Rating: 
Summary: Magnificent movie that was suprisingly funny
Review: I watched this movie expecting all of the gore, disgusting thematics, and [sexual content] it was built up to have, but I was pleasnatly suprised to have viewed a highly intelligent, witty, and thought provoking masterwork from Mary Harron. I think the fact that the director was a woman gave it a perspective that a male director, no matter how talented, could not have nailed. Instead of focussing on the acts themselves, which the book was rumored to do, it focusses rather on the arrogance and charm of the person committing those acts. The murders are in the background, not the foreground of the story. The movie may also have ran the risk of glorifying Patrick Bateman, but instead the audience is encouraged to find him shallow, wittless, and soulless. This also makes for very hilarious scenes of awkward encounters, botched murders, sloppy killing sprees, and an attempt at feeding a cat to an ATM (can you say "index finger in society's eyeball?"). The movie is wonderful. Patrick Bateman did a marvelous job as Bateman, and the supporting cast was delightful. The movie is all around amazing. I can't wait to purchase this one. "Do you like, Phill Collins?"
Rating: 
Summary: A very good movie that should never have been made.
Review: I was torn on how to rate this movie, but felt so strongly about it that i had to. One the one hand, it's brilliantly made. Harron's directorial eye for everything from scene pacing to lighting to interior decor (Bateman's all-white furniture and spotless apartment is perfect) makes the movie work very well. She gets the satire, and even (at times, anyway) manages to keep the movie itself from descending into to the misogynistic filth of its subject matter and protagonist. So, yeah, well-made. On the other hand, i hated it. The violence made me feel like i was being repeatedly kicked in the stomach, and i never really did sort out whether i was supposed to like this guy or not. Naturally, he's a Clockwork Orange-style antihero, but like that movie, after a couple hours of brutality we're meant to feel pity for him because being rich and handsome makes him sad. Really, it comes down to the fact that, as well-made or as well-acted (Christian Bale is astounding; and really it IS worth seeing if only for his performance), or as well-intended the message about the soul-nullifying effect of materialism, it's just not really fun to watch. I like scary movies; this one was too scary. Then again, a lot of people love it for the same reasons i didn't like it.
Rating: 
Summary: Sean Axmaker has no business reviewing movies...
Review: My goodness, if Sean Axmaker must review a movie by slamming a President, he needs to find another profession! How can you respect a person who cannot separate his political bias from his profession?This movie is very entertaining. However, the ending was poorly edited, and confusing. Still fun to watch on a slow Friday night, if you are a person who enjoys suspense and crime dramas that revolve around serial killers.
Rating:
Summary: Great Satire!
Review: I rented this movie on the spur of the moment and certainly did not regret it! So while in Hungary I bought a Hungarian copy of the DVD and what an investment. And unlike the US the Hungarians have NO rating system at all so I was guarenteed the uncut version! Classic.
Rating:
Summary: Did he really do it ?
Review: My first inclination toward seeing this movie was, of course,to see Willem Dafoe. Unfortunately, he's only in about 3 scenes and the character is terribly underdeveloped. As I watched the movie and Bateman's (close to Bates, as in Norman ?) behavior got more and more outlandish, and the one-ups-manship of the yuppies got shallower and shallower, I got defensive and almost stopped watching. The end was incredibly strange, and it was only AFTER I finished watching that it struck me - did he really commit all those gruesome murders, or were they all in his vacant mind ?? One will note that the 'style' of 2 of the murders were replicas of movies he had watched just prior to 'murdering' - were his sprees real, or were they his illusions as found in the datebook by his secretary ? Was this a sarcastic commentary on 80's yuppie selfishness ? That above all, they wanted ATTENTION ? Did Bateman want to be reknown for doing something so horrible and despicable, want to set himself apart from his peers, ultimately, want to be caught for the "ME-trip" of it ? I am still confused.
