Natural Born Killers

Rating:
Summary: Oliver Stones Vision of the Future Is Terrifying!
Review: I have to say that I love most of Oliver Stone's work. I think he's really exceptional. He's defintely one of my favorite directors. I loved JFK (*****), Wallstreet (*****), Nixon (****), U-Turn (*****) and of course Born on the Fourth of July (*****). But as far as vision, I think that NBK is the best. Not because of the violence, but the storyline. The media does influence people. (Look at the last case against NBK's director Oliver Stone. Two young kids killed a bunch of people at a convient mart, all because they seen NBK). I mean, is the media responsible? Some would say yes, I defintely say yes. But should the media be charged with the crime when someone commits a crime?
Of course not. People have free will and make the decisions they want to make. The media is part responsible for making it, but people know what their doing. Anyways, this movie is more that violence. Its the camera work. They used handheld cameras, psychadelic special effects, and gritty quality. (Even on the DVD, which I purchased today). I loved this film, I mostly bought it for the movie, but a lot of the persuasion was the fact of all the special features. Some are really good, others are not. The deleted scenes are really a joke. (With the exception of the Ashley Judd courtroom scene). The alternate ending was pathedic. (However Oliver Stone said it could pave the way for a sequel, in which Micky (Harrelson) and Mallorey (Lewis) get the passion for killing again and embark on another "Death Fest". This story is about two young lovers, Micky (Woody Harrelson, White Men Can't Jump) and Mallorey (Juliette Lewis, Kalifornia), who go on a killing spree. Killing anyone, and almost everyone. (With exception of the one who will tell the tale of Micky and Mallorey). After they are finally apprehended, they must deal with a cop who wants them to fry, (Tom Sizemore; Saving Private Ryan), a Warden (Tommy Lee Jones; JFK), who is less than pleased that their in his prison and a T.V Journalist (Robert Downy Jr; Bram Stokers Dracula) who wants to find out more.

Rating:
Summary: Take an incredible film and ruin it
Review: Imagine this. A film by a celebrated director (Oliver Stone). One of the best casts ever assembled (Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones, Robert Downey, Jr., Tom Sizemore, and Rodney Dangerfield). A fantastic concept (Quentin Tarantino, the director of 'Pulp Fiction,' writes a film about a sexy couple who are also migrants and mass murderers, about their appearance on television, and about their escape from prison). Perfect performances (Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis are beyond good). Not to mention an incredible soundtrack. So how did what would have been the ultimate sex-and-violence film of our time get shown up by the comparatively boring concept employed in 'Pulp Fiction'? This film has absolutely everything. Who could resist an exciting, sexy action film about murderers and tabloid media coverage?

The answer: this film was ruined. Imagine the film I described above. Now take the reel of film and draw all over it with crayon. Take apart the scenes and mix and match them so that the movie isn't in any particular order. Randomly decide to make the plot seem incoherent, give Robert Downey, Jr., stupid lines, insert stupid animations, put annoying, irrelevant images in the background of every scene, and make some of the scenes which aren't televised appear televised for no apparent reason. In other words, ruin the film. Absolutely ruin it.

I'm very passionate about this film because it's so close to being my favorite film. The performances are perfect, the cast is perfect, and the plot is absolutely top-notch. This could have been as good, if not better than 'Pulp Fiction.' But I'm also very passionate about this film because I think that a series of horrendous screenplay, directing, and editing decisions ruined this film and turned it into a pathetic joke. 'Natural Born Killers' ends up looking like a horrible, unintelligent attempt at surrealist filmmaking. I couldn't stand this film. I really couldn't. Because it was reduced to absolute ... by the people controlling it.

But the scenes that Woody Harrelson is in are acted fantastically. Absolutely fantastically.

But then the director (Oliver Stone) or the editor...or somebody ruined this film with a series of horrendous artistic decisions. They took these wonderful scenes and put them together into a pathetic monstrosity.

Somehow, this film is simultaneously awful and close-to-the-greatest. It's really, really upsetting that 'Natural Born Killers' came out so badly. It's like seeing graffiti on the Mona Lisa. Oh, the ruin.

Watch this film, if only to appreciate how wonderful it could have been if it had been implemented by artists who aren't fools.

