| Kalifornia | | Cast : | Brad Pitt, Juliette Lewis | | Director : | Dominic Sena | | Studio : | Mgm/Ua Studios | | Format : | Color, Widescreen, Closed-captioned | | Released Date : | September 03, 1993 | | DVD Released Date : | October 07, 2003 | | Language : | Unknown (Dubbed), English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | March 11, 2005 | | Summary | Brad Pitt's trailer trash stunner | Content
 | Two words; Brad Pitt. Two more words: EARL LEE....what Mr. Pitt creates out of this damaged, deranged, dented, debauched soul is quite the work of art....every low rent..(what rent ?) detail is gloriously etched to perfection. Starting with a perfectly chiseled and toned physique curved into a lazy slouch, the speech pattern and accent, wonderfully foul table manners mixed in with assorted grunts , snorts, and twitches makes for a wildly amusing caricature. Yes there's the sudden, shocking violence, there's also the perfectly cast juliet lewis ...doing...well juliet lewis...but quite touchingly, In dramatic contrast are the city slickers, particularly the bitchy, cynical girl friend, are far less interestingly portrayed cliche's.
The photography and the sound track are equally poetic and moves very well with the road trip set up. But in the end, watch it for Pitt....he's worth every last greasy drop. |
| Rating | | | Date | December 17, 2004 | | Summary | "Cold weather makes people stupid, and that's a fact." | Content
| I first saw Kalifornia (1993) back in the mid 90's, and I seem to recall enjoying it much more than I did when I watched it again last night. Has ten years difference changed my perception to the point where I don't like the things I used to? Maybe...but I think what happened here is the novelty of the film wore off a bit...don't get me wrong, I still think it's pretty good, but the flaws seem to stand out a lot more than they used to...directed by Dominic Sena (Gone in Sixty Seconds, Swordfish), the film stars a post Thelma and Louise/pre Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles Brad Pitt, a pre X-Files David Duchovny, Juliette Lewis (What's Eating Gilbert Grape), and Michelle Forbes (Escape from L.A.).
Duchovny plays Brian Kessler, a graduate student who, based on a well received magazine article, scores a book deal, and now must actually produce said book (about serial killers) as he's already spent the advance money, but is finding it difficult to get started, as his knowledge and experience is severely limited. He gets the bright idea to actually drive across the country, final destination being California, visiting sites where these atrocities took place, hoping to get a `feel' for what he's writing about. He enlists his girlfriend Carrie (Forbes), an aspiring photographer, to take pictures of the sites to use in the book, and she's only too happy to go along, as she's finding little support for her frank and explicit photos in the heartland, and hopes for better prospects on the west coast. Seeing how the trip will cost some money (and the fact they're driving a late model Lincoln Continental with suicide doors, getting all of about 8 miles to the gallon...good choice for a cross country drive, by the way), they post a notice at the university, hoping to find another couple wanting to go to California and share the expenses. Their ad is answered by the epitome of white trash in Early Grayce (a very shaggy Pitt) and his girlfriend Adele (Lewis), a pair of oakies (as commented by Carrie), but, despite Brian and Carries misgivings, and the fact no one else answered the ad, they begin on their trek. The trip starts of okay, but soon goes down the proverbial toilet as the yuppie couple discover Early is not only a convicted criminal in violation of his parole, but is also an violent, remorseless serial killer, leaving a trail of bodies as the quartet makes their way west (I guess a background check on prospective traveling companions might have be in order prior to embarking on this journey).
I guess my biggest problem with this film was there were no likable or identifiable characters...Brian and Carrie are a pair of pretentious, intellectual snobs, with Carrie obviously the more dominant of the pair, Brian the type to attempt to put up a meager front, but often acquiescing to his much stronger willed, somewhat masculine, girlfriend. I do like Duchovny in a number of things I've seen him in, but his effeminate side tends to make his character here seem weak and malleable, which works for the story as he actually begins to look up to Early and his brutish characteristics as part of some creepy form of male bonding (which later turns to bondage). Given his apparent level of intelligence, you'd think he would be past this kind of childish hero worship, but not so...Carrie comes across as the dominant feminista type, constantly forcing her opinion down Brian's throat, whether he asks for it or not, often throwing hissy fits when coming across things that don't fit within her realm of sensibility, despite the fact that her photographs, which tend to be extremely sexually explicit, would put off all but the most opened minded. If you met her character in person, your first impression towards her sexual orientation would be that of a lesbian, but then given how much of a woman Duchovny's character is, they seem to fit together pretty well. And then there's Adele...one of the more annoying cinematic characters I've witnessed in a long time. Her mental state is that of a 4 year old, constantly blathering on and on about the most inane minutia, living in denial about the true nature of her boyfriend and the very real fact he's a cold blooded killer. In this respect Lewis did well, but I honestly didn't feel like she extended herself too much for her part, as I imagine her to be much like this in real life. Finally there's Early, played very well by Pitt. He is what he is, and you'd be pretty unobservant not to be able to see that...you might not realize he's a killer, but spending any amount of time with him, one would get a sense he's capable of savage brutality, a sense that violence is as natural to him as breathing. Pitt's the real reason to see this film, as he puts himself into character about as thoroughly and completely. I thought director Sena did a very good job, using location shots to effectively convey the proper feeling of the particular scene, but the film could have been cut by about ten or fifteen minutes, as it tended to drag a little (the film runs just shy of two hours).
