So much average

People are voting emotionally.

Did you people see the same film I saw?

Absolutely Fantastic

A troubled young boy suffering at the hands of his abusive older brother seeks solace in the arms of a traveling burlesque circus singer in this surreal, true crime thriller that follows in the tradition of David Lynch's Blue Velvet and marks the acting debut of former Faith No More frontman Mike Patton. Jimmy (Jak Kendall) is a small-town dreamer who only seems to find peace while walking the candy-colored boardwalk of the traveling circus that has recently rolled into town. Emotionally shackled by his mother Eleanor's (Karen Black) religious fanaticism and physically intimidated by his alcoholic brother, David (Mike Patton), Jimmy leads a meek life of servitude and submissiveness from which he is powerless to escape. Upon glimpsing the exotic beauty of sultry singer Sandra (also Black), Jimmy furtively strikes up a friendship with the woman despite ominous signs that she is being held captive behind the microphone by sadistic circus ringmaster Frank (also Patton). When David goes missing and the horrors of Jimmy's home life are mirrored by the suffering of Sandra in the most unexpected ways, the perceived peace of small-town Kansas is forever shattered by the terrifying truth behind the wholesome, white picket-fence facade of suburbia

This film had an enormous amount of potential as a drama/murder mystery, but the two ends do not meet. Firecraker would easily leave any viewer asking what the point of this film was, and I don't blame them. It asks far too much of the viewer for interpretation, and quite frankly it doesn't seem intentional.I really enjoyed some parts of Firecracker. There were moments that were truly gripping and sent chills down my spine. But most of that was counteracted by incredibly poor acting. Don't get me wrong - Jak Kendall was brilliant, and Mike Patton was as vibrant as his music (perhaps too much). Yet others like Karen Black and Amy Kelly are almost laughable at points. I can only blame it on amateurish direction, and it's a shame, because these people can do better.Despite that, there's a lot to appreciate here. The editing, cinematography and colors of the film are brilliant and beautiful. Yet the story, while gripping at its core, is presented in such a hollow form that the whole package really falls flat.I would regretfully not recommend this film to anyone. It is at more time painful to watch than captivating. And that is truly unfortunate. This story should definitely be re-visited with better direction. The art of this film and good storytelling could co-exist to create something truly brilliant - but this is not it.And upon further review, I think it is worth noting that almost all 10/10 reviews on this film are from accounts that were made solely to put a positive face on this movie and were probably done by those involved with the movie. If you don't believe me, click on their accounts and you will see that this is the only film they've reviewed.

Like most people who've seen this movie, I watched it because of Patton. I'm sure a lot of people were as excited as I was, at beginning least two years ago, when they read what the movie was about, saw production stills and, eventually, read what the critics and lucky few who saw it had to say. It sounded great.But, man, this movie is baaaaaaaaaaaaad. Lots of people are quick to jump on the actors but, with the exception of Jak Kendall who looks like he's never acted a day in his life, I don't blame them. Both Karen Black and Mike Patton are only given cliché'd lines and stick-thin characters. Patton's never given enough to give either of his characters the weight they deserve and Black's characters, on the other hand, are given too many pointless scenes without enough meat to them. It's hard to act well through bad dialogue AND directing, but Black comes out still respectable (very respectable if you take the former problems into account). Patton also does well. He seems a little unsure at times, (moreso with the character of Frank), as if he's trying to get a grip on what he's supposed to be portraying. Whose fault deserves the blame for that is up for discussion, and, though I'm a huge fan, I'm by no means a Patton apologetic. That said, I couldn't help but picturing both Patton and Black possibly starring in a really great movie while it's almost impossible for me to picture anyone delivering this movie's lines any better than the shot they gave it.But enough rambling about who's to blame. Above all, this movie is incredibly self-aware and pretentious. So much so that it fails to see it's own faults for what they are. One gets the sense that Balderson was happy just to have his ideas on the screen, no matter how well they all gelled. Where the color/ black and white shifts should be subtle they are brazen and over-the-top (it's not cool, it's distracting and show-offy). The music is alright although, sometimes the contrast between the melodramatic score and the ridiculousness of what's on screen is unintentionally funny.BOTTOM LINE: Bad reviews or good reviews, I would've seen this film just to watch Patton act, so I know there are a lot of people out there who are going to see this film no matter what it says on IMDb. That said, both Patton and movie fans, prepare to be really disappointed.

I don't ever do comments but this movie was so bad I had to. It annoyed me from the beginning with a horrible slow-mo long shot of a guy running and then never got better. I can't believe so many people made high remarks about this movie. I guess if you like incest gay rape or female castration or enjoy watching a midget strip you might like it and that wasn't even the worst part. Mike Patton and Karen Black play duel roles, I believe to save money, but the key to playing duel roles is that you have to be different characters and I don't think they got the memo. Patton is awful, Black is a little better, but it's like you're watching two crappy stories play out at the same time with the same characters. The edits seemed to be made by college students, the symbolism was poor, the character development was awful and every person in the film was one dimensional. The kicker was that the police couldn't follow the obvious in your face clues that a 4th grader could pick up on, they had to turn to a crazy lady that lived in a field next to a tree that she hung bottles on. My vote for the worst movie of the year, close to all time. There is so much more I could dissect but I don't have enough space.