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Chasing Amy - Criterion Collection

Chasing Amy - Criterion Collection

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: If you know me personally I know what you are going to say!
Review: If you know me personally I know what you are going to say! You are probably going to say that I love this movie because Ben Affleck is in it! Truth be told I had no idea WHO Ben Affleck was until I saw Chasing Amy, in fact my friend practically dragged me to see this movie, which I am extrememly glad he did. Chasing Amy is honestly my favorite movie of all time. Kevin Smith wrote a tremendous script and the honesty with which the actors portrayed their roles is unbelieveable. You actually feel for these characters at points in the film! I have since seen every Kevin Smith movie but none of them, in my opinion, compare to this one. This movie explores the one thing that we all have issues with...LOVE, Smith touches on the subject with the right amount of comedy and drama. The one let down with this movie is that a soundtrack was never made available(the only movie of Smith's that this problem occurs with)! This movie will make you laugh, it may make you cry, and it will definitely teach you about love!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Not what you might expect from Kevin Smith
Review: This is certainly not Kevin Smith's laugh-out-loud funniest movie, but it features something his other movies don't: character development. These are the most believable, most human characters to be seen in a Kevin Smith film.

The first half of the movie is a bit clunky--scenes seem to alternate between typical Smith banter (which, as clever as it is, never seems to sound quite right coming out of the actors' mouths, no matter how talented they are--Clerks came off as amateurish not only because the actors couldn't act but also because the lines they were given were sometimes impossible to make sound natural) and a deeper, almost melancholy feel.

The second half, however, really comes into its own. The film dispenses with the cheap jokes in favor of a character-based sense of drama. To be honest I would have rated this movie a bit lower if it were not for the harsh, very real choices and lessons that are meted out to the characters in the last 45 minutes.

I do have to say that I think this is primarily a "guy movie" in some ways. Not that it will only appeal to males, or that women won't get it. I just think (and the movie touches on this as well) that it is a characteristic mainly of men to be outraged and personally insulted by a new girlfriend's prior sexual experiences. A woman may understand that but I don't know that she will experience the same visceral recoil I felt in sympathy for Ben Affleck's character when he finds out about Alissa's past. It is that very same reaction that Chasing Amy portrays as insensitive and irrational, and it is a much harder-hitting point when you're able to really feel what Affleck's character is going through. I know that I am exactly the type of guy that Kevin Smith is urging to grow up.

This and Dogma are Kevin Smith's most thoughtful, intelligent movies. And, also like Dogma, there is something much more meaningful going on here beneath the comedy. In the end, that is the biggest flaw in both films: both flick back and forth between low-brow comedy (which is still very funny) and heartfelt, message-laden drama. The lack of flow makes this a slightly disconcerting experience, but a powerful one nonetheless. Even without extras this would be well worth the low pricetag, but the fact that it is part of the Criterion Collection makes this a no-brainer. If you're a fan of Kevin Smith (because, despite everything I've said, this is still very much a View Askew movie) or are at all interested in the psychological aspect of the male/female dynamic, do yourself a favor and pick this one up.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Enlightening
Review: It may sound unusual, but this film, along with being an - at time - humourous addition to my Kevin Smith collection, also helped me in my real life. Through watching this film, and understanding the concepts behind being with a person for who they are, and learning to accept their past as being unchangeable, I was able to relate to my partner in a relationship. I know this is probably more information than you needed to know, but I found the insight provided by Kevin Smith in this film as being of great assistance to myself in my situation, and I found myself relating more and more with the main character in this film. Definitiely worth viewing, and worth actually looking at, not just watching.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Hot chick and very funny
Review: She is hot, funny, and just flat out hilarious movie too. It's a shame you don't see much of Jay and Silent Bob but nonetheless it's a really funny movie. Worth owning. It's one of those movies you will come back to every few months to watch.
Not like the movie Love Stinks which is the kind of film you watch once talk about here and there but never have a strong desire to see it again.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Delusional Responses...
Review: This movie is one of the worst things I've seen, ever. Period. Kevin Smith should learn to

A) Frame a Shot. This has to be one of the worst displays of filmmaking, ever. The technical side of his movies has always been terrible, but in this movie his frame was so rigid as to almost neuter any possibility for movement. You could almost see the other actors waiting to enter the frame after another left. I've seen better blocking in elementary productions of Our Town. At first I thought he was MAYBE trying to frame the movie like each shot was a frame in a comic book, but in the end I think the filmmaking was just lazy and uninspired. He seems to not understand basic elements of filmmaking, instead focusing on his writing, which isn't that great.

