hyped garbage

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

I understand that the stars playing in Hollywood's major league need time to decompress from fame and limelight. With some help of Casey Affleck, Joaquin Phoenix was able to kill two birds with one stone: He actually went berserk in his free time and made a movie out of it.Back in the day the news about Joaquin Phoenix retiring from acting in order to concentrate on career in rap music was a surprise. Now, of course, we know this has been a hoax.My problem here was not this film's contents rather it's lack of direction. It remains unclear to me whether I'm Still Here is a mockumentary, an experiment or a rather unconventional psychotherapy for Joaquin Phoenix.

I went into this movie thinking it would be pretty funny since it was a mockumentary of sorts. Parts of the movie, especially scenes with Antony or the bits where you actually get to hear Joaquin's music, were hilarious. Especially the music--I had to re-watch one of his songs a few times, it was just such a great scene.But, the thing is, a lot of it is the type of humor you'd expect from a Jackass movie or something similar--very teenage-boy kind of humor, if you know what I mean. I think if you are in any way prudish, or easily disturbed, this film is definitely not for you.Overall, it was a pretty good movie and I'm glad I saw it. Some of the acting was a bit overdone in my opinion, and at some points, it was easy to see that the film was scripted, but it's a pretty funny movie that reveals a lot of (sometimes shocking) truths about being a celebrity, and it makes it more clear as to why celebrities do some of the crazy things that they sometimes do.

Hey, look – it's Zach Galifianakis doing a Charlie Sheen imitation, breaking down in front of the entire world, and for what exactly? Okay so it's really a bearded overweight Joaquin Phoenix who, a few years after an Oscar nominated performance as Johnny Cash in WALK THE LINE, decided to take a permanent break from show business – and he wasn't going out quietly.Anybody remember that little kid (then named Leaf) with the robot in SPACECAMP or the troubled pre-teen who collected porno mags in Ron Howard's PARENTHOOD? That's the younger brother of the late River Phoenix, who first got this viewer's attention playing one of two white trash murderers in TO DIE FOR along with Casey Affleck, Ben's brother and Joaquin's brother-in-law and, most importantly, the director/co-writer of I'M STILL HERE, a documentary, or rather, "mockumentary" about Joaquin's attempted plunge into the rap music industry.The most involving scenes has the troubled star desperately trying to impress hip hop mogul Sean Puffy Combs to produce a work-in-progress rap album, initially consisting of a few songs that Phoenix performs to unhappy audiences in random live venues. And why not – his lyrics weren't that awful but he couldn't carry a spoken-note, and without a script what's an actor to do before an unruly crowd? Scenes where the frantic primadonna snorts coke and chews out his personal assistants are both mean-spirited and contrived. Then during moments of rogue contemplation, he really doesn't have anything deep or meaningful to say about either music or acting.If Phoenix is attempting humor so dry it's completely unnoticeable, he overreached: while the film seems edgy and real it's not that funny or interesting. More archive footage on the Phoenix family upbringing (as quickly shown in the prologue) or clips of his early roles could have made the project relevant to ardent cinema buffs and/or fans of JP as a hard-working cult actor who progressed into the mainstream. The highlight is an appearance on David Letterman promoting his supposed last film TWO LOVERS. Finally some laughs occur thanks to Letterman's ability to make the most awkward situation humorous. As the bearded and bewildered actor chews gum and has nothing to say, Letterman jabs him with one-liners, comparing his unkempt shaggy look to that of the "Uni- Bomber." This segment feels like a devastating first date, full of edgy/uncomfortable silences, but Letterman handles the train wreck with ease.Despite the flaws, I'M STILL HERE is not an entirely futile venture… As Phoenix descends into the scraggly abyss he seems most comfortable in, you'll want to see how low he can go, and better yet, if any more celebrities (besides Letterman, Ben Stiller and Edward James Olmos) will try figuring out his bizarre behavior and decision to quit the one thing he's good at: pretending to be someone else...

I watched I'm Still Here last night. I think, on many levels, it is an almost brilliant satire film of the culture of celebrity, the gluttony of media, entitlement, idolatry, and social behavior. How quickly people celebrate the demise of someone; how they revel in the mental breakdown of someone especially when they don't understand what's happening. It shows how enamored people are with 'stars' and how even if treated harshly, or if something doesn't cut the mustard in their eyes, they are afraid of calling bullshit because they are 'programmed' to accept mediocrity in most things. There are a few missing components in this equation. Either through the fault of Casey or the people who interviewed JP, there was no mention or inquiry as to the music. Not one 'journalist' said, "Hey, this is a remarkable transition. We had no idea nor saw anything that hinted at your love of hip hop; give us an example.' Just as Eminem (and many others) freestyle'd in The Art of Rap on the drop of a dime, JP should have at least prepared something that would have made this even more convincing (even though it was a ploy!) The fact no one asked to see the goods was glaringly missing. Case in point. When Michael Jordan announced he was dropping basketball to play baseball, at least he showed everyone his 'game' to the media. Though that was for real, it also made it more plausible. I feel Casey missed an opportunity to really sell this and thus make it even more compelling. But I did enjoy this film! Kudos to JP for pulling this off. Maybe his best work other than The Master. And I think Casey Affleck has a wicked sense of humor in making this.