EssenceStory Well Deserved Praise

Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

Breakinger A Brilliant Conflict

Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Woodyanders Young runaway Donna (a sly and seductive portrayal by Jodie Foster in the role that enabled her to make the tricky transition from child actress to adult one) leaves her dull waitress job to join a traveling carnival. Although Donna proves to be a quick sturdy, she nonetheless still disrupts the friendship between smooth con man Patches (a solid and charismatic performance by Robbie Robertson) and antagonistic bozo Frankie (robustly played with trademark lip-smacking gusto by Gary Busey), who urges local yokels into dunking him into a water tank.Director Robert Kaylor vividly captures the grotesque appeal, seedy atmosphere, and underlying violence and danger of the carny scene as well as presents a real moving compassion towards society's oddballs and misfits. Foster, Busey, and Robertson all do sterling work in the lead roles; they receive sturdy support from Meg Foster as the sassy Gerta, Kenneth McMillan as huffy no-nonsense owner Heavy St. John, Bert Remsen as jolly strip show barker Delno Baptiste, Elisha Cook Jr. as loony old coot On-Your-Mark, Bill McKinney as sleazy mobster Marvin Dill, Tim Thomerson as fast-talking hustler Doubles, Woodrow Parfey as the crusty W.C. Hannon, and Craig Wasson as Donna's hot-tempered boyfriend Micky. While Thomas Baum's uneven, but still interesting script offers a nifty array of colorful idiosyncratic characters and astutely pegs the touching camaraderie amongst the carnies, it alas falters at the end by trying to wrap things up a bit too neatly at the conclusion. Harry Stradling Jr.'s sharp cinematography provides an appropriately garish look. Alex North's eerie and unnerving score hits the spooky spot. A rather flawed, but overall worthwhile film.

Matt James An unusual low-budget film about the carnival circuit and the people who run them.Knowing nothing about Carnies beyond them tending to be associated with hard work, light crookedness and putting local girls up the duff and then leaving town, I can't say the film really gripped me or helped me understand them better. More story and character development would have been a big help. I wanted particularly to know more about the backgrounds of the principle trio to understand what drove them and where they thought they were going, if anywhere.That said it's an entertaining film with a solid cast. If you like 70's era films this won't disappoint. I was unsure what to make of Donna (Jodie Foster). Her character seemed to be an odd mixture of conflicts and innocence (soon lost) wrapped around an ambition that would hurt those around her if allowed to go on. Fortunately her two mainstays Patch (Robbie Robertson) and Frankie (Gary Busey) are fairly worldly wise, particularly Patch who oversees the midway and pays off local officials to keep things uncomplicated.Donna tries her (very green) hand in the burlesque tent with predictably bad results, no thanks to Patch. She finally teams up with Gerta (Meg Foster), she of the startlingly pale irises, in the string-pull booth. It could have gone interesting places from there but it ended unsatisfactorily to me and the carnies were portrayed as rogues who were a little too likable. Frankie had his demons but he seemed, at core, a decent guy and his relationship with Donna had real promise that was overlooked.If you're a fan of the principle players or just think that an 18-year old Jodie would be very easy on the eye (as indeed she has always been) then it is worth a look.

puss-2 If this didn't feature Gary Busey or Jodie Foster in it then this could easily be classed as an avant garde film. There is virtually no plot, just a cascade of freaks, fights and sex scenes. I'm not sure if it's any good - it seems unsure whether it wants to be arty or straight forward - but it's certainly interesting. Worth a look.

Jugu Abraham This is not a great movie but it could have been one.The casting is top notch (I am impressed by Meg Foster with her unforgettable eyes even though her screen time in the movie was insignificant). Jodie Foster is young, attractive and impulsive; so different from the later day mature Jodie Foster, who exudes confidence and intelligence.Yet the film that starts off like a European film with the lead actor painting his face to play a clown. The sequence readies you for great moments of clowning/tragedy. This never happens. If it does it happens in isolated moments of the film.The problem lies with the screenplay and direction. You expect cinema of a Istvan Szabo or a Marcel Carne, instead you are dished out disconnected sequences that appeal to you merely due to the rich potential of the performers. Gary Busey's and Robbie Richardson's characters strike you, not Jodie Foster's. They strike you because they added some depth and feeling to their roles. Jodie Foster does not do so in comparison. I liked her in the movie because she looked good, not because of the quality of her performance.Just imagine if this cast and story were in the hands of Robert Altman or Marcel Carne or Istvan Szabo. We would have had a great film!