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Mulholland Drive

Mulholland Drive

List Price: $14.98
Your Price: $11.24
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Life
Review: This is hands down the most brilliant movie I have ever seen. It will leave many people saying "huh"?, but it is not a hard movie. If you force it you will not get where Lynch is going with it. Simply put, it gives one answer to "Who set this all up?" You can lead a horse to water, but you can not make him drink. In fact, if you do see the water I don't recommend drinking it all at once ...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Not for the traditional mindset of a movie watcher
Review: It would be hardly an exaggeration to say that half the readers of this movie's reviews have seen the movie already and are seeking answers to the many questions this movie leaves them with! And this should explain to you the main feature of this movie.

Movies have always been about presenting a plot to its viewers. The plot pretty much is what the movie is all about. Special effects and actors' performance are just tools to help present the plot, nevertheless the plot is the soul and heart of the movie. Movies provide you the plot on a silver plate along with the silverware. Hence what viewers always expect from a movie is a plot that will entertain either through provoking laughter, fear, amazement, excitement, or a mixture of all those elements.

But not Mulholland Drive! This is not your traditional movie. Viewers seeking an entertaining plot will probably be disappointed because this movie will not give you a plot. What you're given instead is a riddle! If you watch this movie with the traditional mindset mentioned above your shock will grow as you go through the movie and realize that things aren't making sense! And by the end of the movie you'll be thinking "What... is going on!"

This movie challenges you to discover the plot! It is there. You can feel that it's there. The movie is scary to a freaky extent mostly because the plot is hidden and thus the viewers are left alone to deal with the events! You'll fear everybody! You'll fear going around every corner because you truly can't expect what might happen! This plot is not going to be fed to you like a baby. You'll have to look for it like a responsible adult!

The director won't leave you alone though. He'll give you hints and clues all across the movie. But don't expect it to be easy! The hints are smart and are indistinctly available to you even when you least expect them! Thus a number of viewers will feel great frustration by the end of the movie because they weren't able to crack the code, either because they expected the plot to be solved by the director at the end of the movie (just like all the other movies) or because they simply didn't understand the clues.

If after this long introduction you're still expecting to read a synopsis of the plot then you're still maintaining the traditional mindset of a movie watcher. What I'm trying to tell you is that you'll have to find the plot. However, since I wouldn't have bought this movie myself without getting a glimpse of what I should expect to see, I'll give you the following synopsis of what you'll see in the beginning of the movie.

The movie begins with an attempt to kill an attractive lady who seems to be rich. The attempt fails though and instead of killing the woman she's left stranded with amnesia. This woman, who will call herself Rita, breaks into the house of another lady called Betty who is seeking to become a great actress in Hollywood. Betty is very nice and takes care of Rita and helps her in her endeavor to regain the lost memory. Simultaneously, the movie shows us the story of a successful Hollywood director who is resisting Hollywood executives pressuring him into casting a lady they're suggesting for the main role of his movie. And the movie takes off from there.

I give this movie 5 stars because the idea of a hidden plot is very smart and entertaining. The best thing about it is that the entertainment doesn't end when the movie is over. You'll be left with many questions to ponder on maybe for days and you'll want to watch it again and again to make sure that you understood the plot. Buy this movie and you're guaranteed many hours of entertainment and fun. The movie is also very scary! And the fear isn't a result of cheap shots taken at you while you're not ready just like other scary movies. Instead, the fear is present throughout the whole movie even in the supposedly bright moments! It is creepy!

The movie has strong sexual content as well. The actresses are hot and beautiful, and all I can tell you about the sex scenes is that they're unforgettable! Also the acting performance is superb and it delivers the exact results the director intends of the scenes.

In the end, if you want to work your brains hard and watch an extraordinary movie, then buy this movie. If you're expecting a movie to watch and forget about once it's done then you might want to be looking somewhere else.

