Rating: 
Summary: Stranded in a desert - in REAL TIME!
Review: An interesting premise, two friends losing their marked path in a desert area, eventually admitting they are lost, is turned into nearly 2 hours of mostly "real time" camera shots, soon becoming tiresome. Halfway into the film, you just don't need ANOTHER 5 minutes of silent walking time. Some clever situations make the otherwise boring hum-drum a little (not much) entertaining. The stars are gorgeous, but that alone won't carry you through the thin plot. If you liked "Alive", you may be able to sit through "Gerry", but I give no guarantees.**
Rating: 
Summary: Respect the effort, but...
Review: The only reason I wanted to see this film is because I was informed that Bela Tarr's name is being credited in it. Being an admirer of the Hungarian filmmaker's "Werckmeister Harmonies", I did expect to find certain qualities of Tarr's to appear in "Gerry"(namely those of long takes, slow-moving, time-consuming and thus contemplative in those regards). Adds to that would be the curiosity on how Gus Van Sant would deliver such influence to a movie, as I also do found his previous works enjoyable in their own right. "Gerry", however, didn't give me the impact the way "Werckmeister.." (or other stylistically and/or conceptually similar films by, say, Tarkovsky, Haneke's "Time of the Wolf", etc.) did. It is a very existential film, and I generally love existential films, but I guess I just find it rather bland in the end. Perhaps this blandness IS the very point of this feature, and for that I gave an extra star for it. I do appreciate Damon, Affleck and Van Sant's effort on making this film though: it is a commendable project.
In addition, putting Arvo Part's compositions was one of the most successful attributes in this film.
Rating: 
Summary: Has to be the slowest movie ever made, but still worth it
Review: I was pretty stunned by the first hour of this movie, wondering just where the heck it was going. Almost nothing happens, literally. Just a few strange short conversations, one involving "Wheel Of Fortune" and the other some computer game. Otherwise it was just walking. The last 45 minutes is more of the same, except that there's even less dialogue (!) and more suspense. But not suspense in the traditional sense: there are no villains or boogeymen. Just facing the consequences of not being careful. Think of "The Blair Witch Project" and "Deliverance" without the villains, all taking place within your own mind. If you can imagine that, then you can get through this movie. Don't get me wrong--it will test ANYONE's patience. But somehow it becomes worth it. The main reason for that is the cinematography--no other movie has captured the earth quite like this one. So this movie is even slower than molasses, yes, but it is haunting. Those mountains and that hot sun just might creep into your dreams.
Rating: 
Summary: Gerry
Review: This movie is for a laid back person and I mean laid back and needs a good night of sleep. At first I laughed as the car was going down the road. I told my husband we just as well pack a bag and take a real trip. The two men don't speak until they get out of the car and one says to the other to take the path. Walking, walking and more walking. At first we thought something was wrong with the DVD because it was taking so long to get nowhere. This was truly a #3.95 down the drain renting this movie. We thought the Bill Murray film was dull but this one is far worse. I guess they think we all are strange and want what they call artzy movies but I like the kind like Secondhand Lion which was really entertainment.
Rating:
Summary: A life time lapse
Review: This is about, just about every frame being, a work of art of two humans, in every variant perspective, powering around to the point of death (and death), in three days. A super condensed version of what we all face. Like a cool time lapse of two lives. Seeing, first hand, a life journey, in 103 minutes. We're all dying, right now. But it's gorgeous as we pass through.
Rating: 
Summary: Human or Pod?
Review: There's a scene in this film that must run for 15 minutes. Casey and Matt walk across a salt flat in almost complete darkness, the sun is rising slowly, real time, the image gets brighter and brighter until, at the end of the scene, the guys are still walking, in daylight. This film makes demands on its viewers and if you're some drone whose idea of intellectual insight is Matrix Revolutions, you're going to be terribly, terribly confused. There is story, there is plot, there are characters. You just have to look for them. For everyone else - viewers with half a brain - this is a minor masterpiece of contemporary American cinema.
