Rating: 
Summary: Cheap political agenda saves film when ideas run out...
Review: The last scene in Summer of Sam is clearly an attempt at audience hypnotism to convince the viewing public to the music of the Who that Italians are dumb animals who cannot see further than their noses. He pulled this stunt back in "do the right thing" and he demonstrates a cheap attempt at this agenda again. Why does the poor guy hate Italian-Americans so badly? Maybe he has no talent and has to play the hate card when he runs out of ideas.
Rating: 
Summary: summer of surprise
Review: I think the movie was great. It kept my interest and, it touched on everything happening in the times , back then. I know being a kid myself back then , that is how I remember the times. It was a good , good movie. It did just focus on the killer. It focused on a small comunity in New York City. It was real! The sound track was killer,too!
Rating:
Summary: If you like soft porn and vulgar language,this film's 4U
Review: This is absolutely the worst movie I've rented all year and I am sooo glad I didn't pay money to see it in the theatre. Almost every dialogue in the movie centered around the 'f' word, the sex scenes were vulgar, bordering on porn, and it dragged on for a painful 140 minutes. The idea behind the film (a NYC Italian-American neighborhood during the heat-wave, black-out summer of Sam) was a good starting point, but this movie needed direction, better writers, more developed characters (rather than so many characters) and less vulgarity. Somebody help Spike Lee make a good, meaningful movie--he's on a long losing streak!
Rating: 
Summary: One of the Best Spike Lee Films I've Seen
Review: First of all, the soundtrack for this movie was amazing, and I was really impressed by how many of the songs so well fit the scenes in which they were played. The choreography for the disco scenes was well done, and showcased Mira Sorvino's dancing talent (I believe that studied dance as a child).Mira Sorvino was excellent as the nice girl Dionna, and John Leguizamo played her philandering husband quite well, well enough to make you hate his character Vinny. Adrien Brody and Jennifer Esposito (Ritchie and Ruby) were quite lovable as the punk couple. Yes, there were quite a few explicit sex scenes, but you have to put the movie in the context of the times. This movie was set in 1977 when lots of anonymous (or even not-so-anonymous) sex was not only ok, but was commonplace. The movie showcases the summer of 1977 through the eyes of some of the young people who lived through it in fear of the Son of Sam, David Berkowitz. I would highly recommend that you view it, at least once.
Rating: 
Summary: A feast for the senses, but not for the intellect
Review: As always I was impressed by Spike Lee's directing style. He does have a very effective way of generating a lot of "sound and fury", but in this movie his characters really do come across more as fools than tragic characters. While I wouldn't say that it "signifies nothing", I would have to conclude that it signifies very little, and basically expends a tremendous amount of energy in support of a few, not-very-original social and psychological motifs. I must admit that the "feel" of the movie (and much of this aura is generated by an endless stream of vulgar language and soft porn) is quite impressive. His objective, as I understand it, was to convey the extreme social and psychic tension brought about during the summer of 1977 in NYC, partly by the Son of Sam murders and partly by the torturous heat wave that hit the city that year. I think he succeeds very well in communicating this in a sensual way. Most of his characters in this movie are caricatures and he uses them nicely to play into this grand portrait of a city "boiling over." But all this is only amusing for a while, and even then, only marginally. It really didn't give me any unique insights into social dynamics, per se, and certainly didn't explore individual human problems in a very mature light. All in all, while it was a rather stunning display of directorial virtuosity, it really wasn't much more than a parade of walking shadows that did a whole lot of strutting and fretting. I do agree with many of the other reviewers who compliment Lee on his ability to accurately portray the "feel" of New York life, as well as conveying some of the lost sights and sounds of bygone era. In this sense, the movie really was a feast for the eyes and ears. But I don't consider that portion of our country's history particularly significant - if it has value, it's limited to superficial sparkle. I also agree that the acting was energetic and often captivating. But again, it seemed like a lot of superb talent wasted on pointless material. I don't agree that his portrayals captured the complexity of the inhabitants of our most complex American city. In fact, I don't think he intended to. Finally, his portrayals do help to break down social stereotypes - after all, it was the spike-haired, punk-rockin', bisexual exhibitionist of the movie who came across as having the greatest honesty, compassion and geniune character. In this, the movie was true Spike Lee. So I recommend Summer of Sam only to those interested in Lee's directorial style and his flare for choreographing interpersonal conflict. For the viewer, like myself, who is looking for the sort of serious insights provided by his earlier triumphs like Mo' Better Blues and Jungle Fever, not to mention the epic character analysis of Malcolm X, I don't think there's much of that here.
