awhyte2323 Reviews

The Rules of Attraction (2002)

Spoiler... kind of: Wow, this isn't a first movie??

[6/10 · 12 December 2005]

Very surprised this wasn't the director's first movie... It was like watching a film student/movie buff go "look how many gimmicks i cram into one film... including making a character-driven film about nothing!" The first scene is cool for about five minutes and then it's just really irritating. Gimmicks can work if they serve the right purpose. These seemed to distract from the fact that there was very little to care about going on in the film. Everything was exaggerated to the point of frustration. And the little "ambiguity" trick at the end? By that time no one cared what he was gonna say anyway so it was totally ineffective. The reason i'm giving this a 6 is cuz the actors did a pretty good job and gimmicks are fun for a little bit, plus it did have its funny moments though. if you've rented everything else at the video store and like to see movies based solely on artificial sex and drugs yea see it but if its sex drugs and rock n' roll u like, i'd go with 9 songs

High Tension (2003)

Hate it when a decent movie is spoiled...

[6/10 · 13 October 2005]

Most of High Tension had me wincing in my seat as blood sprayed and excessive mutilation was performed on the killer's victims. This was good, exactly what I was hoping for. Scary, gory, exciting, it was working. All this despite the not so great English dubbing and the very weird musical choices. I was revolted and wanted more. But why spoil the movie with this big plot twist? It was such a nice little horror film and the end just doesn't seem to make sense. ***SPOILER*** I don't understand how this girl can be in two places at once, where the hell does this van come from when she came up in the car and what about that head giving head in the beginning? And all those other girls pictures in the van? I tried to forgive the film for its very lazy ending but though the rest was good, it wasn't good enough to make up for the nonsense it gives us at the end.

Malcolm X (1992)

Excellent and interesting

[10/10 · 19 April 2005]

I was only familiar with the history and influence of Malcolm X before I saw the film so I can't really judge it's faithfulness or accuracy. But as a film, I thought it was great. I really like Spike Lee; he keeps things fast-paced and interesting with his camera angles and colours/lighting. For awhile after Malcolm first begins his activism with the nation of Islam, you find yourself conflicted, both respecting the man and often disagreeing with him. Lee handles it well without condemning or supporting really, just showing Malcolm's gradual transition in his beliefs. The inserted documentary footage, especially at the end, shows how Malcolm's words still relate today. Someone commented that they only watched an hour of the movie and Lee doesn't know how to tell a story but maybe if they would be slightly more open-minded, realize it's not a literal adaptation of the autobiography, and actually finish the film, they could understand that Lee does not just want to tell the story of one man but rather wants it to reflect the struggle of a race. I really enjoyed the film; it was long but never slow and definitely worth watching.

Jaws (1975)

Why can't they still make blockbusters like this???

[9/10 · 6 April 2005]

Okay, now I'm definitely not a Spielberg fan but this is just a fun movie that I couldn't help but love. I haven't found myself gasping and going "ew" out loud watching a movie in a long time. But with this one, you just get really into it. It's surprisingly not cheesy, the shark is really scary and the bloody water thing is really creepy and you find yourself wincing. I was just thoroughly entertained. And you don't really find that anymore. There's nothing to these new summer action/horror blockbuster movies: just an overload of special effects and cheesy one-liners. With Jaws, there's a really good plot and it's very suspenseful. I've never been in to these type of movies but I guess I've just never seen a good one before. In the end, this movie just rocks

Girl Fever (2002)

for some reason i liked it...

[7/10 · 27 April 2004]

It's not a good movie, that's for sure and I watched it at 2 am on hbo but there's something i really liked about it... i think it was the cartoons. the way they used the cartoons reminded me of 80s comedies, u know how they do the cartooning at the beginning credits in a lot of them? that just reminded me of, like, one crazy summer or something and it gave the film an overall atmosphere that i liked. its a pretty bad movie, story wise but theres something kinda cute about it. i think the cartooning redeemed it in my eyes, reminded of better times in teen romance comedy.