Rating:
Summary: Gerry
Review: Gerry is one of those movies that make you ask "What the bleep is this crap"? Then you realize that the contract must have fallen through to include the disc in cereal boxes as a promo. The powers that be put a price tag on it and the dvds were sold in the doilies and coasters aisle at KMart and in the gerbil toy department at PetSmart.
I just wish they'd get rid of the smaller hole in the center - it still allows a water spot on my coffee table.
Don't be fooled into thinking it's going to get better, it isn't.
The plot - two people go walking in the desert without ANY water or supplies of any kind, they get lost in the desert and die. Thank goodness for natural selection! I didn't like it because the plot, acting, directing, musical score, producing, writing, catering, gripping, etc all sucked. My shot gun target thrower even malfunctioned when I yelled "PULL".
I dare anyone to watch this movie then give this review a "not helpful" vote. You've been warned.
Rating:
Summary: It took 3 guys to write this???
Review: I only write reviews for really good films and the worst stories ever to be exposed to celluloid. Can you guess which category this movie fits in? After the first 15 minutes, I started watching this DVD in 1.5x speed, in an attempt to stop the bleeding of my lost time. The ending was the most drawn out, unsatisfying piece of garbage I've ever seen. When I read that 3 people wrote this film, I figured it was when they were out in the desert spewing dialogue - 2 actors walking, the director holding the camera and the guy writing down what everone said while they were walking around. I truly cannot believe they convinced anyone to front the money for this film based on the script! Even the credits at the end were annoying - silent displays of blue screen white text - just being consistent with the boring theme of the film - probably the only thought that went into it.
Rating:
Summary: The Emperor's New Clothes
Review: Yes, the emperor has no clothes; he's naked as a jaybird. I have to say it's the worst movie I've ever seen, because it fell so far below expectations... Honestly, I'd rather watch network TV. Not only was it boring, but it was irritating. How could two guys be so stupid and get so lost? It's the desert, for Christ's sake, with mountains in the distance as points of reference! In "Blair Witch" at least it was a flatland forest and there were supernatural forces.. so they got lost, but both "Gerrys" are complete idiots and therefore anything they do is beneath our interest. "Gerry" could become a new euphemism for "dummy"..as in "You are such a Gerry!"
There is nothing profound or symbolic, no poetic truths, no love or God or mysteries of the human heart. I've trekked a lot in the desert, and it can be very profound (and very unlike this movie). I can't imagine what the creators were thinking.. and any reviewer that liked it I will never trust again.
Rating:
Summary: Van Sant is a modern-day Tarkovsky
Review: When I was younger, I used to love filming myself as I slept. I could watch the tiny things that happened... pets coming in and jumping on the bed, endless changes of position, cadences of breathing, lighting changes outside my windows. Gus Van Sant has really found a way to capture this sort of living, thinking, and being on film. I love him. Tarkovsky did it well with Andrei Rublev and Nostalghia. Bergman did it well with Wild Strawberries. Documentaries do it well with nature as subjects. The act of experience is a treasure to find on film. So many(in fact, most) films force feed their 7 courses of high fat fodder so rapidly down your soul that it's hard to exist along with them. These kinds of films are rare. They give you ample time to think about what's happening to you and the characters. It's a much richer, more haunting, and lasting excursion. I actually think Gerry is better than Elephant. Mostly, this is because of the magnificent frames. 9.5/10*, and I have a new top 10 film. Oh, how I wish Van Sant would attempt a Donner Party film. I'll take Gerry if he does not. DVD notes: oh how a commentary would be appreciated, especially for this near-masterwork. There is a rather interesting documentary, filmed in much the same style as the piece itself. Of note is the actual true story of Raffi Kodikian that this is based loosely upon. Avid fans of Gerry should pick up a copy of Journal of the Dead, the book of the two friends who ventured out into the desert, and were lost almost inexplicably.
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