Rating:
Summary: a masterpiece
Review: The lowdown:

Oliver Stone's Natural Bon Killers is one of the most controversial films that I know of, so it goes without saying that it outraged many. Yes, the movie was very violent, but what I think really got to the viewers, wasn't so much how violent it was, but rather the way it reacted to violence, and *that* was what was truly shocking to see. When I watch Natural Bon Killers, I see a film that shows us how obsessive the media can become, that shows us how big an impact they can have amongst the public and how they can easily blow things way outta proportions by making killers heroes. I also see a film that is meant as a warning as to where we may be heading and what might become of us in a world where violence is the number one interest, in a world where we are most fascinated with crime and mayhem more than anything else, whether in real-life events or in the movies. And, although it is a very violent film, when I watch it, I see a film that doesn't so much incite it but shows us the true nature of violence. For example: Stone displays rather haunting images on the background of the screen that are of both Mickey and Mallory's past experiences with their abusive parents as kids, that way showing us that they have since wounded them emotionally, and that they are the subconscious driving forces behind their violence. But this is not all we see. Stone gets deeper into this subject, so we really know the kind of pain they suffered... and still suffer. There is a nice trippy montage of Mickey's childhood, and an especially neat sequence in the film where Stone presented Mallory's basic everyday life under her parents' roof that I am sure relates to many's. The sequence was shot in the style of a TV sitcom, with mechanical laughter and everything, but there was nothing funny about it, as her piggish father insulted her and made lurid remarks about the way she dressed ("What are you wearing? A broomstick and a trash bag?" he gleefully asks her), touched her in inappropriate ways and demanded she go upstairs to wash herself up so when he goes up there to see her "she won't see my face for an hour."

I loved this film...I absolutely loved it. There are things about it that have me hooked from beginning-to-end, visuals that have my eyes glued to the screen, an overall exciting and invigorating feeling I experience whenever watching it, and that is caused by the frenetic pace, the many quick-cuts throughout, and rich cinematography, which ranges from eccentric multi-coloured camera angles to documentary-style black-&-white, from film to video, from sitcom-style parodies to newsreel parodies, and even animation. Stylistically, the film is an outstanding achievement. I have never seen anything like it before.

Another were the performances by Robert Downy Jr. as Wayne Gale, an edgy, bloodthirsty journalist and host of a tabloid TV show who's immediately enthralled by Mickey & Mallory; Tom Sizemore as Jack Scagnetti, a corruptive detective who may be bent on catching Mickey & Mallory, but is nothing more than a poor excuse for a detective, as he gets thrills outta committing murder himself; and Tommy Lee Jones as Dwight McClusty, a sinister warden who believes that all criminals are scum, regardless as to how the media depict them as being. But naturally, the most notable of all were Woody Harrelson's and Juliette Lewis' as none other than the cold-blooded killers themselves whom everyone was making such a big deal outta. Harrelson and Lewis-the two ignited on screen, and fully engrossed me with their performances. They're capable of being both frightening, as they devoid of anything sympathy toward others, and pitiful, as we see that their childhood is still eating them up inside. Woody Harrelson is one of my favourite actors. You may remember him-no, chances are, you remember him as the dim-witted but warm-hearted and absolutely adorable bartender from the popular eighties TV sitcom, "Cheers." He was the only one outta the gang to have a successful movie career, and with a film like Natural Born Killers, it shouldn't take a genius to figure out as to how he got that boost. No matter how drastic the change (oh, how it was ever), Harrelson handles his roll with perfection. But there's more to him than the performance as to why he was so perfect for this roll; he has this spark in his eyes that projects evil, a face that has the likeness of a killer. In a big-budget film like this, it is vital for the perfect casting job, it is vital to have actors who we can truly and sincerely believe... I was persuaded.

When I first watched this film in its entirely, I was left breathless. I watch it now as an eighteen-year-old, and the film still has the same effect on me as it did when I first watched it, and that's because Oliver Stone is the sort of director who'll be willing to go beyond the limits and do anything to get his message across; that's what I value about him. His film is a masterpiece. It is an important piece of American culture that needs a second looking into for all those who criticized it.

Rating:
Summary: This film¿s a masterpiece!
Review: Plot summary:

Mickey and Mallory Knox is a pair who shares an undying love for one another that is as immense as their fame. But they aren't your average stars. What they did in order to achieve their fame, that drove the media just absolutely nuts and brought about millions of ardent fans, was kill people... a lot of people. (Among the millions of fans, a teenager acknowledges to the TV cameras that "mass murder is wrong. But if I were a mass murderer, I'd be Mickey and Mallory.")

