Reviews
Spider (2002)
overrated and underwritten
REALLY, there are many better movies by Cronenberg: naked lunch, dead ringers, history of violence are much more engaging, dramatic and FUNNY !
I really CAN NOT agree, as another writer puts it, that SPIDER is delivering genius. There was simply not enough material or depth to the story to create an engaging movie--the story by Patrick McGrath may be good for a quick read, but there is simply not enough character and plot development for a full-length movie. Also, do we need 8 different scenes of Mr. Fiennes scratching in his notebook, then hiding the notebook, then tearing it up at the end. OK, we get the point already--you're boring us!! Honestly, I think all but die-hard Cronenberg fans will find this film slow and boring. OK, some people count these qualities as virtues, but I submit that the film is not engaging because the story lacks depth. (The acting and direction are fine but can't make up for the lack of story. Also, one reviewer's comment that this is an exploration of the human condition doesn't ring true--most of the problems seem very specific to the main character and difficult for the audience to relate to, even if there is some basic similarity with all human problems, i.e. mother love/fixation/paranoia)
National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)
Spasmodically brilliant performances and real heart in the Animal's House
The guy who wrote the main summary for Animal House, saying that it was "choppy and underrealized " is so full of crapola it makes me think he's actually one of those pseudo-intellectual preppy-boys in the Delta's rival fraternity! I'm right, aren't I?!
The guy says that John Landis hasn't mastered "the basics of rudimentary filmmaking" and that the performances are "mechanical." Master this, you cream puff!
The scenes that John Belushi are in, alone, are some of the most spasmodically spontaneous bits of movie comedy ever filmed, you tightwad! Oh, I just wanna smash your guitar against the wall, even if you did give your love a cherry.