travisrose Reviews

I Am Sam (2001)

A review of a review of I Am Sam

[30 January 2002]

I was moved to write this after reading Rod 88's review of I Am Sam. It was easily one of the least intelligent things I've read to date in my life. The first time I finished reading it I chuckled to myself and figured I must have missed something or that maybe the author was making a joke and pretending that the character "Sam" was actually writing a review.

No such luck.

Rod's central point seems to be that the movie's greatest flaw was that it didn't convince the audience that Sam could be a responsible father. I'm going to try to use small words so that you can understand this, Rod. Sean. . Penn's . . character . . could . . not . . raise . . his . . daughter .. because . . at . . age . . seven . . she . . was . . smarter . . than . . he . . was.

You also misused a handful of words and made a couple of sweeping generalizations as well as really insipid comments about how you felt at a given point. Well, I'm done criticizing because I don't think it's possible to refine your technique. Please keep your opinions to yourself. If you don't, I'm going to kill my dog.

Magnolia (1999)

Misfire

[3 October 2001]

Paul Anderson is a bright guy. If you read any further you will not find another compliment.

Magnolia is a dizzying siege of agonizingly misspent emotion and talent. The only thing that upset me more than the movie is the arrogant pseudo-intellectual faction that followed it. Several critics, who have replaced Citizen Kane with Magnolia in the theater-house Parthenon, have been so bold as to say that if you didn't like Magnolia, you're not intelligent or sophisticated or deep.

B******t.

Some scenes of Magnolia are interesting or even brilliant as they stand alone, but collectively there is an unhappy disjointedness to the pace and continuity.

Along these lines, Magnolia is one of the most bizarre and frustrating moviegoing experiences I've ever had. The acting is fantastic (Cruise gave a career performance), the concept is interesting, and the writing is excellent, yet the amalgam is almost incoherent.

I read that Anderson says that Magnolia is the best movie he will ever make. Not true. Boogie Nights was better and, if he continues to make movies, Anderson will best his own expectations.

B-

The Razor's Edge (1984)

One of the best ignored films I've seen

[27 July 2001]

I rented this movie strictly because Bill Murray was in it. He's always been one of my favorite comic actors. After seeing The Razor's Edge, my view of him changed forever. As much as I enjoyed his work before and after this film, his career development appears stunted.

In this film, Murray is brilliant and convincing as Larry Darrow, a man searching for his soul's peace, after a brutal event "awakened" him from his posh aristocratic life.

Murray is a comic genius, but his abilities as a dramatic actor have been woefully underused.

Tomcats (2001)

WARNING: viewing this movie will lower your IQ

[1/10 · 8 April 2001]

I want a personal apology from writer/director Gregory Poirier. This movie had absolutely zero redeeming value. I went in to the theater in a pretty jocular mood, and every attempt at humor made me wince. I was questioning the value of mankind by the end of the film. Gregory Poirier, the mind that brought us See Spot Run, would have had more success making me laugh drumming on my testicles with pool balls.

I really can't say enough bad things about this movie. Even for you heavy breathing, teenage virgins, there's nothing in it for you. The plot, the acting, the delivery, the resolution were all deplorable.

If you ask me, Jerry O'Connell hasn't done anything worth watching since Stand By Me.