Alrighty folks, looks like this one is gonna be a winner for the ol Spike Lee Joint company... I am very curious about this film. If you saw it last night, let's hear about it. Right now, I have these here positive reviews and I wanna hear all about this film. Spike Lee is one of the film makers that you can never ever turn away from because he can knock you on your ass faster than Ewing can slam a dunk. One warning though... these are reviews from a VERY early test screening. The film these folks saw.. may or may not be the film as it will be released to theaters. It may have been temp tracked, a little loose with the editing and even the colors could be all screwy. So remember, we should be hearing more on this so reserve your judgement for when you are sitting in the theater watching this flick. So here we go to the first review from Rusty Airwalk...
I'm a big fan of the site, and when I got a pass to my first ever test screening, "Summer Of Sam", I thought "Yeah! I'm gonna be on Ain't It Cool!". I made the moral decision that I would only send a review in if it was positive. Well, Spike Lee's "Summer Of Sam" is absolutely fantastic.
As far as Spike goes, I love "He Got Game" and "Clockers" and respect "Do The Right Thing". I haven't seen any others in full. This film blew me away. Without spoilers, I'll say that the film is about a Bronx neighborhood in the summer that Son Of Sam committed his famous murders. The film is only peripherally about Son Of Sam. It is mainly a drama, but it is also very funny.
The acting is spectacular. John Leguizamo gave such a great performance. I didn't know he had this kind of talent. Adrien Brody was great too. I can't believe Malick cut his part down so much in TRL. I'm glad to say that Mira Sorvino has finally gotten a part worthy of her talent. I was not amused by "Mighty Aphrodite", "The Replacement Killers" or "Mimic". The rest of the cast was great too. Spike is hilarious in his cameo as a TV reporter.
The screenplay is great. Spike's direction is excellent and not overdone, like he sometimes does. The music was perfect. They said some of it was a temp track, but they shouldn't touch any of it. There are two scenes set to Who songs, which I don't think are temp tracks, that are the best of the film. So so strong.
The film is not for everyone. It is pretty graphic with sex and violence, and Spike does not glamorize. Most of it is necessary though, so if you don't mind it, see this film. This could be enjoyable to a mass audience, if they understand what to expect. Speaking of expectations, I should mention that there aren't really any black characters in the film (only very brief roles and Spike's cameo) which I think is a first for Spike.
The film cares about and respects virtually all of its characters, Son Of Sam notwithstanding, and in my humble opinion, is Spike Lee's best film to date.
Rusty Airwalk.
And now for the second look, this one from Billy Boston...
Long time reader, first time writer...
I just came back from a test screening of Spike Lee's new joint, "Summer of Sam" with Mira Sorvino, Adrien Brody, Jennifer Espisito, and John Leguizamo. The rough cut was surprisingly good in many parts. Adrien Brody gives a knock out performance and Jennifer Espisito just feeds off him perfectly.
This is probably the film that will get Lee mainstream awards -- unfortunately because he has a mostly white cast. It's not better than Malcom X, and not nearly as gripping as Do the Right Thing, but it is still an intense piece that takes the serial killer genre and revitalizes it. Lee avoids the Natural Born Killers and Seven shtick, by developing the stories of the people living with the terror that was the Son of Sam. yes there are detectives, and yes we see David Bronkowitz and his victims-- but the main focus is on how people deal with the fear of Sam during the summer of '77.
High Points:
- Adrien Brody- a star, a la Deniro (mohawk and all!), is born
- Music- the Who are used to perfection. Expect Donna Summers and Johnny Rotten to share the soundtrack.
- Editing - There were some highs-- that were mesmerizing.
Low Points:
- Mira Sorvino - her Oscar perch seems so far away in this movie. She is great, it's just her character that lacks depth. Expect something to be added to make her top billing seem right. It's either that or put most of her on the cutting room floor as a cameo. Tough call.
- Cinematography - Lee rips a page from Saving Private Ryan in parts-- shaky-cam and confusing-cam -- unfortunately the shots stand-out as "Hey look, a shaky shot!"
- MPAA fodder - using the Scorsee method of shooting, Lee has put some racy bits in to tantalize (or should I say taunt) the MPAA into a NC-17. It's an R movie-- so expect a Plato's Retreat scene to be signifigantly cut. I hope that's all they make him trim, because the audience went crazy for Mira and John's love scenes. Are boners allowed in R films these days? Lee can always whip out boogie nights if her gets any slack.
- PLEASE if Mr. Lee is listening -- find a replacement for a certain New York reporter/columnist (intials J.B.) who's not so tiny cameo makes the whole film seem ... wrong.
- Along the same vein, cut out Mr. Lee's oft used, rarely realistic cameos. This time it really seems out of place. Lee makes Tarantino look good. That takes effort.
Despite my laundry list, I have complete faith that this work in progress will be a masterpiece. I look forward to seeing it again.
-Billy Boston
