Rating: 
Summary: Be Stunned Again
Review: MD is not for the average movie-goer - it's for the F I L M aficionado, C I N E M A culture vulture. Lynch begins the journey with Diane (on her bed) and ends it with Diane. This is the simplest explanation for the fork in the road you seemed to have missed when first watching this flick. Without giving too much away, yet still peaking your interest to watch MD, Lynch spins his web so thick you need a broom to get through it. He portrays 4 characters with 2 actors. You may think your secret decoder ring isn't working at first but give it time. Is it all Diane's fantasy/invention, the crafty work of the THERE'S A MAN BEHIND THIS PLACE, I CAN SEE HIM THROUGH THE WALLS AND HE'S DOING IT, or just making a film in LA with different actors auditioning for various parts and the director trying them out to see who fits where and scenes filmed unchrono with deleted scenes kept in the movie? You decide. Don't look for help from Lynch. After all, according to his bio on the DVD, he's simply a former Scout.
Rating:
Summary: Surreal & revealing glimpse into the Los Angeles Odyssey
Review: Ah, Los Angeles. A thousand tales have already been told about the City of Dreams, and no wonder, with it being the most famous and faux-fabulous community of this modern age. Some of these tales revel in grace and glamour, simply adding to the in-progress legend, while other storytellers attempt to deconstruct the façade, showing us the grit and grimy desperation seething under the surgeon-smiles and six-figure cars. David Lynch's noir-ish _Mulholland Drive_ joins this latter group, and if you really pay attention while watching, you'll find that it makes sense - all of it -- even with just one viewing. Massive in scope and brilliant in conception, _Mulholland Drive_ is, at its heart, a sad allegory of the quest for fame. It's disturbing how much power actually exists in LA. The bulk of American media information/entertainment originates, via television and film, from this concrete patchwork of smog and sensual overload: it programs millions to laugh, cry, fear; it titillates us with trends, slyly winks as it snatches bill after bill from the wallet. It sells illusions, that most sought-after commodity; and illusions are infectious.
Near the beginning we are treated to Naomi Watts descending from an airport terminal, blue eyes a-glow with the myriad possibilities that confront her: a perfect cornfed image of Hollywood hope. She has been given some encouragement by an elderly couple, who say they will 'watch out for her movie--' it's sweet, sincere, until the elderly couple get into a cab, upon which they both break into sinister chuckling. They know. They see it all the time. Hollywood hope comes in by the busload, folks, fresh-faced would-be thespians seeking that ticket to eternal fame - a thousand a week, or so the estimate goes. A lucky few make it. Thousands upon thousands more work in bars or restaurants or descend into more unsavory occupations, trying to find the right contacts, the perfect pitch...but I digress: David Lynch, master of the surreal styling, directed _Mulholland Drive_, and it brims with his standard trademarks: careful camera pans, suggestive editing, atmospheric music to create mood and heighten tension. Some of Lynch's previous films have suffocated under his *modus operandi*, but here technique, impeccably fashioned as it is, serves a deeper and far more meaningful theme. There is no self-indulgence here: everything happens for a reason, be it in dream or stark reality. Buried within the context of the film are a number of subtle (and not-so subtle) metaphors and allusions to the LA illusion-factory. There is a _lot_ I could mention/analyze, but words are precious (and limited), so let me state: One of the most striking (eg obvious) takes place during the theater scene, after the Mephesto-like performer exits amidst cheap brimstone. A woman appears by a microphone, slouched and old, the heavy cosmetic care in the close-up still unable to totally disguise the wear. In a vibrant voice she begins singing a familiar tune in Spanish. At the peak, she collapses, presumably dead...but the song continues on, after the 'machine' supposedly 'voicing' it has broken down. Rita and Betty shed tears. They know, they know. They see it all the time. They are all players for the human appetite. Highly recommended for those of open perception.
Rating:
Summary: Mulholland Drive/A Journey to the other side of the Rainbow
Review: This movie is strange, surreal, haunting and at first, a little confusing. My wife and I watched it once. Then I immediately rewound the tape and we watched it again. A week later we watched it a third time. This move really makes you think,in fact I couldn't stop going over it in my mind and putting all the pieces in place. After three viewings I understand about 90%. As for the rest I prefer to let the mystery stand. David Lynch probably is a genius, and this is his masterpiece. The photography and acting is suberb. The music is incredible. The characters are very interesting and the plot is facinating. Sometimes hilarious, at other times terrifying. For anyone who liked Blue Velvet or Twin Peaks this is a must see.
