Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing and out-dated
Review: This documentary doesn't have a whole lot to recommend it. Thin story line, fairly generic "coming out" situations, sluggish pace and incomplete story lines combine to make this film fall far short of its potential. The erotic material, by today's "Queer as Folk" standards, is remarkably tame (although one of the editors is attractive enough) and certainly doesn't feel ground-breaking. Worth renting, perhaps, but not worth buying, even at Amazon's generously reduced price.
Rating: 
Summary: People are out to hurt this film!!!
Review: This film is wonderful!! Don't believe all the negative reviews on this site. There are an increasing number of reviews which purport that this film is about homosexuality. IT IS NOT. This film is about books and literature. There is NOTHING gay about this movie. Also, it is a DOCUMENTARY. The same people (or person) who are posting that this is a gay-themed film are also saying that "the acting is bad". There is NO ACTING. I repeat, it is a documentary. Roger Ebert invited this film to his Overlooked Film Festival of great films which were overlooked by the mainstream film community. That should say enough about this movie. There is obviously a group of people (or perhaps one person) who personally have something against Mr. Moskowitz and are trying to hurt his movie. I was one of 1,000 people who saw this film at Overlooked. The film received a standing ovation. I think someone who's movie didn't make the fest must be so filled with envy they are posting the negative reviews.
Rating: 
Summary: Fruitcake special
Review: One of the problems I have with this movie is its focus on sexual preference. Are viewers not supposed to care about anything else besides readers and their homosexuality? Because I do.
Also, the relationship between Moskowitz and Mossman is a perpetually bizarre one. Despite how uncomfortable he sometimes becomes when in Mossman's presence, Moskowitz cannot keep himself away. I found it quite unbelievable.
Lastly, this movie is incredibly monotonous. Nothing really interesting occurs until the last thirty minutes.
Rating:
Summary: Utterly entertaining...
Review: Stone Reader is without question one of the best films I have ever seen. It is warm, witty, intelligent, and utterly entertaining. I have seen it three times, and have enjoyed it more each time. It's a movie that grows with repeated viewings. If you love books, care about art and how we treat our artists, or if you simply want to be entertained, buy this DVD.
Rating:
Summary: A real snooze
Review: I tried to sit through this overhyped documentary three different times, but have never gotten past the arrogant, rude, dimbulb director-narrator who constantly preens for the camera and hogs airtime from some interesting literary types. This documentary might have been good it had anything to say about reading or the fate on one book writers. The sad thing is it doesn't. The director is too busy shoving microphones in people's faces and books across their desks and raking leaves out of the pond of his suburban home. Can documentary makers afford editors?P.S. I've actually read the book, which is terrible. That's why I gave this film 1 star instead of 2.
Rating:
Summary: Unworthy?
Review: I happen not to be one of the 3,000 people who received an email from the director asking them to review the film in a positive way even if they have not seen it (according to an article in the New York Times and News.com).
Therefore I can possibly give a more independent review.
Unfortunately there are not many good things to say about this film. The plot is not well carried out, the characters are somewhat linear, there is a lack of proper balance in the way the story is told. There are many better things out there. For them 3,000 emails may not be necessary.
Rating:
Summary: Watch out for reviewers who haven't seen the film!
Review: From the New York Times comes this gem: Mark Moskowitz, the filmmaker, sent an e-mail message to about 3,000 people asking them to stack the reviews for this title. According to the NYT, the email said:
"If you didn't see it but heard it was good, go ahead and post anyway, (what the heck). It doesn't obligate you for anything, even the truth."
Rating:
Summary: If you love to read.....
Review: For all those who are in love with the written word. A wonderful and humorous journey to find the missing Mossman but also to explore the great writers of our century who were "one hit wonders". Don't miss it, your time will be well spent.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Miss This!
Review: We were in the audience at Ebert's Overlooked Film Festival last year when this film played and it was one of the crowd's favorites. Even more than a tale of a political-ad filmmaker's search for the missing author of a long-ago "masterpiece", it is a story about the love of reading, about how much people love books and how important certain books can be to an individual. There are many interviews with publishers, editors, professors about what they consider to be both the most important and most underrated books of the last century, conducted as personal conversations. If you love books, and talking about books, this is a movie that you can't afford to miss. As far as the "gay subtext" (mentioned by an earlier reviewer) goes, we have to say that we didn't see it, nor did anyone else at the festival apparently, since the subject was never broached in the lengthy panel session afterwards with the filmmaker and Dow (the "missing" author). I suspect that the view expressed by the previous reviewer may be the same fuzzy thinking that sees every tower as a phallic symbol. As Freud said (more or less), "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." This IS a film about discovery, and the obsessive lengths some individuals will go to to know something; as such, it is a humorous, poignant, obsessive little film. (We couldn't wait for this edition to come out, so we got the 3-disc limited edition through the official website: www.stonereader.net. You can also find a lot of other interesting material there as well, both about the film and about reading.)
Rating:
Summary: Throwback To A More Circumspect Age
Review: If it was possible to give a movie MINUS stars, that is exactly what I would have given this one. This movie is nothing but 150 minutes of bad acting and directing and should be removed from the market altogether. To charge $30 should be against the law.
Low budget movies does not always mean bad movie but in this case it's exactly what it means. (An example of a low budget movie that I truly love is "24 nights"). This movie has to be the worst gay themed movie I think I have ever seen and I would be too embarrassed to make it a part of my over 700 dvd collection, 50 of which are gay themed. So I will be putting it on the market SOON. There was not one aspect of this film that I liked. The acting was horrible, (I often felt like I was watching a school play) the actors were not particularly goodlooking, the directing was ATROCIOUS (My impression was that the director was in a hurry to get the film made and accepted the first take on every scene..seriously, it was THAT bad.), The cinematography was horrible, the sound, the picture quality, the soundtrack, etc. all was just AWFUL. Never again will I purchase another gay themed movie based on a hand full of reviews, especially not one that costs $30! It was bad, you guys, BAD. The worst of the worst...Sorry to sound so unenthusiastic and negative about the film but I just watched the end of the film just 15 minutes ago so it is all still very fresh in my mind. Hope this helps some of you make the decision NOT to waste your money on this dvd.
|
