Simone

Rating:
Summary: Plain and Simple.. This movie is awful!!! read on!
Review: I am wondering if the folks from New Line Cinema wrote half of these reviews on amazon to hype up this piece of trash.

For a film about cutting-edge technology, "Simone" is pretty rudimentary, with only a handful of sets and locales. Compounding this B-movie look is cinematographer Edward Lachman's decision to shoot some scenes bathed in off-putting tints as though he were shooting on aging film stock.

This movie was far fetched!! Save your money and rent it first!

Rating:
Summary: Cute, Cute in a stupid ... Way!
Review: Right off the bat I'll tell you that I picked this one up for one reason... DTS 6.1 discrete! I didn't see it in the movies nor did I want to. That being said, I went into this with absolutely no pre-conceived notions or desires. I didn't care about the story one bit, but at the end I found it to be somewhat entertaining and humorous. I thought Pacino did a good job with his comedic role. Side note: Pacino has hit the wall and his age is really starting to show!! I also got a kick out of the fact that this movie mocked its Hollywood brethren! How Hollywood is so pretentious and fake! It also poked fun at us, John Q public, for our need of idols and heroes. How we take someone who's an actor (of all things) and put them on a pedestal. Pacino is Viktor Taransky a film director (of artsy type movies) who's new movie is about to be scrapped because the female lead, Nicola Anders, played by Winona Ryder, walks. It seems she can't be satisfied, no lights are bright enough or trailers big enough for her, and she is the quintessential egotistic movie actor. Taransky is fed up with these spoiled children disguised as actors and just when he's about to give up, a dying computer programmer wills him a program called simulation one (or Simone for short). With this creation, Taransky feels he has found the perfect actor, one who only cares about the picture and not themselves. Everything seems to be perfect except for one tiny wrinkle; the whole worlds' appetite to be close with our idols. This is the premise that sets up this movie for all its cute "hijinks" and humorous situations. I'm not sure if this is worth buying but it is worth a rent. As far as the original reason why I bought this, the DTS 6.1; there are some really effective moments where the surround kick in. The concert scene has the audience wrapped around you which totally envelopes you and really puts you in the middle of the show. There are the usual effects like cars whipping buy and scenic noises. The audio quality of the disc is very good and, I wouldn't go as far to say was wasted on a film like this, but seems to be the wrong genre for that type of decoding. That being said, when it was used it was effective!

Rating:
Summary: Surprising and Impressive! (4.5 stars)
Review: From all of the bad reviews this movie has been getting, I was expecting a pretty lousy movie. I really didn't think it was going to be that good, but I wanted to see it nonetheless because I love Al Pacino. I feel that no matter how bad a movie can be, as long as Al is in it I will be able to enjoy it on some level. To my surprise, "Simone" was extremely good and is a lot better than what I was led to believe.

Viktor Taransky is in deep trouble when his leading actress decides to walk and not do the movie he is currently filming. The studio isn't very pleased with him and is willing to fire him due to what has just transpired. Taransky wants to make films, but hates the fact that HE ends up working for the actors when they should be working for him. Then he is presented with a gift: a simulated superstar who never leaves the computer screen. Taransky has a new actress and can control her every thought and movement. Pretty soon the whole world falls in love with the digitalized woman, Simone; unaware that it is all a big hoax. But alas, what goes up must come down at some point and things quickly get out of control when it seems like the world is doing nothing but worshipping the fake superstar.

I was VERY surprised by this movie! Created by the same man behind "The Truman Show," Andrew Niccol has given us a very clever satire on superstardom and just how far fame can go. It pokes fun at the fact that we are always quick to worship some kind of icon and that we can go to ridiculous lengths. The movie was highly entertaining and amazingly funny. Al Pacino is excellent, as always. Your eyes never leave the screen when he's on camera, and he can really by funny when he wants to without having to put in too much effort. Catherine Keener is also great in her role and really knows how to play the part. The rest of the cast was also very good as well. The movie was very well written and directed.

The DVD has a few neat features to offer. The picture quality is really crystal clear and the sound is great. (You even have the choice of watching it in DTS). The features on the DVD that are included are deleted scenes, two documentaries, a teaser trailer and the original theatrical trailer. While more features would've been nice, the ones that are on here are just fine. (You also get the choice of either watching the widescreen or fullscreen version of the film.)

"Simone" is a very creative and entertaining film that really surprised me from start to finish. I really was surprised with how much I liked it. This might not have been the best movie to go to a theatre to see, but it is a great one to watch at home. Filled with great comedy and a clever story, this is a wonderful film that you can watch over and over again. If you're in the mood for a creative comedy, or a really good Al Pacino flick, "Simone" could be the one for you to see. I am glad I gave it a chance.

Rating:
Summary: Pleasantly surprised
Review: After reading the decidedly mixed critics' reviews at rottentomatoes.com, I wasn't expecting much when I rented this DVD, mainly got it because I like Pacino, Keener, and loved "The Truman Show" which was made by the same guy.

"Simone" is a pleasant, at times incisive film with lots of scathing commentary on Hollywood filmmaking today (=the cult of the blockbuster), pop culture today (the cult of celebrity), and popular tastes (the cult of cheesiness and hype). Pacino delivers his usual role of a grizzled, raving and half out-of-control loner, Keener does her usual smart-and-brassy career woman, and the new actress (whose name I forget) who plays the title character is suitably gorgeous.

