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Inherent Vice (1 Viewer)

Patrick Sun

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Paul Thomas Anderson's latest film, "Inherent Vice", based on the Thomas Pynchon novel about a hippie stoner private investigator "Doc" who gets involved with a large cast and sprawling plotlines while investigating the disappearance of a "businessman" named Wolfmann, and having a "friend" (Carl) in hiding, and former love interests, and a cop nicknamaed "Big Foot", the FBI, lawyers, and underworld elements.


This film was a chore to sit through. I simply didn't really care for any characters in the film, and the overly long takes and meandering plotlines just didn't really pay off well for me, so it's a miss for me.

I give it 2 stars, or a grade of C.


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bujaki

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I disagree, neighbor. My wife and I were thoroughly entertained. And Joaquin Phoenix never ceases to amaze me. My wife's comment was that this film lacked the "gravitas" of other Anderson films. True, but the source lacked it as well.
 

Al.Anderson

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I enjoyed the film. I had no idea where it was going, or even where we wound up; but the ride was entertaining.
 

steve jaros

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I am a BIG, very big PT Anderson fan going back to Hard 8. I've never rated any of his films less than "very good", until now. Sitting through this incoherent Pynchonian mess was quite the chore. Not only was it a deep slice of Hunter S tower of babble, but it lacked the charm and acting and directoral insights that PT's films have always delivered.


I never cared about the characters or the story, the film never grabbed me in any way, and I found the music selections grating. All in all, there was nothing I liked about this film except the short Asian girl Jade and her "p*ssy eating" shtick and the nipples on that one hippie girl.


2 stars out of 10.
 

Steve Christou

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Patrick Sun said:
This film was a chore to sit through. I simply didn't really care for any characters in the film, and the overly long takes and meandering plotlines just didn't really pay off well for me, so it's a miss for me.



.

I think this is one of the few times I've agreed with Mr. Sun. ;) Watching my goldfish would be more exciting than sitting thru this again.
 

Winston T. Boogie

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I can only say I loved this one and I think it will get better with repeated viewings. It is subtle but there is a lot going on and Joaquin's reaction shots are great as is everything we get from Josh Brolin.
 

Winston T. Boogie

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I read the book as well, Travis, but long before the film came out. I will say I liked the book quite a bit and I thought the way Anderson made the film he basically tried to capture bits and pieces of the novel in sort of an episodic manner and give it some sort of "feel" like the book. Maybe people who read the book might find it easier to get into the film and those that have not perhaps would feel the whole thing is too disjointed...at least on first watch. I consider them two different things but I really liked both the novel and film. I do sort of feel that reading the novel would enhance your film experience but I would also say when I watched the film much of it was not really how I envisioned it...except for Brolin as Bigfoot, he was dead on.
 

Hanson

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Inherent Vice was like if Anderson remade Chinatown but Jake Gittes was swapped out for The Dude. I can't say I loved it, but it was compelling enough to watch all the way through. Lots of great performances littered throughout, although some scenes didn't work as well as others. It feels like a shaggy dog story when you're watching it, but every scene does have its purpose in the overall plot. Not one of the best films of the year, but definitely worth watching. Well, for me at least. A LOT of people found it boring and or bordering on incomprehensible (I don't really understand the latter sentiment since I thought the story was pretty straightforward and I never read the book).
 

The Drifter

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Saw Inherent Vice a while back. Great film, and definitely worthy of a re-watch. I did like the early '70's setting & the noir-ish?! storyline. It reminded me somewhat of Robert Altman's '70's neo-noir The Long Goodbye (starring Elliot Gould), re: the '70's CA setting & private eye element...though the two films were completely dissimilar in most other ways.

IV did a great job of capturing the very early '70's re: the 1960's music soundtrack, the counter-culture, the hatred the authorities had for the hippies at the time, etc.

And, the cameos were great! Especially funny was Martin Short as the degenerate dentist - LOL.

I honestly thought K. Waterson was J. Law - for a second at the beginning, with her first scene - then I noticed she was too tall, and didn't have that trademark mole on her neck.
 

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