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A Scanner Darkly (2006)
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All reviews for A Scanner Darkly
An Interesting Concept
by
JakeStevens
in
JakeStevens Blog
is neutral about it.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
[What do you think?]
"Hmmm...now that this style of animation has become somewhat passe (I could only think of GTA and car advertisements while watching this film), I think I enjoyed it less than I could've had I seen it when it first came out. The highlights: Robert Downey, Jr. and Woody Harrelson's characters. Even in animated form, they seem to elevate the film to a higher level than it would have achieved without their performances. Not only that, but the storyline is fantastic (I appreciate most of Philip K. Dick's work). The lowlights: Keanu Reeves. One of my least favorite actors of all time...how does he continue to get these fantastic roles? I hate to break it to you folks, but he's one of the worst high-paid actors alive today. Well, there's my two cents. Take it for what it's worth. "
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SXSW 2008: Half-Life
by
SpoutBlog
in
SpoutBlog on spout.com
hasn't rated it.
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"As the first decade of this new millennium ticks towards its conclusion, we find ourselves in the general temporal vicinity of what recent generations have perceived as ‘the future,’ and there’s nary a flying car or replicant in sight. Resultingly, most recent science fiction films - from the relatively successful (A Scanner Darkly) to the utterly ridiculous (Southland Tales) to the annoyingly didactic (Sundance hit Sleep Dealer) - have recast the near future in more immediate and recognizable terms, predicting the throughlines of current socio-economic and political trends to imagine what might be just around the corner. Director Jennifer Phang takes the same approach in Half-Life, but to a more unique end. Her film takes place sometime within the next ten years, after global warming has flooded the world’s coastal regions and parched the land left above sea level. Social disorder is rampant: there are riots in the streets and whispers of endtimes. And amidst all this is the Wu fa ... "
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Half darkly,half lightly?
by
chrismorrell
in
chrismorrell Blog
liked it.
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"Another visual treat, but in a deliberately mannered way... "animatsised" is what i'm going to call it..as if the image has been "drawn over" or coated with blocky pantone colours. Richard Linklater..did this bloke INVENT the word "Slacker"?...and "Waking Life",( which i should check out now).. apparently used the same technique... This is an adaptation of a Philip K Dick novel, (none of which i have read) .. best known for "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" ,which , of course became "Bladerunner" ..this could be set to become another "stoner classic"...(I grew out of all that twenty years ago of course...) Keanu Reeves is perfectly cast , as are Wynona Ryder ( the "old" Natalie Portman),Woody Harrellson and Robert Downey Jr...who's persona cannot be contained by the layer of unreality, that the animation brings...the score is also great , with a quirky guitar theme that reminds me of &qu ... "
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AFI's 10 Top 10: Animation
by
ShaunHuston
in
ShaunHuston filmblog
hasn't rated it.
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"The animation top ten was the first list and it got the evening off to a shaky start. The problems with this list run much deeper than its rather uninspired roster of, almost exclusively, Disney “classics”. Most fundamentally, animation is not a genre; it's a medium. However, it is also the case that in Hollywood, animation verges on being a genre, but the American animation genre of the 20th century is not the same as the genre in the 21st century except insofar as animation is treated as a medium for children's, or “family”, films. In the 20th century, as ably shown by the list, animation was more or less the new medium for musicals. In this millenium, music remains an important part of animated films, but they are less often actual musicals. They are, however, characterized by hyperreal computer animation and dialogue rich with “clever” asides and pop culture references. Does that make a genre? Maybe, but not one that has much in common with t ... "
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Grand Theft Auto: Beirut, Meets ...
by
SpoutBlog
in
SpoutBlog on spout.com
hasn't rated it.
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"Waltz With Bashir, the first official trailer from cinemascopian.com on Vimeo. Jeff Wells points to Cinemascopian, where blogger Yair Rave has posted the Vimeo trailer for Cannes competition entry Waltz With Bashir. This film wasn’t on my tentative must-see schedule (which I’ll be posting here before I get on a plane tomorrow), but I "
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Grand Theft Auto: Beirut, Meets ...
by
Karina
in
Karina on SpoutBlog
hasn't rated it.
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"Waltz With Bashir, the first official trailer from cinemascopian.com on Vimeo. Jeff Wells points to Cinemascopian, where blogger Yair Rave has posted the Vimeo trailer for Cannes competition entry Waltz With Bashir. This film wasn’t on my tentative must-see schedule (which I’ll be posting here before I get on a plane tomorrow), but I "
[More]
Disjointed and disappointing
by
unclefestering
in
unclefestering Blog
loved it.
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"I have to admit that I think Richard Linklater’s work runs hot and cold for me. I loved his early works like Dazed and Confused (1993) and Before Sunrise (1995). I love some of his more experimental work like A Scanner Darkly (2006). But some of his movies just fall completely flat. Sadly, Fast Food Nation is in this last category. I think part of it is that the subject is just too big for a dramatic movie like this. He just didn’t find a way to get a plot in his polemic against the fast food industry. Also some poor casting choices like Greg Kinnear hamper the movie. It almost seems that Linklater agrees, since his character disappears in the second half of the movie. I wanted to like it. The subject of the movie is right up my alley. Unfortunately, the plodding pace and painful exposition just made me keep checking my watch. . "
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A Scanner Darkly is Creative... ...
by
pippin06
in
Reel Thoughts
lost interest.
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"Netflix this week sent me A Scanner Darkly. I only knew about this movie because a conscientious member of the Imagination of Fantasy group (request membership!) put it on a "look forward to" list, but there is not an ounce of true fantasy about it, except of the science fiction type. Truth be told, I had nearly zero expectations going into this film and, therefore, should have been a blank canvas, receptive to what I was going to see. The trouble? This movie turned me off quickly and never got me back.The film is based on a Philip K. Dick novel. Big brother is everywhere, and substance abuse and addiction are rampant. Bob Arctor (Keanu Reeves) is a narcotics informant who wears a special suit to disguise his identity from even his superiors. He is ordered to spy on friends (including Winona Ryder, Robert Downey, Jr, and Woody Harrelson)- and himself - as they are suspected to be suppliers of the hottest new black market drug, Substance D. Yet, Bob is, himself, ad ... "
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A Scanner Darkly
by
The_American_Dream
in
The_American_Dream Blog
is neutral about it.
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"Defiantly not the best. It is worth seeing, and interesting to watch. The rotoscopeing is (as anyone could tell at first glance is cool). But did it add anything? Not really. I think I would be righting the same review if it was not rotoscoped. But it defiantly gives it a very interesting look.What is this movie about? Well it is 100 minutes about being addicted to drugs. There are allot of movies out there like that. The ones that spring to my mind (“Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” and “Blow”) both star Johnny Depp and I liked both more than this. I know people are saying “Oh look at this movie and all its psychological aspects. Think of the depth of the characters and the deep performances.” Look I am sorry to say but it does not take allot of effort for a person to pretend (or not pretend) to be drugged up and say “It’s all in the mind dude. Think about it.” For most of it it is just regular drugged up people, they live in a ... "
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A scanner darkly, leaving more ...
by
snowboarder_jr
in
snowboarder_jr Blog
is neutral about it.
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"Although it was a very well animated film, i think that story could have been portaid a little better. And agree with Chesterfims that the animation disconnects the viewers from the film. "
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