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Reviews
Adaptation. (2002)
Desperately disappointing
I went to see Adaptation with high hopes. They were all dashed. About 40 minutes in, the Charlie Kaufman character describes his screenplay as self-indulgent, narcissistic, solipsistic and pathetic, which sums up my feelings about the film pretty neatly.
But although the film itself is bad enough, the ending is worse. The only worthwhile moral I could draw from this vastly over-blown effort (it lasts almost two hours) is Don't Ride in a Car Without Wearing a Seatbelt. As a road safety film, it's first rate. Otherwise, it's well worth steering clear off.
Ivansxtc (2000)
Disappointing non-story of Hollywood folk
The story is thin (viz., high flying Hollywood agent is diagnosed with lung cancer and dies -- no one seems bothered), none of the characters arouses any sympathy or interest, and the use of classical music (presumably to create a sense of tragedy) only adds to the bathos.
Probably only comedy can do any sort of justice to what goes on behind the scenes in the film industry but the few decent comic scenes in Ivan's XTC are drowned out by the seriousness with which the film takes itself.
I'm amazed the film ever got made. But then one of the industry's greatest failings is that it takes itself far too seriously, so perhaps it's not so surprising after all.