namashi_1
One of the Finest Actors of Cinema History, James Woods delivers A Yet Another Fabulous Performance in 'The Boost'. A dark & depressing flick, that works mostly because of Woods.'The Boost' Synopsis: A real-estate hustler & his wife see success, only to fall deep later-on. 'The Boost' is more about the side-effects of failure, rather than a story of drug-addicts. The struggle & the depression its pivotal characters go through, are very off-putting, as they depict reality. Ben Stein & Darryl Ponicsan's Screenplay, though fairly engaging, gets a bit too serious & disturbing towards the second-hour. Harold Becker's Direction is proficient.Woods is the biggest merit of 'The Boost'. He's so good as a suffering man, that my heart literally went out for him, even after he gives in to drug-addiction. Woods tops himself in here! On the whole, 'The Boost' caters to a niche audience, but if Fine Acting is what you're looking for, then watching Woods's Masterful Performance in here, should top your list.
makm10
I think this movie is a great drama, and anti-drug film. It gives a dark feeling, and the true aspects of cocaine, and other drugs. The acting from James Woods, in my opinion, was not over-acted at all. He gave the watcher a feeling like they just snorted a few lines, and where experiencing the same things as himself. Sure, its not the best movie, and there are many better anti-drug movies out there. But, for what its worth, the movie brings you to hell and it leaves you there.If you did like this movie, or are looking for other good anti-drug movies, my two favorites are Requiem for a Dream, and Trainspotting.
*** out of *****
grisell
This film has suffered some unjustified criticism.Woods and Young are really doing great performances, as usual. One criticist stated that it was difficult to see any difference between J Woods "before" and "after", just as with J Nicholson in "the Shining". He may be true there, but taking things not too seriously, this is a believable and well-acted movie. To put it simply: It could have happened in real life.I wouldn't rate this as a masterpiece, but given the good performances of Young and Woods, it's clearly above average.Yes, it is an anti-drug film, but if you are against drugs you should see it. If you're pro-drugs, it is even more important for you to see it!
dkgambler
My gosh, this movie was nothing more than filmmaking by numbers. Struggling salesman can't make a go of it in New York, mentor with a heart of gold takes him under his wing, struggling salesman moves to California and makes it big, then loses it big, then bounces back with the simple life, then hits rock bottom trying to get back to the top. I don't think I can remember any part of the plot that took more than five seconds to develop. Case in point (spoiler?): When the John Kapelos character calls to say he and his girlfriend were coming to Santa Cruz to visit, and James Woods says there's practically no chance he would come, you knew with 100% certainty they were coming in the next scene or two.On the other hand, Sean Young sure looked good.
AD
