if you haven't yet witnessed this masterpiece, please do your self a favor and rush to the next show.

brilliant is the first thing that comes to mind, when i reflect on what i saw earlier today in a small theater in chapel hill. this is a story about a photographers life during the seventies in brazil. i won't even try to give a play by play, but trust me, it is worth the 2hrs and $7.50.

kev

oh yeah, there are about a thousand guns in this flick, some for real shit. lots of blood and bullet holes

monday to see it. So excited

within a week

saw it again for the second time today, and yet again got blown away by it. the cinematography, editing, acting, music...everything in the movie came together to make for one of the most exciting films i've seen. the visuals were so interesting that it made it hard to pay attention to the subtitles, but since i had seen it before, i got to look around the screen more at the little visual details that they packed into it.

what a movie...

.zero.

this was an exciting movie.

wow.

being a part time lover of photography, i can definitely feel / sense the rush, towards the end

loved this movie. easily the best thing this year so far.

Saw it again last night. I've decided that it deserves the honor of being one of the few movies I'll actually buy
SPOILER>AVERT YOUR EYES
.
.
.
.
.
.
Why'd they have to kill Benny? He was so damn cool.

Yep, Benny was tight(wasn't that the same cat who played Shaggy from the Tender Trio?). Lil Dice was a cold ass lil' boy. All I could do was shake my head as I left that lil' ass theater.
But yeah, the movie is definitely one that I would purchase.




Copy cat, copy cat, get your own shit hoeeeeeeeeeeeeee (c) Joi.

Saw it today. I was an hour late to work because of it, and it was worth the ass chewing. Very powerful and disturbing. One of the best movies ive ever seen. I may skip out on work to see it agian

It's in Chapel Hill? What theatre? The Carolina?

I wish I had time to see it again

The Chelsea is deep in the sticks of Chapel Hill, take exit 266 off 40 East. But they serve beer at their concession stand which is wild
it's in this little strip mall sandwhiched in between and Subway and a coffee shop

I thought that it was very interesting visually, and I liked it very much.

***SPOILER ALERT***

My only caveat is that, honestly, most of the violence was at something of an emotional distance, which is appropriate, but I couldn't even mourn Benny's death properly.

The only time this film had me by the heart was in the moments in which L'il Ze was teaching the Runts a lesson. Those little kids really got me. And if I had seen more emotions all the way through, I would have been much more satisfied. Not that I had to see everyone as naked and raw as that child, but I would have liked to believe in the love stories. Or I would have liked to have *felt* the slights that turned L'il Dice into L'il Ze, rather than just having to take Rocket's word for it.

And the thing is, this is a fairly minor criticism, and I might not even have thought of it had it not been for the one truly brilliant scene. The rest of the violence I left inside the theatre when the movie was over. That little kid I took home with me and can't quite shake even now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What We Talk About When We Talk About Sex" -- .

;
;
;
.

;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;


Women and Masturbation and .

;
;
;
.

;
.]

Latest column:
. For a list of all columns, and links to them, hit "reply with quote."

Questions or ideas for future columns? Email me at sex@loosie.com Confidentiality absolutely assured.

My boyfriend and I saw it at a lil independent theatre. I was soooo impressed. It was so raw and the way the stories were combined. Also, it was so relatable...It takes place in Brazil but is definitely applicable. I actually just read a really good Q&A article in Planet Mag. The director talks about making the movie and why he decided to use real people instead of actors and the experience of shooting in "City of GOD". This is definitely a must see. The director has some other projects coming up that I am interested in too. He talks about why he refuses to go Hollywood and all the attention that is being paid to Brazilian filmakers and projects. If you can, pick up the water edition of Planet Mag.

>I thought that it was very interesting visually, and I liked
>it very much.
>
>***SPOILER ALERT***
>
>My only caveat is that, honestly, most of the violence was
>at something of an emotional distance, which is appropriate,
>but I couldn't even mourn Benny's death properly.
>
>The only time this film had me by the heart was in the
>moments in which L'il Ze was teaching the Runts a lesson.
>Those little kids really got me. And if I had seen more
>emotions all the way through, I would have been much more
>satisfied. Not that I had to see everyone as naked and raw
>as that child, but I would have liked to believe in the love
>stories. Or I would have liked to have *felt* the slights
>that turned L'il Dice into L'il Ze, rather than just having
>to take Rocket's word for it.
>
>And the thing is, this is a fairly minor criticism, and I
>might not even have thought of it had it not been for the
>one truly brilliant scene. The rest of the violence I left
>inside the theatre when the movie was over. That little kid
>I took home with me and can't quite shake even now.


