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The Rules of Attraction

The Rules of Attraction

List Price: $9.98
Your Price: $9.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Save your money
Review: I only review the very best and the very worst movies. This one is so completely worthless I felt compelled to warn others.

First off, in the interest of full disclosure, I only bought this because Jessica Biel is hot, so I wasn't expecting nor requiring very much of the movie itself. Even measured against these low expectations, this movie was dismally bad. FYI, for any other Jessica Biel fans out there: if you've seen the commercials, you've seen all of her that you are going to.

Now onto the rest of it...

I'm not even sure that this should be called a movie since all it really consisted of was a bunch of disconnected scenes played first forward, then backwards. I ended up fast forwarding through half the movie (the scenes we bad enough the first time through!).

There is no plot. There is no character development. The handful of "characters" who appear in enough scenes to be considered other than extras are so completely unsympathetic that you simply don't care if they show up in any future scenes.

I suppose it was designed to be shocking, but it failed there, too, unless you've spent your entire life in a bubble watching Disney movies. So college students drink and do drugs... there's a revelation!

Save your money!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Not for the faint hearted.
Review: A gritty satire that does not hold back. Some funny scenes (if you dont mind laughing during a dark movie) The best part is the editing. Great uses of split scenes, fading, rewimding etc... An interesting movie on alot of levels.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: When kids from the "WB" go bad.
Review: Wow. What a waste of time. Since there wasn't much of a plot, I'll assume the point of the movie was to glamorize sex, drugs, and suicide. Don't get me wrong, I can enjoy all those things when they're done well, but this was just trying too hard to be "hard". Jessica Beil as a coke [addict]? James Van-der-Beek as the psycho thrill-seeking drug dealer? Oh my, what will their parents think? This was a big laugh as much as anything. Being unintentionally funny, and having a good soundtrack were the only good points to this. The sad part is knowing that some 16 year old is going to watch this and think it's cool. I mean the sex and drugs are one thing, but there were two suicide scenes because people couldn't "hook-up" with their crushes. Even if the shock-value was the thing this was going for, it was just done wrong. If you want that type of film, rent "Kids". It's alot more realistic.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: the rules of attraction
Review: This movie is the best. it is diffrent how it takes place as a flashback but it is great with the drugs sex and rock and roll

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Rules of Making Me Vomit
Review: Awful, terrible, dusgusting. It takes a LOT to offend me, and I found this movie offensive. I loved seeing Dawson in a gay love scene, though. I felt terribly sorry for Lauren (Shannyn Sossamon), but hated the rest of the characters. The movie really has no plot - it's just a bunch of shock-value scenes and special effects throughout. Parents, don't be fooled by the all-star teenage-crush cast - this is not a movie for the teen set by any means.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Where's the satire?
Review: Rules Of Attraction is one of those rare movies which doesn't seem to have an audience. Based on the Brett Easton Ellis (author of American Psycho) novel, the basic set-up is a group of college kids including James Van Der Beek as Sean Bateman, who is in love with the virginal Lara, who is also in love with him but wants to save herself for Victor. Oh, and Paul is in love with Sean too. This could well be the story for any good-natured quirky teen flick. However, the abandonment with which these kids snort cocaine, drink and have sex sets it apart as more akin to movies such as Go than She's All That.

The acting is all good, especially James Van Der Beek, completely ruining any illusions that Dawson will remain Dawson forever. As the carefree, cruel and narcisstic drug dealer Sean he is perfectly cast against type. There are also some much appreciated, though slightly pointless, cameos from Eric Stoltz as a corrupt tutor and Faye Dunaway as Paul's mother. Director Avery worked on the script to Pulp Fiction, and it shows. There are flashy narrative effects aplenty - time runs backwards, speeds up and there's split-screen. Unfortunately this is nowhere as original as the Tarantino original and doesn't come close to the superior Go, the other teen movie to try and replicate the formula (which incidentally also starred Dawson co-star Katie Holmes). This being the case the drugs, sex, porn, masturbation and loud music come across as aiming to shock rather than the satire that you can't help but feel that the book contained. Brett Easton Ellis's satire was much better adapted to screen in American Psycho and The Rules Of Attraction just comes across as its junior brother that doesn't really know what it's doing but is more than happy to ape Tarantino's visual style and the shock imagery of American Psycho. It's just a shame that through such consistent repetition it just becomes dull.

