Rating: 
Summary: not great but still better than Gladiator....
Review: I saw a lot of movies last year, and was very disappointed with this year's Oscars when Gladiator won best picture! as I thought that movie reeked..but this is really about how much better I think that TRAFFIC is. I thought that both Michael Douglas and Belnicio Del torro(i don't know if I spelled that right) were both amazing in this movie. Belnicio definitely deserved his OSCAR statue! The rest of the players certainly weren't bad, but no one was as good as those two guys. Douglas is a politician who is campaigning the war on drugs while his teenage daughter is getting high on crack..how ironic.. and our OSCAR winner is a cop in Mexico trying to catch someone with drugs. The other story that ties with these two is the one with Catherine Zeta Jones, who plays the wife of a drug dealer that has been arrested. She spends the rest of the film trying to get him out of jail and kept out. The stories all kept me very interested through the 2 and a half hours of the film. The length of the film is what really got to me, it did have a few dragging parts and I just feel that some of this movie could've been edited out. It is worth a rental fee, but I don't think it's worth buying.
Rating: 
Summary: oh my god...
Review: this movie is extremely good. it is very well made. good performances and great directing. This is a winner.
Rating:
Summary: Traffic - New perspectives on the War on Drugs
Review: Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones sparkle is this exciting fast paced drama with a powerhouse cast. Multiple plots occur simultaneously while the film uses technical tricks like showing scenes at accelerated paces for emphasis, creating a blurry and hyper effect, adding to the drama. The one complaint I would make is that the speed sometimes made me dizzy, as well as making it challenging to focus on the plot rather than the cinematography. The primary plots of Douglas as a politician and Zeta-Jones as the wife of an arrested Cartel member from Mexico bring a human dimension to what would otherwise be a copycat version of Hollywood's drug movie stereotype by bringing to light the effects of drugs on their families. I saw it on DVD, but I'd recommend it in a theater or on a wide screen TV. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.
Rating:
Summary: HYPE AND NO GLORY
Review: I saw this movie on DVD , and I am not sure I understand all the attention it got . It tries to bring up layers of different story lines , as if you were to expect all of it will somehow come together at the end , instead you get a feeling of total disintegration ( maybe this is what is Soderbergh and his Oscar winning film editor are trying to accomplish). Too many characters wandering aimlessly in todays America. As to the screenplay , it is limited to 4 letter word exchanges between the Drug Czar and his thespian daughter. The acting is horrible, Micheal Douglas can't utter his lines , the supporting characters are either stereotypical or miscast. As to the decision to film the mexican scenes in this sort of yellow haze , I find that as a strategy to hide the directorial weaknesses , and has this racist tone about it , as if real "Life" is only lived this side of the border. Some people have compared this to "The Grandfather" movies , it would be an insult to the viewer's intelligence. Finally a word about the character od Catherine Zeta-Jones , the film leaves as clueless as to how a pregnant caring mother suddenly develops a criminal and murderous streak. The best point of the movie is that in The war on drugs , the enemy is Within , it offers no advice , but hey you can always "Just say no"!
Rating: 
Summary: why did this win acadamy awards?
Review: I just didn't like this movie at all. I know it's supposed to portray the problems with drugs in our society, but could it be any more boring? I don't know why Benicio del Torro won anything for his performance...(he was better in "The Way of the Gun"). I probably won't watch it ever again. Rent it first!
Rating: 
Summary: There should have been more....
Review: On the film : It's very well done. This is an engaging film and will be watched several times before you're done giving it thought. Del Toro turns in a solid performance, as does the rest of the cast. No one does ensemble casting like Soderbergh these days. The only weak point to the film, in my opinion, is the story line with the new drug czar's daughter. In a sense, it is the heart of the film. But it also occassionally smells of old morality tales, and I find myself having to overcome my distaste for those. It just seems too conveniently "horrible."
As for the DVD : Disappointing extras. Usually Soderbergh DVD's have a nice helping of extras and special features. "Out of Sight" and "The Limey" are jam-packed. This DVD has a rather dull "Making of...". No commentary, no deleted scenes. I expected more, and there should have been more.
Overall - It's a film worth having. But give the DVD a second thought before you buy it.....
Rating:
Summary: Well Done But There's Nothing To Care About
Review: Movie Summary: There is a drug war going on. At times it seems both hopeless and pointless. This story follows three separate yet related plots lines. One involves the appointment of a new drug czar for the war on drugs in the United States. He struggles with both his new job and the drug addiction of his own daughter. Another follows the case of an arrested American drug lord, the struggles his wife goes through to try to save their lifestyle, and the police officers that are trying to protect the main witness. The last one involves an honest Mexican police officer that has a very hard time doing the right thing.My Opinion: This movie is very well done in every way. Benicio Del Toro gives an awesome performance. The story is gripping and interesting. But even with all this, it just didn't excite me or stay with me. One of the main themes is that the war on drugs or war over drugs can be both pointless and hopeless yet it goes on. So it does. And I didn't care. The melding of the three separate plot lines is very similar to Magnolia and is very well done. At times, Traffic seems to be more of a documentary than a movie. DVD Quality: Widescreen anamorphic. Extras include the trailer, photo gallery and making of documentary. A good quality standard release. What You Should Do: Rent it if you liked the format of movies like Magnolia. You may like it enough to own, but you should check it out first.
Rating:
Summary: A tired movie with a tired DVD
Review: What were the studios thinking when they designed this DVD? It was like it was made in 1993 or something. I've gone more exciting DVD title screens from movies I bought for $10.00. Beside that the hoopla about Traffic was not at ALL warranted. The movie was WAY TOO LONG!!!!!! It was like someone got a hold of a bad movie of the week mini series and decided to put it in a feature film. The transparent efforts to make this movie"artsy" were a TOTAL waste and just made the movie look worse than it all ready did. This movie was truly unsurprising and I could have probably told you the end by the middle. It was TRULY a WASTE of my time. PLEASE DON'T EVEN RENT THIS MOVIE!!! It will be a portion of your life you'll never get back. It certainly depressed me...
Rating:
Summary: An exercise in despair...
Review: "Traffic" is a phenomenal film on many levels. The talents of Soderbergh are already a matter of record. The total stupidity of the drug situation is laid out like a punch in the gut. Basically, the kids who do drugs are not as important to the drug lords as the vast amount of money to be made. Michael Douglas has never been better, his futility as the drug czar unable to help his daughter is wrought with genuine angst; Benicio del Toro deserved every award bestowed upon him as the man who is afraid, at every turn, of doing the wrong thing, so afraid to sacrifice his integrity. Most of the plot etc. has already been accounted for in the previous statements, so suffice it to say that I'm only one more who recommends this film most highly. And Catherine Zeta-Jones, besides being the most beautiful A-list actress alive, gives a most incredibly fine performance. Drugs are one of the most destructive forces in our society. Like cancer, "Traffic" shows how we are attempting to cure this horrible disease.
Rating:
Summary: 2nd best of 2000
Review: In a close tie with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Traffic comes up 2nd for best picture of 2000. Traffic is an incredible view of the vain war on drugs. The acting here is marvelous. In particular, Benicio Del Toro and the unrecognized Don Cheadle stand out. What makes this movie work? It's not all about Hollywood glory and it actuallt tells a story. The three separate color schemes that separate subplots work with mastery. This is a great movie to own. Much better than the woeful Gladiator. Will somebody tell me why that was given the Oscar for best picture?
|
