ThrillMessage There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

pesic-1 Pretentious student film, probably made by a guy who is into skating and makes lots of videos about it. How do I know? There are long, slow-motion, ridiculously edited sequences of people skating every five minutes, during which nothing happens and which contribute nothing to the story or even the mood of the film. They are just there because the 'filmmaker' thought it would be cool. How old is he? Twelve? Then comes the scene where some Asian guy interrogates the protagonist about what happened. The lighting is terrible, and the focus is off (something you have to get used to in this film), resulting in a very unpleasant scene from the mere visual perspective. The dialogue isn't better either. Then the camera dollies in, but it does so in a weird way, focusing on the boy, yet leaving only a part of the Asian guy's face in the frame. You'd think a blind person operated that camera.Anyway, this is a tedious and very poorly made film on every level. Total zero. Just don't watch it.

Terrell Howell (KnightsofNi11) Gus Van Sant once again shows his interest in adolescent angst and solitude in Paranoid Park, a film about a skater kid who accidentally kills a security guard near one of his skate parks, and must then live with the guilt. It's an observation of one teenagers quiet and moody life as it spirals out of control in a haunting dream like state that tries to capture the audience in a trance, but I'm not sure that it succeeded in doing so.There's a very specific style to Paranoid Park that is full of eerily calm and dreamy cinematography. This style tries very hard to work how Van Sant wants it to, but for me it really didn't translate to much more than blank stares and meaningless long shots. I can clearly see what the filmmakers were going for here but it ended up being more obnoxious than captivating. There's obvious talent at work here, but what sounded good on paper or felt great in the minds eye didn't transfer to celluloid quite as well.One thing I can commend Paranoid Park on is it's overall story and the unique narrative style in which it is all presented. The film is narrated by our protagonist, Alex, whose narration is actually part of a letter that he is writing throughout the movie. Because Alex isn't a writer his letter is a little out of order, as is the story and the events that play out in the film. We see certain events multiple times as Alex tells them in his own scatter brained fashion and this way of telling the story makes it more enthralling and much more personal. Throughout the plot there is some silly logic and pretty dumb moments, but as a story it is told very well.But there are many things holding the film back. The overly stylistic cinematography gets in the way and the overly subdued, practically catatonic acting detracts from everything else that is decent about the film. Paranoid Park isn't a disaster by any means, but it has it's fair share of issues that keep it from being that great of a film.

oceanchick Gus: I'm taking time out of my life to give you some words of advice from the heart. Quit settling for crap, Gus. Demand your casting directors hire experienced actors and not their 8th grade son's classmates. Don't cast just because they can stand on a skateboard. Cast high caliber actors and give them skateboard lessons. I saw you were going awry in Last Days but thought for sure you'd learned your lesson with Elephant and I never thought anything could be worse, but I was wrong. You had something in your hands, under your control, that could have been great, Gus, and destroyed it. It was heartbreaking.Remember the basics. Something everybody learns their first session in film school: hire REAL actors. You can add a shot variety, interesting cinematography, decent music, compelling study on ethics and you have the recipe for a good film but if you throw in bricks where there should be actors, you're going to wreck everything. You're drowning your films, Gus, in bad acting. All the long shots of thinking, the super slo-mo shower water spray and splatter shots, the walking shots, the emotional shots are all unsuccessful because the person the audience is supposed to connect with never spoke believably from word one.You can take 2 people and put them in a film where there is nothing but desert and it will only work if you have 2 people who can act, such as what you did with Matt Damon and Casey Affleck in Gerry. Put Gabe Nevins and Jake Miller in Gerry and it would have been painfully unwatchable, because there is NOTHING remotely believable about Nevins or Miller, no matter how fly their hair was. That also includes their looks at the camera that for some reason weren't cut out in editing. How could the same brilliant mind that made Good Will Hunting and Gerry settle for putting crap in his films? What are you doing, man? An audience cannot connect to a film unless the vehicle they use to connect with, the actor, is believable. Kids pretending to act while pretending they aren't, are just pretending...they are NOT acting. Tinker Toys and Lincoln Logs would have been more believable and more interesting to watch, not to mention could probably have read better monologue.Please Gus, you are talented and have a gifted vision. I can tell by the cinematography in your films what you are trying to say, the dilemmas your characters are wrought with, and how you try to show how loud life is in the quietest of moments and visa versa. Quit shooting yourself in the foot before the first frame rolls.Sincerely, Laone

wes-connors Skateboarding Portland, Oregon teenager Gabe Nevins (as Alex) is troubled after a sleep-over invitation from hunky pal Jake Miller (as Jared), who has offered to take him to a place called "Paranoid Park." Mr. Miller advises, "Getting laid is always better than not getting laid." On the night in question, a security guard is killed in the park. Mr. Nevins is questioned, at his high school, by detective Dan Liu (as Richard Lu). We learn Nevins' hot-to-trot virgin girlfriend Taylor Momsen (as Jennifer) wanted to see Nevins that evening, but he feared intercourse was likely. Nevins isn't interested in returning romantic signals from friendly Lauren McKinney (as Macy), either. And, his parents are divorcing. Director Gus Van Sant has young Nevins explain this film is told "a little out of order." And, so it goes. The something referred to as "outside of normal life" seems to be homosexuality, given the general tone of the picture - not to mention the sexy come hither smile Nevins receives from Scott Patrick Green (as Scratch). We do eventually see what happened on the night in question. It's grisly. The film very effectively captures the dangerous allure of restless youthful adventure, and certainly shows how it can sometimes result in tragedy - a real downer, in this particular case, unfortunately. Still, "Paranoid Park" artistically and stylistically very satisfying. Christopher Doyle and the crew help make it hum.******** Paranoid Park (5/21/07) Gus Van Sant ~ Gabe Nevins, Taylor Momsen, Jake Miller, Dan Liu