LamontSmith

I knew very little about Hector Lavoe or his music before seeing this film and I must admit that apart from knowing a few of his songs, I still can't say that I know the man or why he was the way he was. The film almost glorified his tragic lifestyle and choices but gave us no real insight into what motivated the man.

I take the film 'Ray' as an example. We go deep into Ray's childhood to understand why he does what he does, positive and negative, and why he thinks and feels the way he does. We never see Hector as a child, I don't know what happened to his mother and never get a sense of the relationship between him and his father.

Honestly, and sadly, this film doesn't make me see Hector Lavoe the man or the even Hector Lavoe, the musical genius. From the first sequence, this film was about a drug addict who also sang who was named Hector Lavoe.

I think he deserved more than that.

With that said, the music is very well done and there were flashes of brilliance but there was too much quick cutting and jumping away from dramatic moments. It's fine if you wanted the music sequences to be fast paced but even dramatic moments were rushed along and stylized to the point of taking me out of the film.

Good film but poorly directed and not a classic which, like I said, Hector deserved better. He deserved the full 'Ray' treatment of this being a shining testament to his genius and not a movie about Puchi's husband.

Pi was very deep. With twists and turns and a very interesting message about spirituality, organized religion and the inner workings of the human mind. Shot intensely and with the flair of an artist, it was great.

Requiem For A Dream descended us into the pure nightmare of addiction in all its forms. Drugs, love, attention. Aronofsky's vision highlighted many things wrong with our instant gratification society but with a visually innovative style that was unprecedented. His use of editing and visual/story suspense are unmatched. I remember sitting in the theater when this film ended and never before seeing an entire audience not move. Stunned and what they had just witnessed then rise up, one by one disoriented and moved, exiting the screening room. That is the power only a true artist wields.

Now, with the Fountain, Aronofsky's progression as a filmmaker and as an artist have taken the next evolutionary step. This film has too many layers to fully digest with simply one viewing. From the first few frames down to the last few, you're imagination and intellect are engaged and running at top speed to keep up with his constant in-references, visual clues and allegory. This work is simply a masterpiece. A true film fan's thanksgiving feast fusing the concepts of pure love, spiritual folklore, life & death, science and suspense and the very nature of creation. It will hopefully take me another two screenings to fully comprehend everything I saw last night but I haven't looked forward to re-watching a film as much since The Sixth Sense and The Usual Suspects.

His use of color, editing, audio cues and dynamic performances elevate this tale from the story of one man's undying love for his dying wife into a metaphysical, time-bending metaphor for life itself. Most people won't get this film but I think that's a good thing. It doesn't pander and it doesn't give up one inch of artistic integrity for mass appeal.

It is a true work of art.

Just came from a showing on Houston St. in NYC last night and of course, like everyone else, I was there to see some 'real sex' and internally giggle a little. That lasted all of two minutes as Shortbus established itself as an artistic treatise not on sexuality but the foundations of relationships and the foundation of inner-relationship.

What it had to say about loving ourselves was brilliant and the message that being happy in a relationship has almost nothing to do with the other person. It's all about our own happiness first and foremost. No one can MAKE us happy. That's a gift we have to give ourselves.

After truly getting into these people lives and their heads, you see that the sex is nothing. It's just skin on skin contact that lasts a bunch of minutes. The complex thing is the human interaction that they share, and don't share, for the other 98% of their time together and it was awesome.

Gifted performances, inspired direction, incredible special effects and a sublime storyline makes this sophisticated, adult yarn one of the year's best.

If you're mature enough to handle it, I wholeheartedly recommend it. I believe it is an honest, defiant masterpiece that understands complex human emotion better than any film in recent memory.