MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO

Family Movie of the week.

MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO

The modern animated movie is a technological marvel. Computer generated characters can be so lifelike that you sometimes can't tell. Hair is realistic, fire, every little detail is just right. In fact, the whole image just sparkles. It should! Computers make it possible. As slick as they look, and as impressive as the final result is - I sometimes miss the artistry, and the innocence of "real" animation. Compare "old" Disney with "new" Disney.

So few animated films are actually drawn by hand these days. It's a lot of work and labor intensive = expensive. Fortunately, Studio Ghibli, in Japan, is still doing just that. Hayao Miyazaki, perhaps the greatest animator/storyteller in movie history, has often been compared to Walt Disney. Walt was certainly a visionary, but he would mostly oversee the movie projects, he rarely drew them himself. Miyazaki does. The master draws thousands of individual cels (24 per second of film - it adds up).

For years MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO (released in 1988) was one of the most beloved family films of all time. Why haven't you heard about it? Don't get me started on that. But that may be starting to change. I'll explain why. This is a "family" film - not necessarily a children's film. This concept is familiar to those who’ve enjoyed recent animated movies from Disney and Pixar and others. They want to entertain children, but adults who watch with their children can often enjoy the movie on another level. Animation is HUGE in Japan. Approximately one quarter of the box office take is from animated films. Not just for kids – many adult movies are also animated (art is art, right?).

MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO is unlike most animated movies you’ve seen. It is confident enough in the story that it doesn’t need contrivances and formula plot gimmicks to hold your interest. It doesn’t have a villain. It doesn’t have conflict. It doesn’t have a hit song. It doesn’t have the double layer jokes ubiquitous in most animation. In fact, no clever dialogue at all. Sounds dull? I watched it in a room full of adults, a 6 year old, and a 3 year old. Nobody, not even the 3 year old stirred for the entire 90 minutes. You just honestly don’t know what’s going to happen next. This is definitely not - not - NOT - a Disney movie! Far from it ……………

………. er……… well ........ actually ……..

……. Since Disney bought the video distribution rights to the catalog of Studio Ghibli films, I guess it technically “is” a Disney movie. That’s why you may be hearing more about films like Princess Mononoke, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Spirited Away. At least you’ll hear about them here.

Do yourself and your family a favor and rent MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO (or just you if you don’t have a family). Here’s why you will want to.

1. The dialog has been translated to English and French on the DVD. The original Japanese soundtrack is also available on the disc. This is so the adults don’t have to read subtitles. Kids usually don’t need the dialog to know what’s happening.
2. For an hour and a half, you can escape the real world. It’ll still be there when you get back.
3. So you can say, “Well, now I’ve seen everything!”
4. Rated 94% on the tomatometer.
5. Loved the catbus. ????
6. Reveals an imagination that transcends the everyday. If you want to expand your (or your child’s) imagination, you need to be shown that there are no limits.
7. How many family movies have you forgotten? How many would you like to forget? This one sticks with you.
8. There is no “why”. The Totoro just “is”.
9. It’s more Zen than most Zen movies. It’s Zenner than “Now and Zen”, and it’s also Zenner than "Zen Came Bronson".
10. I don’t know if it’s Zenner than Winnie the Pooh. You must decide this for yourself, grasshopper.

Enjoy.

THE MINUS MAN

This week's movie.
THE MINUS MAN

Owen Wilson is a familiar face to most movie-goers. You are used to seeing him play a well-spoken, likable jokester character in movies like Zoolander, The Wedding Crashers, The Royal Tenenbaums (which he co-wrote with brother Luke), Shanghai Noon, etc… In THE MINUS MAN, Owen plays the same type of character. He’s well spoken, well mannered, smart, very likable, just like his other movies. Except here, he’s a serial killer.

He is such an unlikely suspect that nobody suspects him. He narrates his own story with such detachment, such matter-of-factness that you can’t wrap your head around it. He hates violence, and so he doesn’t use it. “I've never done anything violent to anybody, just the minimum that was necessary.”, he would say. And he moves about town while those around him are completely oblivious that a monster roams among them. This is a theme similar to the character, Tom Ripley (from The Talented Mr. Ripley which came out around the same time) who is pleasant and affable but is capable of tremendous evil just below the surface.

There is one scene in the film where a hint of his inner expression comes out. He is talking to two imaginary detectives that haunt him (or are they his conscience?), and he purposefully makes a grimace. In that brief instant, you can see who he truly is.