While I agree with some of the critics that this is no cinematic masterpiece, it certainly isn't a dud at all. The last 10 minutes, with an Hollywood-stock Improbable Happy Ending, was definitely unfortunate but otherwise you could certainly do much much worse these days than to rent this one.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome!!!!
Review: One of the best movies that Hollywood has ever made. Why? simple, this movie is not just a story, not computers, no ficcion, this movie is real life.

An excelent satire, a parody of modern hollywood stars, that as Taransky says "put themselves above their work".

This movie is for thinking and meditating, not for people who want to laugh or people who want a funny story to let time pass, this is for thinking and a delight for the one who likes to critize.

Rating:
Summary: No Mones here
Review: Simone is one of those movies where it just blows your mind away and leaves you dumb founded. The creativity implored in this movie was terrific. It was definitely the most different and strange, if you will, movie I have seen in a long, long time.

Simone had everything. It had great acting, which is what Al Pacino always gives. The directing was outstanding and obviously the special effects were excellent. Niccol creates this computer generated character and makes the audience in the movie believe it's a real person, and, for me at least, made the audience watching believe too. That's a feat. I felt a feeling of odd compassion for this character that I still can't explain.

If you're in the mood for a "different" movie, or just want to see a great film, check Simone out. 5 Stars

Rating:
Summary: wow!
Review: this film blew me away with its direction.the plot is very unreal but thats whats good about it.i like watching a movie that i don't have to think about as much during it like one of those mind-bender movies like fight club or mulholland drive.al pacino is sooo funny in this very inventive film.check it out.

Rating:
Summary: Mostly Boring
Review: I never expect good actors to be in bad films, but I guess you can't always have a hit. Such is the case with S1m0ne. This movie has brief moments of actual humor, but is more interested in being a self-referential satire of Hollywood. Thus it spends the majority of its time poking fun at itself, and not enough time developing humor.
S1m0ne starts off with an interesting concept, but fails to deliver on any of its potential. Considering that Pacino has helped create her, this would lead most movies into a Frankenstinian area where S1m0ne becomes sentient. However, it doesn't go past teasing with the idea of Pacino losing himself in his portrayal of S1m0ne.
At 1.5 hours through, I realized that the plot wasn't going to go any further than "man creates star, star becomes more famous than man." At that point, every other plot point becomes predictable, and the happy ending is painfully obvious.
Considering that the movie promotes itself by proclaiming to feature an entirely computer generated star, our expectations are high. When we learn that S1m0ne was actually portrayed by an unknown actress, we get our first of many disappointments.
I found it more interesting to contemplate how many levels this film didn't work, rather than think about the rather silly plot it supplied us with.
If you wan't a CGI character, try Two Towers. If you want entirely CG people, try Final Fantasy. As can easily be seen, actors' jobs are not in any way threatened by the advances of computer technology.

Rating:
Summary: Bold and Thought-Provoking
Review: This was a bold film. It spoke to the seemingly insatiable appetite of the American public for pop icons as well as the tendency for artists to be demanding prima-donnas. We are all under the microscope in this one.

Al Pacino is excellent as a director, frustrated in his attempts to convert his vision to the screen. The opening scenes with Wynona Ryder as a demanding starlet can't be too far from the truth. Pacino creates a beautiful, computer generated actress who captivates the public, leading to mass-hysteria.

Rachel Roberts as Simone is incredible and believable. I found myself wondering if in fact she was real at all. The premise is so credible and the acting so perfect that the viewer easily buys into the technology.

The plot is fairly predictable at times which detracts from my overall rating. But the story is one that stayed with me after the movie was over. How far away are we from this level of technology? We are already using computer-generated people in film. Imagine the possiblilties.

This movie certainly did not receive the recognition is deserved and I predict that it will find a niche with the rental crowd. Well worth a viewing.

Rating:
Summary: not science fiction at all, but rather a twisted girl movie
Review: Al Pacino and the nosy journalist made it watchable for me, but other than that, this is a horrid movie. The entire world is captivated by some actress because no one has ever seen her. She's ones and zeros only, a representation. But then Al has Simone giving interactive interviews via Al speaking behind her voice and image (she's not artificially intelligent). Eventually she is singing as a hologram in the Super-Dome and being broadcast to the whole WORLD who apparently gives a ... and doesn't notice that she's a hologram. Even at the Taj Mahal, there are thousands of people watching a giant TV screen all trying to catch a glimpse of the mysterious Western beauty. It's pretty pathetic. In another scene, Al Pacino is driving his car from the passenger seat with a mannequin in the driver's seat and talking on the phone to his ex-wife who is in the car in the next lane. He does this as one of his many attempts to convince everyone that she does in fact exist. The point is, the ex-wife would have obviously seen that it was a mannequin being only a few feet away. Just kinda stupid. In the end, we realize that this is all meant-to-be so Al can get back together with his ex-wife because she believes that he and Simone are an item, and that she couldn't possibly compete with her. Sad. This one fell FAR from the tree of directing Gattaca and writing the Truman Show Mr. Niccol, maybe next time we get a picture? eh?