Comments on: Paranoid Park

By: Nick

Sat, 24 May 2008 21:22:32 +0000

Wow i havent seen this movie but would be awsome ass hell!!!

By: Vlad

Tue, 20 May 2008 02:03:20 +0000

I watched the movie and I’d have to say it’s pretty bland. The dead pan performance by the lead didn’t really work in my opinion and as mentioned the story itself was pretty thin. If they were just trying to sell it on mood then I think that approach failed. Maybe it would make a good music video? but compared to something like ‘kids’ or ‘a whole new thing’ it didn’t measure up.

By: 11h: Paranoid Park

11h: Paranoid Park — Sun, 18 May 2008 09:01:02 +0000

[...] ich bei Josh seinen Artikel über den Film Paranoid Park gelesen hatte, hab ich mich gleich aufgemacht und [...]

By: Thomas Moronic

Sun, 18 May 2008 02:13:27 +0000

I adore this film. It’s beautiful. So is the boy. Painfully so. Ouch.

By: Kenny87

Sat, 17 May 2008 14:39:50 +0000

Watched it yesterday on DVD. Good movie, really sensitive.
And I must say; beautifull boys and some nice shirtless shots!

By: Batz

Sat, 17 May 2008 10:38:48 +0000

Its way to easy to bash someone who don’t likes the picture as someone who is too dumb to understand it. But maybe it’s the other way around: Not everything that dresses up as deep and thoughtful really has to be. People often are easily impressed by fancy and somewhat stylish pictures. And the tendency to defend flicks that are plain boring as real great art, just because there are some nice boys to look at, is widespread among a certain peer group. Last Days was a boring and quite overblown movie too, but because there wasnt any cuties in it, a lot less people seemed to care and rush to its defence. And sorry but the teen alienation-bandwagon has be driven to death, there are movies galore who keep telling you how hard it is to be a teen and yadda yadda yadda - and frankly most of them are better than paranoid park. its not as if van sant has anything new to tell here. even the watchable elephant fades in comparrison with the much better Zero Day.
Wild tigers… as it is mentioned, is a flawed movie, but its also a very watchworthy one. Its way from perfect, but is has a certain creepiness and keeps you involved. you really do give a shit about the protagonist. in paranoid park there is nothing that suggest that the boy has anything besides his looks, that makes him attetionworthy, intelligent or even remotely interesting. he’s a bore and not a very likeable one. i’d compare the movie to the graffiti artist, a similar boring flick which also focuses on quite stupid people that cant articulate properly and whose stories I couldnt care less for. I’ll rather watch Whole New thing or Tarnation for the 10th time before enduring these flicks again…

By: CycyLolo

Sat, 17 May 2008 09:23:28 +0000

We have some friends who did not like Paranoid Park at all. We can understand that some people like Batz find this movie boring. It is not an easy movie to get into. You may feel the same for a movie like Wild Tigers I Have Known… There are both real works of art but you may be not sensible to it.

By: Tabbs

Sat, 17 May 2008 07:56:20 +0000

@ kollio:
“I’d say, in this case the art is in the eye of the beholder.”

I agree, but this basic truth goes both ways. Just because someone doesn’t like a film, an actor, a plot line or whatever, that doesn’t mean he didn’t put effort into viewing or couldn’t grasp the so-called depth of the movie. Your reaction to anonther opinion about the flick (and that’s all it is in the end - another opinion) was to be condescending, which was uncalled for.

Art is a tricky thing and not everyone will relate to or appreciate the same things.

By: kollio

Sat, 17 May 2008 02:32:13 +0000

hey batz:
I for one tink this flic is good. Not only is it a atmospheric visual maserpiece, but it also has one of the best soundtracks of any film I’ve seen in the last few years. It’s not a “crappy movie” because you can’t appreciate visual cinematography, it’s not only just about beatuful boys, it also captured a feeling of alienation, perhaps teenage disaffection of the adult world- visualised by the blurry, out of focus or frame parents of the main actor. The boy is not a bad actor, but a ingenious representation of that uncertain age.
Or you can read it as an analogy to a gay initiation, like Amy Taubin did.
It’s not “boring ass”, it’s a piece of art that’s probably only enjoyable with a more sophisticated approach on cinema than the usual “Here I am now, entertain me!”
“Oh no, there’s no linear plotline to catch my attention. Damn, I don’t understand it on the first viewing, so I guess it sucks!”
You have got to put some effort into your viewing, or you will be endlessly disappointed of any film that’s even a tiny bit demanding
If you have got no knowledge, no standpoint, no point of view as a somehow educated viewer, then no film can reach you. I’d say, in this case the art is in the eye of the beholder.

By: Batz

Sat, 17 May 2008 02:28:08 +0000

Transformers shows 7.5 at the imdb - that should tell you something, about the credibility of user-votes ;)

“Van Sant’s … adoration of uncommunicative kids with limited vocabularies and awesome hair is beginning to wear a little thin.”

“Regarding Paranoid Park as an elongated short rather than a feature helps a bit, because it’s a miniature in spirit — a small-format portrait of psychic malaise that just happens to last 84 minutes.”

By: Andrew

Fri, 16 May 2008 23:29:45 +0000

I think I want to watch this now! It’s garnered a 7.2 on IMDB, so it can’t be that bad.

By: mat

Fri, 16 May 2008 23:06:04 +0000

looks nice to me!

By: Batz

Fri, 16 May 2008 16:58:57 +0000

Not everything that wants to be regarded as artsy stuff has real substance. Even as someone who liked Drugstore Cowboy, My own private Idaho and Elephant, I have to say: Paranoid Park is one boring ass flick, who tries to cover its paper thin plot with overlong slowmos of depressed skater boys. I may understand van Sants urge to hang around gorgeous skater guy, but please do some fetish porn instead of crappy movies like these. There isnt even enough going on to make up for a short movie, let alone a feature film. And the boy cant act. Some US-Critic wrote: the voice overs suggest that reading aloud is not something that comes naturaly to the amateur actor, and thats right on the mark. If you need a excuse to gaze at underage teen boys watch Elephant, at least it offers some insights and idead. Paranoid Park is just one overblown bore, where you cant get rid of the feeling that van Sant had more fun shooting, than the audience has watching…

By: CycyLolo

Fri, 16 May 2008 16:26:52 +0000

Gus Vant Sant’s new masterpiece. One of the best movies ever made about teenage boys.