Although he portrays the same likeable character he plays in his other movies, this is NOT a role you’re used to seeing Owen Wilson. You’ll be thinking about this movie for a long time. Why? Here’s why.

1. The next time you see Owen Wilson in a comedy, you’ll be like…., Hey, watch out! He’s the Minus Man!”
2. Some people just NEED killin’.
3. You want to hang out with him – but if he offers you a drink – just say no.
4. Sheryl Crow is in this movie. Yes! THAT Sheryl Crow!
5. Many real serial killers (Ted Bundy, Albert DeSalvo, etc…) were often described as pleasant and likeable. I can’t think of any other actor who could have pulled this role off.
6. Did I mention that some people just need killin’?
7. What makes this film disturbing, is that most of the people in this movie DIDN’T need killin’.
8. Another disturbing aspect of this film is that, even though you know Owen Wilson kills people – you still like him.
9. None of the usual clichés. No final shootout scene, no big chase scene, no blood and guts scene, and no big scene where the detectives solve the case (well, sort of). Just a well-made, well-thought out psychological thriller.
10. Don’t forget to see the follow-up movie The Plus Man. A wandering serial raiser goes around raising dead people back to life. Nobody suspects him because he’s a loud obnoxious jerk.
11. Just kidding about #10 - sheeeesh!
    

THE MINUS MAN - things don't add up.
Enjoy.

MANDERLAY

Lars von Trier movie of the week:
MANDERLAY

MANDERLAY is the follow-up to the film "Dogville" that I recommended last week. Although it doesn't star Nicole Kidman, or James Caan, or any of the other actors from that film (except for the enigmatic Chloë Sevigny - I still haven't figured out her deal yet. Do any of you have a comment on this?). The main character (Grace) is the same, as well as the mob characters. Lars von Trier is currently making a third film in this series, called "Wasington" (not mis-spelled).

After fleeing Dogville at the end of ..... well, Dogville, Grace and the gangsters come across a plantation, while driving through 1930's American South, where slavery is still in practice. Feeling a little sensitive about that, Grace decides to stay and, with a little mob muscle, set things right. Sounds easy, but it's not. Great wrongs are not so easily undone.

As I've said before, Lars von Trier is not subtle when it comes to his message about American society/history/culture - whatever. He pretty much smashes you in the face with it like a brick in east LA . Whether you agree with him or not, it doesn't change the fact that the movie is really good, and you should base your judgment on it's own merits (I don't like or condone violence, yet Kill Bill is one of my favorite movies).

That it is a parable, which you can either apply or not apply to real life, is reinforced by the minimalism of the sets and props. The complete film was shot on a sound stage. The houses and buildings are painted outlines on the floor. To avoid any confusion, labels are painted on the ground in places ("Madam's House", "Garden Path", "Wall", "Tree", etc) There is an occasional table or other prop. You get around this very quickly (if you don't, this film is not going to work for you) and instead, you focus on what's important - like the story, the dialog, the expressions on people's faces, fashion statements, etc. The arc of this film has less to do with plot than it has with the development of a psychological thread. I think that giving too much to look at would have taken away from the existential nature of the film. It is what it is. Don't get me wrong - It does have a plot. Stuff happens!

Note: John Hurt is again the narrator - but he still doesn't appear in the film.

Warning! This movie is not for everyone. It will probably not appeal to the following.

1. People who make a living building sets and props for movies. You just don't want to see this.
   
2. People who are offended by sex in the movies - oh yes, there is some.
   
3. The coalition for the protection of donkeys. We won't mention why.
   
4. Southern rednecks. To be fair, I'll recommend a special video just for you.
   
5. Northern rednecks. Ditto. You'll get your own movie - just not the same as #4.
6. Most Americans. If you're an ultra-patriotic conservative fanatic, and are really easily offended whenever anybody even suggests something remotely anti-American, do yourself and me a favor and don't watch this film. Just watch some old John Wayne movies.
7. Comment on #6: The movie is not anti-American. It just happens to take place in America. Besides, America has made mistakes in its past - who hasn't? Even Latvia has a few decades they'd like to forget.
   
8. People who were really really hoping Nicole Kidman would play in the sequel, and don't take disappointment well.
9. Sherpas. I don't know why, but they hate this movie!
   
10. My apologies to you if you are a sherpa. I had to choose someone to be the object of that joke, and I figured you were far far away.
    