Commencing with the murdering of Mallory's sexually abusive and insensitive beer-bellied slob of a father, and grossly negligent mother, the couple set off on a killing spree across the country, leaving one person alive at the end of each massacre "to tell the tale" in order for them to get credit for their crimes. When their killing spree is thwarted and they are finally caught by the police, they have by then gotten so much recognition by the media, who had followed their every move, that they are treated more like envied celebrities than depraved, cold-blooded criminals.

The lowdown:

Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers is one of the most controversial films that I know of, so it goes without saying that it outraged many. Yes, the movie was very violent, but what I think really got to the viewers, wasn't so much how violent it was, but rather the way it reacted to violence, and that was what was truly shocking. When I watch Natural Born Killers, I see a film that shows us how big an impact the media can have upon people, how they can easily blow things way out of proportions by making killers heroes and how they have so much power over people that they would make them see things the way they do. I also see a film that is meant as a warning as to where we may be heading and what may become of us in the future in a world where violence is the number one fascination. And, although it is a very violent film, when I watch it, I see a film that doesn't so much incite it but shows us the true nature of violence. (For example, Stone displays images of both Mickey and Mallory's past experiences with their abusive parents as kids, that way showing us that they have since wounded them emotionally, and that they are the subconscious driving forces behind their violence.)

Although many did not perceive the point that was trying to be made here and didn't appreciate Stone's film, I loved it...I absolute loved it. There are things about it that have me asking for more, that drive me to watch it over again and again: The frenetic pace and rich cinematography, which ranges from outlandish multi-colored camera angles to documentary-style black-&-white, from video to film, and from sitcom-style to newsreel parodies, and even animation. Stylistically, the film is an outstanding achievement.

Another were the performances by Robert Downy Jr. as Wayne Gale, an edgy, bloodthirsty host of a tabloid television show who's immediately enthralled by Mickey and Mallory, Tom Sizemore as Jack Scagnetti, a corruptive detective who has a little crush on Mallory and who thinks that committing murder himself will flatter her, and Tommy Lee Jones as Dwight McClusky, a sinister warden who believes that all criminals are scum, regardless as to how the media depicts them as being. But naturally, the most notable of all were Woody Harrelson's and Juliette Lewis's as none other than the cold-blooded killers themselves. Harrelson and Lewis ignited on screen, and fully engrossed me by their performances. The two are capable of being both frightening, as they devoid of any sympathy toward others, and pitiful, as we see that they are still haunted by the abuse of their parents that drives them to kill these people. Woody Harrelson is one of my favorite actors. You may remember him as the dim-witted but warm-hearted and absolutely adorable bartender from the popular eighties sitcom, Cheers. He was the only one outta the gang to have a successful movie career in the years that followed, and with a film like Natural Born Killers, it shouldn't take a genius to figure out as to why. But there's more to Harrelson than the performance as to why he was so perfect for this roll; his very face has the likeness of a killer, in that he just looks so damn evil. In a film like this, it is vital for the perfect casting job, it is vital to have actors who we can really believe... I was persuaded.

When I first watched this film in its entirety, I was immediately hooked by the psychedelic directing and eye-catching visuals, the overall exciting and invigorating experience, and was left breathless throughout the prison riot in the finale that was as disturbing as it was vehement, as bodies were seen piled like stacks of dirty laundries or hung as cows would be in a slaughterhouse throughout Mickey and Mallory's attempt to escape with the help of Wayne Gale, and prisoners were seen, if not seen torturing and killing the guards, doing so to each other like savage animals once freed from their cage. I watch it now as an eighteen-year-old, and the film still has the same effect on me as it did then, and that's because Oliver Stone is the sort of director who'll be willing to go beyond the limits and who'll do anything to get his message across-and that's what I value about him. This film's a masterpiece!

Rating:
Summary: Violence As Art
Review: I cannot watch violence, a situation that has greatly hampered my movie-going experience in the last decade or so. And yet I sat through the unspeakable, murderous violence in Oliver Stone's brilliant film without flinching. Why? The more violent and outrageous it got, the more anti-violent the message.

Woody Harrelson gives the performance of his career as a serial killer who teams up with a troubled young girl (Juliette Lewis) in a latter-day Bonnie and Clyde murder spree. Stone leaps from satire to serious in a crazy pastiche of images, from Rodney Dangerfield (!!), the girl's sadistic, abusive father who succumbs to one of the most brutal of the depicted murders, to Robert Downey Jr. as a self-important TV journalist whose docudrama on the two killers ends up hero worship.

