Lawbolisted Powerful

Robert Joyner The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

georgegcowell READ THIS: Quick summary: At the very beginning you may notice its made my "history" something or other. This in away sums up what to expect from this movie, its fun til about half way through and then its just dreary facts about what happened. I watched sunshine makers and think it was 100X better ...just down to how it was directed and presentedI loved seeing the antics that went on with the bus but the overall feel of the movie left me feeling dry and kind of sad.I felt sad because it didn't really go into enough depth on any of the characters or the philosophy of their movement. It was nice to see such rare content but it didn't go into enough depth is any one area. What i mean by this is it didn't focus down on any body or anything. If they focused more on ken and his life and showed us who everyone was in relation to him i might have felt more of a connection with the characters and enjoyed it more.But the worst thing about this movie is it was divorced from the messages that these pioneer's of the 60's propagated.. the fact that the "merry pranksters" were even too excitable and "free" to sit down and get into the complexity's of the psychedelic philosophy with leary was something that was really lost within this movie. It didn't successfully show the excitement and exploration that these people were engaged in... all it did is vaugely show what happened...

Dan Franzen (dfranzen70) Magic Trip is a real-time documentary, cobbled together from 40-year-old film, about a cross-country trek just prior to the big hippie invasions of the mid-to-late 1960s. It's a time capsule, and it's a highly informative one for those of us who weren't there. It's a jumping-off point to explain the lovefests, the Be-Ins, the protests, the marches, the Woodstocks, and the Altamonts. It's a relic of its time as well, but it's also a genuine look at a mostly far-gone time.It's 1964. The sixties, we're told, didn't really begin in 1960 (or 1961) but rather in November of 1963, when Kennedy was killed. The nation's innocence was lost, and the younger souls - our baby boomers - looked for something to help guide them into the future. The plastic days of picket-fenced houses and nuclear families were disappearing. People needed something new. That something new, it turned out, was LSD - a perfectly legal substance at the time.Ken Kesey was the author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, a writer of some reknown. In '63, he and a few friends were visiting New York City and witnessed the preparations for the following year's World's Fair. Kesey, who lived in Oregon, determined on the spot that he'd grab some people and make a trip across America to the fair. The group would up too big for a station wagon, so an old International Harvester bus was procured and customized, including plenty of filming equipment. The bus was painted in an array of bright, friendly, psychedelic colors, and off they went.The group called itself the Merry Pranksters, and everyone had his or her own nickname. Along for the ride was Neil Cassady. Never heard of him? You should read Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road; the character of Dean Moriarity was based on Cassady. Cassady was a real character, a speed-taking oddity who drove like a maniac and had zillions of stories to tell. All he needed was an audience.Like most documentaries, this movie will be enjoyed best by those who were present during that era and by those who wish they were. If you're not emotionally invested in the story, you might think you're watching a bunch of wackos on drugs careen about the country, having sex every three seconds and dropping acid. You'd be right, but you might not enjoy it much. And surely not as much as the participants did.If I recall, the movie uses nothing but the footage shot during the trip to New York, with some new narration by actor Stanley Tucci. This lends quite the feel of veritas to the proceedings; it's exactly like watching home movies, at least if your family is a little deranged. But drugs or not, what's interesting is that we see hardly any real conflicts - people get along, for the most part, even when some leave the trip before reaching the final destination. It's a good-vibe film, and none of it feels manufactured.I guess that's what I find most appealing about Magic Trip. It's honest, and it's fun. It gives you a glimpse into those sometimes twisted times - times, it should be noted, look like a cakewalk compared to what we have now. In '64, we weren't even heavily into Vietnam, and the anti- hippie tone had yet to sweep the nation. The bus got pulled over numerous times, but since hippiedom was so new, cops just figured the occupants were college kids out having fun. Ah, for those times now.

gregking4 MAGIC TRIP. Long before Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper headed off on their motorbikes to find America in the ground breaking cult classic Easy Rider, author Ken Kesey (One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, etc) and a group of friends set out on their own epic journey across America in a psychedelic coloured school bus. It was 1964, in the wake of the Kennedy assassination, and Kesey and his friends, known as the Merry Band of Pranksters, headed off from California to visit the World's Fair in New York. Along the way we also meet a number of other notable figures of the time, including poet Allen Ginsberg, Neal Cassady, author Larry McMurtry, and Jack Kerouac, regarded as the father of the Beat movement. The legendary trip (!) was also chronicled by novelist Tom Wolfe in his The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. Kesey filmed the journey on his 16mm camera, but the film has never been released because it was too disjointed and unfinished. The footage was found in a barn at Kesey's house after his death in 2001. Veteran Oscar winning director Alex Gibney (Taxi To The Dark Side, Client 9, etc) and his regular collaborator Australian born editor Alison Ellwood have re-edited Kesey's raw footage, giving the freewheeling material structure and context. They have added a number of interviews and incorporated some fascinating archival footage to provide insights into the era. They have also used original recordings made by Kesey himself during the journey, with some additional narration from Stanley Tucci. With a soundtrack of rock music from the era, Magic Trip serves as a fascinating time capsule of America in the mid-60s – Kennedy, Vietnam, civil rights, hippie subculture, LSD, paranoia, disillusionment, youthful rebellion, and a growing air of cynicism. Magic Trip is a well made and entertaining documentary that gives some insights into the burgeoning counter-cultural movement of the 60s.

goodbyeenemyairship I only had 2 issues with the film as presented - 1) the film moves at a breakneck pace trying to cram what was likely hundreds of hours of film into 90 minutes; I wanted many scenes to last longer - 2) I would've liked a 'where are they now' sort of bookend for more of the pranksters (only Kesey's and Cassady's post-prankster lives are detailed).I thought the footage was gorgeous - the film must've been well taken care of over the years. It was really fascinating to see America circa 1964 in full color (most footage from that era is black & white).I want to re-read The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test after buying this DVD and refer back and forth. It really does breathe new life into Tom Wolfe's book; although, the film stands on its own.One of the most fascinating segments of the film was early on when they delved into how Kesey was turned onto LSD. They describe the whole experience and provide audio recordings taken as Kesey was under the influence in a hospital where LSD experiments were being conducted.I understand many will take issue with the pro-drug message, but whether you like it or not, the subject of the film and the footage itself is a big part of history. There is something to learn and appreciate no matter where you stand.