Rating: 
Summary: One great incredible movie!...I think?
Review: I was never really a big fan of Twin Peaks but, a friend suggested I see Mulholland Drive. I was glued to my seat, I was fascinated by the talent these performers posessed, and I was loving every minute of it! Then....they went to the theatre??? I continued to watch just as enthralled as before waiting for that magic moment, waiting for that missing piece of the puzzle that would bring it all together, that never happened. So now im conflicted do I beat the hell out of the guy who referred it to me? or, do I thank him for introducing me to such an incredible display of film talent? Maybe both...
Rating: 
Summary: WAS THIS MOVIE THE RESULT OF SOME UNDIGESTED MEAT
Review: To paraphase scrooge from dickens was this movie the result of some undigested italian meat that the director eat or as butch and the sundance kid would say "who are these guys".In my own words "what does that first coffee shop scene have to do with anything.Aside from naomi watts the movie, like the emperor ,has no clothes.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I was extremely disappointed with this LA Genre flick, which should have pulled the talents of the assembled performers together but only set hem apart. Disjointed, tiresome and taking way too long to establish the plot line, this was mostly a waste of time and talent.
It is beyond my comprehension that this would make anyone's top 10
Rating:
Summary: Don't Get The DVD Version
Review: If you really like this movie, either get it on VHS or wait for them to re-release it on DVD. The people who produced this CD are obvious not familiar with DVDs because they made it in the form of a VCD. In short, you cannot select different chapters in the movie. In order to go to a specific scene, you have to use the fast scan. This makes the disk even worse that VHS tapes because with tape, you can at least stop the movie and fast forward the movie to a time or counter mark. I guess the makers were more focused on putting out little things like trailers or cast info instead of useability. Because of the length of the movie, they could have made it a dual DVD set and put all of that extra ... on it. Oh well, I am so glad that I am just renting this DVD and didn't buy it. You all know what the store's policy is on returning items, even if they are ...!!!!
Rating:
Summary: My Account
Review: I have scene the movie five times over. I am not persuaded by the dream interpretation. No person dreams in that much detail. Nor do I accept Ebert's lazy postion that "not one scene is intended to be a waking moment." What we have here is a complex of waking moment, dream, and fantasy. The central character is Diane. In my view, the facts are these:
Diane Selwin is a failed actress whose affair with Camilla Rhodes has left her emotionally spent. Camilla supercedes Diane in the film industry, without telling Diane that was her plan. From isolation and the taking of drugs, Diane becomes paranoid and revengeful. She assumes that Camilla was helped by having powerful contacts impose on the director. In fact, Lynch gives us a clue: "Did talent alone help Camilla?" And the world is prompted to answer "no." But its a trick question! The answer is completely "yes." Only in Diane's mind is Camilla helped. In true life, Camilla did it by herself. Hence, the office scene is dream and delusion. There are hints, like when the manager "Robert Smith" is oddly called "Ray," or when the director keeps talking about the photo inspite of the other men who yell and spill espresso on themselves. This inconsistency and lack of coherence is dream. Betty is simply Diane's ideal self, having no basis in reality. But Betty is not simply a dream, as people stupidly say. Betty is a fantasy, which Diane draws on, day in and day out. Betty evolves, over time, in the mind of Diane. She is not simply Diane's dream. She is the ambition of Diane. The thought-experiment of Diane. The day-dreaming of Diane. Betty is a healthy ideality of Diane. Let's face it: we all have them. We want to be professors, doctors, lawyers, novelists, actors, and so on. We want to be smarter, nicer, better looking, more liked. In this view, it is perfectly normal of Diane to conjure up Betty. Other parts of the film, as for instance the "man" behind the diner, are clearly not related to Diane. The fact is, a man saw Diane pass a photo to a man, and then give him money. He wonders if a "hit" is being arranged, but cannot know for sure. And so, he starts having dreams of a monster (which may represent himself and his guilt) and eventually sees a psychiatrist because he wonders if he indirectly led to someone's death. The "man" may even be (the ghost of)Camilla, scarred by the accident, but to Diane unblemished and with amnesia. Or, it may be Diane herself.
