I tried, I failed, I'm sorry. It was about as bad as I thought it might be. I really did try to watch it and enjoy it; who doesn't like drugs, guns, lots of blood, and a real-world lesson in ebonics? It worked for Boyz in the Hood...
That's the thing: it worked for Boyz in the Hood. Clockers feels like a rated-R after-school special. It didn't help that every poignant moment had some swelling music to indicate how one should feel; I was just waiting for the Hallmark commercials.
It's been a while since I've seen any other Spike Lee movies (and suffice to say, it will probably be another long while before I waste another two hours of my life), but I noticed what seem to be issues with/in every one of his movies I've seen:
- Evil (white|Hispanic|non-black) guys who do everything in their power to oppress blacks in the neighborhood
- Poor endings (this one completely absolving the "hero" from dealing drugs, conspiring to kill a man, and setting a 12-year-old boy down a road of crime)
- Unspectacular acting
But basically, the movie was just pretty uninteresting. I'm not smart enough to put it in terms more concrete than that, sorry. I think there are definitely some important things to be said about what happens in the inner city, I'm just thinking Spike might not be the best person to say them.
Posted by pcg at September 2, 2003 11:01 PMSorry to hear, Peter. Granted, I haven't seen it since it came out (5 years ago?) so my memories of it are a bit slanted. I do remember it fondly, but would need to see it again to say anything coherent about it. Perhaps I'll put it in my queue.
Have you seen 'Adaptation' yet? Rachel and I watched it last night, and I loved it so much, I just might blog about it.
Posted by: jonathan on September 4, 2003 6:10 AMOoh, do blog about that, because I was left with mixed feelings after seeing that. I need someone to decide for me whether or not I liked it.
Also, I recall seeing Clockers, too (it came out 8 years ago, so I watched in high school), and liking it, but I liked pretty much anything violent and with swearing then. Not all that different from now, I suppose...
Posted by: joel on September 4, 2003 6:43 PM