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Back Shelf Beauties
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Primer If I could figure out what it was about, I'd tell you. Primer is a movie in desperate need of being dumbed down, or dumbed up, so all of us can get it. Writer/director Shane Carruth and David Sullivan star as Aaron and Abe - two inventors working on a top-secret device in their garage. While they have two other partners, Aaron and Abe soon realize they have an invention so amazing and powerful, they want to keep it to themselves for just a little while. What is the invention? Will they be able to use it correctly? Can they trust each other? What the heck is going on in this movie? Primer was a huge hit at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, but some of that must be attributed to the thin mountain air and mass quantities of alcohol. In it's failure to tell a comprehensible story, Primer isn't cool and smarter than the rest of us. It's a waste of time. Carruth has given us the seeds for something interesting as Abe and Aaron come up with an invention that plays with time and matter in ways that could make us go, "WOW," but we have to wade through so much garbage, you're never sure you found the treasure. Dialogue would be meaningful if you knew what they were debating and discussing. Carruth and Sullivan's performances might be dramatic and captivating if we could tell what they were reacting to and experiencing. Instead, you are left to question too much. I like a challenge as much as anyone, but this is a challenge that can't be accomplished. If you go to see it, let's trade theories about the invention and the climax. I won't tell you here because I want you to experience the same confusion and lack of explanation I did. It's only fair. 1 ½ Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2004 - WaffleMovies.com
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