Rating: 
Summary: "SIDE-SHOW - USA"
Review: A BRILLIANTLY acted and directed satire of "Life At The Top - USA Style", this is not for the squeamish, but Oh, such Joy!From the tantalzing opening credits through the axe-weilding, nail-gunning, coat-hanger moments, it rips into the jugular, and does not let go, neither can you as the viewer - and do see the unrated! An excellent compansion piece is Elio Petri's 1969 "Investigation of a Citizen above Suspicion" with Florinda Bolkan. On the down side? Not too happy about the way women are viewed and treated, but this one's funny along the lines of a manic Kubrick ride, if he ever ventured into this territory [slightly with Nicholson in "The Shining"]. AND watch out for Christian Bale - rising talent! Reese Witherspoon and Chloe Sevigny aptly contribute as the Fiance and Secretary. Director Mary Harron provides a fresh and startling look at the young 'uns on Wall Street - or anywhere in corporate USA for that matter. Sign in on this one! Check out "No Way To Treat A Lady" [Steiger, Remick and Segal] - another companion gem!
Rating: 
Summary: You have to Watch this Twice to Understand It!
Review: I usually pride myself on being able to understand a movie absolutely with one viewing. I'm a former English Literature major and I simply assumed that I had developed my ability to pick up on all the standard movie conventions to a relatively sophisticated level. But this film totally confused me. After my first viewing I thought it was needlessly violent and over the top with no purpose. But even though my initial reaction was negative, the images of the movie stayed with me and it was only after about a six month gestation period of sub-conscious reflection that I realized what the film was actually trying to accomplish. I watched it again and realized to my untter astonishment that American Psycho is a witty, piercing satire, sometimes hilarious, sometimes terrifying, and always brilliant. The best way to describe the movie is "Fight Club" with no pulled punches. I am one of many that felt "Fight Club" was brilliant and I still consider it a slightly more rewarding movie than Psycho, but Psycho covers ground even "Fight Club" shied away from, it is disturbing, but nonetheless, it needed to be said. The problem with Psycho, and what makes the satire so difficult to percieve, is that there are virtually no hints that the opposite of every presented scene is actually meant. The movie is a criticism of our materialist culture, everybody is ultra-refined and meticulously groomed to the point where they look like they've just stepped off the front cover of a magazine and because they all look so similar (in one of the subtle humourous conventions that indicates the movie is a satire) nobody can keep anybody else's identy straight. This misidentification allows Patrick Bateman (Played wonderfully by Christian Bale) to plan a series of murders in which he provides an alibi for himself by assuming the identity of one of the people he kills. The obvious problem with this plan is that people mistake him for himself when he is disguised as somebody else. I think the main reason I missed out on the humor of this film is that it walks so near to the ridiculous line that society toes anyway. For example, it is almost impossible to make a satire on an action movie because action movies are so ridiculously exagurated to begin with. But that is why American Psycho is brilliant, it puts a magnifying glass on a part of society we overlook and brings it into its horrific focus using primarilly the ideas that the society espouses itself. The film is a tremendous artistic achievement and it is important that audiences don't give up on it too soon. Like "Fight Club," until you know what the movie is trying to achieve, it is an uncomfortable viewing experience. But once you understand it, you see that the blood and the violence is totally necessary and justified in making a responsible comment about the ills of society that most immediatly need to be rectified.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome!!!!
Review: an insightful and hysterical dark comedy that demonstrates what happens to our psyches when we live in an environment of lies, greed and superficiality. the setting in this case is wall street, but wall street is really a metaphor for modern society at large. the main character at first, acting on impulse, starts knocking off the "worst of the worst" of the over bearing, manipulative, pretentious creeps he encounters. as his madness grows he loses sight of good and bad people and starts killing indiscriminately. the main actor christian bale does a great job portraying the serial killer patrick bateman, in a stylish performane on par with richard gere's breakout role in "american gigolo." all this and a surprise ending that will keep you guessing and questioning after the movie has ended.
