Funny Games

I was looking forward to watching 'Funny Games' as I'm interested in movies about violence (pro- and anti-), and I generally think European film makers handle sex, violence and disturbing imagery in a more intelligent and complex way than the increasingly more cowardly American movie industry. Well, I was wrong. 'Funny Games' is just as trite as any Hollywood popcorn fodder, and to make matters worse, is supposedly some kind of BIG STATEMENT about violence and the media. I say "supposedly" because it says nothing new or original on the subject. As a criticism of screen violence and voyeuristic audiences it fails, and as a thriller or horror movie it fails also. There is absolutely no suspense, no empathy for the uninteresting victims, no depth to the cliched psychopaths, no real on screen violence or torture to speak of, and way too many dull patches. I also thought the one or two Brechtian moments where "Paul" talks to the audience were gimmicky and redundant, and the less said about the ridiculous "remote control scene" the better!

Don't waste your time with this over-hyped garbage.