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Reviews11
DerekTheCritic's rating
Courtney Love is the worst part of this movie. She's terrible, hard to stomach, and can't act to save her life. THAT SAID....
This is one of the best movies I've ever seen, and it really makes you think about what it means to live in the USA. For those of you out there reading this review who do not live in the USA, you've no doubt heard about how we Americans like to pride ourselves for being so freaking awesome... until someone points out how backwards and self-absorbed we really are. That's not to say Americans are bad (quite the contrary), but we definitely have a problem admitting when we're wrong. This movie makes no apologies, and goes straight for the jugular. And thanks to Milos Foreman, and Larry Flynt himself, this movie asks us to consider just how fundamental the right of free speech, and the freedom of expression, is to society. And yes, it relates to hardcore porn.
Without delving too much into the technical aspects of the movie, let me just say that if you watch the Edward Norton courtroom scenes (the first where Larry Flynt himself is the judge, and the last one when he's arguing to the Supreme Court), and the epic speech our protagonist gives on "sex versus death," you are going to start developing opinions. It is going to make you think, and it might challenge your comfort zone. And for all those reasons, this movie is worth every moment of your time... including those painful scenes involving Courtney Love.
I still think about this movie sometimes, whenever I hear people arguing about their First Amendment rights. Larry Flynt might not be a knight in shining armor, so to speak, but what he stands for is more than just porn - it's freedom of expression, and Americans have to accept that that doesn't necessarily mean something tame or conservative. It's an important lesson, and a movie that should not be missed.
This is one of the best movies I've ever seen, and it really makes you think about what it means to live in the USA. For those of you out there reading this review who do not live in the USA, you've no doubt heard about how we Americans like to pride ourselves for being so freaking awesome... until someone points out how backwards and self-absorbed we really are. That's not to say Americans are bad (quite the contrary), but we definitely have a problem admitting when we're wrong. This movie makes no apologies, and goes straight for the jugular. And thanks to Milos Foreman, and Larry Flynt himself, this movie asks us to consider just how fundamental the right of free speech, and the freedom of expression, is to society. And yes, it relates to hardcore porn.
Without delving too much into the technical aspects of the movie, let me just say that if you watch the Edward Norton courtroom scenes (the first where Larry Flynt himself is the judge, and the last one when he's arguing to the Supreme Court), and the epic speech our protagonist gives on "sex versus death," you are going to start developing opinions. It is going to make you think, and it might challenge your comfort zone. And for all those reasons, this movie is worth every moment of your time... including those painful scenes involving Courtney Love.
I still think about this movie sometimes, whenever I hear people arguing about their First Amendment rights. Larry Flynt might not be a knight in shining armor, so to speak, but what he stands for is more than just porn - it's freedom of expression, and Americans have to accept that that doesn't necessarily mean something tame or conservative. It's an important lesson, and a movie that should not be missed.
My wife and I watched the last 40 minutes of this movie on TV last night. She works for a production company that worked on "Into Darkness," and she had never seen any of the older Star Trek movies. I had seen "First Contact" when it came out in theaters, and I remembered that I really enjoyed it. At first I figured, "Well, I was a kid, and everything that involved space ships and lasers and explosions was cool back then." Boy, was I wrong.
"First Contact" is not simply a sci-fi movie. In many ways, it is a movie about accepting responsibility and going the extra mile to do the right thing. Whether it's Picard refusing to abandon ship, or Data struggling to reject becoming a human (something he's always wanted), or Cochrane struggling to muster up the balls to test his FTL ship. Does it help to be a Star Trek fan? No, not really. It's not like they blindly reference old episodes from the show without any explanation - everything that happens is explained and easy to understand. Still, unlike JJ Abrams, this movie isn't dumbed down to encourage non-fans to give it a shot.
I was surprised to find myself emotionally invested in the ending, especially after only tuning in over half-way through and having to explain several plot points to my wife (amazingly, I remembered MUCH more than I thought). And here's the crazy part, folks: you know how you can be flipping through the channels, come across a show or movie you haven't seen in a long time, it keeps your interest until the first commercial break, and then you change the channel? That didn't happen. My wife and I watched the whole damn thing - it kept our attention the entire time. And when a movie can do that, you know it's worth watching.
I highly recommend this movie. I'll go so far as to say I think it's better than "Wrath of Khan." Yeah, I said it!
"First Contact" is not simply a sci-fi movie. In many ways, it is a movie about accepting responsibility and going the extra mile to do the right thing. Whether it's Picard refusing to abandon ship, or Data struggling to reject becoming a human (something he's always wanted), or Cochrane struggling to muster up the balls to test his FTL ship. Does it help to be a Star Trek fan? No, not really. It's not like they blindly reference old episodes from the show without any explanation - everything that happens is explained and easy to understand. Still, unlike JJ Abrams, this movie isn't dumbed down to encourage non-fans to give it a shot.
I was surprised to find myself emotionally invested in the ending, especially after only tuning in over half-way through and having to explain several plot points to my wife (amazingly, I remembered MUCH more than I thought). And here's the crazy part, folks: you know how you can be flipping through the channels, come across a show or movie you haven't seen in a long time, it keeps your interest until the first commercial break, and then you change the channel? That didn't happen. My wife and I watched the whole damn thing - it kept our attention the entire time. And when a movie can do that, you know it's worth watching.
I highly recommend this movie. I'll go so far as to say I think it's better than "Wrath of Khan." Yeah, I said it!
When I saw the commercials for Amy Schumer's new show, I thought it looked OK. I've seen some of Schumer's stand-up, and I thought it was OK. And when I started watching her new show... it was hilarious. It was downright hilarious. And I don't say that often.
The sketches were clever and well-acted (especially the one about her being stuck on an airplane having to watch "Zoo Keeper"), and the humor was consistent. "Key & Peele" is usually funny for the first few segments, then gets really slow and eventually picks back up again. Chappelle's Show was great in the beginning, but started to become bland, blindly racist or sensitive, button-pushing (which is ultimately why Dave himself left the show... he did NOT go crazy, as some people claim). And of course, the Sarah Silverman Program.... yeah. Let's not go there. That was NOT funny.
But then there's Amy Schumer. She's charming, she's funny, and the material is truly hilarious. Sure, not every single second of the show was groundbreaking comedy, but then again, which show has ever achieved that? For a pilot episode to a show that looked decent at best, it was surprisingly funny I really enjoyed it. I hope the show continues to deliver.
The sketches were clever and well-acted (especially the one about her being stuck on an airplane having to watch "Zoo Keeper"), and the humor was consistent. "Key & Peele" is usually funny for the first few segments, then gets really slow and eventually picks back up again. Chappelle's Show was great in the beginning, but started to become bland, blindly racist or sensitive, button-pushing (which is ultimately why Dave himself left the show... he did NOT go crazy, as some people claim). And of course, the Sarah Silverman Program.... yeah. Let's not go there. That was NOT funny.
But then there's Amy Schumer. She's charming, she's funny, and the material is truly hilarious. Sure, not every single second of the show was groundbreaking comedy, but then again, which show has ever achieved that? For a pilot episode to a show that looked decent at best, it was surprisingly funny I really enjoyed it. I hope the show continues to deliver.