Been there, done that. < |:)~
Posted on 09/06/2004 9:40:40 AM PDT by OESY
From the man who brought us "The Passion of the Christ" comes "Paparazzi," a cheeseball revenge thriller with an alarmingly twisted moral.
According to this Mel Gibson-produced late-summer offering, released without screening for critics, it's OK to murder celebrity photographers because they're amoral bottom-feeders.
Forget about turning the other cheek; these unshaven, bourbon-swigging "parasites" — who, in the view of "Paparazzi," all look and behave like dirty buccaneers — apparently deserve to die.
The "Death Wish" premise is almost as extreme as the acting.
Squandering a chance to thoughtfully examine the repercussions of society's obsession with Hollywood lives, first-time feature director Paul Abascal — a former hairstylist who launched his directing career shooting behind-the-scenes footage on Gibson's "Lethal Weapon" films — serves up a glorified TV cop show episode.
Dennis Farina appears doing his best Columbo impression as the detective assigned to find out why all the shutterbugs keep turning up dead.
Cole Hauser ("2 Fast 2 Furious") plays the "hero" of the piece, newly minted action star Bo Laramie, who has become hot tabloid fodder on the strength of a film called "Adrenaline Force."
Laramie snaps when a rabid pack of snappers led by the criminally unscrupulous Rex (Tom Sizemore, chewing scenery like he hasn't eaten for a month) causes a car accident that injures Laramie's wife (Robin Tunney) and 6-year-old son.
"Paparazzi," a throwback to the kind of '80s action flicks that had titles like "Adrenaline Force," is enlivened by a raft of celebrity cameos, including a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance by Gibson.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Freep this movie: "Paparazzi." See the paparazzi scumbags for what they are. Understand how Jackie Kennedy might have felt when she was harassed by Ron Galella, and what was undoubtedly a contributing factor to Princess Di's death in a Paris tunnel, if not the proximate cause. This feel-good movie is more suspenseful than Death Wish, yet has garnered unfavorable reviews.
Consider the media backlash against Mel Gibson for producing and directing "The Passion of the Christ." Gibson should be commended for tackling a current societal problem while others shirked or ignored media invasion of privacy issues or worse, fed them.
Consider also that the most scathing reviews came from the very same tabloids that feed the paparazzi beasts with insatiable demands for candid celebrity photos. Those same executive and managing editors seem unaware that their circulation growth, at least in the case of the New York Post, is more attributable to the collapse of the New York Times' credibility and to the publication of conservative editorials, op-ed pieces, and letters to the editor in an era where conservatism is waxing, and the costly and unworkable programs of liberalism are waning.
The Post is to print journalism as Fox is to cable, not surprisingly since both are owned by News Corp. and both are showing signs of fear and anxiety stemming from criticism from the monopoly broadcast networks and their liberal supporters. The influence of Kerry-supporter Peter Chernin, News Corp. president and COO, as well as the more liberal James and Lachlan Murdoch should not be discounted. The Post and Fox are still more fair and balanced than their competitors but appear to be responding by increasingly favoring anti-conservative commentary.
At the Post's film department, this means the top four-star ratings are awarded to films according to their political value; the top movies are those that call attention to socially redeeming themes where the aim is to promote and intensify public guilt for racial discrimination and a host of other liberal issues. It would seem that this department is a holdover from the Posts' liberal past before it turned conservative in the editorial arena. Please recall that the Post awarded three stars to the Michael Moore's mockumentary "Fahrenheit 9/11." Conversely, films with conservative themes are often downgraded.
"Paparazzi" just opened in a small number of theaters nationally. Audiences have been respectable. This is a good movie to promote by word of mouth. It deserves a better box office showing than its liberal critics want to allow it.
How do you FReep a Movie ?
Translation: Go see it. Bring friends. Enjoy the thrill.
Media scum systematically turning up dead at the hands of a sociopath?
Sounds like a great movie to me. I'm sure I'll watch it, and another brilliant move by Gibson by targeting a group (the media) that will complain about this film and call it hateful and etc. etc. Nothing like free publicity!
That I will,it looks good.
YOu stand outside and shout "Get out of Cheney's theatre!" :)
I never tire of "Nevada Smith" with Steve McQueen.
I was already planning to see it.
I think it's hilarious that Mel has produced a "poke in the eye" film aimed at the media.
After seeing countless news reports with reporters and photographers sticking microphones and cameras in the faces of parents who have just lost a child, staking out their homes during their time of grief waiting for a coveted "soundbite", and then whining and crying when the tables are turned on them- this sounds like a hell of a fun movie. I'm sure I'll go and get many laughs out of it.
Been there, done that. < |:)~
dress up like uma thurman in "kill bill" and take your samurai sword...
heh heh...
A *must see* ping.
Go Mel! :-)
I saw it Saturday and liked it very much. Incidentally, I think Alec Baldwin plays one of the dirtballs who's later dispatched by the hero with a baseball bat.
I saw the preview and thought it looked pretty good. I'm looking forward to seeing it.
Honestly, I can't stand paparazzi. Obviously, it's not okay to kill them but this is just a typical action Dirty Harry movie.
But paparazzi are real, and they're scum. I can't imagine following people, chasing them, trying to steal every moment of their private time, just so you can get a (hopefully bad) picture. It is a profession that I just cannot understand.
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