Also, notice Aunt Ruth in the opening dance scene.... The cowboy, who may or may not be important, remains a mystery to me. He evidently cannot be approached as merely a man, which is why he is offended by Adam's commonplace "what's on your mind?" The cowboy is not simply having something on his mind. He represents an 'either/or' to Adam, far deeper than "what's on your mind.' His talk of a man's attitude has to do with his impression that Adam has a bad attiude, or it has to do with religion, in which case, for him, God - not man- determines things. As to why Rita and Betty suddenly have red highlights at the end of the movie, I don't know. Rita Hayworth had red hair in The Lady of Shanghai. Rita (Camilla) tells Betty that she lik's "Aunt Ruth's pretty red hair." And the movie as a whole has much in the way of red symbolism. Or why the director has lighter hair. Also, it is strange that Camille (Rita) does NOT have an accent prior the crash, but for the rest of the film DOES have an accent. ... Other parts of the movie may be Camilla's amnesia/dream merging with Diane's dream/fantasy. One thing is certain: there IS an explanation. We cannot do as Ebert does. That is, we can't 'give up' and say the whole movie is one dream. That's nonsense. No one can dream up 2 1/2 hrs of imagery, dialogue, and events. That is a cop-out. Instead, we can isolate 3 or 4 scenes which are dreams, while leaving the rest up to fantasy and reality.
Rating:
Summary: Wait a sec...what did I just see???
Review: I loved this movie for the amount of brain picking you have to do after watching it. I liked In The Bedroom and Memento for the same reason. But this one has baffled me. As the last little montage started to playing, meaning the credits were near...the questions started rolling in my mind. I want post all of them here because there's too many, and this is a movie you don't want to have spoiled. Soooo much is left up to the imagination, the answers will probably never be solved. But one question I will ask, not because it's not a spoiler, but because I'm confused on it is: What's the deal with the Ape Looking guy??? The guy who said he saw that face in his nightmares was right: I don't ever want to see that face again. It is beautifully acted, mainly by people who aren't very well known. And to top it off, this is more of an ensemble piece than an actual 'He's the main actor, he's the supporting actor'. Justin Thoreux plays the angst filled director, naomi Watts is the Aspiring Actress, and Laura Elena Harring plays an amnesiac, whom most of my questions center around. These three ultimately have the lead, and each has their own mysteries about them. How come Naomi Watts plays Betty and Diane, both of whom have a strong connection with Rita? How come Justin Thoreux has to meet that coyboy,a nd what purpose does he serve in the plot (Though I did pay attention to his comment about 'seeing him if he did good'. I saw him twice. Is that worth anything) And what is Rita's deal??? THis character seems pretty straightfoward at the start of the film, and even going into it, but alas, I've got no clue about her. Is she straight, or is she gay, is she an actress, or is she just a typical women, is she rich, or she poor, the questions keep coming. I loved the movie for it's acting, brilliant 'keeps-you-guessing' writing, event he musical score was great. But I was up for about three hours after watching this movie last night trying to figure it out. My advice: It is what it is. The only person who knows the answers is David Lynch, and I doubt any of us will ever get to meet him.
Rating:
Summary: For people who like to think
Review: This movie was exellent. I warn viewers though, only watch this if you're in the mood to think, because you'll be doing plenty of that by the time the movie is over. At first I doubted this movie, but after a while it occurred to me that if David Lynch (writer and director), even though I have no idea who he is, put his name on the cover, then he must be proud of something in the movie. And, being as I work at a video store and get to watch videos for free, I watched it. The movie does a very good job at avoiding stereotypical scenes (i.e. cat jumps up and scares someone scene or the "phew that was close" then something bad happens scene). One of the outstanding aspects of this movie is the sound. Music always matches what is going on. Also, maybe this is a personal preference, but I love the use of dead silence to make things scarrier. There were many wonderful moments in the movie where the only thing you can hear is the DVD player running. Acting: C -=- 76 out of 100 points
Story: B+ -=- 87 out of 100 points
Sound: A+ -=- 100 out of 100 points
(BONUS) Avoiding Stereotypical Scenes | +10 points
(BONUS) Lesbianism | +10 points
(BONUS) Smart-alleck Nerdy Character | +10 points
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Overall 97.6% (293 out of 300 points)
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