To Die For
|
List Price: Our Price: $5.76 You Save: $9.18 (61%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $3.75 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of To Die For
Movie Review: Sublime and Vastly Underrated
Summary: 5 Stars
The fact that To Do For is not more highly regarded is a mystery to me. It only garners a 6.7 on IMDB.com. All of the ingredients were there, an incredible and gifted director in Gus Van Sant, what I consider to be Nicole Kidman's finest performance, a wicked and not just satirical script and an excellent supporting cast.Of particular note is Joaquin Phoenix's portrayal of Jimmy Emmet, the typical high school metal head loser who becomes obsessed with Kidman's evil character, Suzanne Stone-Maretto. Phoenix is a gifted actor with a wide pallet to choose from. Contrast this performance with the job he does of playing The Abbe in Quills. It makes his role in To Die For all the stronger. Allison Folland is also a standout in her debut performance as Jimmy's pathetic friend Lydia Mertz. Together with Casey Affleck as Russel, the three unwittingly become assassins for the callous Mrs. Stone. The story is built up very effectively, and as a viewer there is never any doubt that these three "dorky" kids will pull the murder off.
Also magnificent and lending strong supporting roles are Dan Hedaya and Illeana Douglas who play Larry Maretto's father and sister, respectively. The part of Larry is played with near perfect un-bravado by Matt Dillon, who does so without his usual pomp and bluster. Basically, Larry is the perfect everyman trying to do right by his new wife and family [....]Hedaya is perfectly cast and uses his natural menacing qualities quite well. My favorite though, is Janice Moretto, Larry's sister played by Douglas, who is the only character who sees Suzanne for what she really is. The dancing on the grave ice-skating bit at the end is also really well done. Douglas doesn't fall once.
Hats off to Van Sant for a creating a satirical masterpiece that contains enough side elements to hold the viewers attention through more than one viewing. For instance, what exactly is Suzanne's relationship with her father? Also, the fact that Janice is most likely gay and this might be why she understands Suzanne so well. Cudos as well to the director for the style he employed, blurring the line between film and documentary. Some people have argued to me that To Die For contains too many cuts and flashbacks and consequently the viewer has a difficult time following the action. I do not find that to be true. Quite the opposite, I find the film to be compelling. Even after at least five viewings, To Die For firmly holds my attention throughout.
Movie Review: MY JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL FANTASY GONE WRONG!
Summary: 5 Stars
Ahh, wouldn't it have been nice to have been seduced by a super sexy, mature woman of sexual prime at the age of fifteen? I always thought so. I had goals and aspirations too you know.
Yes, those nights when my buddy and I would wait outside of Helens bar for the 1:00am closing call to ask older women if they could read us some bedtime stories. There were mixed results.
Needless to say, some lucky kids get all the fun, it seems. Most recently I've read one about the thirty year old teacher from Florida who had sex with some lucky young kid in the back of a stolen car. WOW! Talk about kicks! She's in a sh*t load of hot water now, and she doesn't even CARE! She plans on writing a book about it! Sweet lord knows I'm waiting for that bit. They say the kid is traumatized. Traumatized? I don't know man, I seen that chick, she was hot to trot let me tell ya. His friends are probably traumatized with jealousy. I know I am.
Anyway, this ain't nothing new. I'm sure this stuff happens all the time. There are some freaky chicks out there, man. Remember that other chick that got tossed in jail because of what she did with a teenage boy. Only to get let out after five years to do it again! Get tossed back in, and then come out to marry that kid. Its a modern day fairy tale! What a beautiful story.
Then you have this story. TO DIE FOR, the 1995 movie starring Nicole Kidman and Jou&%%&%& Phoenix. This one takes the cake for a sick twisted chick. Though she has a drop dead smile, and a body that would leave you stripped to bones. Her seduction was beyond kicks. This chick was pure evil. She really did mess up that kid. This WAS a true story that happened some time ago in a small New Hampshire town, where a very sexy older woman seduced this kid to the point of killing her husband. Oh man. That's not part of the fantasy.
Oh well, its a great movie. Any teenager who likes to wait for much older women to read them bedtime stories would be wise to check this movie out as some food for thought. I always kept Nicole Kidmans To die For character in the back of mind. You never know when an evil woman can strike a manipulative blow. Hell, man, if you ain't careful... she might have you wrapped around her little thumb. WATCH OUT!
Five stars for a very important, if not completely enjoyable movie. Definately worth a look.
