A benchmark of 21st-century cinema

Rating: 10/10 (18 December 2000)

...a bold statement, to be sure, especially coming from someone whose only credentials are the fact that he is a movie fanatic. I am not a scholar. I am not a professor, or an analyst, or an insider. I talk about a movie's power to me personally, not to a demographic. And I am here to tell you this film is brilliant. It is inventive. It is smart. It is sharp. It is bizarre and dark and mesmerizing in a few places. It is truly unique and ingenius.
And I am truly, deeply saddened by the many viewer comments that seem to overlook these qualities and instead comment on how they saw the film as murky or complex or insignificant. I was especially depressed at how one user commented that Malkovich's performance in "Con Air" was superior to his performance in THIS film. Comparing this film with "Con Air" is like comparing "Alien" with "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" and saying "Killer Tomatoes" was a better monster movie.
Please, I am eager to defend my views on this film; it is a masterpiece that will be remembered as a watershed for the film industry. If you dissent, whether personally or professionally, I welcome the opportunity to try to change your opinion.