ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Jemima It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Shane Craig I've told literally everyone that this one of the greatest films ever made. So why do I love it so much? I love how ahead of its time and immersive it is. I was having a conversation with my Dad the other day and he said he remembered it when it was first released in the US in 1999 (elsewhere in '98). He had an interest in seeing it, but it was pulled from theaters before he could. Grossing 0.02M, scoring a 19% on Rotten Tomatoes, and averaging a 4.9/10 User score on IMDB, the film couldn't find an audience for a time. I've read countless positive reviews from several years ago. That indicates to me that some were able to appreciate it, while most showed a cynical/ skeptical view. People weren't ready for this. Since I got my Letterboxd, I have seen it receive more recognition on that site. There are reviews that I've read on there that are among some of the best film analyses I've ever come across. IMDB, not so much. But a lot people seem to get it now and that makes me feel betteI love how brutally honest it is. There are things I see in this that reflect on our society today. For one: sexism. Almost every male character is a misogynistic asshole, but that doesn't mean I can't find any redeeming qualities within them. Many of the subtleties in the film reveal themselves on each viewing, but this concept was clear to me from the first time I saw it. Both Fox and X are blatantly sexist. One of the first examples I noticed was coincidentally, in the beginning. In the brothel, Fox watches Sandy. He inquires to the other guests about her, wondering who she is. The scene cross fades to Sandy's tattoo, presumably during the night that X first had sex with her. Fox arrives and says "So, what's her story?" X replies, "What do you mean?" Which Fox follows with, "She didn't say anything? She had your c*ck in her mouth the whole time or what?" Maybe some will disagree with me here, but I find it disrespectful that Fox has no problem having this conversation in front of a woman. Just as he did in the brothel when he told Madame Rosa he was a "women magnet." Even when Sandy walks into the room he doesn't change his attitude. When he comments on her "cheap shoes" and her outfit, this indicates to me that he's kind of a dick. Sandy clearly knows what she's getting herself into and is used to people being intolerant/sexist. I was surprised she didn't walk out when Fox said to X, "She doesn't meet guys everyday who offer her one million dollars to do what she did with you just now for what--a couple of hundred?" Talking about her as if she's not even there. I question X's behavior in this regard as well. We are lead to believe that he loves Sandy, but he makes fun of her with Fox in the restaurant. Once again, these characters don't have respect for women. It is a society where women are treated as toys. The next: Manipulation. Everyone is deceptive in the world of New Rose Hotel. Manipulation is the key to getting what you want. If it's about money or power, these people will do anything. The quote, "If you believe, then he will. You have to fall in love. That's the key to all of this." That reflects the whole film right there. Relationships aren't authentic. Everything is about sex or personal gain. In the flashbacks we see X with another girl after the orgy right in front of Sandy. Her response is to join in. Once again, it's all about sex. The other: Journalism. You cannot prove anything that took place during this film. It is a reflection on secondary information and word of mouth. In this world, almost nothing is a reliable source. Even the scenes you saw, you cannot prove. My reasoning behind that is, when X is trying to make sense of everything that happened, the flashbacks show different takes than previously. This is not a mistake. This shows you that what you were previously lead to believe may have been wrong, or X's memory is distorted, or both. For example, in the beginning when Fox finds out about Hiroshi, he tells X: "I just found out Hiroshi's making plans to attend a conference in Vienna. I got the hotel where he's staying. It's his wife's favorite. Only--Hello--she won't be there. She's going to a spa." This conversation takes place in the brothel. However in the flashback he says: "I just found out Hiroshi's making plans to attend a conference in Vienna. I got the hotel where he's staying. It's his wife's favorite. Only--Hello--she won't be there. She's going to a convention." This isn't the only difference. Here, this encounter is in a totally different location than before. The final sequence is not only about this, but it also serves as X realizing he's been played. I love the character development. I notice more about X each time I watch it, but something I've picked up on is how he lets his desires override anything else. It doesn't take much to convince him of something if it involves money. When he tells Fox that he's "Through with it. No more Hiroshi." Fox says "Before you and I hooked up you had a helicopter flying over a smokestack, etc." He is trying to convince him that his previous job was insufficient and he needs to stay with corporate defectors. X just nods his head and smiles. Fox barely said anything and yet he goes along with it. That is because money is one of his desires and he will do anything to get it. Going back to his memories of Sandy's deception: There is a scene where she is asleep and he spots the card for the synthesizer in her passport, along with several identities other than the one they had discussed (Angelica De Mayo). When he is reflecting on this, he remembers that he didn't take action when seeing that she was going to betray them. Because he is allowing his lust for women to overtake this. I don't think I've ever seen such a character arc. It's incredible. To have a strong arc, a character should learn something or change in some way. X has learned that these desires: the money, the women, the things he keeps submitting to, have cost them their $100 million and Fox's life. On my first viewing I didn't quite wrap my head around the surveillance footage. It was on re-watches that I was able to see what it was all about. For me, it makes Hiroshi mysterious. Each time we see him it's on a fuzzy surveillance video. He is never actually there. What I love so much about that is it's telling us that Hiroshi's arc is the only thing being told to us explicitly. This is an aspect of the film where one can actually prove what's going on. This is a video being taken when Hiroshi is being his true self. Hiroshi is genuine, the other characters are not. So yeah. Half of you probably opened this, saw how long it was, and then clicked out of it. But if you did manage to stick around the whole time, this should answer the question as to why this film means so much to me. It manages to be an enticing Science Fiction/Cyberpunk Thriller and at the same time be a commentary on our society and the direction we're headed in. Unquestionably a Top 5 favorite by now.

