Rating: 
Summary: Mixes graphic violence and graphic sex
Review: The point of this movie seems to be that everyone in the 70s was as loathesome as David Berkowitz in their own way. This film graphically depicts sex intermixed with violence. Acting is pretty good, though, I suppose. Leguizamo's character's disloyalty to everyone he knows is despicable. Was this a real person? I don't know, but I'm glad I don't know him if he's like in this movie. One thing a little different about the movie, is that a minor character, the punkrocker friend's step-dad, who is a responsible gun owner is portrayed in a good light.
Rating: 
Summary: Spike Lee strikes gold again with SUMMER OF SAM.
Review: The theme of SUMMER OF SAM will be familiar to anyone who hasseen Spike Lee's brilliant multi-layered debut film.... The film centers on a small neighborhood on the hottest day ofthe year and the breakdown that occurs when tempers flare. The onlydifference between SUMMER and ... is this: it's 1977 and theSon Of Sam murderer is on the loose, prowling the streets and shootingpeople as they sit in parked cars. To call SUMMER OF SAM rambling is agross understatement. This film is everywhere, containing more then100 speaking roles and at least four complete storylines all atonce. We get to know the inhabitants of this little world (and in theminds of the citizens of this small Italian neighborhood it's justthat - no one can even get it through their head that the killer mightnot be from their neighborhood!) and we follow them through ups anddowns - OK mostly downs. The questionable moral center of the film isVinny (John Leguizamo at his greasy best), a guilt-ridden ... whocompulsively cheats on his beautiful and naive wife Dionna. The waytheir marriage falls apart during the film is pure Cassavetes, anunflinching, unapologetic portrait of emotional devastation. Vinny'sfriend, Richie (played by Adrian Brody in a career-makingperformance), comes back into town sporting a mohawk and a dogcollar. Richie has discovered punk rock and is immediately disowned bythe locals he used to hang with and, more importantly, tops their listof suspects for the Son of Sam killer. Richie's relationship withRuby, the neighborhood ... (Jennifer Esposito, understated and fullof repressed pain), also raises a few eyebrows. But as twisted astheir relationship seems, they are the most endearing couple in thewhole movie. Lee simply follows these characters (and scores more) asthe events of film unwind, allowing them to breathe and react, redeemthemselves and fall apart. By the end of the film you are exhaustedand overcome. The violence is brutal, showing once and for all(listening all you ... enthusiasts) the sheer impact and destructionone man with a gun can make. The killer is also seen, in ramblingscenes as disturbing and uncomfortable as anything in .... The camera work is fluid and the soundtrack isperfect. Everything just seems to work here and given howunpredictable and wandering the screenplay is, it's amazing Lee pulledit off as well as he did. But make no doubt about it, SUMMER OF SAM isa brash and brutal film, one that pulls no punches and makes noapologies. And is all the better for it.
Rating: 
Summary: Bestt flick of 1999!
Review: not as powefrul as other spike le flicks mostly b\c of the strot of the flick. spike usualluy makes flicks about the hood. this one os about the summer of 83. the chatracter were sorta interesting but what really made me like this fluicks was spike;e directing! the boy knows who to direct. some fo the scen werew excelltnt ly pu to together and show th letelanet fo lee. people eveywgere hae to rent this on e and buy ti it the best flick of 1999
Rating: 
Summary: The worst movie ever.
Review: This movie has the honor of being number 1 on my list of the worst movies ever. The dialogue was ludicrous, and the acting (or lack thereof) only made it worse. Leguizamo is great at doing voice-overs, but on-screen he is probably the worst actor I've seen, so as soon as I saw him on the screen in this, I knew we were all in big trouble.I honestly found myself tuning out the dialogue so I could focus on the music playing in the background ... the ONLY good thing about this movie. I kept hoping it would get better, but it got worse. It's boring. It's pointless. It's cheesy. And it's long. This was the first Spike Lee joint I've seen. And it will be the last.
Rating:
Summary: Genuine fear.
Review: Told from the POV of the people living in fear of a killer in NYC. Instead of showing one gruesome murder after another to sensationalize the true life story, Lee focuses on the emotions and drama of these people's lives as they live in fear of death. As with most of Lee's films, this one is told with high gloss and style but also characteristic is the social importance and central humanity that Lee weaves into his movies. Titanic used the Titanic as a historical backdrop for the film as this film uses the Son of Sam summer in NYC complete with blackout and high heat to create a genuine atmosphere of tension and gritty drama.
