| Reviews & Columns |
|
Reviews DVD TV on DVD Blu-ray 4K UHD International DVDs In Theaters Reviews by Studio Video Games Features Collector Series DVDs Easter Egg Database Interviews DVD Talk Radio Feature Articles Columns Anime Talk DVD Savant Horror DVDs The M.O.D. Squad Art House HD Talk Silent DVD
|
 DVD Talk Forum |
|
|
| Resources |
|
DVD Price Search Customer Service #'s RCE Info Links |
|
Columns
  
 
|
|
|
Flypaper
Trimark // R // June 27, 2000
List Price: $24.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
Don't be fooled by the cover art. At first glance, "Flypaper" probably seems like one of those generic direct-to-video "thrillers" where a cast of characters attempts to pull of some sort of heist, and one by one, everyone double-crosses everybody else. No, it's much more complex than that, although such a simplistic plot would've made this review a lot easier to write.
There are a series of intertwining tales -- an opportunistic male who fails a 'faithfulness test' and gets his comeuppance (repeatedly), a pair of low-life criminals, one of whom has a dream of opening a strip bar, a foreign graduate student working in a meth lab who is kidnapped but manages to make a (rather grisly) escape, only to find herself in an even weirder situation, and a real estate mogul interested in turning L.A. into one big parking lot, one of his cronies, and a girl under his protection. It's somewhat convoluted, but watching "Flypaper", it actually all makes sense. It's hard to explain without giving much away, as the ways in which the tales intertwine are half-the-fun... The other half comes from some of the situations the characters find themselves in, and without giving much away, this includes an extraordinarily bizarre love scene involving snakes and the always-classic knife-through-the-skull gag. "Flypaper" is a quirky, dark comedy, and it should greatly appeal to those interested in such films.
Video: A very nice full-frame effort. Fleshtones and other colors look dead-on, there's no grain or assorted artifacts, and the image is exceptionally sharp. There was the occassional steady stream of very small specks of dust, but nothing overly distracting nor anything entirely unexpected for a low-budget film from 1997... My litmus test for full-frame discs is "Does it look better than a USA World Premiere Movie?", and here, the answer's a resounding 'yes'. Or maybe a bellowing 'yes'. Some form of 'yes' being expressed loudly and distinctly.
Audio: The Dolby Pro Logic track is about as good as it could be. The dialogue is clear and free of hiss and distortion, and the extremely well-done techno-lite score is crisp and rumbles the low-end a bit. The effects (things slamming, gun shots, etc.) are similarly well-represented.
Supplements: Since it is a Trimark release, the only extras are the usual 'hidden' trailers, cast bios, and subtitles.
Conclusion: "Flypaper" is one of the best dark comedies I've seen in years. The fantastic, bizarre intertwining situations manage to not go too far over the top, but straddle the border enough to keep things interesting. Some may be turned off by the kinky sex and the amount of violence (the majority of it's cartoonish, but Lucy Liu's escape is one of the few scenes I've watched in any movie that made me wince), but I very highly recommend "Flypaper" to virtually everyone else. (Although I'm not much of a fan of Miss Lucy myself, I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who'd love to see her nekkid, and folks, Trimark Home Video has just granted your wish.) Though there really isn't much in the way of extras, the film has a tremendously high replay value and is worth purchasing. Very highly recommended.
There are a series of intertwining tales -- an opportunistic male who fails a 'faithfulness test' and gets his comeuppance (repeatedly), a pair of low-life criminals, one of whom has a dream of opening a strip bar, a foreign graduate student working in a meth lab who is kidnapped but manages to make a (rather grisly) escape, only to find herself in an even weirder situation, and a real estate mogul interested in turning L.A. into one big parking lot, one of his cronies, and a girl under his protection. It's somewhat convoluted, but watching "Flypaper", it actually all makes sense. It's hard to explain without giving much away, as the ways in which the tales intertwine are half-the-fun... The other half comes from some of the situations the characters find themselves in, and without giving much away, this includes an extraordinarily bizarre love scene involving snakes and the always-classic knife-through-the-skull gag. "Flypaper" is a quirky, dark comedy, and it should greatly appeal to those interested in such films.
Video: A very nice full-frame effort. Fleshtones and other colors look dead-on, there's no grain or assorted artifacts, and the image is exceptionally sharp. There was the occassional steady stream of very small specks of dust, but nothing overly distracting nor anything entirely unexpected for a low-budget film from 1997... My litmus test for full-frame discs is "Does it look better than a USA World Premiere Movie?", and here, the answer's a resounding 'yes'. Or maybe a bellowing 'yes'. Some form of 'yes' being expressed loudly and distinctly.
Audio: The Dolby Pro Logic track is about as good as it could be. The dialogue is clear and free of hiss and distortion, and the extremely well-done techno-lite score is crisp and rumbles the low-end a bit. The effects (things slamming, gun shots, etc.) are similarly well-represented.
Supplements: Since it is a Trimark release, the only extras are the usual 'hidden' trailers, cast bios, and subtitles.
Conclusion: "Flypaper" is one of the best dark comedies I've seen in years. The fantastic, bizarre intertwining situations manage to not go too far over the top, but straddle the border enough to keep things interesting. Some may be turned off by the kinky sex and the amount of violence (the majority of it's cartoonish, but Lucy Liu's escape is one of the few scenes I've watched in any movie that made me wince), but I very highly recommend "Flypaper" to virtually everyone else. (Although I'm not much of a fan of Miss Lucy myself, I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who'd love to see her nekkid, and folks, Trimark Home Video has just granted your wish.) Though there really isn't much in the way of extras, the film has a tremendously high replay value and is worth purchasing. Very highly recommended.
|
| Popular Reviews |
| Sponsored Links |
|
|
| Sponsored Links |
|
|
| Release List | Reviews | Shop | Newsletter | Forum | DVD Giveaways | Blu-Ray | Advertise |
|
Copyright 2024 DVDTalk.com All Rights Reserved. Legal Info, Privacy Policy, Terms of Use,
Manage Preferences,
Your Privacy Choices 
| |||||||