Subj : Re: A History of Violence: My No-Thoughts Review
To   : alt.tv.farscape
From : RR
Date : Sun Oct 02 2005 23:17:04

From Newsgroup: alt.tv.farscape

weirdwolf wrote:

>> Here's my [plagiarized] reviw:
>>
>> OH.MY.GOD.THAT.FUCKING.ROCKED.
>>
>> Seriously though, it does. Unfortuantely, to talk about it at this
>> point in any detail does a huge disservice to anyone who has not seen
>> it.
>>
>> So I recommend it more highly than anything else I've seen so far
>> this year (granted, the competition for that honor isn't all that
>> fierce).
>>
>
> I've just looked at the IMDB reviews, they way they talk about it  the
> film seems to have an old school western feel to the basic plot, say
> Shane for instance.

I can kinda-sorta-see-that-maybe.

But really, no.

I'm a Cronenberg freak. His last two films ("eXistenZ" & "Spider") were less
than up-to-par. I have been - for the past year or so - expecting this film
to follow suit. I was beginning to feel that maybe he was one of those
directors who had kinda lost it.

Then the reviews for AHOV started trickling out and they were positive
across the board, which I don't believe a Cronenberg film has had since
probably "Dead Ringers" or "The Fly".

AHOV is Cronenberg exploring many of his usual themes while also daring to
tackle a few new ones, but most importantly it's very likely his most
accessible film to date, but at the same time it doesn't feel in the least
bit sanitized or designed for the masses.

It's rare that I assign the term "genius" to a film and even rarer that I do
it within days of the seeing a film, after only one viewing. But as I sit
here typing, I have no problem using that word to describe AHOV. A better
word may even be "flawless", which frankly is a far bigger compliment. Its
exploration of humanity's most primal urges is a huge part of its
accessibility, because reason (which strangely is the opposite of said
urges) dictates that such instincts reside in all of us.

It will perhaps be viewed as an unsettling film for some, but it's hard for
me to believe that anybody would deny that it is outstanding filmmaking.
Personally I was too excited by it to be unsettled. It's a perfect filmic
blend of message and commerce. It's tight; the running time is 96 min. and
not a scene or line is wasted or unimportant. It's far and away Viggo
Mortenson's (sp?) best performance ever. Come Oscars, if he doesn't get a
nom for Best Actor (if not a win) there is no justice, and it should get
Best Pic & Adapted Screenplay noms as well.

I'm always fearful of overselling movies, but in this case I'm not even
certain that's possible.

-- 
RR

"It's been my experience that every
  time I think I know 'where it's at,'
      it's really somewhere else."
      - William Holden - S.O.B.

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