This being the case it comes across not as a genuine effort to transplant the novel to the screen but as a vanity project for James Van Der Beek to show that he's not such a goody goody. That said, the movie is still enjoyable, even if most of the laughter is raised when we see Dawson doing something Dawson wouldn't do in the Creek, something that you see as being the movie's biggest asset or its biggest flaw. The end message, that no-one ever knows anybody really is impressive, although the characters don't seem to go through any emotional changes to realise this. In particular the ending will leave with that 'so what' feeling inside. Even so, the novelty value of this vacuous movie is higher than most, and it's never less than engaging. It's just that the story obviously has so much potential that you can't help but wish that something better had been done with it.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: The 'Rules' to Avoid
Review: Absolutely terrifying cinema. "The Rules of Attraction" makes "Battlefield Earth" look halfway decent. There was no point to this movie but to show how kids are in college dorms. Dawson's Creek boy (James Van Der Geek) should stick to his 'clean boy' image. He looked mean and looked intimidating at the camera which I thought was truly frightening (no). This movie is just as bad as "American Pyscho" with a sissy la la playing a 'tough guy.' Shannyn Sossamon played the innocent girl who waited for true love. Please wait for more meaningful projects and more deserving roles will come your way. George Michael's music is disgusting and shall never be played in a movie or anywhere ever again. Even Fred Savage (Yes, "The Wonder Years" boy) shows up and injures his foot! Jessica Biel deserves better, Kate Bosworth deserves better, and Faye Dunaway deserves better. Not funny, not cool, should've ended within five seconds. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY. Buy something with substance, like a Steven Seagal movie.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Very dissapointed!!
Review: After seeing a very impressive preview, this movie was nothing but very annoying, irritating, non-impressive camera tricks, the most unlikable characters of any movie, very few laughs, and some very disturbing moments that did not add to the plot.

There was nothing fascinating about this movie. It was just irritating! It attempted to be like great movies such as: (Pulp fiction, Snatch, Lock Stock and two smoking barrels) but just failed badly.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: What Was I Thinking?
Review: I have to admit, I just wanted to see "The Rules of Attraction" just to see James Van Der Beek kiss Ian Somerhalder.

However, I was quite surprised to see the film because I thought I was going to see another "American Pie" flick. Nope. This is a depiction of how kids are nowadays. The world of drugs, liquor, sex, etc. The Tarantinouesque touch on the editing of this film does give "Rules Of Attraction" some panache, but this film gives us an insight of how a good number of kids of our generation now think.

There is a lot of irreverence in this film, and however irreverent they are, it is quite realistic.

If you're a teenager who just wants to laugh your heart out and expect another "American Pie" or "Road Rules" kind of film, then skip this one and save yourself some money.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The flip-side of Animal House
Review: "Rules" is an updated and significantly altered version of the 1987 novel by Bret Easton Ellis. Whereas the novel now serves as a time capsule of an era (and is still a fascinating, well written read), the film brings us to the present time, complete with post-Pulp Fiction-style editing tricks. If you are looking for the characters from the book, you'll find their namesakes here, but not necessarily the same people. Some characters (the beautiful Shannyn Sossamon's Lauren) have been cleaned up to be more sympathetic, some (James Van Der Beeks malevolent Sean) seem more monstrous, and others (Jessica Biel's Lara) are entirely new to the film, having not appeared in the novel. This film is a look at the lives of students at a private, wealthy liberal arts college in New England and their interpersonal relationships. This film is pretty much the darker side of college life as seen in films like "Animal House." Instead of levity and humor, we see the darkness of college life, and the underbelly of the infamous American "lesiure time."

It's nice to have actresses like Fay Dunaway and Swoosie Kurtz make appearances but I wish they'd been onscreen longer. Be on the watch for a bizarre cameo by Paul Williams in a hospital scene taken directly from the book that is still as confusing onscreen as it is on the printed page.

The real star turn in this film is by Ian Somerhalder as Paul Denton. Perhaps it's because he is one of the most stunningly beautiful faces (male or female) to ever grace a movie screen, but his Paul is an interestingly complex character who wears his heart on his sleeve. Somerhalder's only stumbling block to fame may be his looks, but I do hope to see hime in more things.

Look for a reference to "The Wicker Man" in this film as well. I recommend this film, but it's not for those expecting a fun college romp.


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