Paxviri

This movie is bad, but it is aware of how bad it is. At first, it is just hilarious such as when the killer, as a child, stabs his mom's lover in the back with an obviously plastic knife and he clutches his stomach as he falls over dead.

Later, it gets a bit more interesting. The killer gets obsessed with this girl and follows her. He gets imprisoned, she lands a role in a movie after she becomes well known due to her victim status. The killer breaks out and follows her to the film set where the producer wants to make a horror/porn film and the director doesn't. This shows the director's awareness of what goes on in the slasher genre and allows some interesting commentary, but it also shows that Freeway Maniac is self aware and intentionally bad. That badness makes this possibly the funniest movie I have ever seen.

What makes Midnight Cowboy into a successful movie is the way in which Joe Buck becomes bonded to Ratso Rizzo through a series of hardships that affect them both. There really aren't many glimpses of hope in this film for either character, but the hard realities that beset them both give the film its own type of optimism that these men can at least find humanity within each other.

This film features Jon Voight's finest performance and probably Dustin Hoffman's as well. The rest of the cast is made up of unknowns, though it is rounded out by a fine series of character actors, including the cowpoke on the bus at the start of the film. Also, for those interested, Andy Warhol's apprentice Paul Morrissey shows up briefly during the party scene.

If you haven't seen this movie, it is essential. Check it out.

This movie is particularly weak. Near the end there are about five or ten minutes which are mildly intriguing and provide only surface tension, but mostly this is a super lame attempt at crude comedy. The box seems to scream out that it is a Clerks wannabe, and the guy at the store told me that if I liked Clerks then I'd like this, but I don't' think that's true. Sure, this movie focuses around coworkers and their interactions with customers, but it ends there. In Clerks, Dante hates his job, which is what makes it work. In this movie David has a bachelor's degree but is so happy working at a billiard supply store that he doesn't feel the need to use it.

The DVD cover features a quip from Kevin Smith, but don't be fooled. Smith must have been washed over in hero worship. This film makes direct references to Dogma (Rufus, the 13th apostle) and Chasing Amy (fingercuffs) and includes a character named Silent Bobbette who is a female version of Silent Bob (but looks more like Jay trying to dress up like Silent Bob).

This movie doesn't live up to any indie hype it has.