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I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Two people, a criminal and his hostage hole up in a dingy hotel room during a dark stormy night, only to be joined by an enigmatic third who takes them both hostage in this tense little independent film.I was a bit cold to this movie when it first started due to some overacting in the beginning but after I warmed up to it and got used to the stage play mentality of the piece, I found it to be quite interesting. The movie slowly burns to a fairly taunt third act that makes the film all the more worthwhile. Well-acted all around and while not the best low-budget movie I've seen, it is remarkable well-done especially given its limitations.

I'm writing this because I got sucked into seeing this mess by the absurd reviews (written by the filmmaker's mother perhaps) praising this stinker of a grade Z movie.The entire 105 minutes takes place with 3 persons in one room of a cheap motel, and will involve more blood and guts than any Clint Eastwood western. None of the three have any redeeming qualities, none of the three are attractive to look at, even without the blood.The movie reeks of stupidity. Shots are fired and there's lots of screaming, but this attracts no attention. The #2 guy wants to order food, but can't because the phone doesn't work. It doesn't work because the girls legs are tied with the phone cord. She's handcuffed to the bedpost, but guy #2 can't figure out he can untie her legs, reconnect the cord, order, and eat.Even in 2010, a year when stupid movies abound -- particularly the amply stupid "Inception" -- this 2007 mess stands out.

I discovered this movie while building the schedule for my new film festival. Now called Maelstrom Festival of Horror and the Fantastic. It was so well received at the screening that I am bringing it back for Crypticon Seattle. It will play at 11:00pm Friday night the 23rd of May.This is a film worth checking out. If you spend any time looking at small indie films you will appreciate "Sympathy". Powerful and compelling find it and watch it.People stuck in a room after a heist. What are they doing in the hotel room and who is really calling the shots?

I just finished watching a screener DVD of Sympathy and I was left floored. I grew up a couple of houses down from director Andrew Moorman, so I was anxious to see what a kid from my hometown could do if he were given a chance to break away from a small berg in Ohio.Wow. Just... wow. This is a chilling and often disturbing character study that could have easily been nothing more than a bad student film. But thanks to Moorman's eye for excellent photography and ability to direct his actors, Arik Martin's riveting script and the cast's brutal, naked honesty in their portrayals, this film stands among the best first efforts from any director. If you liked Reservoir Dogs, you'll love Sympathy.Sympathy is Hitchcock's Rope for the 21st century. The entire movie is shot in one hotel room and has only three actors. The story grows deliciously claustrophobic as the trio continues to chew and gnaw at each other's psyches, culminating into some "Holy sh*t!" moments later in the film. Again, the story is sharp, witty and holds the audience's attention. But what impressed me the most was Moorman's use of a seemingly endless amount of shots that kept the claustrophobic setting alive. Where Hitchcock used protracted, contemplative photography in Rope, Moorman edited his film so that it was a rusty shiv constantly swiping at the audience until the end when it severs the Jugular.The only complaint that I can register for Sympathy is a matter of logic that comes up late in the film. I cannot go into more detail without spoiling the ending. However, the rest of the film is so solid that I am willing to overlook it.Watch out for Andrew Moorman because if Sympathy is any indication, he is ready to take on Hollywood. Do yourself a favor and go out of your way to see this film. Because when Moorman is making successful, critically acclaimed films in the coming years, you can brag to your friends that you were a fan of Moorman's before he was famous.