Rating: 
Summary: For everyone who's had "one of those days"
Review: To hell with what movie critics said about this film, it rocks! I loved every minute of it. The acting was superb, the story great, and even though i doubt the creators intended it, it is funny as heck!
Rating: 
Summary: falling down
Review: I first saw this movie a couple years ago and enjoyed it. I didn't see it as a film about "white middle class rage"; I simply saw it as a film about any person's rage, be they white, black, latino, asian, or any other ethnic group. There are times I feel like Michael Douglas's character-angry, frustrated, and ready to take out anyone or anything that gets in my way. Of course, life is too short to be pissed off, which is conveyed at the end
Rating:
Summary: Thought-provoking
Review: This story about a man's life spiraling out of control has inspired a lot of superficial reactions. But there's a much deeper subtext. Michael Douglas's D-FENS and Robert Duvall's Prendergast are sympathetic characters at the outset. Both are "victims" of very typical, and serious, personal problems in the US - being made useless at work, losing a child, and a general loss of joy and hope. The two characters are extreme contrasts of each other: D-FENS angrily reacts to his frustrations, while Prendergast sadly resigns himself to his own.By the end, both D-FENS and Prendergast see the fallacy in the way they have lived their lives. Sadly, for D-FENS, it is too late. Prendergast takes the opportunity to move in a new direction. D-FENS and Prendergast may as well be two halves of the same personality. They represent a struggle within all of us when we're faced with serious, and sometimes unsolvable, problems and terrible occurrences in life. Do we angrily lash out? Do we sadly accept? Or is it possible to move on and rebuild our lives? The movie is groundbreaking in the way it presents these concerns. "Falling Down" is controversial because D-FENS is a very sympathetic figure who reacts in a violent and somewhat racist way to the frustrations around him. Some feel that the movie tries to justify D-FENS's behavior - I think they couldn't be any more wrong or superficial. The film makes it obvious that Douglas's character, through his over-the-top anger, becomes somewhat like the extremist he despises, the owner of the Army-Navy store, and sadly turns himself into the true "bad guy".
Rating:
Summary: "I'M GOING HOME! CLEAR A PATH!" (4.5 stars)
Review: It's hot as hell outside, and traffic's not moving. You're surrounded by hundreds of cars, all beeping their horns and not moving an inch. There are plenty of things you can do while waiting in your car. You can look at the sky and watch the clouds roll by if there are any. You can tune in to your favorite radio station, hoping that it will help take your mind off the fact that you're stuck in traffic and you're not going to be moving any time soon. Or, you can just patiently wait. Bill Foster decides to do none of the above. Something has snapped in this guy who's dressed in a white shirt with a tie and who wears glasses. He appears to be your ordinary man. Except, something dangerous has snapped inside of him. He's going to go home, no matter what the cost. And no one, I mean NO ONE, is going to get in his way. On the way, mayhem and conflicts follow him around every corner, surprising us every step of the way. This is a dark and different thriller unlike any I have ever seen. Every man has their breaking point... Bill Foster has reached his. "Falling Down" is a clever and unique thriller that can be rather comical at times, and horribly chilling. Michael Douglas does an outstanding job taking on this challenging and different role. It is unlike anything he has ever done before. (Don't let the tie and glasses fool you. This guy means business.) He delivers an awesome performance and is totally convincing. Nobody else could've done a better job. Well, maybe De Niro, but he's been there before. Nice to see someone new take on a challenging and dark role. And for once, I can say that I like a Joel Schumacher film. (With the exception of "8mm," which I later found out that he butchered Andrew Kevin Walker's script for it and totally changed it around. I still like the movie, but I have lost all respect for Schumacher, with the exception of this film.) This just happens to be a great film. I still do not like the man, but what can you do? The DVD is pretty poor, with literally no new exciting extras. There is a trailer, but that's about it. The picture and sound quality is really top-notch, however. Still, I wish there were more to the DVD. Oh well, maybe they'll put out a special edition sometime soon. "Falling Down" is a classic that has been seen by many. I really enjoyed the movie, and it continues to be one of my favorites. With a brilliant script and some outstanding acting, "Falling Down" delivers as being a thriller that will keep surprising you, even when it's all said and done. A very high quality film, if you ask me.
Rating:
Summary: Important Review
Review: I've just started as a critic. And I've been going back to some of the most compelling movies to date. There nothing more intriguing than the tart portrayal of an dangerous struggling urban city and a man about to loose his mind on the middle of it. A simple plot but gripping performence by Micheal Doughlas, followed by Robert Duvall, gave another level of of intrest towards the many "street charaters" that perfectly described the city. From turf driven punks to well and able homeless men. Acting was sharp. Violence/profanity was fullfilling. This might be a movie you should just go ahead and buy than rent.
Rating:
Summary: Not for the masses but.....
Review: a good movie in my opinion. This is a movie like many movies I like in that I know many other people will not. What I like about this movie is 'simply' how Michael Douglas and Robert Duvall characters seem to be completly unrelated. Yet in so many aspects of the movie the character's lives are paralled. Yet despite the fact that both started the journey from the same place, and faced simliar obstructions along the way. In the end when their paths crossed only one man's journey could continue. The question is why only one? When did the other become the bad guy and when did he reach the point of no return?
G00dFlick ;-)
Rating:
Summary: Modern American Metaphor?
