Reviews

The performances are terrible. Shia theBeef is the same guy he was in Transformers. If a still turned into a Decepticon I would not have been surprised, but probably would have been more entertained. Guy Pearce was OK as the creepy guy, but compared to his other work it seems like they took the 4th best take of every scene. Gary Oldman was pretty decent, the only one I forgot even for a second was acting. Jessica Chastain was not convincing at all.

The story was terrible, the ending utterly unbelievable. You can't shoot cops - even corrupt cops - and expect to stay out of the electric chair. They shot a *lot* of cops, who seemed to apologize for getting in the way of the bullets. That ain't how it works, folks, even if you are tired of writing the screenplay.

There are a lot of wannabe filmmakers and writers out there, and this would seem to be made by one of them. Wes Anderson has made some movies, some of which actually have characters and pacing, but is somehow reverted to wannabe status. He created a situation straight out of a loser's fantasy, the sort someone wallowing in self-pity over a breakup might come up with. The anguished, devastated hero (with nothing in him to attract anyone) gets to be morose and unforgiving and his (ex) girlfriend still comes more or less begging like no ex ever has or will. Sure, people get back together, or see each other, but the whole interaction was as false and fantasy driven as a GI Joe cartoon. The girlfriend was essentially a prop, not a character with recognizable motivation. Nobody behaves like the people in this movie. Writing like this comes when you don't know who your characters are, but you know what you want them to do. Ugh. And they all say exactly what they mean, totally on-the-nose writing, like nobody ever talks. No subtext, perfect self-knowledge, such character as is revealed is done through dialogue. "Show, don't tell"

Anderson should try making a silent movie.

And of course, nobody has any material worries. Watching "Hannah and Her Sisters" long ago, it struck me that nobody had any place they had to be, no bills to pay, every Manhattan apt. was a palace. This strikes that same false note without any real characters or desires, which HaHS did. I'm glad it was a short, and I'll skip Part II.

Look, there's not much point going to see this if you don't have an appetite for goofy, amateurish efforts. But if you do, this is really well done within its limitations. The actors deliver the silliness with conviction and surprising competence. It's got some very surprising moments of anarchic creativity that had my wife and I speculating whether they were done for the fun of it or in response to logistical challenges. The actual pornographic stuff is shielded, so it's not much more hard core than skinimax. The orally-fixated mermaid is played by Teri Hall, a very attractive woman who appeared in a number of major mainstream porn movies. It's also a pretty good spoof of "Jaws". It's kind of a fun way to waste a little time.

I saw this in an art house when it came out and it has stayed with me. Strong characterization, great, believable performances, neat twists and a healthy dose of truth. Ultimately, nobility is an individual thing. Bureaucracy and power are corrupting. I loved how human everybody was. It also gave a valuable look at what went into the Iranian Revolution, and shows what has gone sour there recently. I have no doubt that the majority of SAVAK employees deserve execution. Lots of the basiji that replaced them deserve it, too. Cue "Won't Get Fooled Again" by the Who...This is a gem, well worth seeing for its naturalistic, believable presentation.