I Didn't Like It
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Frockgirl — 22 years ago(March 01, 2004 07:56 PM)
Cascade Ice, I find your post offensive. When this film first came out I was very keen to see it as at that time in my life I made a point of only viewing non-mainstream cinema, and this film just fell into that category. However, as I have said previously I found it boring, I am not sure whether it is because of James Spader (I have recently seen Secretary and I very much enjoyed that, so it may not be just down to his acting). I guess that I was expecting something better, it just didn't live up to my expectations, and it has nothing to do with me not THINKING about the film. By the way I would consider Woody Allen and Alfred Hitchcock my favourite directors, so I really don't think that a Disney film is something I am going to rush out and see and at 33 with my favourite band being The Smiths, Britney Spears certainly is not my cup of tea.
No, I mentioned the bisque! -
slayemail-buffy — 21 years ago(January 05, 2005 04:46 PM)
Hey, vanessawilson, I'm siding with Cascade Ice. This was an excellent movie. People who don't like it TEND to be mental midgets (not that you are). If you look in the movie collections of these folks you'll find Yu-Gi-Oh!The Movie, Resident Evil, the Cat in the Hat, or anything with Vin Diesel. People like this are not looking for story or acting; they're just looking at the screen. Again: NOT calling you a mental midget, especially since you're into the Smiths, Allen, and Hithcock. You've got something going for you.
Sex, Lies, and Videotape is NOT boring. There is little to nothing in this movie that is extraneous information. Even the smallest bit of dialogue is character-revealing. Perhaps, maybe, you thought it was boring because it wasn't straightforward. . .? The screenwriter didn't kick his audience in their collective head and say, "This is what I mean." Soderberg presented us with unique and telling lines.
That whole bit about having the one key and needing a car, for instance. John thought it would be good to have a car "in case you have to leave someplace in a hurry." Graham countered that point: "Yeah, or go someplace in a hurry." This sort of writing deserves your attention. In very few words it defines the separate worldviews of these men, and it foreshadows their future relationshipthey will be at odds. But what's so interesting about this is that John and Graham are battling each other throughout the film without spending more than a scene together before the climax. The conflict between them is acted out through the two sisters, Ann and Cynthia.
The movie is loaded with subtle gems such as these. Vanessa, I have no doubt that you're an intelligent person. And that is why I would love for you to watch the movie again. (Yeah, I'm biased. This is my favorite film.) It bothers me to think that excellent writing and acting can be so easily dismissed. Of course, I also liked House of Sand and Fog. . .what did you think of that one? Boring?
In the end, we're all entitled to our opinions, and there are plenty of movies out there that bored me to tears and would have caused another movie-goer to label me a mental midget for disliking them. It just saddens me when I see a tightly delivered movie such as Sex, Lies, and Videotape get passed over, when it really deserves a second viewing.
Thanks for reading. -
Frockgirl — 21 years ago(January 05, 2005 06:09 PM)
slayemail-buffy
To a certain extent I find your post offensive as well as Cascade Ice.
Quote:
People who don't like it TEND to be mental midgets (not that you are). If you look in the movie collections of these folks you'll find Yu-Gi-Oh!The Movie, Resident Evil, the Cat in the Hat, or anything with Vin Diesel.
End Quote.
Okay, I know that I am not a mental midget, and if you did look in my collection you will see nothing of the above. Stop generalising. I did not like this movie on the first (1989) and second (2002) viewing, yes I found it boring, so can we leave it at that. I don't have to like it, the world will not be a better place if I decide to start liking this film. As I said previously I was really looking forward to seeing this film when it was released, as at the time I basically refused to see anything that was classed 'mainstream' - it was disappointing, very disappointing. I have also studied cinema, so I do know how to look at a film in depth, rather than "just looking at the screen". Just for you info, I have not seen The House of Sand and Fog, so I am unable to comment.
I am not a James Spader fan and Soderberg is definitely not one of my favourite directors, so they may be part of the reason for not liking the film. Also, I usually prefer English films to American ones, I find that even when American films are labelled "indie", they are not indie enough for my liking. And just to let others know I wasn't waiting for the characters to take their clothes off!!!
So I have given this a second viewing, it is not getting a third!!!!!!
No, I mentioned the bisque! -
slayemail-buffy — 21 years ago(January 06, 2005 02:33 PM)
Okay. You didn't like it a second time. I appreciate that you bothered to take the effort. Thanks.
We just disagree.
