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Live! (2007)
22 out of 29 people found the following comment useful :-
Starts of slow but has a great finish!, 17 October 2007
Author: gamecubicle from Netherlands
Actually everything you write about this movie is too much... This is a movie you have to know nothing about when you see it. I saw it at the Sneak Preview at my local cinema. I never heard anything about it before I saw it, never saw trailers, posters or whatever.
The movie starts of a bit slow... you will think: 'Is this it?' But really, after a while this movie gets so incredible... Even if it is only in the last half hour of the movie. That is just what you want to see it for. The last half hour.
I have nothing more to say, I do not wish to spoil the movie for you. Just go see it, you won't be disappointed.
10 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
Interesting film, 2 November 2007
Author: Nina from Netherlands
I am stunned by the low rating this movie received so far. Maybe it is due to the lack of explosions and naked women. True, it wasn't the best movie this year and the first hour was a bit slow, but this film raises some interesting questions.
How far can we go to entertain ourselves? Of course this movie is an exaggeration of the real future of television (at least, let's hope..) but it made me think about the dilemma on whether we should abide by common ethical rules to control TV shows, or what the people want to see and who voluntarily sign themselves up for reality TV. In my opinion the idea behind the film deserves a 10.
Live! is set up as a documentary, which lends itself perfectly for the story. The problem with this however, is that it needs a certain type of 'realistic' acting which is hard to achieve, and most of the actors looked like they were trying too hard. The first hour was a bit boring, but after the show was allowed to air, it became very interesting. The end kept me on the edge of my seat.
If you like a movie with a message which opens the mind up for an interesting debate, go see it. If you liked 'Harold and Kumar go to Whitecastle', don't.
8 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Definitely worth watching; no masterpiece., 16 October 2007
Author: exclamationpoints from Netherlands
Although I found the message of the movie somewhat cliché (as I'm sure many, including the writer(s), will agree) and I thought I spotted a plot hole here or there, it had a decent script, effective directing and decent acting from the entire cast. That's decent twice, because although I definitely feel that this production deserved the time, money and energy invested, I am more looking forward to seeing the director's future, hopefully more refined work.
However, as someone said in a discussion thread below, the climax really made you feel as if you were transported into the semi-fictional world of the film, despite being aware of what your own reality is like. That's a tough thing to accomplish, and that, combined with several other moments of effective self-reference by the movie, can only cause me to conclude that it's a solid piece of work by all involved, and it shows definite promise of To sum up: overall worth watching at least once.
1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Nice idea, flawed movie, 11 November 2007
Author: Thijs from Netherlands
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW!!
I've seen this movie yesterday in a cinema near me.
The story is about a game show featuring Russian Roulette, called 'Live'. The idea is that five of the six candidates walk away with a considerable prize (5 million). The spectator sees how this idea is thought up and sees the whole media circus prior to the airing of the game show.
For me, this was when the movie (finally) got interesting: would they actually go ahead with Live? Who would live and who would die? I will not reveal the end; I will give my criticism instead.
The idea is interesting: How far will (/do) these television (game) shows go? However, the problems with a Russian Roulette television show are obvious: - a contestant can chicken out at the last moment, the more so when more contestants before him/her fire a blank (the odds increase against the contestant); - if the first five persons fire a blank, the sixth bullet will be the real bullet and the last contestant will also be aware of this. I doubt that a contestant would be inclined to play under those circumstances; i.e. with a view to certain death and no prize.
This could be remedied by spinning the chamber after each shot.
However, there's another problem that is a bit harder to solve: - a contestant can use the gun to shoot someone else than themselves;
So, in my opinion, the idea was nice but could have been more elaborated.
A Nutshell Review: Live!, 13 July 2008
Author: DICK STEEL from Singapore
As reality television become staple programming, we have contestants playing games around the world, or just doing so on an island. We have those that propel some into instant fame upon winning a singing competition, and audience participation is key if ratings are to rocket through the sky. Live! allows the audience a little of behind the scenes action in a mockumentary that takes a look at how such programmes get conceived with always an eye looking at the ratings, and the other eye looking at potential revenue stream in the form of selling air time to advertisers.
Eva Mendes, who also serves as executive producer, stars as Katy, a network station's programming manager out to look for the next big thing to save their flagging station ratings amongst the CBS and the NBCs. In one brainstorming session, the thought of Russian roulette got bounced around, and given the nature of the game - where one puts a loaded gun to the head and pulls the trigger - it borders on simple human decency, and who would want to allow someone getting killed live on air being put out by their station?
And there's where the mockumentary kicks into full gear for the first hour, where we follow Katy (conveniently she has an indie film crew following her in a bid to make their own documentary) around the office and engage in some heavy politicking and lobbying of her brainchild through departments such as marketing, sales, legal as represented by corporate counsel Don (Andre Braugher) and even to convince the network presidents herself. And it is indeed interesting as you see all the corporate backstabbing, back-biting, and elevator pitches get delivered with conviction to sell something as radical as this, with the stroking of egos constantly being proved to be effective.
We also get to be chummy with the would be contestants, as we dig a little into their backgrounds as diverse as an extreme sports athlete, to a farmer struggling to keep his family afloat, from an actress wannabe, to a gay Latino looking for some self-respect. Naturally you expect some stereotyping here, but one thing common with everyone is, so long as you're holding a loaded gun to your head, all bets are off and only a pull of the trigger, if they survive, will decide if they get to stay alive and walk away with the prize money of US$5 million. Which makes you wonder, would you risk it all to do the same, for the same amount of money?
