All Things: Directors

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Review: TUSK ? Nerdist

The film is some of Smith’s most fascinating work to date, ruminating on the nature of obsession and how far people are willing to go in pursuit of what they desire. All of the characters, especially Wallace, are presented as flawed, sometimes unlikable people who have a comeuppance coming their way. Obsessed with success and building his personal brand even if it’s at the expense of his friends and loved ones, Wallace is not a good person. With each t-shirt sold, he gains more fans and gets one mustache hair closer to sleeping with groupies on the road. Howard Howe is a man driven to insanity by the shame and survivor’s guilt he felt over what he was driven to do to Mr. Tusk, his walrus savior, and is processing those feelings in a particularly sociopathic way.
Both Parks and Long turn in searing performances, commanding and demanding your attention every time they’re on screen. In the darkness of the screening room, it was all but impossible not to hear the sharp, staccato intakes of air whenever the duo appeared on screen together.

Tusk is a bit like witnessing a two-hour long car crash — wholly engrossing, at times revolting, but impossible not to watch. I found myself vacillating between laughing at some of the seriously punchy exchanges and sitting in slack-jawed horror as I watched Kevin Smith plumb the depths of human misery. Tonally, though, that can be a bit jarring for the viewer. Like that one Smiths song, the film oscillates wildly back and forth between moments of being uproariously funny and deeply unnerving, which creates a sense of narrative whiplash...

...So, should you see Tusk? If you’re a diehard Kevin Smith fan, it’s a foregone conclusion that you’ll see it. If you’re a casual Smith fan like myself, it’s complicated. As a cinematic experience, I found it existentially distressing, but I watched with rapt attention the entire time. I am genuinely not sure whether or not I like Tusk, but I appreciate it and I’m glad that I’ve seen it.
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BigBrown said:
Cool, looking forward to hear your opinion. Seems like a movie that can go either way for me but likely it will be some place in the middle like Red State.
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Gonna post over on Last Movie Watched for max exposure...gimme a few minutes to cobble my thoughts together.
 
Nah, I think Alien may be one of the most overrated flicks ever. And Resurrection may be bad as a whole, but there is a good movie in there somewhere.
 
Surprised to hear that, I think Alien is great, I think it has the most suspense out of them all. Aliens is even better but it's more action oriented, Alien 3 and Resurrection are flawed but I like 'em too. The only thing I really dislike in Resurrection is the hybrid alien baby, I think the rest is solid.
 
santiclaws said:
You shut your whore mouth.
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Hey...I don't know art, but I knows what I likes and I just think Alien is ok at best. It's a high end flick, with a top tier director, so people drooled over it. The cast is good across the board and the creature/set design elevates it, but if you strip it down to the basic elements it really is just a typical 'hunt and chase with survivor girl' horror film. And, upon repeated viewings, atmospheric equals boring.
 
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