Database Theory Movie Reviews

...then you should definitely check out "The Auteur Theory". It's extremely clever in its writing and execution, examining (and making fun of) the extremely competitive student film world (which is like the elephant world -- sorry, that's a reference to this film...). The acting is very good, for the most part, the musical score is excellent, and the photography is good (especialy the bad student films, some of which are brilliant in their awfulness). My only problem with this movie is that sometimes it's more clever than it is funny.

I thought this was a very well-made little gem when I caught it on Showtime, and I'm glad to be able to pick it up on video. There's an amusing murder mystery angle to it, but the main point of the film is to comically satirize the pretentions of filmmakers, who (in my mind) can always use getting the piss taken out of them. Congratulations to the actors involved in this film, as well as everybody else involved in the making of it. From the looks of it, they had a good time doing it.

I'm gonna say this: This is a good little featurette. It's nice to have this notoriously press-shy band sharing their views on the creative process and how they work together. It's cool. It's definetly better than Metallica's awful DVD included in their latest record. It's definetly interesting to watch the band rehearse, and there are some versions of the songs in here that are actually quite better than the versions on the album Yield ("In Hiding", Wishlist", "All Those Yesterdays").

But still... there's a problem with this. It's way too short. It's about 45 minutes long which is hardly worth the price of the DVD. Plus, with NO chapter stops (what a pain in the neck to have to fast-forward through just to hear the (excellent) rendition of "Lowlight" at the tail end of the video) and NO menus, this feels like you're watching a VHS tape. The sound quality is good, and the visuals are great, but it's just too little content.

This would've been a great add-on to the Yield record. But sadly, this was 1998, and that wasn't a common practice then.

I love Pearl Jam, so it would be pretty hard for me to give this a bad review. I thought it was a great inside look into the band's creative process. There were some glimses of how the band interacts with each other that were great to see! It has some great versions of most of the songs on Yield. My only complaint would be I wish it was a little bit longer! I think it's only like 45 minutes.

This is not just another narcissistic music video catalogue but an attempt to capture creativity and it is done artfully revealing some of the inner churnings of a band that is semi-elusive compared to their popularity, Pearl Jam.

What is surprising to me about ?Single Video Theory? is that it captures the ?everyday-ness? of the band members as they struggle and revel in the creation of their 5th studio album, ?Yield? And in that everyday-ness we are surprised to find that they come off as everyday people, albeit immensely talented rage rockers at that, but we are brought into the ?ordinary? of an ?extraordinary? band.

What's truly great in the interspersed nature of band interviews, improvs you don't hear on the record, versions of the songs in their early stages (also not on the record), and the pure love for music and creativity that comes across. PJ's best drummer to date (and their has been a few) Jack Irons soaks his arm in a vat of ice as he recoups to once again spread rhythmic intricacies across the skins. Eddie and Stone Gossard go back and forth about who does the e-bow in "Wishlist" and meanwhile we as viewers and fans have a window to the inception of songs. It is truly an irreplaceable experience.

This DVD shows the band at their peak. It doesn't feature some of the quirks of most DVD's like individual chapters or extras, but it does reveal the studio essence of the band...like an inside window to the soul for the opening band to the sun ever evolving.

Can't go wrong with this one, load's of fun.

this hokey movie with hollywoods high paid actors, shows ya..they are doing it for the money and nothing else.all the actors and support cast give card board performances in this supposed thriller....! don't waste your time or money

It's not a terrible movie, but you just can't think about it too much. You have to not look at it too critically at all. Just accept the premises and move on. If you can do that, you can enjoy this just fine. Otherwise, you'll hate it. Roberts does a solid here. Gibson does a very good job as a kooky conspiracy therorist.

So the plot is a bit silly. Not to mention far fetched. But that happens in nearly every movie nowadays anyways, that's what movies are for. But you know what this movie has that not too many others do? Suspension of disbelief.
This movie keeps you interested, it keeps you entertained. It plays out nothing like you think it will, and the ending leaves you wanting more. The plot was well written and thought out (like I said, a little far fecthed, but still), and Richard Donner did a fine job directing.
I was also very impressed with the acting in this movie. Naturally both Gibson and Roberts are talented, but a lot of times movies are just sort of tossed off. Not so with this one, to tell you the truth I think this is one of Robert's better movies, I really enjoy her character in this one. All of the acting is solid.
The only reason there aren't five stars is because during a scene in a barnyard Gibson explains everything and then Julia Roberts buys it all right there, a little to typical of women's characters in movies. Her character did break many other stereotypes, being very usefull and NOT a damsel in distress. I was glad to see that.
There aren't any good features on the DVD, but the movie itself is lots of fun. See it. I don't want to spoil the story, but I'll say it was a very well put together film, which I enjoyed immensely.