Thu, Feb 27, 2003

: The Rules of Attraction

This nightmare is like some film school dropout’s hideous concoction. It’s a mess. There’s no story or plot, the characters are all horribly self-indulgent idiotic losers, and the director tries to make up for all that with fancy camera tricks, quick edits, freeze frames, and showing entire scenes in reverse. Here’s a tip, moron: if it doesn’t make sense going forward, running it backward won’t help! The story, what there is of it, is a bunch of college kids out to score drugs and sex. That’s pretty much it. It’s one party after another. It’s vulgar, dumb, and disgusting. Even the young and pretty cast can’t save it. Pointless. Unquestionably one of the worst films of all time.

Topic: [/movie]

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: About Schmidt

Excellent film. I hesitated seeing this thinking it would be boring, but the director does a good job of using unexpected camera angles and editing to keep even the slow scenes well-paced. It’s the story of a man who retired after 32 years at the same insurance company, and is rather lost. His daughter’s getting married and lives far away, and he wonders where his life went. He doesn’t even recognize his wife of 32 years. Then suddenly she dies. Now he’s all alone in this brave new world. He gets in the RV and drives across America, learning about himself, and eventually shows up for his daughter’s wedding. The ending is simple and effective, like the entire film. This film is all about character, not about plot. There are a few stereotypical things, but mostly this is fresh and different and interesting. Like the basic main character’s simple life, the film is not particularly deep or insightful, but it is pleasant and mildly thought-provoking. Jack is terrific as always. Good stuff.

Topic: [/movie]

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