Valerie Walker

This is a movie whereby you wish you could rate the plot seperately from the actors; every actor performs in a credible and engaging manner. The plot line is clumsy and harsh; the story is mean to all of its characters. Deneuve grows crueler with every plot turn, but we do not understand the extent of her revenge without a chunk of quick unclear flashbacks at the end. We can piece it together, but not without vast suspension of doubt. Buñel never makes a bad movie. Deneuve made her defining film with him in Belle de Jour, but her character as Tristana is more complex and more obscure. Watch it at least twice.

The potential of the movie subject sounds very intriguing. A nouveux Freaky Friday, body switching, sci fi horror movie featuring Demi Moore and the emerging, engaging actress Margaret Qualley, both of whom are hooked on The Substance and its rigorous program. If you like lots of needle shooting scenes ("How many times you gotta get punched in this flick," my friend muttered), plenty of showers, and truly disgusting gore galore gilded with a very thin plot, this is your movie. The movie is not consistent regarding the time period and technology. A princess style phone is paired with touch screen cards for access; UVB sticks lay out how The Substance works on a flat screen tv that is also used to watch highly touted aerobic classes. The lust to continue to be the aerobics class queen of a tv show is why "The Substance" product entraps Demi Moore's character into a downward spirl of decay. The reviews describing this movie as an important feminist film are ridiculous. The director lost control of her material; even in the last seven minutes the movie could have been redeemed with a tighter ending. There is a food theme somewhere, but it is not used well. The director blew up so many opportunities to make a great science fiction movie. Instead, the hapless viewer covers its eyes often because of the needle shots and gross stuff popping out all over the place.

I read a number of "reviews" submitted by people who had not seen the movie, or only part. And others dragged in politics in their "review." We should keep our reviews seperate from politics whether the actors do so or not keep politics out of their public life--and they definitely should. Don't watch their movies if their unasked for opinions irritate you. The movie is a comedy, and its humor is subtle but captivating. It has plenty of action and upcoming oh no! problems at every turn. The self acknowledged aging issues portrayed by Clooney and Pitt, and their compeitiveness, are both engaging. The ending is too thick with unresolved useless and confusing scenes. The woman who made the initial call for help at the very start of the movie should have been brought back in a critical role.

Elizabeth Banks brings her talents from The Walk of Shame into a much darker story, and very well. The movie is both front and back loaded; it combines action and dark humor with satisfying twists in the plot. An unusual aspect of this movie is that due to Banks' outfits, it is evident that the total ruination of her life takes place in about six days. Often it is hard to determine the length of a narrative; here her face literally changes as her fortune distinigrates, and her wardrobe gets less refined. I do not want to give away the plot, but more should have been developed or revealed about her nemisis; this lack is the weak part of the film's plot. It is a fun flick especially if you like gallows humor.

I have watched this movie multiple times over the years. The multiple speeded up scenes are interesting, occasionally, but mostly irritating. The most meaningful parts of this movie are the slow interactions. Aronofsky pushed the aesthetic experimentation so far that the plot disintegrates.

DON'T WORRY OLIVIA: FANF*CKING TASTIC DIRECTORAL DEBUT Olivia Wilde's directoral debut is fantastic. Her movie is NOT a rehash of The Stepford Wives. Some themes are similiar, but what's new pussycat? Hers is a sophisticated and complex film with an ambiguous ending. The French are calling! The plot line, which is both front and back loaded, is a bit messy because the backstory is not cookiecutter material--far from it. It is the best sort of movie: you must see it again. And again. And then one observes the many the details that pivot to Alice's reckoning. The actors are spot on: the sets, clothing, cars are delicious recreations of mid to late 1950s America. My only critique is the repeated trope of the synchonized female dance series. The dance is not part of Alice's former life & memories, but is supposed to represent what the wives are to become or have become. It does not work: it is disruptive and a bit irritating. Olivia, kudos! I consider this film a must see for anyone with imagination and love of NOT knowing "the end."

I purchased & read Deep Water, one of Patricia Highsmith's many thrillers, when I discovered yet another of her books was about to be transformed into a screenplay and movie. I have quite a few of her novels because I am a fan. The adaptation is quite good; Ana de Armas makes the film very sexy and believable. The movie ending was remade, surely because the book version is very violent. The director and producers just couldn't do it. I fault the adaptation slightly in that regard. Most of the movie was shot in New Orleans, but some very relevant footage, depicted as bring very close to the city, is obviously nowhere near here. Give it a try once Hulu releases its rights to stream it.

This movie is LOVED by the French. The year it came out, it got horrible reviews in the American press, so I figured it was worth seeing: no one got it. I caught it in New York. I was in French speaking Canada a few months later, and I saw the French press magazines: Totallement folle pour Neon Demon. If you appreciate fashion & its process, modeling, movie cannibilism and straight up strange Los Angeles life (with Keanu Reeves as a sicko motel manager) you must see this movie. Again and again--it grows on you and in you. Pair it with Lost Highway if you are a true film lover of ambiguity.

I have watched this movie many times throughout my life, and the opinions of professional reviewers do not mean much to me; the idea that Blow Up is about new artistic thresholds seems absurd. You need to watch and appreciate other movies by Antonioni like The Passenger to realize the director's creative instincts in the latter 60s through mid 70s. Also look up the Spanish short story from where he took his inspiration for Blow Up; it concerns misinterpreting something you have witnessed. Creative people patch together stories from as many sources as their brains can hold in a parallel universe.