Rating: 
Summary: American Psycho - OVERKILL
Review: 'American Psycho' is about a man who thinks his 'mask of sanity is about to slip'. He has a tendency to go crazy and kill guests at his home. He uses chainsaws, axes, knives. Lots of unpleasent things to make sure his innocent victims stay DEAD. You don't see him killing anyone. Just the dead bodies, but that is not the point. With such talented actress's like Reese Witherspoon and Samantha Mathis, it is extreamely disappointing to find that they are totally wasted in this movie. They deserve a lot better. They are not even in the sex scenes, that aren't even very good. Hopefully with such small parts, people will forget that these two women are in this shocking movie and not hire it. This movie should have stayed as a book.
Rating:
Summary: Not the next Fight Club. Very disappointing.
Review: I don't even want to waste to much time typing this review, I disliked this film so much. Script - clever in parts, confusing and patronising in others (most parts). Direction - compatent at best, doesn't use any interesting techniques. Acting - extremely hammy and wooden, especially Bale. Music - comprises mainly of 80's music (my personal least favourite era for music), and some quite involving classical pieces. Plot - the worst aspect of the film, although you don't really realise how bad until the end. It seems pretty hollow, as did Fight Club, but with Fight Club the ending made sense to the rest of the film. Here the ending is so sudden and abrupt, that it leaves everything hanging in the air; I didn't actually think the film was over until the titles started rolling! Perhaps I'm just not intelligent enough to understand this film, but it seemed rather pointless and shallow to me. It has been compared to Fight Club and Se7en (two David Fincher masterpieces) but I think this is a crime. Fight Club and Se7en are Ferrari's to American Psycho's Skoda. Doesn't live up to the hype. Frankly one of the worst film's of the year.
Rating:
Summary: This is a great adaptation...
Review: I saw this movie then decided to read the book and I was suprised how well the movie held to the feel of the book. This movie isn't so much about the violence, as it is about the state of society during the materialistic 80s. This was the time people started regonizing pop culture and that is very evident in this movie as Patrick discusses his pop music tastes. The violence, although somewhat graphic and distrubing, has this weird comic, satrical feel to it. Christian Bale plays the part of the psycho to a T. In an interview I heard him say that he played the part as though he was an alien trying to play a human. This man knows what he's doing when it comes to acting. Check this one out if you're not squeamish. THAT'S IT, I'M DONE!
Rating:
Summary: Watch the movie, ignore the book
Review: I read the book first and then saw the movie. The book... a complete waste of time. A great concept with no follow through. The movie on the other hand is what the book wishes it were. Witty, scary, thought provoking, entertaining, ... good. This movie certainly didn't get the attention it should have. I imagine it's because of the graphic sex and violence, which there is a fair amount of. It's almost like the dark side of "The Secret to My Success" I'm not sure how much better the Unrated Version is than the American Theater release (R rated). There's more sex and violence but the movie remains little changed. All in all, a must see for fans of the eighties, horror, and dark comedies.
Rating:
Summary: Now I want to read that book
Review: This was the book that I avoided because it was politically correct to avoid it and as much as I tried to avoid that whole mindset, I was a college student. I also was left unimpressed with Ellis' second "die yuppie scum" novel Rules of Attraction. But after this movie, I gotta go and read it. It's such an evil parody of the vacant yuppie moron, that I couldn't help but love the movie. Work for a Web design startup company with a CFO, CEO, COO or whatever who doesn't know anything and jsut thought that Web design would be a great way to supplement some of the losses from his telemarketing businesses, and you too will love the nastiness heaped upon yuppies by Brett Easton Ellis. A time capsule to when yuppies were considered cool, this young Republican does the things that yuppies do -- obsess over clothing, business cards, restaurant reservations while killing off homeless people and women on a weekly basis. And while Ivan Boesky and Milliken killed people by screwing up their paychecks or funding Contra rebels, Patrick Bateman takes a more hands-on approach. The funniest part of the movie is the music. Huey Lewis, Whitney Houston and the rest of the superficial music is used for maximum effect with Bale giving long lectures on the importance of this music as if it really has any depth. The kill scene to the tune of Seu-seu-sudio cracks me up every time I think of it. At times the movie gets a little too long and repeats the same jokes (how many people have to be killed due to nicer business cards) but it moves along and you forgive it even if it might be about 20 minutes too long. Funny movie, violence is not too terrible, and it's a great way to laugh at yuppies. What's not to recommend?
|