For those who have seen the movie and still looking for answers, feel free to email me and I'll provide you links for sites that carry the answers to all the questions.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: All Filler, No Killer
Review: I, like many other people, was expecting to see something epic and amazing, full of plot. All the "strange" movies of this generation end up with an amazing plot twist just when you think you understand what will happen. Unfortunately for this movie, there was no real twist because there was no real plot. This movie was filled to the brink with as much wierdness as possible only to be wierd. Well, they got that down but in the process of all the strange goings on, they forgot to add in any plot twist, character development, or explanation. Granted, I like to think about movies and what they mean, but this movie did not mean anything. A movie is supposed to be like a book where every part has meaning to it. I could not find 30 minutes of actual storyline in this movie, it was all pointless "filler" scenes. For example, there was at least a 5 minute scene with a lady singing in spanish who never appeared in the movie prior to this scene, never appeared after, and didn't change the story in any way. Maybe if they didn't spend so much time doing pointless scenes they could have put more time into all the idea's that were never finished. As a side note, the acting was pretty crummy too. And next time, leave the non-chronological plot to director Christopher Nolan (memento & following).

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Proof
Review: Wow! There it is. Will you know proof when you see it? Lynch has presented me with proof. I'm not sure if I can accept it. I'm a person who asks "why, why, why?" to everything in life. I also have an "open mind". After that movie I think I will take a break from "why, why, why". David gave me one answer to that question and it shook my tree. I took it past level 4 (religion) to level 5 (religion combined with science). BTW For those who don't know, level 1 is the summery on the box. You will only get this movie if you are ready/looking for "it". Nothing is random. Brilliant job "David"!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Mulholland Drive
Review: Mulholland Dr. is David Lynch's greatest masterpiece, and is in my opinion, one of the finest movies ever made in cinema. Recently i've been very addicted to David Lynch films and i find his films very inspiring. After watching my first Lynch film, Lost Highway, and loved it I decided to watch Mulholland Dr. and I was blown away. I became a fan instantly ... Lynch has proved that he is an artistic genius. David Lynch is one of the few artists left among great directors. He is the only filmmaker in our era that can even compare to the legendary Stanley Kubrick.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Rubik¿s Cube the Movie
Review: I empathize with viewers who feel that those who claim they understood this immediately, or upon second viewing, or find the film unconditionally brilliant, are felt to be insane. I understand their frustration if their tastes run to films that take place in a traditional linear time with one event following the previous in logical order. I can also understand those that feel that viewers who dismiss the film out of hand do so because they don't wish to work at understanding the film. In either case neither group is inherently more or less intelligent than the other.

Having acknowledged both extreme views, I agree with neither. The films of David Lynch, in this case, "Mulholland Drive", can be exceptionally frustrating for those who want a movie to have a beginning a middle and a clearly defined end. This preference does not make these viewers any less intelligent than those who claim David Lynch's work to be beyond reproach. This film is either incredibly complex, or is a hopelessly pieced together maze depending on what side of the opinion poll you land upon.

I did not read all 518 reviews that I saw posted, but the ones that I read by people who claimed to have understood the film gave me little reason to believe they had. Likewise those who dismissed the film may have watched it in its entirety, but did so passively.

I spent some time on the net after watching the film to see if anyone truly had an explanation that made sense. The conclusion I came to is that many have sorted out the sequencing of what was real, and in real time, versus fantasy, and dream sequences. No where was I able to find anyone who claimed to have divined the meaning of all of the symbolism that either was in the film, or the director believes he put there.

"Memento" was a film that literally backtracked upon itself, and in the end suggested a loop. However the film did give the viewer closure, it did not leave people feeling they were either clueless, or in an elite group of aficionados that were, "in the know". Much has been said about Mr. Lynch's refusal to comment on the film, share any of his thoughts, or to offer and additional insight, as in a commentary on the DVD. I find this to be too convenient. Mr. Lynch is a man of great talent that he chooses to make films that are puzzles, as opposed to mindless repetition and variation of movies that has come before is admirable. Refusing to comment on his work is a cop-out. No one is asking him to tell the story and remove all mystery, many directors comment on their work and in so doing measurably improve the viewing experience. I think this particular director is very clever, but not as clever as some claim him to be. If he is the only person who understands the film completely, and I have found no review by a consumer or professional critic that has nailed down all the issues, then at least pieces of the film become suspect. Are some points in the film strictly there to confuse as opposed to serving as pieces of a riddle? There is a difference between solving all sides of a Rubik's Cube, and solving the same cube, and at the moment all the colors are segregated, one or more change at random.