Jumping crazily from angst to brutality to tragedy to high camp, this film manages to put violence in its place by laying bare its sheer madness. This is an unforgettable film. I know Stone has taken a lot of heat for his self-indulgence, but in this case, I think it works perfectly.

Rating:
Summary: NBK: Art or Trash?
Review: Oliver Stone's most controversial picture to date. The bizarre story about two lovers named Mickey and Mallory show the country their love for each other and their urge to kill. Crazy! Both had horrible childhoods involving child abuse. Written by Quentin Tarantino, the film revolves around Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis who play the couple and their encounters with 'sane' people. Their minds are on overload with flashes of their inner demons. As they kill more people, they gain more attention. A reckless cop (Tom Sizemore) is on the lookout for them and so is the selfish newsreporter (Robert Downey Jr.). When the two are caught, the reporter wants to have an exclusive interview with Mickey during a Superbowl halftime. Can you imagine the ratings? You should see what happens to his hand and to him at the end of the movie, vengeance for the non-stop talking, dude! All hell breaks loose and it's caught on camera. Another killing spree and the two escape. The movie points out how the media pushes the envelope and exposes the violent nature of human beings. That is all they are concerned about and it's for the ratings. Although the movie has a trippy look to it, its message is well delivered. It could give you a headache with the amount of brutal violence (my head swelled up) and the craziness that every character goes through besides the couple. Tommy Lee Jones plays a psychotic prison warden and Rodney Dangerfield of all people, plays Mallory's abusive father. Those two sure know how to make funny faces. Harrelson and Lewis give their best performances and Stone's risk-taking direction was worth it. Hypnotic picture!

Rating:
Summary: My favorite love story.
Review: The facted that this very violent and profound cult classic was loved by thousands and hated by millions and blamed for over 25 copy cat crimes is no suprise to me. This is one of the most vivid, and in your face movies I own.
The acting is sensational(there must be somsthing wrong with anyone who thinks otherwaise with that statement) The movie is about two really [angry] lovers who hit the road and kill over 50 people on their little honey moon to highyway 666. Meanwhile the media turns them into mainstream superstars and the blood thirsty coulpe get a huge fan base just for being rebels up agianst the American system of rules. I think what alot of people did not like about this film was the nagitive honasty. The veiwer gets carring about the flims anti hero's, because their so much in love, but at the same time you hate their guts. Its balanced perfactly and it works to.

Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time.
Review: I love violence in movies. For crying out loud I watch tons of action films, suspense, horror, sci-fi, and the list could go on. However this is one of those films that has become a cult classic only because of how over the top, and the ultimatly controversial it is.

The story revolves around a red neck couple (Woody Harrelson adn Juliete Louise) who in the course of three weeks kill 52 people in a nation wide killing spree. They are ruthless, violent, fairly comedic, and madly in love. However they are the main focus on magazines and tv for the time they are doing this. They get arrested and than one year later Robert Downey Jr. interviews Harrelson right after the super bowl. What then follows is an incredibly violent, gory and stupid time period of non stop violence and gore.

SO why do i hate this? For one thing the plot is so absurd, shallow, and MTV style music video garbage that you are left in a strange amount of attention ... This was so violent that Joe Liberman picked this title and teamed it up with the game Doom to increase the power of ratings and decrease the amount of violence, sex, language, and over all adult content in everything so the world can be a happy go lucky utopia that will never occur. For Oliver Stones credit though he did do a good job for making a watchable film, it's just a shame it's so violent ...that many would rather watch Titanic or Bridget Jones Diary again for the thousandth time.

Rating:
Summary: Never beleive someones point of view. See for yourself
Review: I am an artist, and this movie was artisticly done. If your not into violence then don't see it. I've seen it three times, once in 95, twice this week, and the third time I saw it, I saw something different. A movie that should not be watch with children, or a person who is depressed. Only for people who do not have mental problems

Rating:
Summary: Moving, and Crazy
Review: This movie although shoking and even gruesome to most movie goers and renters...I am surprised that is so. This is a very serious psychological movie and is awesome when you read between the lines in this film. I found myself grossed out and also enlightened.

Most people would pass this off as a dysfunctional family retold again and again as usual, but that is not the case. This is a moving and powerful picture of life, and how things happen with some people...