Dogville, MANDERLAY, then next stop - Wasington.
Enjoy

BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS

Period movie of the week:
BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS

This is not a movie of great political significance. It's not a movie of great artistic relevence. It has no redeeming social value that I can discern. But it is fun to watch - a guilty pleasure.

This is like the British version of La Dolce Vita. It's the Masterpiece Theatre version of rich young people, and those that they let into their circle, with no responsiblilty, behaving poorly. They're not mean or anything. They just spend their lives going from one country to another, one party to another, indulging themselves with drink and anything else they can manage to bring some excitment to their emply lives.

But they're not all empty. The main character, Adam, is not rich. He's in love with a young woman,Nina, from that crowd (she's rich - or wants to be rich). For that, he's allowed into their circle. He's afraid to ask her to marry him until he first makes his fortune (I know this sounds like an Oscar Wilde plot. It's not, it's an adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's novel "Vile Bodies".). Whether or not he's successful is for you to discover by watching the movie.

I suppose the moral of the story is similar to that of La Dolce Vita. That is, you watch these people for a while. You have fun with them, you envy their lifestyle. After a while, it gets tiring - boring, and you don't envy them quite so much. The film is funny when it need to be and serious when it wants to be (a "dramady"). Then WWII comes along and changes everything. The before and after contrasts, and reversals of fortune, are facinating to watch.

Here are some reasons to watch BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS.

1. Fenella Woolgar plays the character Agatha, with such conviction that I'm convinced she actually WAS a bright young thing.
   
2. Take Pride and Predudice and combine with The Importance of Being Earnest - then throw in some cocaine. You get the idea.
3. Elwood Blues.
   
4. Evelyn Waugh also wrote Brideshead Revisited, so you get an idea of the feel of this story.
   
5. Emily Mortimer, who plays Nina, who won't marry Adam until he makes his fortune, is the daughter of John Mortimer, who was the screenwriter for Brideshead Revisited. It sounds an awful lot like an Evelyn Waugh conspiracy to me.
   
6. Evelyn, Emily, Earnest, Elwood .......... do you sense an "E" conspiracy here? What's next? The director married to Evelyn Waugh?
7. The director, Stephen Fry is married to Evelyn Waugh.
   
8. I'm just joking about #7. Actually, he's married to Elwood Blues.
   
9. The dialog is probably the funniest thing in the movie. I'm not refering to jokes. The dialog is just "funny". As in "Do you smell something "funny"?"
   
10. I'm just joking about #8. Please don't anyone sue me.

Enjoy.

THE PROPOSITION

Movie of the week:
THE PROPOSITION

A gothic western - set in the Outback of colonial Australia.

THE PROPOSITION is the kind of western that Sergio Leone or Sam Peckinpah might have made. If you've ever seen Once Upon a Time in the West or The Wild Bunch, you understand the kind of gritty, atmospheric, zen quality of the film. This is the kind of film where the landscape itself is a character. It's the kind of unrelentingly bleak, unceasingly violent, and uncompromisingly ......... er, uncompromising. It's the kind of movie that you watch and continually thank your lucky stars that you don't live there and then. You, in fact, live in the here and now, which is relentingly bleak, ceasingly violent, and comprimisingly ......... well, you get the idea.

The premise sets up an interesting dilemma. The local authorities capture a wanted outlaw and his younger brother. They offer him a proposition. If he finds and kills his older (the gang's leader), they won't hang his younger brother. He better hurry, because he only has 6 days. Don't feel too bad for him, these are not nice people. In fact, the authorities are not very nice people. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find a decent person anywhere.

Why then am I recommending this movie? Because there is great beauty in the bleakness of the empty landscape. Because there is poetry in visceral revenge and justice. Because there is order in the filth and squalor. Because Emily Watson is in it.

Of course, I could just be full of it.

It's hard to explain. I liked this film a lot - you might not. If you liked the movies I mentioned above, you might like it. If you like the film, Natural Born Killers, you might like this film. But try it out and judge for yourself.

Enjoy.

DOGVILLE

Theater movie of the week:
DOGVILLE

Lars von Trier make movies that sometimes piss people off. He tries new things. sometimes it works and sometimes not - but they're almost always interesting as hell (he made the terrific Breaking the Waves that I featured here a few weeks ago). Lately, he has been making a series of films about American society. This from a man who has never set foot in the USA (he's deathly afraid of planes). He most definitely has a skewed view of American culture. Despite that, the movies are interesting, well written, and well acted. It's a fascinating thing to look at America through a foreigner's eye.

