River's Edge

Rating:
Summary: forget Blue Velvet...
Review: River's Edge is a shocking, real life, under-rated and very unavailible 80's cult movie. It about how a gang of teenages cope when a friend murders a girl and leaves her body naked beside the river. The haunting atmosphere and horrific imagery are comendable, but its the characters that really bring this film alive. They also bring some wonderful moments of unexpected humour (yes! It is funny!).

Okay, first and formost there's Crispin Glovers enthralling Layne. He is basically the only kid who reacts to the killing, however his warped morality makes him side with the killer. Glovers performance really lights up the screen and his character has a same weasely appeal as Mr Pink had in Reservoir Dogs. This is a truely special role.

But it doesn't stop there. I was also seriously facinated by the boy who played Tim (Damien was it?). The kid is hard as nails and had a burning precense. Then there's John (the all important role of the killer). The guy playing the character really looks like the blank psycho's you see on the news. A really hate worthy villian.

Denis Hopper is as good as ever playing the demented Feck and (Shock! Horror!) Keanu Reeves is pretty damn good as Matt. I used to be one of the masses of people who would slate Keanu's acting- but since seeing "My own private Idaho" and this, I'm having to eat my words.

I hope this cracking and important film will be widely availible soon. Teen films these days tend to be utterly souless, brain dead crap.

Rating:
Summary: River's Edge (1987)
Review: River's Edge jumps into 1980's white surburia and looks at the reaction of 6 teens to the murder of their friend by another. Their apathy is frightening but this black generation is shown with black comedy. Crispin Glover truly steals every scene. His acting is frighteningly real, and incredibly skilled for a guy in his early 20s. His skill pierces through the screen and captures your heart; here Layne (Crispin) is going out of his way to help his friend to the point of psychotic numbness to the reality. I discovered this movie about a year ago (when I was 14) but it is timeless in capturing youth apathy to life. Simply put... INCREDIBLE.

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Movie of All Time.
Review: Rivers Edge is the best movie I have ever seen.All of the acting is superb and the plot of the story really hits home for me personally.I was 16 years old when this movie came out and the kids in this movie were just like myself and all my friends.We listen to heavy metal,got drunk,and had sex all the time.Except for the murder.my life mirrored the life in Rivers Edge.Hell.my best friends name (last name] was even Lane.I Love to put this movie in,kick back,and be magically transported back to 1986.My email is [e-mail] Crispin Glover For the excellent portrayal of Layne!

Rating:
Summary: Pre-Columbine 80's drug-and-metal culture gone awry
Review: The reviewer's comment about 60's nihilism was right on target. It's also interesting to compare/contrast this true story with the late 90's student gunmen. Whereas the River's Edge group acted out of sheer apathy and/or completely muddled loyalties, the Luke Woodham cult and Columbine killers were driven and "inspired" and acted on gruesome premeditated plans. The movie also portrays the group perfectly as "hoods" (at least that was our colloquial name for them growing up in the 80's) -- the blue-jean jacket-donning, long-haired "metalhead" kids who were both philosophically and chronologically the intermediaries between 60's "greasers" and current "goths."

Rating:
Summary: riveting
Review: This is a low budget film. Don't expect anything fancy. What you'll get is a fascinating story (based on an actual event), and some of the finest acting you've ever seen. It's so real there are times you'll forget these are actors performing their parts, and think you're watching a documentary. Keanu Reeves, Crispin Glover, and Dennis Hopper are absolutely superb, and the supporting cast excellent. Praise must go to the director, Tim Hunter, for bringing these young actors together into such a fine ensemble, and Jurgen Knieper's score subtly adds interest to this film as well. It's a small but amazing film that's worth many viewings. Don't miss it !

Rating:
Summary: God's own methane
Review: This is such a great movie and it still seems to have a pretty fervent following. It's obviously a pretty twisted high school film. Like Over the Edge, it has staying power. It is one of few tolerable and borderline enjoayable Keanu Reeves performances and one of many enjoyable Crispin Glover performances(one of his best). A must see for any fan of disturbing films with bits of comedy.

Rating:
Summary: Underrated Powerhouse of a movie - DO NOT MISS !
Review: This Movie has a feeling about it that I don't believe any word in the dictionary can properly describe. I saw this movie for the first time about 15 years ago and was astonished. So much so that 15 years later I still cannot shake the creepy feeling I get when I watch this movie. But, I feel it's a good creepy. The kind of creepy that reminds you of a terrible tragedy. This young girls murder is truely a sign of the emotional disconnection felt by some of the youth today. After having read about the real story I only feel more shocked then I was before. Take the time to recommend this film to freinds and family they might not get it at first, but that won't shake the feeling they have after watching.

Rating:
Summary: Reflection on 60's Nihilism
Review: This movie is a very accurate reflection of the nihilism of the 60's and how it has destroyed the lives of the generation that followed. This is most clearly reflected in the classroom scene where the baby boomer teacher tries to to excite his students about the 60's ("It was an exciting time"). The students can only react with disinterest. The baby boomer has no idea that his generation is, more than anything, about the destruction of all values. The students, however, are much more insightful. They do know it, and they take it to heart. Wake up hippies!

Rating:
Summary: True Story, right from my old stomping grounds
Review: this movie is riveting, to say the least.
But it became even more so when I realized I was living in the same town that it happened in, and not only that, that I was about a mile away from where the actual murder took place. of course, the atrocity occured way before I was even a concious being, thank god.
Keep the memory of the girl who lost her life alive,
and see this movie.

Rating:
Summary: mixed
Review: This movie is strong in some parts, and really weak in others. Some of the plot points are so contrived, but others resonate very realistically. I suppose it seems realistic in some part because this movie was loosely based on an article in "Rolling Stone" magazine, about some high-schoolers who stabbed a fellow student, and other students just went and looked at the body and didn't tell anyone until much later. That's the only reason I saw this movie, actually, to see a deeper look at something pathetic and tragic that actually happened. It reflects what happens too often in modern life. I mean, I was and am appalled at the convincing reports Bill Clinton raped at least four women (most famously Juanita Broaddrick), and no one cares/cared (read "Capitol Hill Blue" for the full record on THAT.) The DOW Jones went above 10,000, so who cares that there was a rapist in the White House? I'm constantly amazed at how cavalier people can be over someone else's destroyed life. This movie gives a glimpse into that shameful aspect of human nature. So, even though I think the movie is awkward, I think its uniqueness in addressing that side of human behavior makes it worthwhile. And, another unique thing about this movie, is it's the only time I've seen Crispin Glover give a bad performance, and the only time I've seen Keanu Reeves give a good one!