Rating:
Summary: ONLY GOOD THING WAS THE SOUNDTRACK
Review: I agree with the other reviewer who gave 1 star, the sex scenes were uncalled for, and way to excessive! And boy did this movie DRAG! I usually enjoy Spike Lee films(Girl 6 is one of my TOP 10 fave's), but this was not a winner. The only reason I gave it 2 stars instead of 1 was the soundtrack was REALLY REALLY good! and Mira Sorvino is one of my faves!
Rating:
Summary: A great example of how bad movies can get
Review: Spike Lee has done little to impress me since his debut with "Do The Right Thing" which I found to be a wonderful film. Lee has a great topic to work with in this film but it is executed in a way that made me sick to my stomach. For one thing only a small portion of this film seemed original. Elements from "GoodFellas", "Boogie Nights", "Shampoo", "Saturday Night Fever" and even "Do The Right Thing" are all woven together with a serial killer chasing everyone. The language is extemely foul, the sex scenes are borderline porno, the violence is extreme and, the acting is horrible. It all turns out to be a major dissapointment. Some scenes are shot fairly well and the period music was also chosen wisely. Sadly there is not any other credit I can give this film. Watch the movies that were ripped off by this one instead.
Rating:
Summary: A pretty decent film but it dragged on in spots
Review: Iy starts out great fluid in motion and exciting camera work adds to the drive,then it sputters out somewhrer in the middle and never gets back its momentum. One standout performance in the flick and that was by Adrien Brody a up and coming movie star someone to keep your eye on in the upcoming years. The other plus in the film is the stellar soundtrack , very appropriate and acts as a another actor in the film.
Rating: 
Summary: Spike, Summer, Sam, Super!
Review: Oh goodie, another kewl Spike Lee movie! This is up there with my other favs (Jungle Fever, Girl 6, Do The Right Thing). I enjoyed the whole disco motif, and all the kewl music throughout the film. I think it's becoming a Spike Lee trademark to play a whole song in the background while long dialogue is taking place. I think this technique is kewl coz it helps the tempo of the scene and gives u 2 things to listen to at the same time. I liked how Summer of Sam had different things going on besides the killings. It made me realize that the Sam seriel killer took a backseat, and the movie really isn't about him. Once again Spike Lee throws in his cameos of himself, his sister and some of the other Spike Lee acting troop. This film intensifies and captivates you with it's unique characters. I think Spike Lee has a fascination with hot blooded Italians though! One review mentioned a scene where typical dialogue was being spitted out by Mira Sorvino and John Lequizamo. That particular scene was brilliant! It was like 3 minutes of dialogue with no edits and timed perfectly with the song "Don't leave Me This Way" being played in the background. Do u know how hard that is to do? Especially to memorize all that? Please, that is brilliance on the part of Spike Lee and John and Mira! About the only thing i disliked about Summer of Sam was the killings. It almost seemed too real.
Rating:
Summary: Buy any other Spike Lee movie but this one!
Review: I did not enjoy this film. While the acting was fairly good (except for Spike Lee's cameo as a TV reporter-awful), the plot was weak and included too many extraneous tangents. A lot of unnecessary and exploitive sex and moments that were intended to be bizarre and imaginative but just ended up being laughable. Did I mention no rising action and murders set to cheesy 70's music?
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