hysterically bad, the acting is terrible. The only thing they do is try and shock you with vulgarity. I loved Trainspotting, but absolutely hated this one.


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