This film has been, and undoubtedly will continue to be compared to Amores Perros. Where this film improves on AP is that it's substance is not given the backseat to style. In reading interviews with the film's director, I was surprised to discover he's 47 years-old. The film was bursting with so much energy that it felt like the work of a younger talent. But I think it was the director's age that helped temper the visual stylings and disjointed storytelling so as to not lose sight of the story whereas Amores Perros (which i still love) put too many eggs in the style basket.

A lot of comparisons have been made to Scarface and I think that is one of the obvious surface comparisons but Lil Dice aka Lil Ze is more like "Sexy Beast's" Don Logan (or even Biehn's Ringo from Tombstone) than "Scarface's" Tony Montana. As Ben Kingsley characterised Don Logan as the unhappiest man in the world who seeks to push misery into the lives of others. The resemblance to Lil' Ze hit me like a ton of bricks during the club scene when he gets turned down by the young woman. It was in that moment where we first gain any real insight into Lil' Ze's motivations and the scene is so powerful and the actor's performance so honest that that's all you really need. He's not crazy or power mad, he's a broken child so full of hatred for a world that has shunned him his only recourse is to strike out with all that he has. Despite his inhuman actions, he was the most complex and human charactr in the piece. Thus I actually identified the most with his character.

All that being said, the violence didn't have the emotional weight necessary for such a tale. And therein lies the film's biggest weakeness. It's shocking at the time, but after a good five to ten minutes upon exiting the theater the emotions are gone. You remember seeing an excellent film. But the weight is no longer present. There is just so much violence that the images just blend together, save the scene with the Runts. Like Janey said, you don't have time to mourn or even catch your breath.

Nevertheless, this is, from the seemingly few films I saw from 2002, number 2 on my list after "25th Hour," that despite its flaws, is still very much with me.

Yes, it has staying power. Not so much the plot -- the "thriller" aspect of the film fell a little flat or wasn't pursued hard enough -- but the love/hate push/pull relationship with the city. Some of the images were frighteningly powerful.

Thank God for Spike Lee. I never would have even considered seeing this film had he not directed. But what's up with the Disney connection? Is it just me, or is that weird?

>Yes, it has staying power. Not so much the plot -- the
>"thriller" aspect of the film fell a little flat or wasn't
>pursued hard enough -- but the love/hate push/pull
>relationship with the city. Some of the images were
>frighteningly powerful.
>
>Thank God for Spike Lee. I never would have even considered
>seeing this film had he not directed. But what's up with
>the Disney connection? Is it just me, or is that weird?

Again, I agree. The thriller aspect was almost an after thought. Thriller subplots usually don't work well. That definately was the weakest thing about the film and was not surprisingly the main aspect around which the film was sold.

What got me was the Brian Cox monologue. I've never cried like that at a film ever. It took me a good ten minutes after the film to get myself under control to the point where i could go into the store for a pack of smokes (i'm working on quitting now..doing great!). That monologue, although pacing was just beautiful. His performance was what held the film's acting together although Barry Pepper got the raves and attention for his flashier role. And Norton to me was Ed Norton playing Monty Brogan. I just couldn't fully buy him.

The film has its flaws no doubt, but its success..egads!

And thank god for Spike is right. He had the balls to make a film grounded in this post 9/11 world in which we live. He is one of the most honest, innovative, passionate and accomplished filmmakers of this generation and it's tough seeing him not get his due. especially for this film which, in my mind, is his best since X.

sorry...i went off

What Disney connection?

I love Brian Cox, but the closing monologue in 25th Hour didn't really get me. I think everyone finds their point of reference where they will. For me, it was the "fuck you" monologue. I agree that, overall, this wasn't Norton's best work (strangely, I think that overall this wasn't anyone's best work, but the whole was much greater than the sum of its parts), but that love/hate thing with NY really pulled me in.

I actually started crying at the opening credits, which I thought were incredibly beautiful, but then I'm kind of a crybaby these days.

but then I'm kind of a
>crybaby these days.

So am I
I think it's a father/son thing. Most of my female friends didn't enjoy the film. Or if they did, it was for other reasons than that relationship. But monologue was delivered with the love I've always wanted from my dad and never received so it just hit me incredibly hard.

My beef with the fuck you monologue (which is really nitpicking) was how poetic it is. It didn't transition well for me especially on my second and third viewings. He starts out in character and all of a sudden he's gone the route of a slam poet and it works once it gets going. but the transition into it is a tad bit rough. It wasn't the fact he was speaking to the camera or the content, but the use of language.

The credits sequence was balls to the wall. i was really disappointed that GONY didn't include a post 9/11 shot of NYC in the film's final montage. i thought it was just chickenshit. And i was so proud of Spike for opening his film with that image.