Rating:
Summary: Everything must flow: money, blood, music, culture
Review: The film catches the atmosphere of the book very nicely, but it avoids most gruesome details and especially those that are more extreme and shocking. This film wants to give the gist of the book and it is a real success. The hero is a golden boy among other golden boys, but he knows this world is a total illusion, maybe even a lie. The lie of money, easy money and the illusion of the power of this money. His extreme personality makes him look for the most extreme sensations and these can only come from the physical suffering he can impose onto people, either by torturing them or by killing them. This is nothing but a metaphor of the vain and aimless chase for money. Money, the blood of society, is translated into the real blood of other people, and this blood has to run on his hands and face to be really felt, just like money has to run from his hands in the face of other people to express its power. He is a killer because he is unable to limit his power to the sole flow of money which is only a simulacra of the flow of life, and first of all the flow of blood. Hence the character is psychotic. But the metaphor works also the other way and society is psychotic, money is criminal, money making is an uncontroled permanent assassination of the richness of a culture that is always present in his personality. He engulfs himself in music and long dissertations on music when he starts stepping beyond the limit of sanity. So his criminal activities become the realisation of the flow of music, the linguistic flow of his highly intellectual and elaborate commentary on the music. And here is the third metaphorical level : the flow of music and his flow of commentary on the music go along with the flow of blood he criminally causes as a trespassing action beyond the sole flow of money. His wealth of intellectual dissertation on music is the cultural side of his wealth in money and this otherland leads him to bathe in a wealth of blood. Even if the film is not a masterpiece it is a thought raking and prompting adventure, and it is an adventure to enter such a film, because you feel concerned at once by this post-modern psychosis, a psychosis many of us live and try to dominate, even if unaware of it because of our good training and our desire to integrate in society. Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, Paris Universities II and IX..
Rating: 
Summary: Boring, pretentious, unrealistic
Review: For those of you who read the book, you know how much of a watered down version this movie is. It tries so hard to be shocking and brutal, but is really just predictable and a more humane version of A Clockwork Orange. Some spoiled Robert Palmer fan listens to music and kills people. Wow, it doesn't get more entertaining than that. This movie is so far removed from reality it isn't even funny. The sheer logics of it are totally absurd (Throwing a chainsaw down 20 flights of stairs and having it nail a girl, blade first, in the back?). This movie is a complete borefest. The only people who consider this a classic are the people who let the media cram it down their throats.
Rating:
Summary: TAKE IT EASY; This movie is Great!
Review: This is a great movie that few people like. You have to understand that it is a satire on a particular point in time in our nations history. It's based on the controversial novel by Bret Easton Ellis, which is FAR more graffic. The main character, Patrick Bateman, is an ideal character because is able to get away with things that anyone would be arrested and locked up for. PLEASE watch the movie all the way through before passing judgement, because you realize what Patrick has been doing the whole time. It's a magnificent twist about the conscious and sub-conscious, along with what's real and in someone's head. Also includes an allstar cast with: Christian Bale ( Swing Kids, Empire of the Sun, Newsies ), Willem DaFoe ( The Last Temptation of Christ, PLatoon, Shadow of the Vampire ) and Reese Witherspoon ( Fear, Election, Cruel Intentions ). Either you love this movie or you hate it, and I have to go with the seemingly small crowd that loves it. Also if you love the movie, check out the book because it's sure to blow you away.