I'm good with that. I don't question your intelligence. I do question the intelligence of those I've debated before now.
Take care. -
artiste_feminin — 21 years ago(May 25, 2004 09:51 AM)
Right on, Cascade. Too many people these days go to see movies and have everything spelled out for them. If it isn't, they still don't have to consider much by the time the credits roll. But when it comes to a movie like this, you don't have everything spelled out for you.
Jesus was killed by a moral majority. -
Salon_Kitty — 21 years ago(June 28, 2004 11:41 AM)
I, too, felt this movie was a masterpiece. It has the honor of being in my Top 5 favorite films of all time. Spader was absolutely MESMERIZING and has remained since on a short list of actors I will watch a movie to see. I think Cascade said it best with "the truth sets everyone free". This film is just as relevant today as it was in '89. In fact, I think it's virtually timeless.
Spader + Kinky Sex= AWESOME movie (see:
slv, Crash, Secretary
)
But you didn't say God Bless You when I sneezed..
~Dogma -
rsuther104 — 21 years ago(December 05, 2004 08:38 PM)
I saw Sex, Lies and Videotape when it was first released. I loved it, and will surely add it to my DVD collection. You know, we all do have different taste in film. I am always a little surprised when a movie can mean so much to one person while another finds it completely boring. I have friends with both intellect and taste, who didn't get this movie. Go figure. It spoke novels to me, about the importance of honesty in love, friendship, and life for that matter. My life experiences took me down similar paths, and I could identify with one of the characters while some of the others were carbon copies of people I know. I thought it was superbly acted, directed, and it had something important to say, which most American movies seem to lack these days. It definitely ranks somewhere in my top 50, at least. Cascade is right, the trust sets everyone free.
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tcoffman — 22 years ago(March 29, 2004 02:54 PM)
This was a wonderful movie about the devastation that the truth can bring to lives in denial. Spader's character, as a recovering "pathological liar," never lied. About anything, even his own fetish, which most people might think he should dissemble about. His entry into the world of lies and self-deceit and "too many keys" disrupted all the facades and illusions which were going on. By the end of the movie the truth had set them all free, though the process had been painful.
Truly a masterpiece. -
ada1crs — 21 years ago(July 28, 2004 08:02 AM)
I think it's a masterpiece, visually, verbally, and aesthetically but I know tons of people who don't like it. My mum rented when it came out and it bored her to death, my step sister thinks its dull as hell, I showed it to a friend and he turned it off after five minutes.
It reminds me of the Blair Witch Project, a film critics adored and audiences hated.
'garbage, all i've been thinking about all week is garbage' -
londonlondoners — 21 years ago(July 31, 2004 11:13 PM)
I was curious about it and finally got the dvd. I thought that after 15 years I should not expect much. But I was not expected the fastidious session I endured. My sensation is that I was watching "Blow Up" again - and I found Blow Up boring, no matter how "revolutionary" some critics see it. The same for Sex, lies the film is boring to death the acting is plain, there is nothing special about the four characters it is not a masterpiece verbally, not visually, not aesthetically with or without sex scenes, it would still be boring like the terapeutic session that starts the film The lover destroying the tapes was as ridiculous as it could get.. the dialogues arepueril English is not my first language but I don't thing it would make a difference if I had seen it in my owm language. so, just to double check I rented the Full Frontal and Julia Roberts is not the only thing boring in this last again another film that insteat of talking about adult sexuality just gets lost in blabbering Maybe some credit for the structure, but no much for the story, drama, plot, etc
R -
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peyton_27104 — 21 years ago(August 24, 2004 10:40 AM)
There is a reason why this movie swept all of the important awards at the Cannes film festival - it's a masterpiece, plain and simple. As is the case with most masterpieces, especially the movies that try something different, a certain number of people simply don't get it. That is particularly true with this movie because of its reliance on the dialogue. If you don't like the movie, maybe you could just say "I didn't get it" rather than trashing the movie. I didn't get Magnolia, a movie even more highly regarded than this movie, but I don't trash the movie. I simply admit that I didn't get it.
My favorite line from the movie, from Graham. "Problems? Do I have problems? I look around in this town, and I see you, and I see John, and I see Cynthia, and I feel comparatively healthy." -
Krustallos — 21 years ago(October 11, 2004 09:41 AM)
I liked it very much but a friend of mine didn't. But it wasn't because she wanted to be "led around by the hand". She just thought the insights about sexuality and relationships were banal.
But then she was a hooker by trade, so it may have been a case of coals to Newcastle.