Films seen: In 2006

I'm assuming your referring to my comment about The Aristocrats. I guess I should have said further that it felt like listening to 50 or so different renditions of a JP Sousa march -- after awhile, they all start sounding alike.

The only time I got that "meddling" impression about Murderball was when they introduced the recently disabled young man at the beginning. You knew the filmmakers were angling to sit him in one of the modified wheelchairs by the end of the flick. However, this does not affect the overall impression and power of this film. Yeah, it's a little jock-ish for some, but watch it and tell me your view of paraplegia isn't altered or that you aren't affected by the stinger ending.

Yup, she was awful, but who the hell cast Firth and Bacon in those roles? Completely unbelievable from the first minute. Exotica and Sweet Hereafter are wonderful as well as some of Egoyan's earlier work, but this one left me scratching my head.

Re: Derailed/Aniston. The whole thing's pretty ridiculous, and got Chicago wrong. Oh well. I think I'd still like to see Friends with Money, as she seems to do her best work in ensemble acting.

Where's Altman to cast her? Lily Tomlin, Jr.

I agree w/your rating, BTW.

Here ya go. I've been playing catch up on the posting.
Glad to see I'm not alone. 157 minutes of Waiting for a Superman, sheesh.

Hope you're not disappointed, since reviews are pretty wildly disparate about it.

As they say, opinions are like a**holes, everybody's got one.

Yeah, it's weird. I hadn't seen it since the 80s, and I was apparently oblivious to the awful acting and the fact that you're absolutely assaulted with the theme -- "What's wrong with kids today?" Hardly original or terribly memorable. Basically, the fact that it was based on a real murder of a high school student is the only reason it gives you chills. All in all, adding 20 years to this movie reeeeaaaally dates it.

Sure, I love Crispin Glover and Dennis Hopper in two different whacked-out performances. I'd be a card-carrying member of the CG appreciation society if I knew where to apply.

But this film also showcases that Keanu Reeves is a blight on the film world -- in my mind, he'll forever be Ted of Bill and.... The blow-up doll in this film is better.

What can I say? I've never worshipped at the throne of Dylan, and I can't see why this movie would change that. Pennebaker does create an interesting style which is alternately damning and praising of its subject, but in essence, ends up deifying him.

The problem is that movies about bands generally aren't as interesting as the music they produce. Watching Ozzy Osborne clean up dog poop on MTV never helped me to buy a Black Sabbath CD. It's sort of the overall ugliness of the movie more than the filmmaker's skill that turns me cold. It's also pretty blasphemous to rate this lower than the Minuteman movie, but oh well.

(P.S. Just the fact that I've spent time on a rebuttal most likely warrants revisiting the movie, and possibly my assessment. I liked it, just not enough to highly recommend.)

The only thing I didn't like about Raw Deal was the overuse of the theremin during Claire Trevor's internal monologues. Otherwise, it was taut, hammy, nicely dark and beautiful to watch.

Gordon-Levitt: Haven't seen much of him. Not Brick, and not "Third Rock" (too much Lithgow for me), but he was definitely ballsy to do Skin, a tough role for a young actor trying to reinvent himself. I'll watch Brick soon and see if he's the real article.

Araki: He's so artsy-campy that it's hard for me to like his stuff entirely. He's such a darling of the indies though, so I really try. Skin is probably the closest I've come to enjoying, especially when Ride's "Drive Blind" kicks in on the soundtrack.

It was cracking 4.0 territory until it dissolved in the last act where it became an action-fest. Add to it, that somehow I was the lone person in the theatre watching it.... it was a pretty unnerving hour or so to start out.