Summer of Sam (1999)

best movie i've ever seen.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

The acting in this movie is really good.

This is what Spike does best: capturing a moment in time, and looking deeply into the human condition. Ignore those whining that it's "not about the Son of Sam." Yeah. That's why it's not _called_ "Son of Sam". What it is, is an extremely well-done vignette of New York City, and the world in general, in 1977 -- a period when "Sam Hysteria" gripped that city, and the rest of us watched obsessively from afar. Along the way Spike gives us another "Sam": a man with a sexual compulsion he can't control, complete with the pseudo-religious angst typical of such personalities. This is a fantastic technique. I won't spoil anything for other viewers, but you'll see how Spike juxtaposes these two characters in the film. Other classic Spike themes are here: bigotry, intolerance, hatred of anybody different, the universality of all of this regardless of "race" or community, the stupid callowness of youth, the dumb brutality of the uneducated, and the quiet existence of fundamentally decent people in the midst of it all. For those complaining about the Plato's Retreat scene, welcome to the 70s, mofo. Sex was invented in the 1970s; we were sure of it. I'm not saying everybody (or even many) did that Plato stuff, but we were told everybody was doing it. And one thing is certain: everybody was talking about it. Everybody. All the time. So it was part of the era. It would have been a serious oversight not to include it in a film that purports to capture the feel of that city at that time. If you remember the media furor over those killings; the saturation-covered moral and physical rot of NYC in the 70s; and the golden age of KC and the Sunshine Band, this movie will be a visit home. And if you like complex, unflinching, insightful films, you just might learn something.

It's the Bronx summer of 1977 and the Son of Sam serial killer is on the loose. After a night of disco dancing, hair dresser Vinny (John Leguizamo) and his wife Dionna (Mira Sorvino) encounter the latest victims. Even the mob is enlisted in the search for the killer. Women are changing their hair and people are avoiding public places. Vinny's friend Richie (Adrien Brody) has become a British punk rocker and an outcast in the neighborhood. Vinny's half-sister Ruby (Jennifer Esposito) accepts Richie's changes. The movie also follows David Berkowitz (Michael Badalucco) aka the .44 Caliber Killer. As the pressure mounts, suspicions land on Richie.Spike Lee is tapping into his inner Scorsese. This is a costume drama movie with good style. It has the terrific atmosphere. However the story feels scattered. The movie really needs more focus. Actually the lead should have been Richie rather than Vinny. Also Berkowitz should be left out since the movie is never about catching him. It's an interesting move by Spike Lee but it's a slight miss.

This movie is a complete waste of time and effort. It's nothing more than a superficial story of a few tacky, obnoxious kids arguing with each other over their trivial lives. So far (about halfway through the movie), I have yet to see anything meaningful about the actual case. For me, it is a total waste of time. I wasn't interested in seeing a trivial storyline about a few New Yorkers. I wanted to see how the case developed, which so far hasn't happened. Maybe it will change and I'll be surprised by an actual plot, but so far I've seen nothing worthwhile. Who cares about"The Perils of Pauline" as told by a handful of punks?

I cannot believe my eyes. I've just read another review that commends Adrian Brody for portraying "the uprising of British punk rock" - was that sarcasm so subtle that most people have passed it by as a genuine comment? What's this film all about? Who knows - other than a hugely dysfunctional few blocks of degenerate's somewhere in the Bronx. What should the film be about? Son of Sam - or at least one would imagine it would be from the title... Adrian Brody is a joke. I couldn't quite tell, but I'm guessing that he's supposed to be a local American Italian character that becomes interested in the punk movement and begins trying to put on a god- awful British cockney/chav type accent and copying some of the punk fashion styles - pretending to be some sort of quasi punk-rocker. At least I hope so - if he's supposed to be a British punk character living in America, it was embarrassing beyond words. It was pretty bad - no matter which way you look at it. That's when he's not being super-camp in little denim shorts on a stage appearing to be some sort of stripper... how very punk rock. What's the majority of the film about? Well, as far as I can recall, too much of the film is actually a soft-porn effort for John Leguizamo's character - whether he's having his end away with his wife, a hairdressing customer or someone else from a club. What's the relevance of this sex? Who knows - it has nothing to with Son of Sam, the murders, the hunt for him or his arrest and conviction.The film really drags on. Really drags on. Wait until the black dog. That's a laff. Was I on drugs when I saw that? Phew - it's over. I started this as I was watching it... It's just finished in a totally underwhelming, but entirely predictable conclusion. Idiots - is all I can say about the characters. Idiots. I'd avoid it if I were you - watch Zodiac instead (Gyllenhall version) - it's a far better film about a serial killer and the hunt for him.