Love, Honor and Obey (2000)

the style makes it

[10/10 · 21 December 2003]

it doesn't matter if the story is far-fetched and many scenes unrealistic; this film is worth seeing. it's just a very stylish vanity project, short and just cool. they just throw in all these little things like the karaoke, the clown costume, the search for the solution to one man's impotence, that it's very interesting and fun to watch. the film isn't "thought-provoking" or even witty or anything; it's just a cool british gangster film and i really enjoyed watching it. and it doesnt hurt that it stars jude law and jonny lee miller.

Hair (1979)

i liked it in a sad way (kind of spoilers)

[9/10 · 19 December 2003]

i don't know what i feel about this film... it was so fun for the most part but the end totally threw me. in a good way; i like to be surprised. but still, it just kinda shocked me. and it was really tragic, even if it was kinda far-fetched. i liked it a lot; it's one of those films that takes a bit to sink in. and doesnt treat williams look like colin farrell when he cuts his hair? maybe, its just me. that was completely off-topic. point is, i recommend it, even if i did use to make fun of my mom for singing those songs.

Yellow Submarine (1968)

trippy...

[10/10 · 13 December 2003]

this movie was seriously so funny and so much fun to watch. i cant believe it took me so long to get around to seeing it! honestly, if you're not on something already, it makes you feel like you are! i could just watch it over and over; everything was just so random it was brilliant! you know, in a drugged up purposeless way but still just so funny. and isnt it weird, this is one of the only movies i cant find a bad comment about on this user comments thing. its just so loveable!

Cabaret (1972)

disturbing and grotesquely beautiful

[10/10 · 27 October 2003]

i had always thought this movie was just another musical and with liza minelli it didn't seem like it had much to offer. i was so wrong. this movie is amazing. it is dark, grotesque and unapologetic. definately not just another musical. it uses the grimy, grotesque and mostly comical cabaret shows to parallel the twisted political events unfolding in germany before world war II. this movie is a social comentary above all else. it doesn't hide itself and never apologizes for the ugliness it shows us. one of the most effective scenes to illustrate this is when natalia finds her dog murdered on her doorstep. it's one quick shot, not long enough for the shock to sink in, and then we're back to the cabaret where joel grey is dancing with a monkey, asking the audience to forgive him for loving a jew, all with a cruel, malicious smile. his character amazes me because it embodies all the movie is: he is sick and disturbing and yet very entertaining. this is probably the darkest musical i've ever seen. it ends with a song but in no way are things settled. the final shot is that of a blurred cabaret audience, the only fairly clear symbol being a swastika on a nazi armband. the movie is over but the horror in germany has just begun. the killings in the movie are random and gruesome. blood is well distributed but none of there is little emotional attatchment to any one of these victims shown, except the dog. in one scene, the car carrying sally, bryan, and george passes a dead body lying in a pool of blood in the street, obviously a nazi victim. george comments that the best thing to do is let the nazis kill all the communists and then the germans can control the nazis. we see the spectators around the dead body and all are frozen. it is very inhuman, no emotion, no shock. it has just begun. the same inhuman statues are found in the beginning and end of movie at the cabarate shows. another incredibly effective scene is that of a german family picnic where one young perfect aryan boy begins to sing, very loud and clear in german. the camera pans down and we see he is in a nazi uniform. soon, the singing spreads to the other young people, eventually ending in the entire gathering united in a warlike, patriotic song. the effect is horrifying. as bryan comments wryly to george "and you say we can control them?" the love story between sally and bryan, while entertaining, seemed to me like only a small supporting plot. my attention was focused on the sleazy world of the cabaret: an amoral, very sexual and grotesque world that suits that period of germany perfectly. the intercutting of scenes of the cabaret and german society was very effective. i think many people underrate the importance of this movie. too many people go in looking for light entertainment. this is a very good movie and the songs are entertaining but it is anything but light entertainment.