Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

MamaGravity good back-story, and good acting

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Derry Herrera Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

newjersian This is the most realistic, most truthful movie about American society that I've seen in the last years. We raised a generation of smart, but selfish and manipulative people, who are now the managers of America. They think, like the heroine of Pretty Persuasions, that the world is an orchestra, and they is the maestro. It shows how truth, honesty and decency became outdated qualities here. The movie pictures very vivid portraits of promiscuous, dishonorable youngsters and selfish older perverts who actually represent the top circles of our society. At some points the movie becomes a grotesque, but our life is not much better. It's not a pleasant picture. But that's the truth!

BA_Harrison Pretty Persuasion stars Evan Rachel Wood as Kimberly Joyce, a very intelligent yet extremely cynical 15-year-old psychopath, the product of bad parenting (James Woods as her father is despicable yet hilarious) and an over-privileged lifestyle, who mercilessly manipulates her friends and exploits her burgeoning sex appeal in any way necessary to achieve her ambition to become an actress (whilst simultaneously exacting revenge on those who she believes have wronged her), eventually accusing her English teacher Mr. Anderson of sexual assault (it's hard to feel sorry for him, though: as frustrating as it must be to be surrounded by cock-teasing jail-bait all day long, he does get to go home in the evening and act out his fantasies with his hot-to-trot wife, played by Selma Blair).Darkly humorous, deliciously quirky, deeply satirical, and thoroughly perverted, this is a surprisingly daring tale requiring a certain degree of bravado from all involved, including the viewer. The easily outraged need not bother watching: there is plenty of swearing and lots of sexual activity, particularly from Evan Rachel Wood whose morally vacuous character engages in all manner of deviant behaviour, including taking it up the poop-chute, and the giving and receiving of oral pleasure with both sexes (non-explicit, of course, but fairly shocking all the same given Kimberley's tender age).As a fan of uncompromising cinema, I found Pretty Persuasion both thoroughly engaging and pleasantly unpredictable, the kind of film genuinely deserving of those oft-used labels 'quirky', 'witty', and 'off-beat'; you could do worse than to give this movie a permanent place on your DVD shelf, filed alongside Mean Girls, Cruel Intentions, To Die For, Wild Things and Heathers.7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.

lovecraft231 Kimberly Joyce (Evan Rachel Wood) and her friends are leasing a sexual assault case against their teacher (Ron Livingston.) Meanwhile, reporter Emily Klein (Jane Krakowski) is covering the case, while Kim's dad (James Woods) seems more concerned about how this will effect his business.I love Black Comedy. It's just how I am. Sure, something light is fine, but at the end of the day, I want something gutsy and daring. "Persuasion" may be a Black Comedy, but it's anything but daring. In fact, it's downright calculated and terrible. Every attempt at nailing down issues in America (from race, homophobia, post 9/11 anxiety, etc.) reeks of a filmmaker and a writer congratulating one another on how "gutsy" and "daring" they are. The whole thing just reeks of self-satisfaction, finger waving and "Don't you see!" moments. It commits one of the cardinal sins one mustn't do when doing a Satire-it celebrates itself and becomes uninvolved and smug, while failing to comment on society in a smart way.As I mentioned earlier, the whole thing is also incredibly calculated. Every moment that tries to play off as a Darkly comic misses the mark. Black Comedy takes skill and intelligence, not half-hearted attempts at satirical jabs. Plus, its so obvious in wanting to outrage viewers. There is nothing worse than manufactured outrage, especially in movies. Nothing in this feels genuine or involving-its all just so forced and obvious.As I said, Black Comedy takes talent, as well as a sense of intelligence. Instead, this is a movie that basically screams "we're so brave," that thinks highly of itself, and reeks of self importance. Nothing in this rings true or makes a good point, and it basically becomes the kind of Indie/Art flick that gives those a really bad name. In short: Avoid.

TwoCrude Spoilers within.I have to add my review of this film, as it runs so counter to the vast majority of the posts. I'll digress for a moment.I remember fighting through two of Shakespeare's comedies in 9th grade. A Midsummer Night's Dream and As You Like It. The iambic pentameter most certainly did not jump off the page. I complained to my teacher that the jokes seemed to be lacking, at least to my 13 year old sensibilities. He told me to reread the plays. Later that year, we watched a film of "Midsummer". The dialogue crackled with life and the almost 400 year old work made all of us smile and discuss the keen ear the Bard had. I saw it as the classic it is.Assuredly, this movie is NOT Shakespeare. Nor is it "Heathers", "She's All That", or even "Disturbing Behavior". It's not even "10 Things I Hate About You" (I know, 10 Things is just "Taming of the Shrew" with a good soundtrack). The films I've just listed had fairly well written scripts. Pretty Persuasion is not funny. It's nowhere in the vicinity of funny. It's a few states over, like the distance from Arizona to western Maryland. The directing of "Persuasion" is unremarkable. As are most of the performances. Wood is good in the unredeemable bitch role, I admit. Her performance wasn't worth the movie's screen time, however.When the Palestinian girl killed herself, I shook my head, wishing fervently that I'd walked out of the theater much earlier in this misbegotten film. Maybe the theater manager would have refunded my money.Rent "Cruel Intentions" instead, or any of the other movies that I mentioned.