B) Write ANY (please any) actual characters. Aside from Silent Bob and Jay every other character sounds like Kevin Smith talking to himself. He doesn't even TRY to tailor the language to indicate any actual differences between the characters. The girl talks about girl stuff, the boy talks about boy stuff, but the tone of their talking is identical. Terrible terrible writing.

C) Have some intelligent subject matter. This movie's take on sexuality is so immature you often wonder how old the characters are supposed to be. Plus it's implausable that a character like Ben Affleck would be SO isolated from the world of lesbians as to know absolutely nothing about them and to, in fact, be almost offensive in his mentality. It just wasn't believable that he would not only need to learn so much, but that he would THEN, try to change her mind. I guess it begs some interesting questions, but it was just so offensive to watch people be so ignorant in such an effusive manner.

I've never been a big Kevin Smith fan. But at least Clerks and Mallrats didn't try to be "important." This movie is so so so so so so bad.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: oh please!!
Review: How this movie could have made it to anyones top anything list is a mystery to me! Did anyone actually watch this movie?? Hello!! Here's a guy who tells his Bisextual girlfreind that all she needs is a man...and of course he gets her in the end " oh it all must have been a phaze she was going through or something."
What's wrong with a good old fashioned lesbian love story??

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Thought-provoking
Review: This one is growing on me. The first time I watched it, I was not really sure what to make of it.. Interesting overhaul of the whole notion of sapphism, that of looking everywhere for perfection, the one person who completes the puzzle... but then after all that effort, why accept defeat so quietly?

The end is very unsatisfactory. It raises many theological questions about the futility of existence, and the apparent difficulty to achieve happiness through blindness. We never quite move from a state of darkness to lucidity... and in fact are blinded by the change in intensity from the focused effort.

Just like the novel Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky, this film raises a very interesting issue, then seems to fumble its way through it, leaving a sense that the whole experience could have been better handled, however just like the novel, the mere focus on different subject material makes it worth reviewing and whilst this is not a life-defining movie, it does contribute to the whole genre.

I'm glad I own it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Chasing Amy: A Multi-Dimensional Love Story
Review: Chasing Amy is an unusual story of love on different planes of existence: Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams) finds a soul-fulfilling love after many years of exploration. Holden McNeil (Ben Affleck) expresses a love that can't surpass his self-deprecation. And Banky Edwards (Jason Lee) holds onto a deep friendship with whom he loves "in a way that he's not ready to deal with." A supporting cast brings other varying degrees of affection with a variety of relationships based on sarcastic bantering, homosexuality, the professionalism of comics, or motored vulgarity contrasting sound advice (Jay and Silent Bob).

Chasing Amy is like adventuring down an obscure pathway with street lamps dimly lighting the after fall of a spring shower: it is dark and unexpected, with flickers of comedic momentum contrasting the sad reality of the closest relationships altered by insecurities and mistakes. Hilarious scenes fused with emotional intensity have the viewers jolting in between two extremities: sarcastic humour to draining empathy.

An insightful commentary on love, lessons in relationships, and dynamic entertainment, this movie stresses the importance of honest introspection and the impact you have on those around you.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: near-flawless comedy/drama
Review: Im not going to write this review about why this is the most serious or most mature Kevin Smith film, but i will instead write about what makes this a great movie. Seeing all of his other films like Clerks and Mallrats, it seems like he had a typical teenager's view on things, immature, homophobic, and questionable about life. This movie so well blends rampant profanity and blatant sexual content with a great storyline that it proves irresistable. The whole gang is in it, and the main role, Alyssa, masterfully plays a lesbian confused on life. Like many of his other movies, there is alot of emotional scenes, yet always leaves room for some lighthearted ones. My favorite scene was the subway, when one of the guys was showing a little kid the porn magazines. Definately try this movie for a breath of fresh air, even if you dont like Kevin Smith. Its a good movie any way you put it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: SMITH PROVED HE CAN BE ROMANTIC AS WELL
Review: CHASING AMY WILL THROW SOME FANS A CURVE BALL FOR THE SERIOUSNESS
AND MOSSHY ROMANTIC FOREMAT BUT DONT TOUCH THAT DIAL BEFORE YOU KNOW IT YOULL BE LAUGHING OFF THE COUCH AS USUAL WHEN WATCHING A KEVIN SMITH FILM .THE GUYS A GENIUS AND DESERVES MORE ATTENTION IN THE AWARD DEPT BUT TIME WILL ONLY TELL HOPEFULLY SMITH WILL CONTINUE HIS SPECIAL TALLENT WITH ANOTHER SAGA. SORRY FOR THE POOR STORY OUTLINE BUT I HAD TO EXPRESS MY FEELINGS ON KEVIN SMITH.


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