Exotica
|
Our Price: $39.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $3.99 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of Exotica
Movie Review: A GOOD SLEEP AID
Summary: 3 Stars
Yes I got it, and yes it is a somewhat interesting and somewhat a complex story. The main problem I had with it was how damn slow the whole story was. Even though I mainly purchased it because I was interested in seeing Mia Kirshner in her early work I just couldn't stay too enthused about this slow going movie. I found myself having to go back to find the last chapter I was in before I fell asleep.....twice. I guess if you're the type of viewer who really enjoys looking for the deeper meaning in movies, then you'll most likely enjoy this movie. On the other hand if you're a male, and you have a preconcieved ideal that a movie titled "Exotica" should actually be somewhat exoctic, then you'll probably be disappointed. I mean if you have someone like Mia playing the part of a stripper/lap dancer, and you still get seem like it's moving way too slow, then it really doesn't seem to hold much of an exotic appealMovie Review: I almost didn't watch it
Summary: 3 Stars
Like others who've written here, I rented it - drawn in by the intriguing review - but the cover made me think I was getting less than I had hoped for.It started off well enough that I realized there was something real here - more than a thin plot to show off some beautiful women.
I've watched it twice now, hoping that w/ the insight from the first viewing I'd have a better understanding of the ending - unfortunately it's so cryptic I still don't understand it.
The shots are beautiful, women are truly erotic, and it's interesting in a strange way. As much as I enjoy a good twisting and original plot, I unfortunately just didn't get this picture.
Movie Review: Waste of time
Summary: 2 Stars
I watched this on the Independent Film Channel, drawn in by the premise of the story, only to be really disappointed. Several ridiculous plot lines converge at the strip club Exotica, and the only memorable moments in the film happen here, and I don't say that because of the strippers. The sound through most of the movie is awful, very hushed, forcing you to turn the volume up so loud that when the boom mike actually does pick up some of the characters' lines, you're sure to go deaf. Instead of coming across as an artsy film, it comes across as a jumbled mix of images and mumbled lines. The only reason I gave this thing 2 stars was because of Elias Koteas, who plays the DJ and jealous boyfriend. If it weren't for his excellent job of being a believeable creep, one star would've been all I'd given this. Skip this one.Movie Review: Laughably Silly - Watch it as a Comedy
Summary: 2 Stars
Body Double was silly, but at least it delivered on some visceral thrills. This movie is one of the most wildly overrated films I've seen. Despite the implied advertising, there is not a single sexy scene in the entire movie. All of the characters are laughably moronic, filled with self-pity and timid perversity. The plot plods along in a coy, self-important way that may drive your thumb to crush the fast forward button. The ending purports to resolve a great mystery, but it delivers only a whimpering anti-climax. If you're looking for a sexy drama, try Dangerous Liaisons, or even Hot Spot or Swann in Love.Movie Review: Anybody for frisbee?
Summary: 1 Stars
That's right, playing games is all this DVD is good for if you were stupid enough (like this reviewer) to have actually shelled out the five dead presidents for this sad, sad excuse for a film. As a devoted fan of 'The Sweet Hereafter,' I wanted to explore a little more of Atom Egoyan's hyper-cerebral world, but after sleeping my way through this insomniac's classic, I've had enough of Atom-land.
At first glance, 'Exotica' looks promising. You've got the Exotica strip-club where the film's 'action' (if I dare use such a word) takes place. A cavalcade of overly-contrived characters descend into Exotica's cheesy interior and supposedly overwhelm us with the interconnectedness of their meaningless lives. That was Egoyan's goal I surmise, but one which eluded him by a very long shot. The 'story' focuses around a Canadian audit agent played by very unconvincing Bruce Greenwood who spends his nights enraptured by stripper Mia Kirshner's school-girl personna. We, the viewers, are supposed to 'feel' the sheer depth of their relationship. Somehow they know each other! Geewhiz! Well, to make things more complicated, Mia's character is actually having an affair---we actually see them attempt a kiss!--with the lover/girlfriend? of the club's DJ (Elias Koteas), who in turn is the stripper's-ex and still harbors some odd feelings towards her. Everything clear? And then if that isn't enough, which it surely isn't, since according to Enlightened Egoyan, our banal existences are always more deeply intertwined than we think, Mr. Auditor Man begins checking the books of a gay, pet-shop owner (Don McKellar) who--hold on now--entices strange men to the opera with free tickets and then gives them the ticket price after the show. What!!?? And to cap it all off and keep you riveted with suspense, we learn that Mr. Auditor Man has been paying a close friend's daughter (Sarah Polley) to babysit his own daughter who, we later learn, is no longer among the living. Get it?
Well, I didn't and I venture to guess many others won't either
as such story is as far from reality as Atom Egoyan's over-wrought musings on the nature of human relationships. Nobody's life---let's repeat that again---nobody's life is as convoluted as those witnessed here. But even if we could suspend our disbelief for a mere micro-second or two, Exotica would still reek. Pourqoui? The bottom line is that you just don't CARE about what happens to these bozos. In fact, I found myself wishing for some horrible tragedy to shatter Exotica's all-encompassing lifelessness, to make me feel something for these dolts. Even a bit of Hollywood gitsch might have saved this ship. A runaway bus through the front doors, school-girl stripper as suicide-bomber...anything to jump-start this dead battery. The characters here are neither compelling nor even alive. They move around with the numbness of spirits who've lost their return ticket to Hades. The acting here is truly shameful. From Kirshner's amatuer whining, to Koteas' monotonous repetitions, everybody acts as if they're on heavy sedatives. Even the talented Polley puts in a truly shoddy performance. Not one for words, Polley could pull off the Ms. Cryptic act in Sweethereafter, but here her constantly lame questionning of Greenwood, 'So why's that? So how come?' make you want to jump through the screen and slap her silly. Greenwood is also a fine actor, but he was rudely miscast here. I couldn't help laughing when he stares at the camera, no doubt wondering how the hell he ended up on this set. For all their pathos-less performances, these Canucks deserve the golden badge of Maple Leaf Mediocrity and if I were Egoyan, I would burn every infamous copy of Neurotica I could get my hands on.
So in conclusion, who's this for. Precious few. Perhaps philosophy majors and Mensa candidates will get their rocks off tying up all the loose ends, but if you want to be moved or even just entertained, stay far away from this film. Those blessed enough to have a life, go out and live it rather than waste precious seconds on this migraine-inducer.