Rating:
Summary: Preconceptions at the door, please
Review: American Psycho, in its literary form, is a difficult read, as it comes off as pure graphic exploitation. The violence is so strong that many readers were blinded to the sporadic humour of the piece, often laugh out loud funny. Happily, the film takes all the redeeming qualities of the novel and builds on them, creating another beast entirely. The film plays as a black comedy, not horror. There is a little bloodshed for the Fangoria hounds here, but most of the violence is off screen, left to the dark pits of imagination. Christian Bale gives a career making performance, making Patrick Bateman a ridiculous blend of Casey Casem and any masked axe wielding killer you could think of. But most importantly the film acts as a satirical look at the cultural emptiness of the eighties, and the emptiness of Bateman. Don't be afraid! This is a great film just waiting to be discovered.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as over the top as its source but the spirit is there
Review: Not as violent nor as over the top as its notorious source. Although I admired the satirical boldness with which it equates the figurative and literal bloodlust/murderous impulses of those engendered by corporate culture and those experienced by serial killers (I'll let you figure out which is which), it's still not a easy film to sit through. There are some excellent scenes however, such as the business cards scene and Patrick Bateman's hilariously unnerving analysis of music from Huey Lewis and the News, Phil Collins, Whitney Houston, etc. As a music fan, I find the implication that only the psychotic fringe would enjoy soporific Top 40 pop music completely delightful. The problem with the film is that, like its source, it is all one note and it becomes irritating and uncomfortable after awhile. And the film takes a easy way out near the end to make things more palatable to the audience (we'll henceforth refer to this type of travesty as the 'Fight Club' Syndrome). However, this film is not without its share of brilliance, foremost of which is how Harron aims a scathing satire, even more so than the one directed at corporate culture, towards us, the people in the audience, for our desire to be entertained by violence and horror. Overall, Mary Harron didn't really capture the over-the-toppedness of the novel but she nailed down the essential spirit of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Typical pretentious tripe
Review: [Director] Mary Harron has described this film as "feminist," which is interesting because the book was derided for being misogynistic. The film does have a strong feminist streak (all the women are sympathetic), as it hates men. Well, I shouldn't say all men, because the film limits its focus to one particular breed of man i.e. White, young Wall Street traders - uh-huh. Sure, one can glean a lot of insight about the excesses of the 80s, but I think that's a decade misjudged hypocritically -- I'll take the 80's over the 60's, 70's or 90's. The movie is about male misogyny and ego, and generally how a lot of male preoccupations have to do with their existential forlornness, but do we really need to see a pretentious movie about a self-absorbed psychotic Wall Street middle-manager to figure that out? I think the movie would've been better (on a satirical level at the very least) if it was made clear exactly what Bateman was going through (i.e. if the twist at the end was at the beginning), and Bateman's craziness was shown through other lenses instead of his own, in a more subtle manner. I was let down by the lack of graphic violence which obviously took a back seat to the "satire". In a way, "American Psycho" bears a striking resemblance to "Fight Club". Christian Bale and Edward Norton are both defined by their material possessions, but they each turn to violence as a way of connecting to their feelings. As much as you might think that Patrick Bateman is a loose cannon, think again. His dialogue is not all that different from the types of things that we all say to ourselves from time to time. If you don't believe me, listen to yourself the next time someone cuts you off on the freeway. I certainly wouldn't want anyone seeing what's inside my head when some chump's cel phone rings in a theatre -- meat cleaver city. So there's no reason to think that what's going on in Patrick Bateman's mind is that much different from what was happening in the mind of some ultra-conservative in the '60s. Charles Manson wasn't a real person; he was just a manifestation of conservative vengeance. Sounds kind of stupid, doesn't it? Yeah, thought so.....There's nothing here that an intelligent person who has barely scrutinised the 80s can't get, and there's no reason to sit through almost two hours of tripe to get to it. And for those Liberals who feels smug about the way the 80s are portrayed here - things haven't changed.
Rating:
Summary: A dissection of American culture of the 1980's
Review: In this controversial movie based on the even more controversial book, a money grubbing business man, Patrick Bateman (Bale) unleashes the monster growing inside him by gruesomely murdering all the people that either get in the way of his ambition, bother him, or flat out disgust him. Lurking under all of the shocking scenes of death and sex lays a message about the greed, materialism, and soullessness that dominated the business world and culture of the 1980's. Although I do not recommend this movie to anyone who is still somewhat sensitive to violence in movies, both the entertainment and philosophical value of this movie makes this film a very worthwhile use of time. Bateman's intense daily routine of hygiene and the fierce competition between businessmen over business cards are just two examples of the both hilarious eccentricities of the characters in the film and the dark result of a lifetime characterized by ambition and vanity. This film brings up interesting points about the interchangeability of human beings in modern culture. Bateman's decent into insanity leads wonderfully into the very fulfill climax. The conclusion of this movie will leave questioning what happened you just saw and scared of who the people around you might really be.
|