The story takes place in a small Colorado white bread mountain town (NO! Not South Park!) in the 1930's. Nicole Kidman plays Grace, a young woman who stumbles into town with the mob hot on her trail. She asks the townspeople to hide her. They do - but their help comes with a price.

The style of this movie is interesting. It was filmed entirely on a sound stage with minimal sets and scenery, thus giving it the feel of a stage play. This technique is often employed in stage productions of such plays as “Our Town”. In fact, it has a very “Our Town” kind of feel to it – but darker. Maybe – “Our Sinister Town”, or “Our Town Goes to Hell”, or “Please, For the Love of God, Stay Away From Our Town”.

Lars von Trier paints a very dark portrait of this little mountain town in the 1930’s. He works extensively with light, sound, score and music to obtain and heighten dramatic atmosphere. Nicole Kidman's character has a dark secret that builds to the cataclysmic ending that caused some controversy when this film was released.

Here are some random thoughts concerning DOGVILLE, and the watching of it.

1. BEWARE! This film is not for everybody. I find that lots of people can't get by that whole "play" feel of the movie, or the slow but deliberate pacing. But the payoff at the end is worth it.
2. BEWARE #2! It's a loooonnnngggg movie - almost 3 hours. Make lots of popcorn.
3. It's narrated by John Hurt (remember - he's the one that had the alien pop out of his chest). Unfortunately that doesn't happen here.
4. Alternative title: "Our Town is Really F***ed Now".
5. The name "Dogville" probably has some symbolic significance that I haven't figured out yet. If you figure it out - let me know.
6. I haven't figured out Chloe Sevigny yet. Her career has been a real seesaw over the years. What's with that? Let's not even talk about Nicole Kidman's career!
7. John Hurt only narrates this story. He doesn't actually appear in the film. However, he does actually appear in my other video recommendation for this week: The Proposition.
   
8. Critics claim that this film is anti-American. It's not. At least not as much as many Hollywood movies.
   
9. Did I mention that it was long. It takes a while for the tension to build. Be patient.
   
10. See if you can estimate the budget for scenery and for props. There's a good chance that you have that much in your wallet.
    

Enjoy.

INFERNAL AFFAIRS

Good Chinese crime drama that they later copied into an American crime drama
INFERNAL AFFAIRS

Before you head out to the theater this weekend to see the new Scorsese film, The Departed, check out the original Chinese version of that movie. If you've never experienced any of the Hong Kong new wave of cinema, this is a good place to start.

I shouldn't have to tell you the plot. You can get that from the link above. I will say that there are plenty of surprises, plot twists and good old-fashioned edge of your seat suspense. Hitchcock would be proud. It's an hour and a half (or so) of pure cat and mouse, cops and robbers, spy and counter-spy drama - but with cell phones. The characters are very strong. The two lead actors are perfectly cast. And the story is expertly presented. A perfect gangster film, a la Martin Scorsese. It's no wonder that they chose him to direct the remake.

I haven't seen The Departed yet, but I have a lot of faith in Scorsese's ability to pull it off. And although I've been told differently, my only doubt is in the casting of Leonardo DiCaprio as the mole (I'm not giving anything away here - you are told this up front). I think he's a very fine actor, but after seeing the role in INFERNAL AFFAIRS, I have my doubts.

I know many of you will go see The Departed at the theater. Here's why you should also see (either before you see The Departed at the theater - or after) this week's movie INFERNAL AFFAIRS.

1. It scores slightly higher than "The Departed" on the tomatometer.
   
2. Hong Kong mobsters are "bad-ass".
3. You can say, "Nayh, nayh. I saw the original!"
4. If you liked Donnie Brasco, this is like two Donnie Brasco's - in the same movie.
5. I failed at predicting the ending. There are pleasant twists and surprises that you may not expect.
6. Although Chinese, it's very American in feel (except for the language). It's fairly easy for Americans to like.
   
7. Doesn't need to resort to excessive profanity to intensify the dialog. Of course, I could be wrong. I should say - Excessive profanity doesn't appear in the subtitles. There's some - just not a lot (as in the American remake).
   
