rwint
Joined May 2001
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Reviews138
rwint's rating
2 out of 10
Contrived good ol' boy, yahoo nonsense that is taken into overdrive. There really is no need to talk about the story since it is very derivative and just an excuse to put in a lot of smash up car chases.
The filmmakers seem compelled to come up with every southern stereotype they can think of. There is the grizzled, uneducated, overall wearing, backwoods moonshiners. There is also the grubby, beer swilling, uneducated, pick up truck driving rednecks with names like Bubba and Scooter. Then there's the virtuous, but spunky southern daughter with a accent that is really annoying. There is even a scene where a couple of down home boys jump into a car and shout "yahoo!" as it takes off. It's all a very one dimensional, uninspired mess that makes you feel completely brain dead after about ten minutes.
The production values aren't too good. The sound is muffled and there are too many quick cuts making some of the action hard to follow. The whole thing looks rushed and haphazard and simply done to cash in on the success of SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT.
Carradine's performance is much too subdued. He seems to have no energy and is just mouthing his lines. Jackson is pretty, but her personality is much too strong. The only fun piece of casting is Holloway. He plays the main moonshiner and is probably best known as the voice of Winnie the Pooh. This was to be his last film appearance.
The film has a few good moments that are worth mentioning. One is a unique speed boat chase done on a large swamp. There is a segment where a minister preaches his sermon while wrestling with a alligator. There are also hit men who like in PULP FICTION have unusual conversations. Some of the strange topics include too much violence on TV, Captain Kangaroo, and even Norman Vincent Peale. There is also one really good inside joke. Napier is having a fight with Carradine and yells out "Hey as----- knock off the Kung Fu sh--."
Contrived good ol' boy, yahoo nonsense that is taken into overdrive. There really is no need to talk about the story since it is very derivative and just an excuse to put in a lot of smash up car chases.
The filmmakers seem compelled to come up with every southern stereotype they can think of. There is the grizzled, uneducated, overall wearing, backwoods moonshiners. There is also the grubby, beer swilling, uneducated, pick up truck driving rednecks with names like Bubba and Scooter. Then there's the virtuous, but spunky southern daughter with a accent that is really annoying. There is even a scene where a couple of down home boys jump into a car and shout "yahoo!" as it takes off. It's all a very one dimensional, uninspired mess that makes you feel completely brain dead after about ten minutes.
The production values aren't too good. The sound is muffled and there are too many quick cuts making some of the action hard to follow. The whole thing looks rushed and haphazard and simply done to cash in on the success of SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT.
Carradine's performance is much too subdued. He seems to have no energy and is just mouthing his lines. Jackson is pretty, but her personality is much too strong. The only fun piece of casting is Holloway. He plays the main moonshiner and is probably best known as the voice of Winnie the Pooh. This was to be his last film appearance.
The film has a few good moments that are worth mentioning. One is a unique speed boat chase done on a large swamp. There is a segment where a minister preaches his sermon while wrestling with a alligator. There are also hit men who like in PULP FICTION have unusual conversations. Some of the strange topics include too much violence on TV, Captain Kangaroo, and even Norman Vincent Peale. There is also one really good inside joke. Napier is having a fight with Carradine and yells out "Hey as----- knock off the Kung Fu sh--."
5 out of 10
True story of Aileen Wournos. A prostitute who killed over seven men in and around the Florida area during the 1980's.
The most interesting aspect of this film is the fact that it merges the morality. Nothing is black and white and the Wournas character is portrayed in a sensitive light. In a lot of ways you really grow to have a compassion for her and a feeling for a her rough existence. In fact during the first incident where she kills a man you are actually rooting for her to do it as he has tied her up and torturing her. Wournas is really a victim and is no way the 'monster' that the title infers. This is one of those 'stories behind the headlines' that allows you to see it from a different perspective and have a better understanding about what happened and why.
This also allows for a good commentary on society where the film seems to place the brunt of the blame. We see her trying to go clean and yet when no one will hire her she is forced to go back to her old ways and then punished for simply doing the desperate acts of a desperate person with few if any options. The real monster here seems to be our socio-economic structure and certain puritanical people who underneath are really quite ugly and just as scary.
