Frogs for Snakes (1998)

There is almost no reason for me to write. Many of you have done the job for me. But I take the misuse and co-option of a "Downtown" NY vibe in this movie as a personal affront. Amos Poe has some kind of Alt -street cred, although now I can't remember for what. Something to do with Debbie Harry. But he (on the basis of this film) is not an artist, not an entertainer, not a good post-modernist, not very smart! As many have pointed out, he knows how to quote from much better things. And he knows how to cast weirdly iconic actors and use interesting East Village locations. But the killing scenes are excessive, the acting scenes are unconvincing. And neither illuminates the other. Jim Jarmusch, forgive me! Any doubts I have had about your genius have been erased by this slop. I understand now (I already liked it a lot) what a massive achievement Ghost Dog is. You have quoted Godard, but added something to our understanding, as Godard did with such as Fuller and Ray. This guy, on the other hand belongs in the Press area of a European Blondie Reunion concert, holding a Poloroid camera. He totally wasted my time with his smarmy, hipper-than-thou bullshit. Lisa Marie is hot though.

Some movies are like olives or wine; you need to have developed a taste before you can fully enjoy them. The story was unexpected and definitely better the second time around since I was paying attention this time. If you like dark humor you'll love Barbara Hershey and this great cast doing a wonderful job. It is well above par for this genre.

Barbara H: pretty sad, dear. Neither the youth nor the presence to carry your role. The film is painfully aware of its aspirations -never approached in quality, sadly - of successfully passing as a mere mediocrity. Dream on. The would-be female lead seems to have used all her resources, all the accrued influence available at the autumn of her career- not to entertain but rather to keep her "credit" from the leading titles, ...BH only admitting to having perpetrated "Eva" at the final moments of film. Without a better performance (and any high school drama aspirant could readily cough up a more nuanced and convincing effort than did BH... the film is worse than bad.Not all are to blame: Mike Starr (a standout in Mad Dog & Glory) never does less than fine work: an underrated actor who deserves better than this stillborn wet poop. The screenplay is awful, the direction is amateurish, and the cinematography ... is actually quite good.All in all, a painful and humiliating waste of time. It was much more fun to pan it than to watch it. Try a little less lipstick, BH? (It gets farther and farther from her mouth.) -------------------------------------------

Not even Barbara Hershey could save this farce. If it was supposed to be a comedy it was a total failure. There wasn't a laugh in the entire movies. Bizarre plot. Too much needless and graphic violence. If this movie was supposed to entertain, the blood and gore made certain that it did not. Hershey was badly miscast in this movie. If she was supposed to be a sympathetic character, it never showed and that is too bad because Hershey is an accomplished actress and this movie doesn't help her career. If it had been for Hershey, I would not have even considered watching this movie only to be very disappointed in her role.