Noise (2007)

Although I don't know any New Yorkers and I have never been to New York City, I have a sneaking suspicion that residents of New York City will best appreciate "Noise". The problem confronted by the movie's protagonist - car alarm noises - is presented in a way that suggests it is a big problem in that particular city. And the bureaucracy the protagonist faces throughout also seems to assume its audience knows all too wellThat isn't to say that non-residents won't be able to be entertained by the movie. There are some big laughs that can be appreciated by just about anyone, my favorite being when Tim Robbins parks his souped-up truck in front of the mayor's office at the climax. Actually, most of the humor is not that laugh-out-loud funny, going instead to put a smile on the viewers' faces. You'll be able to relate to what the Tim Robbins character does even if you follow the law and are not a New York City resident.Speaking of Tim Robbins, there is a weakness with his character. To a degree he's kind of aloof and hard to read. We don't really get to learn much about him before he starts his vigilante actions. And once he gets going, he is still a bit puzzling. There has to be more driving this character, but what? The movie is still entertaining enough, but I wish the filmmakers had explored the working of the mind of this character some more.

This is one of those topics I can relate to a little more than most people as I hate noise & have no idea how those in big cities, New York especially how people get any sleep at all! It astounds me that people can stand all the noise out there these days. The basic plot of the film is that it makes for an interesting topic. It's too bad that's about it. Tim Robbbins is decent although except for a couple of scenes (especially with the absolute supermodel looking Margarita Leiveva) he didn't seem to really be altogether there. My biggest hope for this film is that casting agents will see the absolutely stunning & talented actress to boot, Margarita Levieva. She doesn't have a lot to do, but she is supermodel beautiful. Even when they are trying to make her look at more girl next door. It makes me sad that there can be people such as Paris Hilton & Kim Kardashian in the world w/no redeemable skills or talent, to have more fame and success than this talented beauty. I didn't care for much of this film because the script isn't very good, but am glad I got to see some new talent. I hope that producers & directors think about Margarita when they need a beautiful new actress to be in there big budget film. If they can make Megan Fox a star (c'mon she isn't that hot, & her acting "talent" is worse than made-for Disney channel TV shows) from 1 film, it should happen easily for her, as she is gorgeous & has talent! I'd recommend her changing her last name so we can pronounce it and make it more marketable. Here's hoping this makes her career, & if there is any justice she can pop up on some big summer movie or two in the next couple years.

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS:I immediately felt for the subject as I read the back cover of the DVD. A man out to put a stop to noise in New York! Love the premise.And the movie started great. As a student of screen writing, I followed the form great in the beginning. This was a story about a man with not one, but two problems. He hated noise, and he was dealing with it poorly. Constantly he would be trying to eradicate it, but it would only get him into trouble. He would then try another method, that wound up getting him into even more trouble. I felt with his cause, and his mission and all his obstacles. But then, as most common, midway through, the movie lost its pace. Mostly due to a weak second act, where his goal vanished in the place of a "romantic" subplot that had no effect or relevance to the story whatsoever. Furthermore the little goal he was still pursuing had little opposition, so those 20 minutes felt like 40 minutes! Horrible.Luckily the movie ends great, with an escalation and battle that could have made the movie great, if it wasn't for the weaker second part.I almost feel like, making a new edit of the movie, but the thing is it wouldn't be possible, as the problem lies with the script.The rewrite I would do would entail David pursuing his goal of getting signatures, with MUCH opposition, almost to the point that he is about to loose faith that it is even possible. And then he struggles some more, until he finally succeeds, only to realize that it has NO effect as the mayor has made the charter revision, that nullifies their petition. THEN it would have been a death blow to him. And THEN his actions in the last parts of the movie, would have made more sense.Too bad they didn't revise the script one last time. Oh well, it was a nice movie anyway.

I suppose there are lots of people who believe that their lives are full, interesting, deep and would make a good movie.I also suppose that anyone who thinks so is wrong. Here's one. Some dullard got arrested for breaking into a car to disable its alarm. He then thought he could make a meaningful movie about it and somehow got it financed, with himself as writer/director.The backbone of the story is this guys obsession, which boils down pretty much to anger management. Tacked on are two other story lines, one about a smarmy major. They must have had more planned and possibly shot here because he is played by William Hurt. The other side story is about a woman he spends time with after his wife kicks him out of the house.In a competent writer's hands, these three threads could have been done well. As it happens we have some charming women in weak roles. María Ballesteros has a riveting 30 seconds with a talk about bodily imperfection. Its an almost Mamet segment about inner angels. But the rest of this is a huge waste, just noise.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.