The atmosphere is gritty and authentic and never let's up. There is also a nice running commentary by the Wournas character, which allows for further insight into how she rationalizes what she does. Some of her observations are right on target.
The film's biggest flaw is that it puts too much emphasis on her relationship with lesbian lover Selby (Ricci). It's a rather offbeat relationship for sure and there are some telling moments about it, but it's only one element. Some of the scenes between the two go on too long and become boring.
The film also completely skip Wournas's childhood, which seems like an almost fundamental stage to examine. The scenes involving the killings of the male customers are pretty benign. Only the one involving Wilson, who was simply a kindly old man at the wrong place at the wrong time, has any emotional impact.
Theron certainly plays the part without fault and was an obvious choice for the Oscar yet some of the credit really needs to go to the make up department. Ricci is usually pretty good, but some of her responses here seem affected. Still she has a real nice innocent girl look here that ends up exposing a dark side you just don't see at the start.
Overall the film doesn't seem too have as much impact as it should. The approach is a little too biased and they seem almost intent at making Wournas into some sort of martyr. Despite an earnest effort it still seems like just an overview.
True story of Aileen Wournos. A prostitute who killed over seven men in and around the Florida area during the 1980's.
The most interesting aspect of this film is the fact that it merges the morality. Nothing is black and white and the Wournas character is portrayed in a sensitive light. In a lot of ways you really grow to have a compassion for her and a feeling for a her rough existence. In fact during the first incident where she kills a man you are actually rooting for her to do it as he has tied her up and torturing her. Wournas is really a victim and is no way the 'monster' that the title infers. This is one of those 'stories behind the headlines' that allows you to see it from a different perspective and have a better understanding about what happened and why.
This also allows for a good commentary on society where the film seems to place the brunt of the blame. We see her trying to go clean and yet when no one will hire her she is forced to go back to her old ways and then punished for simply doing the desperate acts of a desperate person with few if any options. The real monster here seems to be our socio-economic structure and certain puritanical people who underneath are really quite ugly and just as scary.
The atmosphere is gritty and authentic and never let's up. There is also a nice running commentary by the Wournas character, which allows for further insight into how she rationalizes what she does. Some of her observations are right on target.
The film's biggest flaw is that it puts too much emphasis on her relationship with lesbian lover Selby (Ricci). It's a rather offbeat relationship for sure and there are some telling moments about it, but it's only one element. Some of the scenes between the two go on too long and become boring.
The film also completely skip Wournas's childhood, which seems like an almost fundamental stage to examine. The scenes involving the killings of the male customers are pretty benign. Only the one involving Wilson, who was simply a kindly old man at the wrong place at the wrong time, has any emotional impact.
Theron certainly plays the part without fault and was an obvious choice for the Oscar yet some of the credit really needs to go to the make up department. Ricci is usually pretty good, but some of her responses here seem affected. Still she has a real nice innocent girl look here that ends up exposing a dark side you just don't see at the start.
Overall the film doesn't seem too have as much impact as it should. The approach is a little too biased and they seem almost intent at making Wournas into some sort of martyr. Despite an earnest effort it still seems like just an overview.
4 out of 10
Strained thriller dealing with a writer (Depp) in a secluded cabin who becomes menaced by a country hick (Turturro) who insists that Depp stole one of his story ideas. The hick becomes more and more vengeful, which leads to some intense confrontations and even murder.
The biggest problem with this film is the fact that it is based on a short story that would make it perfect for an episode of THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR, but as a feature film it gets stretched pretty thin. The whole concept is built around a gimmick that comes around the final twenty minutes. It is a severe twist that is unexpected and may be a turn off to some viewers. There are no real 'hints' of it coming and not enough reasons to back it up. The final result is stale with no real scares to speak of. The characters and dialogue are really bland. In a lot of ways this is quite similar to THE DARK HALF, which was another movie based on a Stephen King book. It also starred Timothy Hutton who appears here and also tries to sport a southern accent that doesn't sound to good and wavers a lot.
