geoff-29 Reviews

Stripped (2001)

A Brutal Glimpse

[30 August 2003]

A brutally effective look at the lifestyle of exotic dancers: plastic surgery, self-esteem issues, rationalizations, attempts to quit. Illustrates the wide gap between male and female sexuality, especially at strip clubs.

The documentary has poor production values, and most material was taken from just one group interview. It seems like a project that was abandoned for a while, then hurriedly completed.

On the other hand, the movie is structured well, with the relatively positive viewpoint early in the movie turning, on an outsider's experiences, into a more finely-tuned portrait in the second half.

Even despite its shortcomings, a very powerful documentary.

Basic (2003)

Connie Nielsen is not good

[6/10 · 30 March 2003]

Basic gets partial credit for trying to set the World Record for plot twists, and for focusing more on psychological drama than on violence. But the movie relies on Connie Nielsen, and she's just not up to the task. Whether it's the Atlanta-on-the-fjord accent or the non-facial expressions, she drags the movie down.

Also, this movie fails the three minute test: thinking about the movie for three minutes after it ends, you realize that the whole thing is needlessly complex.

Travolta is great, the guy from Wings isn't bad, Giovanni Ribisi is great (of course), Harry Connick Jr is fine too. With all of the great actresses in the world, it's too bad they ended up with someone who was a detriment.

Crane World (1999)

Messy and uncoordinated

[4/10 · 26 March 2003]

There are some moving scenes, and the characters seem to have some life in them, but overall this Boy-Meets-Job movie loses its way too often.

Plot details that seem important are never mentioned again. Relationships are neither clarified nor advanced. People seem to be struggling, but it's unclear what they're struggling against. It's an interesting mess, but a mess all the same.

E-Dreams (2001)

Excellent portrait of life in Silicon Alley

[8/10 · 18 March 2003]

This film gets close to what was happening with New York internet startups 1999-2001. The chaos, the parties, the IPOs, the overall feel of possibility (at least in 1999).

The director made a great choice by featuring Joseph Park, who shows the energy, dedication, and naivete of an entrepreneur in charge of a Big Idea and a (onetime) Big Company.

Startup.com got more word-of-mouth, but this is a much more satisfying film, showing and explaining the company up-and-down and some key issues in Kozmo's life. For those disappointed with the lack of anything internet-related in the startup.com story, this film hits the mark.

(sort-of-spoiler below)

The music is distracting, and I wish the movie was a bit longer and more fleshed-out, but overall it's a great documentary, with a party scene that took me back - I wasn't at that party, but I was at plenty others like it...

The Blank Generation (1976)

If only they had brought a microphone...

[18 March 2003]

This is so disappointing - all of these punk rock stars right there at the edge of the New York music explosion, on film. Unfortunately, although they had a camera they did not have a microphone, and all of the music of the raw performances is now lost forever. What could've been one of the best music documentaries ever becomes a film school project.

Worse, they decided to put demo recordings over the concert footage. This is completely unsatisfying, worse than just silence, which would've forced viewers to focus on the differences in performance and facial expressions. It's the worst sort of compromise.

Velocity Trap (1999)

Has some amusing moments

[3/10 · 9 November 2002]

Don't get me wrong, this is a bad, bad movie, but there are some redeeming qualities. Funny on purpose is the Carmen montage. Funny by accident is the anti-chemistry between Jorja Fox and Ken Olandt, as well as the prop gun that falls apart during a battle (Gruner carries on like nothing happened).

I was able to watch it all the way through. In the category of "scifi movies you've never heard of", that's not too shabby.

Floundering (1994)

Wow. What a bad movie.

[1/10 · 21 April 1999]

You walk into the video store, instantly forgetting the movies you wanted to see. You stroll through the aisles aimlessly, until spotting at a dusty jacket that proclaims: Steve Buscemi! John Cusack! Ethan Hawke! Kim Wayans!

Do yourself a favor: Slowly walk away. This is a truly awful movie. It's hard to describe just how awful it is. "One hundred minutes of frustration" comes close. It makes "My Dinner With Andre" look like "Die Hard". James LeGros is at his vacuous worst as the main character, and those stars on the cover have a combined 45 seconds of on-screen time.

Just trying to warn you that this movie should be in the "Rent At Your Own Risk" section