The last moments of the film provide that debut episode, and truth be told, it is rather interesting to watch, playing to our voyeuristic tendencies which make reality TV so popular these days. It's openly admitting to satisfying our blood lust, with death on screen for the masses, like old styled gladiatorial fights, or public executions where you deliberate attend just to see what you've come to see. Those unfamiliar with how live or game shows are produced, get a look behind the scenes as well in the coordination of technical expertise and manipulation to milk shots of the moment, for the goggle box audience.
While this is fiction through and through, I wouldn't help but shudder if one day we do have such game shows being put live on the air, packaged as entertainment. Written and directed by Bill Guttentag (who brought us the documentary Nanking), this film does seem rather plain sailing, until of course a shocker of a finale which you probably didn't see it coming, re-emphasizing of course, whether TV violence has a negative aspect to daily lives.
0 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Just finished watching.......man..oh..man, 26 April 2008
Author: don_robeo from United States
This movie probably would only get a 7 or 8 from me to tell the truth if I had seen trailers or had any kind of knowledge of what the film is all about. Since it was virtually all a surprise it was almost a perfect piece of edgy entertainment that gets a strong 9 from me.
I read through some of the comments briefly and saw that someone else had almost the same experience as me and he advised to just watch it. It was good advice. Read the rest at your own risk of spoiling.
Eva Mendez plays a head-strong, success-starved network TV programmer that took a joke made by a co-worker while brain-storming TV program ideas about Russian Roulette seriously. The story follows her in a documentary style on her pursuit to make this happen.
0 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
I WAITED and WAITED and was NOT disappointed!, 26 February 2008
Author: itily2 from United States
This is a film that was very well done. I had heard mixed reviews while it was in production and have been waiting for its release! Cheers to the director and all the actors. The supporting cast gave Eva Mendez what she needed to take this to the top. As everyone else here states, the latter portion of the film is riveting. Katie Cassidy did an amazing job with her character, being she had not done a lot of work when this film was made. She has quite the career ahead of her. I was amazed at her performance. I completely enjoyed the film, questioned my values in life and priorities, and am a better person for it! A great message lies within the film. Release it so all can enjoy!
0 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Awesome and under-rated, 19 February 2008
Author: Arnold from Lithuania
Well... I am a fan of really serious movies. This one had me jumping starting 01:30:44. Although, I wouldn't advise the future viewers to skip to that part. In that case - you will not understand the plot of the movie. Everything else - the way the movie was shot, the dialog and etc - are pretty good. Although the director of the movie has debuted (as much as I know - he used to be a documentary director) very well. This movie really make you think. Makes you think about your decisions in life, about the life itself and it's value... Makes you think about the things people do and the reasons behind their actions. I would recommend this movie to everyone that is old (and smart) enough to understand it.
P.S. "Live!" is well under-rated...
0 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Why has this not been released?, 27 January 2008
Author: cathattin from United Kingdom
Why has this not been released? I kind of thought it must be a bit rubbish since it hasn't been. How wrong can a girl be! This film is, in a word, enthralling.
You will be captivated. It holds your attention from the start and its pace never slows.
The final part of the film, the "episode" as it were (not giving anything away, you saw that in the trailer) is also unmissable. You will chose a favourite, you will be shocked, you wont be able to go and make a cup of coffee because you need to find out what happens. The adrenalin rises and you cant not watch. Cudos to the actors, it's very believable. And it doesn't stop there, they have a final shock for you.
It also makes you question reality TV and if you would watch. And how far away from this are we, really? Endemol (who make big brother) made a TV show in Holland last year offering a dying woman's kidney to patients in need of a transplant. The show was revealed at the end to be a hoax, ostensibly to raise awareness of organ donation, but are we getting too close for comfort?
1 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
This movie about Reality TV gives reality a bad name..., 21 October 2007
Author: northstate-2 from Netherlands
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
Live! Yes, but not kicking.
True story: Some time ago, a Dutch TV station made an announcement that they were going to air a new reality show. A contest rather. The main participant in this show would be a woman who was dying of something terrible and she would be donating her kidneys to one lucky person with progressive kidney failure. For real.
The country and the international media were all over this story like flies on a turd, saying it was appalling, immoral, what-is-this-world-coming-to, and the like. In a way, I had to agree.
As the months passed, the tension built up to a degree that the government was mostly occupied by the issue of whether they should let this show go ahead or not, instead of running the country.
The show did air and right up to the last moment they were pushing ahead. And up to the last moment the country was up in arms, the Prime Minister making speeches, every newspaper writing about it, everyone in the country holding their breaths. And the network pushed on. Towards a new frontier in television. And they definitely succeeded in doing just that. They pushed the envelope.
The show aired and we all watched a terminally ill woman selecting the right candidate to receive her kidneys so he or she would live, whilst she would die shortly after.
And then, in the last moments of the show it was revealed that it was a partial hoax. The woman was not ill, but all the candidates were. There was no kidney auction. The whole show, that, with the publicity and the commercials and all the discussions, built up for months to a fantastic climax, was a publicity stunt to focus attention on the problem of major shortages in organ donors. The man who founded this particular network himself died of kidney disease.
Now THIS is television. Leaving everybody far behind in amazement.
Don't give me a poorly acted, poorly directed flick about some woman trying to get a Russian Roulette show on American TV.
As if.
*Spoiler* As if I'm going to believe they would get this through the FCC. As if I'm going to believe this would get through the US Supreme Court on the basis of free expression. As if I'm gonna believe the ridiculous ending where this woman pulled it off and has conscience issues because some guy shot himself on air.
It's all been done before. Watch Running Man with Arnold instead. At least it had a semi good ending.
*Spoiler* This is an appallingly bad piece of film, together with a ridiculous ending. So she gets shot in the end, is that supposed to make us movie going public feel better after we leave the theater because there was some kind of justice? Don't take my word for it, but I would say this: leave this one alone and watch a test pattern instead, you'll get more quality.
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