UK Shaun New Rose Hotel (1998)Willem Dafoe and Christopher Walken, two ageing A-listers along with the sexy Italian Asia Argento, star in this slow paced tale. I won't bore you with details about the story, as you can read them here, besides which, I watched the Italian version, and don't understand a word of Italian, this in itself might have improved the film.I'll come clean. Prior to watching New Rose Hotel, I had read about it, I knew the story, Asia Argento followers appear to do what they can to praise the film where possible, while casual viewers tend to rate the film as a non starter. I wanted to give it a try. On attempting to source a copy, it became apparent New Rose Hotel hadn't made it to Blu-ray, and DVD's were on offer for extortionate prices, probably because it might be a deleted title. What I did find was an original VHS Mondadori Video featuring a rather interesting cover on ebay. I put in an offer for £3 and within two days, it was mine! (like new)Visually, while New Rose Hotel looks dated, there were one or two moments I liked what I saw. The opening credits are rather eye catching, resembling something more from the 80's. I'm not sure what the mood was like on set, but Willem Dafoe and Christopher Walken both appear to be in good spirits, and acted somewhat aloof. I got the impression both took on the job, as maybe there wasn't much else on offer at the time. Willem Dafoe had an added bonus of being paid to frolic with Asia Argento, who would often appear to act in such a fashion as to appear to be having-ago at acting, having a bit of fun, and seize the opportunity to flash her breasts.I had an idea of what was going on most of the time. I doubt if the film has been in English it would have added much. As strange as it might sound, I got the impression the film was acted in English and dubbed to Italian, as Asia Argento's lips didn't synch with the audio.To sum New Rose Hotel up, it comes across like a raw low-budge B- movie.

user-28941 I'm a big Gibson fan, a big Walken fan, a big Dafoe fan, Asia Argento ain't bad to look at, and here is my favorite illustrator, Amano, in his only film appearance. Wow! I was real excited to find out this short story had been made into a movie with such a great cast.After seeing it, it's no wonder I'd never heard of it all this time. It just stinks.Walken is really the only thing carrying the movie at all. The other characters are all unlikeable and easily forgettable. Dafoe is a silly caricature. Argento can't act worth a damn. Amano has no lines.The plot is fairly straight-forward, but for some reason the director decided to abruptly end the movie about two-thirds of the way through, and then replay the whole thing over again in a series of unnecessary flashbacks inter-spliced with what would be included as deleted scenes on the modern day DVD.I really wanted to like this movie, but there's just nothing there except for one of Walken's canned sociopath characters (although well done) and Argento's boobs, which are exposed so many times by the end of the movie, I actually got bored of seeing them. Too bad.

lazarillo It's hard to believe that a movie directed by Abel Ferrara based on a story by William Gibson and starring Christopher Walken, Willem Dafoe and Asia Argento would be anything less than great, but this movie is just OK. It has a lot of moody atmosphere. Asia A., the lovely Eurobabe who is supposedly ogre-ish horror-meister Dario Argento's daughter (I, for one, won't believe it until I see the blood tests), spends most of the movie in various states of undress (unfortunately, so does Dafoe). Walken is great as always. But literally nothing happens. It's all atmosphere, eerie music, and occasional bursts of softcore groping. Neither Ferrara's visuals, Walken's acting presence, or Argento's tatooed nether regions can ultimately carry a film so totally devoid of conventional plot, suspense, or action. Not a bad film, just a disappointing one.