Review: This film was great because it touches on the realities of everyday life. If you are expecting strict realism in this movie it's not here. This is a movie about modern urban tensions and one mans ultimate destruction by them. The film touches on such elements as road rage, gangs, basic personal disrespect, and the feeling of helplessness a parent feels in the face of the dangers of today's world. One has the sense Douglas is lost and no one can save him except perhaps the police officer played by Duvall. Douglas plays a fellow who is an average guy going through a divorce who is treated with disrespect and contempt at every turn. He feels his life has slipped away from him and that he has lost his family and all that matters most to him. He runs into everything from people honking and yelling in backed up traffic to gang members violently accosting him, to immigrant shopkeepers charging what was an exorbitant price for the day for a can of soda. The monster of the movie is the "system" of a society, which has a tendency to depersonalize, anonymize, and let people fall through the cracks. Something in Douglas snaps at the beginning of the film and he begins to act out as many no doubt would like to do on some days. In the end this course of action leads Douglas to self-destruction. One wonders how often it happens in real life albeit through different modus operandi, real life being stranger than fiction after all. Duvall on the other hand plays a cop close to retirement who as he learns more about Douglas and the developing situation begins to understand him. To some extent Duvall's character serves to further develop Douglas's main character and in that respect is a vehicle of the storyline. Duvall's character is a cop who goes out on a limb with Douglas and is about the only other character portrayed that is sympathetic to him. Duvall's character is on the other hand the antithesis in many respects he has his career behind him and is married to a wife he loves. He is about to retire and leave the madness of the city behind him. Douglas on the other hand ultimately plays a man who is alone in a crowd of millions. If you view this film strictly for the story itself without taking into account that it appears to be making a social commentary of sorts you might think the script somewhat weak. If however you have witnessed or experienced the road rage, violence, and general lack of respect that goes on in every big American city every day then I think you will see the real point to it. I think it's an excellent film with good performances by the main actors but then I like metaphorical films :) that go beyond the standard shoot 'em ups once in awhile. It's too bad that life can drive people to the breaking point but that's the modern reality I guess.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful movie, but not a happy one
Review: Well, this is a bummer of a movie. I will not kid you about that. If you are wanting a happy ending, then this movie will not work. However, the idea of this movie is to explore the frustration of individuals when many things go wrong in a short amount of time. The "falling down" that Micheal Douglas' character experiences is a falling down from life, and a falling down from the ills of society, and a falling down from a relationship with his wife that no longer exists. It is like a psychoanalytical Die Hard; we see and empathize with Micheal Douglas' character as he becomes frustrated with society. (It is fitting that he should be stuck in traffic in Los Angeles when going ballistic). He becomes upset with the situation of not being able to see his daughter, and then experiences an ill journey through Los Angeles, encountering gang members, white supremicists, and stubborn fast food employees (okay, well I can tolerate the fast food employees). The journey that he takes emcompasses a little of what we feel inside when we are angry at society or people; perhaps the only difference is that many of us do not act on those urges or thoughts. I found this movie very powerful and I thought that Micheal Douglas was exceptional in his role as a semi-deranged individual who has had enough of society. Like one critic said, this is a movie that is doomed to an unhappy ending. I am not rating this movie on the ending, however. It is a very gripping and realistic portrayel of a man who loses his composure and acts on an impulse when things do not go his way. I found this movie powerful, and despite many of the reviews that said that the characters were too stereotypical, I still believe that this is a very realistic depiction of society. This movie analyzes what we do not want to express outwardly, and examines the people who are pushed to the brink of taking action. I recommend this movie, especially for psychology buffs out there.
Rating: 
Summary: D FENS Fights Back!
Review: This is a good movie despite the three stars I gave it. There's really nothing wrong with this movie that I can think of, its just I'm not big into detective/cop genres. But don't let the category fool you. The movie is built like this: Starts out with a man known to the audience only as DFENS. He puts in his hard-worked hours, and ends up getting down in the dumps one day in particular. He is divorced, and he wants to see his kid for a birthday party just to give a present. But the wife is afraid of "DFENS" because he can be a little unstable. Which is exactly what the entire city will find out one day when he just decides to get out of his car (during a traffic jam) and walk the streets to visit his kid. Along the way, he encounters thugs, hoodlums, neo nazis, road ragers, mis-priced stores, and various other rage-inducing citizens. Well, with a temper like his, and all of these things building and building, its like the game Incredible Crisis in movie form! But this movie has some boring parts too (has to build a suitable plot). Between every scene with DFENS, there is a scene where a near-retiring detective takes up one last case on his last few days. With his pride on the line, he doesn't want to end the case so before his retirement. So basically, its the detective looking for the mis-understood, ex-husband. The structure of the movie is actually very good, and it tends to make you think. There are also some parts that are just plain cool (when DFENS obtains some heavy-duty artillery!). The DVD contains your typical extras: -Language select: English & Spanish (with subtitles)
-Trailers
-Interactive menus
-Chapter stops So in reality, this is an average DVD that I find myself watching more than once on occations. Other viewers will probably be intrigued by the cop/detective scenes as well, and also find yourselves feeling sorry for poor ol' DFENS. The ending is really great and makes the movie worth the purchase. Definitely an under-estimated movie! So if you like cop/detective genres or movies where people just go ballistic, then you will most certainly enjoy this journey into the mind of a normal citizen gone ballistic!
Rating:
Summary: Something to it
Review: Some movies stick in your mind. Most don't. This one has stuck in my mind for a long, long time.
For one thing - it changed my view of Michael Douglas - from thinking he was basically an average tv actor riding on his dad's coat tails to seeing him as a major acting talent.
I see where the official Amazon review is coming from, denouncing the stereotypes etc - but...I think we're seeing the world through this character's eyes. Isn't that an achievement?
See it and make up your own mind.
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