He made the film to see and praise about NY this year

>Yes, it has staying power. Not so much the plot -- the
>"thriller" aspect of the film fell a little flat or wasn't
>pursued hard enough -- but the love/hate push/pull
>relationship with the city. Some of the images were
>frighteningly powerful.
>
>Thank God for Spike Lee. I never would have even considered
>seeing this film had he not directed. But what's up with
>the Disney connection? Is it just me, or is that weird?

How so? that they'd release a Spike Lee joint? or that they released a Spike Lee joint dealing w/ 9/11
These are the people that brought you Pulp Fiction and Heavy Weights (That modern day classic about hilarious and heart-warming antics of kids at fat camp) as well as Inspector Gadget 2 with that loveable Payne Stewart. Just when you think you've got them in a corner....

Is that Sonia Braga's daughter?

She's her niece....

excellent film
_______________


_______________

!!!C O M I N G S O O N!!!

-Tanya Morgan : HerMamaGotAssToo
-4Track Clearance Sale : Quality Isnt An Option
-Schitzophonic : Tourettic Musik
-The Black Album : The Flipside of ILWIL
-Lockitdown Records Presents : ILWIL

Wow.

Visually stunning.

The "Runt" scene w/ Lil' Ze was....just gotta watch it.

Superb directing, editing, music, cinematography.

Fabulous pacing.

I see the criticism in that the violence has no emotional weight, but isn't that the point? That's the way I see it. Lil' Ze and them had no compunction when unleashing their wrath. As they move on, the audience moves on...so we feel how they feel...or rather, see how they feel. Like what some already said, the emotion was kept at a distance like how it is in their lives.

I'd love to have seen more of the love stories, but it would've broken the "hoodlum" aspect of the film. Like if we saw more of Benny and Angelica, then, I suspect many would feel the film broke from being "true" to its theme and tried to fit too much into the film, etc.

Don't get me wrong, I love this film. I just watched it today, and might watch it again tonight with my other group of friends.

My only beef, and it's just a teaspoon of ground beef, no major beef, is it's ultra-violence. Based on a true story, so gotta do what you gotta do and be true to realism. But, that's just my personal preference not to see violence.

It felt like 3 and 1/2 hours in there, but it's just 2 hours and 20 minutes...a tribute to the pacing and editing.

^

n/m

absolutly wonderful...very visually stimulating...


hey, go see.. RABBIT PROOF FENCE

I read that the book on which the film is based on is 600 pgs, anyone heard of this book before this film. Just curious to see how closely the film followed the book.

The director has an interesting story, he's 47 years old (who woulda thought this by watching this film) and used to do commercials (thus, he says explains his skill for being straightforward and fast-paced) in Brazil (considered the best in advertising).

And, he turned down serveral Hollywood offers, they offered him huge budgets and all, but he turned em down.

Hello Everyone,

Maaaaannnnn...I have been dying to see this independent flick. Another one that I've been wanting to see that you all could also go see along with City of God is Amandla!:A revolution in four-part harmony. Check it out, but for the meanwhile I WILL CHECK out CITY OF GOD this weekend if I have to yank my honey by the ear to watch it. He's been procrastinating on taking me to see this flick, heard a lot of good things about this Rio De Janero, Brasil flick.

Check out Amandla! A Revolution in Four Part Harmony too: http://www.amandla.com/home/index.php

It's a soul stirring flick that takes ya back to Africa when times were hard and all that the people had at the time to uplift them and strengthen them were their voices, their music, their art and their love. It also features Miriam Makeba,Hugh Masekela, Abdullah Ibrahim and many others...Enjoy.

Love,

Nia

"You have to go through, to grow through..."-Calvin Cook

that shit was ridic

acting, visuals, music.. perfection

it took me a couple of hours to get my head out of the movie.

Okay, let me start off with the finger to my good friends that said that this was going to be a wack flick because it's independent. Well, I proved them all wrong last Friday when we went and watched it, and they were awe struck and trippin' out on how good the movie was.

Anyways, the movie was hilarious and depressing @ different times, but the reality of all the mind boggling situations and events were just so painful and CrAzY. That lil' dice kid was ill and sickening and as he grew up to become Lil' Ze the fool was even uglier...man, I couldn't believe what he did to that Pretty Boy and raped his girlfriend like that...some cold blooded sh!t. And what's up with his friend Benny??? That hair do was just ridiculous!! But out of it all, I was very happy for Rocket with his success with the Local Newspaper company and for overcoming the drama in which he lived in.

Very Good Movie.
Thanks for sharing.


Love,
Nia



"You have to go through, to grow through..."-Calvin Cook

It was brilliant. For some reason, Rocket's story about flirting with crime just stood out for me--probably because it was the movie's most hilarious sequence.