Depp is known for taking 'daring' roles, but this one backfired. He is completely unlikable from the very beginning. He is self absorbed, snide, indecisive, and even a bit stupid. He is alone in a lot of the scenes, but he can't supply them with any energy. He also doesn't seem to know how to dress himself. He never even remotely resembles a successful adult writer at a cabin retreat. Instead he looks like a college slacker who got the place to himself while his parents where away on vacation. When he puts on his stocking cap he actually starts to look like your average street punk. Even Depp fans might walk away wishing they had skipped this one.
Out of all the characters only the one played by Charles S Dutton is the least bit engaging and of course he disappears way too soon. You gotta love that timer clock that he uses in his office it is the funniest part of the whole movie.
Turturro's hillbilly character is overly cliched and borders on being laughable. It would be amazing if this character could even spell let alone write anything of any coherence. Still Turturro can be creepy when he wants to be in what otherwise looks like nothing more than a leftover character from DELIVERANCE.
Bello is engaging as Depp's ex-wife simply because she looks so much like Tuesday Weld in her prime. It is a uncanny resemblance. It is also nice to see a male character in a Hollywood film that is actually married (or in this case formerly married) to a woman that was his same age and not twenty years younger.
In the final analysis this film is built solely around one twist. If you like the twist you will like the film if not you won't. Personally I didn't like it. The story could have gone in several different directions and many of those could have been better. Here it ends up being just too cold, too calculated, and too unexciting. The filmmakers clearly thought this would end up being a lot more 'clever' than it really is. Hard to believe that this was done by the same guy who did APARTMENT ZERO. That film seemed so much more sophisticated.
Strained thriller dealing with a writer (Depp) in a secluded cabin who becomes menaced by a country hick (Turturro) who insists that Depp stole one of his story ideas. The hick becomes more and more vengeful, which leads to some intense confrontations and even murder.
The biggest problem with this film is the fact that it is based on a short story that would make it perfect for an episode of THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR, but as a feature film it gets stretched pretty thin. The whole concept is built around a gimmick that comes around the final twenty minutes. It is a severe twist that is unexpected and may be a turn off to some viewers. There are no real 'hints' of it coming and not enough reasons to back it up. The final result is stale with no real scares to speak of. The characters and dialogue are really bland. In a lot of ways this is quite similar to THE DARK HALF, which was another movie based on a Stephen King book. It also starred Timothy Hutton who appears here and also tries to sport a southern accent that doesn't sound to good and wavers a lot.
Depp is known for taking 'daring' roles, but this one backfired. He is completely unlikable from the very beginning. He is self absorbed, snide, indecisive, and even a bit stupid. He is alone in a lot of the scenes, but he can't supply them with any energy. He also doesn't seem to know how to dress himself. He never even remotely resembles a successful adult writer at a cabin retreat. Instead he looks like a college slacker who got the place to himself while his parents where away on vacation. When he puts on his stocking cap he actually starts to look like your average street punk. Even Depp fans might walk away wishing they had skipped this one.
Out of all the characters only the one played by Charles S Dutton is the least bit engaging and of course he disappears way too soon. You gotta love that timer clock that he uses in his office it is the funniest part of the whole movie.
Turturro's hillbilly character is overly cliched and borders on being laughable. It would be amazing if this character could even spell let alone write anything of any coherence. Still Turturro can be creepy when he wants to be in what otherwise looks like nothing more than a leftover character from DELIVERANCE.
Bello is engaging as Depp's ex-wife simply because she looks so much like Tuesday Weld in her prime. It is a uncanny resemblance. It is also nice to see a male character in a Hollywood film that is actually married (or in this case formerly married) to a woman that was his same age and not twenty years younger.
In the final analysis this film is built solely around one twist. If you like the twist you will like the film if not you won't. Personally I didn't like it. The story could have gone in several different directions and many of those could have been better. Here it ends up being just too cold, too calculated, and too unexciting. The filmmakers clearly thought this would end up being a lot more 'clever' than it really is. Hard to believe that this was done by the same guy who did APARTMENT ZERO. That film seemed so much more sophisticated.