8. Also, there isn't as much violence in this version. Some - just not as much. More than anything else, it's a psychological thriller.
9. Although set in Boston, "The Departed" was mostly filmed in New York (you know - where the Yankees come from). However, INFERNAL AFFAIRS is set in Hong Kong, and was actually filmed in Hong Kong. So there.
10. This film might not have Jack Nicholson playing Whitey Bulger, but it does have Tony Leung Chiu Wai. Huh? Huh? In Hong Kong, you don't get much bigger than that.
    

Enjoy.

PRIMER

Low budget but good anyway SciFi movie of the week:
PRIMER

Science fiction doesn't necessarily need a huge budget and huge special effects and huge amounts of CGI and huge name stars. Good sci-fi usually starts with a good idea. A premise that you are asked to accept (e.g. time travel), the movie then carries on to explore the consequences of that idea. This is the kind of thing that fuels imagination. This is exactly the sort of thing that drives the search for new science and technology. Going to the moon was one such premise that was explored in movies early in the last century - it inspired generations of scientists to develop the technology to make that happen.

I wouldn't be surprised if the next big advance happens just as it does in this movie. Two best friends and business partners, fooling with stuff in their garage, discover a process that just might hold the secret to time travel. Paradoxes arise. Such as - they not sure how they came across this breakthrough - so maybe they figured it out and went back in time to lead themselves to the discovery. Where will they get the money to build their full-scale machine. Well, if they go back in time a day or two with the winning lottery numbers - the money wouldn't be an issue. When they rent a storage container to do their experiments and the machine is already there - that's freaky. When they start to have to hide to keep from running into themselves - that's really freaky. When they realize that there may be many versions of themselves around at the same time - that's really super mega freaky.

This is a time travel movie for "tech heads". It doesn't explain every little thing, it assumes that you're smart enough to figure stuff out (it is often referred to as an "intellectual thriller"). Also, no sex or nudity. It was written and directed by one of the two main characters, who used all his friends, and shot much of the film in his own garage. Made for a mere $7000, This film takes a sci-fi staple like time travel and puts a new spin on it. Production quality may be lean but the ideas are rich enough to keep your imagination going for a long while.

What have we learned from PRIMER?

1. Time travel is freaky.
2. I know that time travel isn't possible for real, because I haven't won the lottery yet.
3. If you travel back in time and meet someone named "McFly" ......... run.
4. If you travel back in time and meet yourself, DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT kill you. I'll explain later.
5. Modern technology is wonderful. It's no longer necessary to generate 1.2 Gigawatts of electricity to make the DeLorean go. Today, we can do the same thing with an old refrigerator.
   
6. When you watch it for the second time (and I know many of you who will), see if you can keep track of where the $7000 was spent.
7. I spend a lot of time around high tech engineers. This is exactly how they are. This is why I believe the next big advance will happen this way.
8. You almost expect the "Geek Squad" to come racing around the corner in their little geek squad VW's ............. but they don't.
9. This film exercises a part of your brain that you may not have used in awhile. Maybe that's why it aches for a day or two afterwards. If this happens, only TV until it gets better.
10. If these geeks can make a great movie for $7K, why can't you?

PRIMER - enjoy.

M. HULOT'S HOLIDAY

Comedy of the week:
M. HULOT'S HOLIDAY

There are two ways to make comedy. One way is to rapid fire one liners and sight gags for that "laugh-a-minute" effect. If done right, it can, by sheer momentum, shake your funny bone until it's hard to breathe. Unfortunately, it's not easy to do.

The other way is to plan your jokes and sight gags. Add the elements, one at a time, over time, building comedy suspense, until the big payoff. This is actually harder to do. Why? Because it requires a lot of thought and planning and work. And lots of people don't appreciate it. It's too slow. People get bored too easily if things don't happen quickly.

The comedy in M. HULOT'S HOLIDAY is of the second type. The gags are prepared, set up, then executed. I imagine that they shot many takes as the timing has to be just right. Jacques Tati plays M. Hulot with the physical presence of, say, Charlie Chaplin. He has, in fact, often been compared to Chaplin. The comedy is mostly physical, and very very funny.

There is not plot really. M. Hulot shows up at a beachside resort and havoc ensues. The movie is in French with English subtitles. However, there's an British woman who speaks English, and besides, there's so very little dialog (dialog is unimportant here) that they really aren't necessary.

Here's why I think it's worth watching.

1. Clean and witty. A movie that the whole family can watch and enjoy.
2. Registered a 100% on the tomatometer.
3. Considered by most to be Jacques Tati's best film (doesn't mean much if you don't know who Jacques Tati is).
4. Not "fall down and pee in your pants" kind of funny. More like "can't stop smiling" kind of funny. It sticks with you longer, likes doughnuts on your waist.
   