Rating:
Summary: Soft porn, music video, with ultra violent moments
Review: Wow! Here's one the whole family can enjoy together. Joke. Interesting observation here is that it "is not called 'Son of Sam' but 'Summer of Sam'". Either way it is an okay effort from Lee. I put "Do The Right Thing" and "Crooklyn" way ahead of this sexually charged disco dance vision. Perhap Lee should've done 2 separate flicks: one about 70s culture and one about the Son Of Sam murders. He obviously could have done both to equal success. Anyway, what's here is well shot with a great 70s soundtrack and great acting. Interesting bit with the "punk" guy coming back from being in Britian. Also, how the murders are effecting the main character's sexual performance.
Rating:
Summary: Where's the ZERO STARS option?
Review: Never mind Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorcese, Fritz Lang or Akira Kurowsawa; Spike Lee doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath with Ed Wood, Billy Beaudine and Russ Meyers! Who told Spike Lee that he could direct? He managed to take one of the most intriguing summers of the 20th Century (I was there; I remember it well) and transform it into a nebulous hunk of garbage that had no idea whether it was coming or going! Watching this junk was like being a Prisoner Of War who's forced to watch badly shot propaganda films for days at a time. Somehow, I was supposed to sympathize with an ineffectual, lecherous twerp (John Leguizamo) who almost gets his head blown off while he was trying to "do the nasty" in the back seat of his car. The subplot (take your pick; there are about 10 of them) is so unintriguing, you just want the Son of Sam to pick off the entire dislikeable cast. And what was the deal with the soundtrack? Why did Spike Lee insist on jamming every hit from every genre from the 70s into the film? It was disorganized, unaffective and utterly annoying. There were too many occasions where I wasn't sure whether or not I was watching a softcore porno flick. Even if I were, it added nothing to the film. The real proof that Spike Lee is totally off his rocker is the scene where the dog, Sam, talks. It was so unintentionally funny, you really have to wonder about the Lee's state of mind. It looked like something you'd see with the chihuahua from those lame taco commercials. I actually found myself laughing...and I'm pretty sure Spike meant for that scene to be 100% serious. It was so bad, I demanded a refund from the store I rented it from. I'm still waiting for my money. Save yours; avoid Summer of Sham.
Rating:
Summary: Awful movie, but Sorvino was great!
Review: The only thing that comes remotely near saving this movie is Mira Sorvino's performance as the wife of a manipulative, sex-crazed, abusive man. This movie is ALLEGEDLY about Berkowitz, but it sure gets messed up in that effort. The story drags, the sex scenes are horribly irrelevant and disturbingly abusive and graphic, and a lot of the "plot" has nothing to do with serial killers - but messed-up, drug-addicted small-time criminals. Mira Sorvino was great, but I hope she's in better movies in the future. this sad excuse for a movie is a uncreative, uninspiring, repulsive mess and I hope never to see anything this horrible again.
Rating:
Summary: A Sub-standard Spike Lee Joint
Review: Given this was a Spike Lee Joint, my expectations were higher for this movie. This is definitely not one of Spike's better films but in SOS, Spike strays from his usual racial discourse to a portrayal of the universal dualities of human nature and the "shadows" of the human psyche. This theme is highly intriguing and well worth exploring, however Spike's plot gets lost in a barrage of vulgarity, graphic sex, violence and splatter. SOS is a musical and visual montage of the period and realistically captures the fear, hysteria and paranoia of the time. The cinematography, at least, is well within expectation. Michael Badalucco (Jimmy from ABC's "The Practice") is eerily humorous as the innerly tormented David Berkowitz however this film is not about the 44 caliber killer but rather the impact of the 1977 murders on individuals, a community and society at large.
Rating: 
Summary: John Leguizamo's overrated nudity and butt
Review: I dont understand why people rated this as a good movie. I found it to be very boring. The pointless nudity and nudity. How many times did we need to see John Leguizamo's butt. If you want to see a better Spike Lee Joint see Crooklyn.
|