To give just one example of a bit of trivia, in the credits of the film there is a bit meaningful only to the most devout followers of this director's work, a dedication to a certain female. Supposedly she was a girlfriend of Keanu Reeves, and her home town was the one used for the protagonist. If this is the level of detail/trivia that Lynch demands of his viewers, I wish him and they well. I also believe it to be unfortunate, for his talent will be restricted to what otherwise could be a larger and appreciative audience.

Intelligent filmmaking and entertaining an audience need not be mutually exclusive.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: You know... I don't know
Review: I think the above statement best sums up this movie. You think you have a grasp on what's going on in the first two thirds of the movie, and then Lynch goes completely nuts. I can't even begin to explain what this movie is about because honestly I don't think David Lynch knows. But I must say that even though I didn't understand it, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Hilarious, bizzare, unpredictable... it's quite the romp through Lynch's mushroom filled mind.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Movie=Outstanding...DVD=Not So Great
Review: Let's get the mundane out of the way...a DVD without scene selection is downright ANNOYING! Not to mention that the new paradigm in DVD/Video release seems to be: Get the first copies out and THEN (when everyone owns it already) release the Special Edition. In that case, I would wait for the Special Edition, because this movie is STUNNING and I'm dying to see what they put in it!

Having read through some of the reviews, I noticed a couple things. First, it is rare and notable for a film to polarize the public as this one has...every review I've read has either LOVED or HATED it...no one thought it was just OK. That fact alone argues for it getting a second viewing from those who were not impressed the first time around.

Second, I have seen those who praise the movie point out many different aspects as contributing to its overall value(and I agree with nearly all), but I felt compelled to point out both the writing and the performance of Naomi Watts as particularly sparkling achievements. I felt as though Watts' performance was truly amazing and I am positively intrigued to see someone write about how horrible they thought the acting was...I think it was superb.

But then again...I've only seen the movie once...so perhaps everything will change! Seriously, I think this is an excellent film, though clearly not for everyone's taste...but I'd wait until you have a better DVD product to purchase.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Visually appealing but nonsensical
Review: First of all, I write this as a fan of David Lynch movies. Please disregard all those "top reviewers" who have nothing better to do than write reviews on this web site. And disregard all those people who say you have to be smart or open-minded to understand this movie. Bottom line: this movie makes absolutely no sense. Even after the supposed "explanation" for this movie - sorry Mr Lynch - it still makes no sense, and it is just an exercise in frustration to try and figure it out. Anyone who says they understand this movie just wants to be part of the crowd.

This movie has great cinematography and some excellent dramatic scenes; one of my favorites being the scene in the theatre toward the end. The acting is superb. Sounds like a formula for a great movie but unfortunately its a convoluted mess with an even more convoluted ending.

Unless you are a big fan of David Lynch avoid this film. For the average movie-goer it just won't be worth it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: David Lynch not for everyone
Review: David Lynch at times can be a confusing film maker. He can also be a boring film maker. However, in this movie, which I felt to be more confusing then Memento, David Lynch gives a present to the audience. He creates a movie that will cause all those watching to spend the next few days obsessed with the film trying to determine what happened. I came into the movie, knowing that it was going to be confusing, most of the way through the movie, I felt that I had a handle on the film. But, Lynch throws a twist into the movie that causes intelligent movie-goers to scratch their head. With that said, the beginning is a little slow, and the movie does take a little effort to get into, but once you are engulfed, the movie cannot go long enough. A must see to those looking for a movie that requires thought.


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