Movie Review: To Die For
Summary: 5 Stars
"To Die For" features the same character we've seen in hundreds of movies before. A character that is deceitful, stupid, gullible, at times smart, and has delusions of grandeur. The difference between all those movies and this one, is that this movie is told like a documentary, is darkly humorous, and is one of Gus Van Sant's best films. The movie stars Oscar Winner Nicole Kidman (Best Actress, The Hours) as Suzanne Stone, who has apparently done something really bad. Through several interviews (which cut in with the actual events) we slowly learn what took place. Suzanne gets married to Larry Marretto (Matt Dillon) and gets a job at a Weather Station. Suzanne has one dream, one aspiration...To be on a big network television show. And she'll stop at nothing to get what she wants. Anyway, while filming a documentary called "Teens Speak Out" she meets Jimmy (Joaquin Phoenix), Russel (Casey Affleck), and Lydia (Alison Folland) who are all used as ploys by Suzanne to get what she wants. She seduces both Jimmy and Lydia (Jimmy with sex and Lydia with friendship) and when you have two idiotic un-social people being seduced by a beautiful blonde newsreporter...You can pretty much see what's going to happen for the rest of the movie. I have to admit, this movie is smart for a film in it's respective genre. It uses every cliche invented, you can see what's going to happen a mile away. But Kidman, Dillon, Phoenix, and Affleck are so charming(ly evil, at times) that I couldn't help respecting this movie. I have to say the only fault of the film is that the cover is just as misleading as Suzanne is. Looking at the cover you'd expect a movie chock full of Nicole Kidman naked. Truth is, there isn't any nudity in this film at all. There's sexual situations and a couple scenes that flash by for roughly 2 seconds and are shot from above, but that's as far as it goes. Anyway, what I'm getting at is...Gus Van Sant fans should be pleased.
GRADE: A
Movie Review: Underrated classic
Summary: 5 Stars
Suzanne Maretto (Nicole Kidman) wants to be a star. For her whole life she has focussed on her goal of becoming the next Barbara Walters. The problem is that she's not all that bright and not all that talented, not that she is aware of this. When she perceived that her husband (Matt Dillon) is standing between her and fame, she enlists the help of three teenagers (including Joaquin Phoenix and Casey Affleck), whom she is working with on a documentary, to murder her husband for her.
"To Die For" is a highly underrated movie, based on a novel that you probably didn't know existed (although, it is also excellent - the book is by Joyce Maynard). When this film was first released, most of the reviews that appeared in the newspapers were less than glowing, which put me off this film for a number of years, and when I finally did see it, I was astounded by just how good it is. I suspect the reason why many of the critics didn't like this film was because it is a black comedy and as with most black comedies, if the humour isn't to your taste, it can end up falling flat or not being understood at all. The film is also made in a documentary format, which I can imagine might also annoy some viewers (generally, I don't like this format, but in this case I didn't mind it. It doesn't get in the way of the storytelling). However, I thought this film was great.
"To Die For" is a cross between a well-budgeted studio film and a high quality indie. Clearly this film had a reasonable budget and it stars Nicole Kidman (in the best role of her career), but the director is Gus Van Sant and the cast is a who's-who of indie regulars (Affleck, Phoenix, Matt Dillon, Ileana Douglas, etc). The result is a combination of the best aspects of each of these types of film. Add to that a script by Buck Henry (who co-wrote "Get Smart"), and as far as I'm concerned, you have a classic.
Movie Review: Narcissism Meets Blind Ambition...
Summary: 5 Stars
Lately I have been revisiting old favorite films, perhaps to see if they are as good as I recall. And this one, To Die For, with Nicole Kidman as Suzanne Stone, the self-obsessed ambitious TV personality - actually, a "weather person" for a cable station - whose blind drive leads her down a very dark path, is every bit as good as I remember.
Based on the novel by Joyce Maynard - who, incidentally, plays the lawyer in the film - we learn of a beautiful young woman's quest for a life in front of the television camera; despite her limitations, she imagines herself as the next Barbara Walters.
When she marries a young Italian-American musician, (played by Matt Dillon), whose parents own a restaurant, and who sets aside his dreams to become someone she envisions as an appropriate husband - an insurance salesman - he hopes there will be trade-offs for him. He constantly brings up his desire for a family. But his wife only cares about her own career, her little dog, and the condo they own.
When Suzanne embarks on a "project" with teenagers at the local school - New Hope, New Hampshire - she believes that the documentary will propel her into big-time journalism. The teenagers, however, with their serious limitations, soon are manipulated into the midst of a nefarious plot. And nothing will ever be the same again.
The teen boys - played by Joaquin Phoenix and Casey Affleck - are convincingly cast as the mentally and emotionally challenged pawns.
Gus Van Sant directs, with his usual brilliance; the film was just as haunting this time around and well worth a visit (or revisit).
By Laurel-Rain Snow