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Perfect cast and a good story

A Major Disappointment

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

I started to watch this movie having no idea what it was about only that it had Mickey Rourke, who I am a fan of, and Brittney Murphy who my wife likes.All I can say is that this movie is awesome. Yeah there isn't much of a story, it's just a four-day window on the lives of these freaks. Not much going on here storywise just people driving around, hanging out and spinning their wheels doing nothing. The only real story element is the drug raid towards the end of the film.What makes this movie great is the acting, scenery and cinematography. After watching this film for a while you start to feel as if you're tweaking with the cast. Murphy and Rourke are great, I think that I just fell in love with Murphy after watching this. Also Leguizamo, who I normally can't stand (hated his one man show and the Mario Bros. movie) was incredible in here as Spider Mike. There is a lot of comedy here too that works.It starts off a little slow but once the police raid story line comes in the movies gets 10 times more interesting and I couldn't stop watching. My wife on the other hand bailed after about thirty minutes since the movie seemed to be going nowhere and she was disgusted with the grotesque condition of the flop house, near vomit inducing. I stuck with it because of the great cinematography and I was falling for Murphy.Bottom line: The movie takes a while to get going, but the cinematography, humor and accurate depiction of tweakers and flophouses keeps you on the hook until it gets interesting.

I'm pretty happy to admit that I probably didn't get the most out of Spun. Reading through reviews and IMDb message boards I've found people praising it over and over again for being the most realistic presentation of meth-addicts' life-style ever put on film. That's quite possibly the case; never having taken meth I have no idea. Indeed, it seems that every glaring review comes from someone who has a history with the drug, so I assume the portrayal is accurate. As it is, I can only review Spun based on what I got out of it - which is an interesting film, but definitely not a masterpiece.By itself, Spun has its merits. It's an atmospheric piece, with excellent cinematography and editing; Although it relies too heavily on editing tricks, and almost everything it does was done before in similar ways in more memorable drug-films like Requiem for a Dream, Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas and Dazed & Confused. It managed to bring in an impressive collection of actors, both for the leads and for cameos - Jason Schwartzman, Patrick Fugit, Mena Suvari, John Leguizamo and Peter Stormare in one film are a indie-loving hipster's wet dream - and they all do an excellent job, but their characters aren't very interesting. The film manages to convey the idea that methheads are real people with real emotions, but it hammers that idea into the viewer's head over and over again without saying much else.To explain - what Spun lacks, for me, isn't plot per se. Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas or Trainspotting didn't have much of a plot either. But Spun has no depth or heart either. It puts the viewer into the meth experience, it shocks and unnerves - as it should - but it's not enough to make us care. The regular explanation that it's a film for methheads that only methheads will enjoy may have truth to it, but if so its value as a film is questionable. If it's meant to convey an anti-drug message, it's preaching to the choir - because only former meth addicts will know how realistic and thus how tragic it is, while to the rest of us it looks like a zany, trashy, sexy comedy that enjoys the drugs almost as often as it derides them.A six-star rating usually relates to a mediocre or forgettable movie - Spun is anything but. It's also not a bad movie. It's interesting and unusual, but it misses its mark for most of the audience, and it's not original or interesting enough to be worth watching simply as a visual piece. It's funny enough and has enough good acting - Mickey Rourke is of particular note, in the role that may have been the harbinger of his current comeback - but in the end it'll mostly leave you confused.

If it doesn't bother you when a director blatantly rips off another movie, take this one for a spin. It's Requiem for a Dream for the methamphetamine crowd. Not as good, of course, but it's a fun ride. Lots of quick edits, lots of Oliver Stone weird, sweaty, extreme close-ups, and absolutely no substance. It's just a week, or so, in the life of a bunch of speed freaks. Nothing more.BIlly Corgan contributes some good stuff, via Djali Zwan to the soundtrack and gets in a quick cameo. There are lots of cameos alongside the ensemble cast. Leguizamo's a little over the top, and Mira Sorvino, er ... Mena Suvari seemed a little stretched, but all in all not too bad. It's a fine line between over-acting and acting like you're freakin' on speed, so I'm not going to complain.Spun is also surprisingly explicit in a number of ways: Leguizamo's masturbation scene wearing nothing but a sock; the shot of a little turd splashing in the toilet while Sorvino takes a dump; a girl tied to a bed for pretty much the length of the movie, naked and spread eagle with gaffer's tape over her mouth and eyes forced to listen to a skipping CD the whole time.There is no moral to the story. Heck, there really isn't any story. It's just one big buzz with events. I don't mind that it's a Requiem for a Dream clone in style, not substance. I would imagine this kind of physical film making via power-edits would be difficult to do, and I think this first time director did a credible job.

I would like to know that song in the video on the DVD. It doesn't say who it's by. I'm guessing Los Palmas? That's the sign it shows in the beginning of the song. I really like it and would like to know more of the artist. Kinda like Mazzy Star, very melancholy but drugged up. Great performances, Mickey is really an underrated actor. I have to add more, so I love music, and I think Mr. Ackerland should really listen to the band TOOL. If he doesn't already, he'll find a lot of drama and vagueness in the song's. It would be great for a movie and or plot of such messed up, drugged up people in this great free world of ours. later, email me @ [email protected] if you know the group name,thanks