hyped garbage

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

This film was engulfed with some of the most unlikable characters in movie history.. Everyone was either a moronic thug wannabe or a self absorbed drugged out sex freak. I rooted for no one. The Son of Sam killer was not the focus of the film, it was only a backdrop for us to view the lives of a bunch of losers. Most of the acting was either sub par or over the top with maybe the exception of Mira Sorvino. I gave it a 3 just for the music and Mira, otherwise it was a zero. There has never been a good film about the events of Son of Sam, only documentaries.

Summer of Sam has a couple different meanings. It's not quite Son of Sam, the nickname of the serial killer the movie is ostensibly about. It's also an abbreviation for SOS, as in mayday. These are on purpose. Spike Lee centers a movie about paranoia, changing times, metaphorical dog collars, war, post trauma, stress, sexual revolutions, disco vs punk and scapegoats into one electric, charged, throbbing explosion of a movie. It's a bit indulgent, maybe doesn't completely add up, and isn't quite perfect in its period detail (enough about this particular punk scene being a year or two off, this is art!).The film revolves around these murders because they represent another movement in American history. One in which the hangover from Vietnam is finally fading, and what's left is the feeling that we have been used and abused. Like dogs, wearing the collar. Adrien Brody's punk rocker represents this rebellion against the collar, against the causeless wars and manipulation. Punk, gay and uninterested in conformity. John Leguizamo (with a performance that questions how he never quite became the star he should have been), still wears the collar, refuses to treat his wife properly and sleeps around. He treats her as an object to be on a pedestal, not one to be shamed and used like all those other "free love" types.This PTSD serial killer is hearing orders from a dog wearing its collar (literally, in one of a couple surreal sequences that clearly establish this film as metaphor and fever dream), just like Nam' and he can't stop killing. So blame the punks, the gays, the unorthodox priests, anyone but the master. You gotta fight the powers that be.

I cannot believe my eyes. I've just read another review that commends Adrian Brody for portraying "the uprising of British punk rock" - was that sarcasm so subtle that most people have passed it by as a genuine comment? What's this film all about? Who knows - other than a hugely dysfunctional few blocks of degenerate's somewhere in the Bronx. What should the film be about? Son of Sam - or at least one would imagine it would be from the title... Adrian Brody is a joke. I couldn't quite tell, but I'm guessing that he's supposed to be a local American Italian character that becomes interested in the punk movement and begins trying to put on a god- awful British cockney/chav type accent and copying some of the punk fashion styles - pretending to be some sort of quasi punk-rocker. At least I hope so - if he's supposed to be a British punk character living in America, it was embarrassing beyond words. It was pretty bad - no matter which way you look at it. That's when he's not being super-camp in little denim shorts on a stage appearing to be some sort of stripper... how very punk rock. What's the majority of the film about? Well, as far as I can recall, too much of the film is actually a soft-porn effort for John Leguizamo's character - whether he's having his end away with his wife, a hairdressing customer or someone else from a club. What's the relevance of this sex? Who knows - it has nothing to with Son of Sam, the murders, the hunt for him or his arrest and conviction.The film really drags on. Really drags on. Wait until the black dog. That's a laff. Was I on drugs when I saw that? Phew - it's over. I started this as I was watching it... It's just finished in a totally underwhelming, but entirely predictable conclusion. Idiots - is all I can say about the characters. Idiots. I'd avoid it if I were you - watch Zodiac instead (Gyllenhall version) - it's a far better film about a serial killer and the hunt for him.

At the time I watched Summer of Sam, it had an average rating of 6.6/10 on IMDb. For a while, I didn't think much of the movie, as I didn't think it was supposed to be very good. However, after reading Roger Ebert's praising review, I decided to check it out. 2 hours and 20 minutes later, I was amazed. How is this movie not talked about more? This is easily one of Spike Lee's best films, along with Do the Right Thing and 25th Hour. A small detail that tells a lot about what to expect is the film's title. Most people expected a profile of the Son of Sam serial killer. However, the movie is called SUMMER of Sam, which tells what the film is about. It's about the time period and the paranoia that gripped New York during the killings, not the killer himself. There are several scenes showing the killer's life, who is played excellently by underrated actor Michael Baddalucco, but these scenes do not take up the majority of the film. Though he isn't the main character, the film belongs to Adrien Brody as wannabe punk rocker Richie, who is slowly believed to be the Son of Sam by his paranoid friends. His performance is eccentric, dramatic, and just close enough to over-the-top to be believable. The film's best sequence is about halfway through the film, in which Richie rocks out to The Who in his garage, and the scene is dazzlingly intercut with Richie moonlighting as a dancer in a sleazy club and the killer doing his business. I must also give a large applause to the film's top notch editing and soundtrack which play a big part in making the film unique. Despite any negative reviews you've heard, I highly recommend this film for any fan of unique thrillers and Spike Lee's other work.