The picture quality on this DVD is excellent as is the audio, and features both the widescreen (1.85.1) and fullscreen pan and scan versions. Also included is the option to watch the unrated version of the film, which is about a minute longer. Other special features included are the theatrical trailer, a lame `making of' featurette, and a short booklet insert with production notes, which tells us the reason they used the letter `K' in the title was because there was already a film titled California, released in the 40's, and wasn't meant to reflect any `deeper' meaning.
Cookieman108
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| Rating | | | Date | November 08, 2004 | | Summary | Write a book about something you know nothin about... | Content
| When others ask me to describe this film to them, I always use the words "ironic". Why? The overuse of over-educated not realizing what is happening until midway through the film seemed to work in this film. Duchovny and Forbes are those two over-educated people that want to witness the truth of humanity, but when faced with they cower in fear. It is ironic, one could say.
Not only is the ironic nature of this film fun, but it is definitely one of those movies that is taken up a notch due to the actors. Pre-Jennifer Aniston Brad Pitt is perfection in his role, and Juliette Lewis was on the top of her career with this film. She nearly stole this film from everyone else. It is sad to see her fall as hard as she has. Lewis explored every avenue of her character and was not afraid to go overboard and show us the true emotion of her role. We cannot give sole credit to Lewis for her part in this film, we also need to thank director Dominic Sena for pushing Lewis to explore this un-simple role further. I could not imagine anyone else in her part. Lewis was a great asset to this film. She helped release some of the tension felt between Duchovny and Pitt when they were trying to reach the same level as Lewis.
While the acting commands its own attention, it is the story that impressed me the most of this film. It is very dark, gritty, and real. The powerful women's roles in this film surprised me for the time, but also helped me dig deeper into the overall themes of confusion and social structures. Feminism did have a bit part in this film, and Sena was not afraid to show it through Lewis. While you will find moments that seem a bit cliché, Kalifornia is a powerful film that yields some decent acting with a very gripping story.
Grade: ***** out of ***** |
| Rating | | | Date | November 05, 2004 | | Summary | In My Top 20 All-Time | Content
| Kalifornia is one of my top 20 favorite all-time films, even though the X-files guy is weak as ususal.... everyone else is excellent. |
| Rating | | | Date | October 18, 2004 | | Summary | why? | Content
| i just watched this movie again last night on tv, so it was pretty tamed down, but it is still pretty dark. my question is the whole time i watched it was, "why?" what was the ultimate point?
i get it overall, i guess, the yuppies who fancy murders get a real life murderer in thier backseat, and until they actually realize how bad he is, they are taken with him. she lusts for him sexually in the back of her mind, and he lusts for his freedom and guts. until they come face to face with what they think they want.
i guess what i really don't like about this movie is that it becomes what (i'm giving it the credit of having an ultimate point here) its mocking. i mean, does brad pitt have to rape her? (thats going way to far, though i appreciate them not showing it) can we get a little more insight into his brad's characters mind? i do admit i like the idea (since there really is nothing to go on otherwise) that he's bad just because he's bad, at least its not all sappy or anything, but, is all the killing for any kind of point? or is it just lazy writing that they attempt to make up for with beautiful actors and hip camera angles?
i mean,the thing is, its just not the greatest movie. its dark and violent sure, yet not that thought provoking or original. and i have to wonder,
(assuming that the point is tied into the yuppies naive love of dark art until they come face to face with evil) who will the audience be? will they get it? or will they just watch it and like "how hot brad pitt looks!" or how "its so dark and evil!"? i guess, like the scene where brad pitt looks at her "artistic and tasteful" pornographic photos and laughs, the joke is supposed to be on them. but if they don't get it, i mean, what? it just feeds an already gross mindset.
or is this just all in all not that great of a movie? i mean, if its supposed to just be entertainment, or it really thinks its a suspenseful or action packed, then its total crap. if its supposed to have a point, i think it wallows to deep in blood and death to really say its anything different than just a crumby art film.
overall, it comes down to what is the redeeming value? is there just none? has the value been lost on those who watch it with the same lust that David Duchoveny's character had as he mumbled dramatically into his tape recorder? if so, then just throw the thing away if you own it and don't buy it if you don't. there's got to be a better way to spend your time. |
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