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Highly Overrated But Still Good

Great Film overall

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Dear Noir Fans, I bet you haven't heard of this one. An incestuous brother sister duo (Billy Zane and Gina Gershon) wrecks havoc in a small town. It is based on a Jim Thompson novel (one which I have not read). The characters could be from any Thompson novel - sex crazed, morally corrupt, vulgar and living purely on impulse. I personally think Jim Thompson is one of the worst crime fiction writers ever. But some of the one liners were remarkable. But they were too few and far between. Apart from two or three stellar scenes, it is all very flimsy. But the director was clearly aiming for style and sleaze. The beautiful smoky visuals. The elaborate set pieces. Sweaty sex scenes. It is definitely worth checking out. Billy Zane and Gina Gershon were awful. Sheryl Lee was great eye candy as a needy and sex crazed policewoman. It is worth checking out for the visuals and jazz soundtrack. Best Regards, Pimpin. (6/10)

This movie has a consistent "comic book" style throughout, even though its story is dark, erotic and sadistically violent. Although the presentation may be something that would appeal to 12-year-old boys (revenge fantasies played out for real, escape from punishment, domination of parents), the world it depicts is an adults-only one, with its frequent bare breasts, sadomasochistic sex scenes, mangled flesh of torture victims, and religious rants. The over-the-top acting is not a result of an incapable cast, but a directorial choice, one based on the idea that any frame could serve as a silent film style "tableau". The movie's art production is nicely done (think of "The Phantom" or "The Shadow" crossed with "The Untouchables"), but it's easy to see why this film never found an audience.

A young reporter has an incestuous relation with his twin sister who is working as a prostitute. Growing up in unkind circumstances after they became eye witnesses of a murder their father committed, the twins held even tighter to each other and the knowing mother was never disposed to intercept their relation. It is correct that the core story does not provide a great "pointe" but the stereotyped personalities are about to make the movie quite entertaining by creating some kind of suspense with, unfortunately, no determined Issue. The acting was quite good regarding the strange and sometimes absurd emotional actions of the characters. All in all, I wouldn't grant an Oscar but 8 points for keeping me close to the screen for 100 minutes

Perhaps I am not warranted to distribute advice regarding a genre with which I am not particularly familiar, in this case film noir, but I'm going to do it anyway. This World, Then The Fireworks has about an equal amount of both positive, and negative aspects, which even it out into a mediocre, but passable film. The main negative point, which is prevalent and cannot be overlooked, is that the plot is somewhat confusing, and contains many loopholes. In several instances, I found myself looking at the clock, wondering when it would be over, simply because I only had the slightest idea what was going on. In some cases, the pieces eventually came together, but some questions still remained unanswered. After watching the movie, I felt compelled to log on to the Internet Movie Database to try to hunt down the missing pieces. In terms of the positive aspects of This World, Then The Fireworks, the film has some of the best cinematography I've seen since A Walk In The Clouds, and Titanic. Even if the story is a bit difficult to follow, it is worth watching just because it is so visually pleasing. I must especially laud the use of filters (tinting the screen shades of blue, and red), as it is extremely contributory to the atmosphere of the film. This particular feature does a spectacular job capturing the era of the 1950s, as everything from the costumes, make-up, and the characters' smokey voices to the cars with large fenders, and the settings, makes it an effective period piece. The film is narrated by Zane, which is is typical of 1950s (making it even more effective as a period piece), but his deep, smokey voice is often times difficult to understand, as he usually mumbles. Each of the main cast members gives respectable performance (the acting, not their character), and Zane and Gershon are believable as twins. Rue McClanahan is only in three scenes, each lasting a few minutes, but presents what is perhaps her most melodramatic role yet. If anything, rent This World, Then The Fireworks just to see Rue, whose face must be covered in a quarter inch of latex, creating fake sores, scars, wrinkles, and dark rings around her eyes, making her look like death has warmed over. It is unfortunate that Rue was not featured more, as she gave perhaps the best performance, and breathed a breath of life into each scene in which she appeared. If the viewer would have been allowed to become better acquainted with Elanor Lakewood (McClanahan), perhaps she would be the one character in the film towards whom one could feel sympathy. This World, Then The Fireworks is an artsy film with several flaws, but it's worth a look simply because it is aesthetically pleasing. And believe me- you will see Rue McClanahan like you have never seen her before.