Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Bob Rutzel Stephen Elliott (Franco) is upset and embarrassed when he reads excerpts from his latest novel when Neil Elliott (Harris) shows up to let everyone know they are being played as he is not dead as his son writes about him. The father and son duel goes on and we in the audience are not sure who to believe about things that happened in Stephen's life as each makes a lot of sense. The beginning of this movie seemed to indicate we were in for another druggie movie and I almost shut this down. Then the TV on screen shows a murder trial courtroom scene and this captures Stephen's interest. Ours too. The father, Hans Reiser (Christian Slater), is accused of killing his wife and claims he did no such thing and that he always acted on the behalf of his kids. Stephen realizes that his father always claimed the same thing. Stephen believes he can prove his father wrong and tell the world the truth and get his writing career back on track. He gets Lana (Amber Heard) to help him get paperwork proving he was all the things his father said was not true. Later we learn that Stephen takes Adderall among other drugs. We knew about the other drugs, but not Adderall until now. Hmmm……I must say this time James Franco has a role that works for him as he invested himself completely. Kudos. As for Ed Harris, well, he does steal all the scenes his in. He is just that good. But wait ….. there is another actor who seems to command scenes, too, and that is Jim Parrack (Who?) who plays Roger, Stephen's boyhood friend. I'm sure we will see more of him in other movies. Keep an eye. Yes, there is a twist later on and I think we all knew what it would be. The question is will this revelation actually help Stephen? Should the Director have spent more time talking about the effects of Adderall or did the movie do this for us? Inquiring minds want to know. (7/10)Violence: Yes. Sex: Yes. . Nudity: Yes. Language: Yes.

tamara-abikhalil When I heard there was a movie about a struggling writer and a murder trial, I couldn't wait to have my pop corn ready and my DVD on. Oh how wrong I was. Being a movie lover, I NEVER stop a movie before it's over, no matter how bad it is. Well I stopped this one around 50 minutes into it (if it was going to get better it would've). Aside from the impersonal and bad improvising-like script, Amber Heard gave such an apathetic performance, through which all I could think about was GET YOUR DAMN HAIR OFF YOUR FACE. There was no attachment whatsoever to any of the characters, the "love story" between Heard and Franco was more of a porn/badly done 50 shades of gray bdsm relationship; I mean half an hour into the movie and more than 5 sex scenes and no interesting storyline yet. The abused/drug addict couple has been such a cliché that we honestly do not need new ones. All in all the story had such a potential that both the actors and the director failed to develop to make it interesting.The abused kid who transfers his hatred onto any case that seems identical to his past is TOO deja vu. My advice: don't bother watching. All you will end up seeing is a cascade of drug use, bad sex scenes and meaningless script (that's ironic for a movie about a writer).

dinterpreting I can usually tell if I'll like a film in the first 5 minutes. This film had me at minute 1. All the actors are excellent. The themes are thought provoking, something I think just about everyone can relate to. We all have different memories of our childhood. One sister or brother remembers it one way, you another, and the parents yet another. I have found that over time I want to strengthen my memories, or at least have them be justified and validated. Perhaps we each begin justifying and validating our memories to fit a certain story. How often do our memories paint us in a better light and someone else in a less admirable position. Can we be unbiased in our memories?

kay_rock The film is about personal perspective and how far we can delude ourselves about who we are and the events which created us. For such a tricky topic, I thought they did an excellent job. The catalysts and personal revelations were believable, and I found the pacing exactly right for this type of film.With each scene, the film both offers us information about the characters and invites us to question what we've been told. Finely nuanced contradictions kept me fascinated, waiting for explanations. When answers were presented, they were satisfying but also left me with the understanding that the story was far more complex than we could ever know, that truth was still and would always be subjective, and that the question of who are the villains and who are the victims could only be answered: "All of us."I don't know that it will appeal to everyone, but if you're a fan of psychological dramas (not thriller, just drama), you will likely enjoy this as much as I did.Beware of the resulting soul-searching you might experience about who are the heroes and monsters in your own life story.