5. That so many critics recall the film with such great affection, says something about the staying power of this movie. Check the RottenTomatoes site to see what I mean.
   
6. Tell people that you saw M. HULOT'S HOLIDAY last weekend. See what they do. If they just stand there and stare at you, add that it got a 100% on the tomatometer. If they continue to just stare, tell them that it is perhaps Jacques Tati's best film. If the stares just keep coming, you can add that "it's a fine example of the neo-classical French cinema circa mid-century, somewhat reminiscent of the early 20th century silent classic" - then just walk away.
7. It's good for your kids - AND, there are no action figure to buy afterwards.
   
8. It's in black and white, not to be artistic - but because it's old.
   
9. BTW: A lot of people think that movie critics favor old movies over new ones because they "just don't make them like they used to". Not true! We are currently in one of the most creative periods of movie-making history. The old movies that are on the critics lists represent the very best of the older movies (like this one). An awful lot of awful movies were also made back in the day (just like now), but everybody forgets about them very quickly.
10. For more information, the link below will take you Roger Eberts review of M. HULOT'S HOLIDAY.
    

Go on holiday with M. Hulot
and enjoy.

Film critic Roger Ebert's review of Mr. HULOT'S HOLIDAY.

AMERICAN PSYCHO

Movie of the week:
AMERICAN PSYCHO

Wikipedia defines "dark comedy" as

a sub-genre of comedy and satire where topics and events that are usually treated seriously - death, mass murder, sickness, madness, terror, drug abuse, rape, war, etc. – are treated in a humorous or satirical manner.

This week's movie definitely falls into that catagory. Our hero, Patrick Bateman, is a very successful Wall Street stockbroker. He wears the latest fashions. He furnishes his appartment in the latest Sharper Image appointments. He obsesses about his hair, and his complextion, and his wardrobe. He obsesses over the quality of the paper stock on which his business cards are printed. And he kills a lot of people - he obsesses over that too.

It's not certain why he kills a lot of people. Maybe because it's one more thing that he's really good at. Maybe he's under tremendous pressure to conform, and that all of his "freak" needs an outlet. Maybe he should try scupture.

Although this all sounds rather gruesome, it's slick and well written and produced, and it's really rather funny (hence the "dark comedy"). Sort of in the same way Arsenic and Old Lace was funny. In fact there is a whole tradition of dark comedies featuring serial killers (e.g. Sweeney Todd - I am sure that I'm not the ony one who thinks Sweeney Todd is funny).

Christian Bale has gotten a lot of screen time these days because of his role in Batman Begins and his new film The Prestige , but it was his role in AMERICAN PSYCHO, as the charming but kooky serial killer, that turned his career around. Bale is terrific as Patrick Bateman. He plays him as he should - loony and maniacal and self-hating and confused. His performance is the single most powerful element in this film.

Although it sounds ghastly, this is not a slasher movie. You never really see the murders take place - you just see the aftermath. This movie is not about the violence, it's more about irony. At one point in the film, he tries to confess about the murders but nobody believes him. Why? Because in the corporate world where everybody tries to be like everybody else, those people aren't missed. If you have the right sense of humor, this is very funny stuff. This movie takes the "Die Yuppie Scum" attitude to heart.

But *******WARNING********
This movie is NOT for everyone. It's not a "nice" movie. It's creepy and gruesome and ....... a little sick. Therefore, here are some warnings.

1. This movie is violent. Even if the murders aren't particularly graphic. Don't watch it if this bothers you.
   
2. There's kinky sex. Kinky sex and murder - there's a good combination.
   
3. Cruelty to animals. Yes - our hero is not a nice guy.
   
4. Cruelty to the homeless. As if they didn't have it bad enough.
   
5. #1 - 4 pretty much narrows down the field of people who might enjoy this movie.
6. Definitely not for kids (see all of the above).
   
7. Patrick Bateman is not very nice to his girlfriend.
   
8. The people who gave this movie a negative review, did so because they claim it is a watered down version of the book. Have you read the book? It's f******ing sick!
9. It's very very funny satire. You may not want to come to a realization that you are the type of person who would laugh at this kind of film.
   
10. I have to return some videotapes.

AMERICAN PSYCHO - it's all American!
Enjoy.