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Traffic - Criterion Collection

Traffic - Criterion Collection

List Price: $39.98
Your Price: $35.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Get Lost In Traffic
Review: Most "guns and drugs sagas" follow inane, overused formulas and seem to think they way to success is to star Al Pacino, Robert Deniro, or Joe Pesci and have guys sitting around talking about life and saying every curse word they know. This caused a little reservation when I popped in the "Traffic" DVD, and the fact that critics universally praised the movie (a warning sign that everyone will walk around with fake Englisha accents and have passionate love affairs amidst adbundant ennui) did not help much either. I guess even film critics and I can agree sometimes, because I actually enjoyed this oscar-winning movie. Imagine that. And here I am, being a movie critic, those who's opinions I rarely agree with.

Soderbergh filmed this movie in a realistic style,which allowed for more suspension of disbelief than the conventional camera/cinematography styles. You get the feeling that you're not really watching a fictional film, but a documentary. Actually, since this movie is somewhat based on real events, you are in a way watching a documentary. This was exactly how Soderbergh handled Erin Brokovich, another movie that merits watching.

And the acting is good too. The actors are not overly dramtic and exercise a degree of restraint in pulling off their respective rolls. Erika Christensen, in a far cry from her role in the 1997 steaming turd of a movie, "Leave it to Beaver," shines as the drug-addicted daughter. Her mix of apathy, confusion, and hopelessnes crates a beleivable character out of Caroline Wakefield.

Okay, so I guess this is where I am supposed to end the review and say something intelligent and wickedly funny before reviewer and review reader go off on their separate ways. But, you know something?

I don't wanna.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: More like three and a half, but another case of hype
Review: Stories of lives affected by drugs and the drug trade mingle together in Traffic, an award winner from 2000. There are many strong performances from Michael Douglas, Katherine Zeta Jones and Benicio Del Toro, but overall I found this highly hyped film a bit overrated.

The film style is one much copied from Quentin Terrintino (who probably copied it from someone else) where the stories are seemingly unlinked but come together in an ever-tightening spiral. This is effective, but has become bland from overuse.

Also, I never felt a real connection to some of the main characters. Perhaps this is a case of realism gone too far, but it's hard to care what happens to a character when you haven't become really connected to them.

A good effort, well worth watching, but somehow still lacking in my opinion.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: one way ticket
Review: Traffic is well-made and has interesting approach to a complicated issue. But there are deeper complications regarding drug trafficking in America that "Traffic" fails to cover, perhaps they are too hard to film. But Hollywood is notorious for filming such stuff (watch "All the President's Men"). The story presented here is a one sided story, however with a strong message.

Benicio had a rush that year, one movie after the other (a total of about 25?). And while the Academy recognized him here as a great supporting actor, ask yourself if his role in Traffic is one of "support" or one which carries the film all the way to the red carpet.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: could have been much better...
Review: Good movie, yes. Best movie, definitely not.

I didn't see the movie until it came out on DVD. With all the reviews and excellent ratings, I expected much much much more than what i got. I guess i should have seen at the movies rather than getting it for 25 bucks on DVD... The casting is good but the movie is really slow at times...

Rent it, don't buy it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A powerful movie with a even more powerful message!!
Review: Traffic is one of the most amazing and powerful movies to come out in a long time. It had the suspense you needed while kept its relaism and story in place. I was very disappointed when hearing that it had not received the Oscar for best picture. I personally think Gladiator won because of its historical value which was fantastic. But when it comes to story, this blows Gladiator and the other competiors out of the picture. For this, it won the best screenplay award which it rightfully deserved. Traffic is one of those movies where you need to watch it more than once to fully understand it and rightfully acknowlede it. After that, you'll say to yourself, "What a great movie and even more, what a great message".

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: sadly, probably accurate
Review: "Traffic" could possibly be the best film of 2000 - but at a cost. director Soderbergh paints a grainy, black-and-white picture about the horrifying tales of drug trafficking, and it's nearly a masterpiece.
the sotryline is very complex and soemtimes even confusing - but the acting and cinematography make up for that. "Traffic" explores every section of drugs: from the dealers, the kingpins, the governments trying to stop them, and even to the users themsleves.
"Traffic" is a very well-made, complex, and colorful film, i must say. a winner of 4 Academy Awards, it has an all-star cast: Michael Douglas, Don Cheadle, Benecio Del Toro (he won an Oscar), Catherine Zeta-Jones, Dennis Quiad, and more.
if you love great dramas and complex multi-character films, get the DVD of "Traffic" ASAP!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I loved it.
Review: I loved it. My girlfriend loved it. But I like Chompsky. And I don't like the drug war very much, because I think it is, well, short sighted.

What else can I say. If you know who that is, and you have an opinion about the drug war (either way!), you should see this movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Unbelievable Film that feels like a documentary
Review: Even though this great work of art has a cast including hundreds of well-known stars, you actually forget that this is a Hollywood movie. It feels like a documentary and every single person pulls it off. The Tijuana scenes are the absolute best. Soderberg's three stories in three places come together to tell a complete story. I won't ever forget this film.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: huh?......
Review: one word, overrated. the only actor who i liked was don cheadle, i may be biased on that as well because he is incerdibly under-rated and is great in anything he does.

obviously drugs are bad and there are things going on in life, that either we as a nation don't know, or just choose to ignore.

check the original, british version for a better story, acting et cetera, et cetera.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great movie...
Review: This is a great movie - it's obvious it's based on vast research and it tries stay as close to the truth as possible (for that alone it deserves 5 stars). It tries to tell about all the aspects of drug traffic: the Mexican side of distributors and police trying to 'interfere' according to its own interests, to a young girl trying to 'experiment' by following a charismatic friend, her father who is is just appointed to be the president's new 'drug czar', her tolerant mother, the cops trying to bust as many distributors as possible, and a shltered wife who learns the ropes while her husband is in jail, and through the eyes of an informer. The cast is great too.

But it does have a very obvious flaw - because we are switching so rapidly between so many stories in such a short time, we don't get to experience each one in its full depth, and this can be confusing sometimes.


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