Andrei Pavlov It starts well, goes on quite good for a certain time and then deteriorates at an incredibly fast pace, falling as low as an unimpressive sweet-sweet ending for softies. Comparing it to "Twin Peaks" is misleading. This tricky comparison led me to watching it and to regret it badly. To start with, this product as a whole looks like a Britney Spears music video (no offence to the diva - she's OK, bombastic and quite cute). In the end "Wild Palms" gives you a candy bar with a happy smile: "Suck on it and be happy, people have won, the revolution goes all right, all creeps and tycoons have been properly punished and before us, common people, is happiness and joy only; relax, there will be a party tonight, everybody who owns a luxury car is invited, the drinks are on the house!" "Twin Peaks" was something different. It was teasing the viewer during its run, lurking in the shadows, kicking the viewer in the butt now and then (the ghost punches were also common) and on top of that it destroyed even the slightest possibility of a sugary finale. "That's foul!" you say? Yes, but if it's done artistically, with proper ideas behind these numerous kicks and punches, there is a reliable reward when it's all over. Here is the difference between a genuine masterpiece and a pop culture show-off.Were there any problems before the final part in "Twin Peaks"? You bet. "Twin Peaks" had also a couple of over-the-top moments but "Twin Peaks" was always walking the fine line between the true horror and an easy-going drama, always ready to amaze. It hit and run, it delivered its weird moments perfectly and with style. Many "Twin Peaks" characters were easy on the outside and creepy inside. It's vice versa in "Wild Palms". The characters are flashy and super-serious on the outside but soon you don't care for them, while they are one-dimensional, like cardboard heroes; the crowds of holiday-makers with slogans, some revolutionary chick with a bomb and a hoot (something like "We fight for freedom!"), cheap CGI (by the way, in "LawnmowerMan" the CGI was - and still is - haunting), etc. - it all adds to the flashy but juvenile picture of "Palms". Boring talks of boring characters in acid surroundings, some swimming pool is used as an entrance to the secret organization of freedom-fighters (isn't that kidstuff?).There is only regret: instead of re-watching a couple of decent Oliver Stone flicks from the past, my time was annihilated by this trash that started off so well...Can recommend this failure to teenagers only, while it's flashy, pretentious, seriously didactic like "Matrix Reloaded/Revolution" with bits of explosions, gunplay, lounge music, sexy dames, and eye-gouging. Oh, and there is a katana in one of the scenes. Wow, isn't that groovy? A 3 out of 10 for this serial, which could have been a 10 out of 10 and could have become a rival to "Twin Peaks" but turned out to be what it is – a "pop-popsy" sci-fi.

MadMonky In childhood i once heard a story from Greek mythology, long story short, the Gods hid a little piece of god in all of man were we could never find it. Hence the Fathers were trying to use VR to separate our intellect or soul from man and create disembobied god online. Which IMO explains the movies religious undertones, the praying to child actors and what not. I haven't seen this movie in since it appeared on TV and i still think about it.In hind site the movie was a prophetic warning the way everyone was addicted to the virtual reality online world while in reality they lived in poverty and everything around them was going straight to hell. On one hand we do all our bisness, communication and socialization online, on the other hand online is not real? But we can live without it anymore we are addicted to the unreal..

2henry-1 Ok, apart from the fact that I read an awful lot of books, movies and particularly good movies do carry me away as well.THIS is one heck of a movie.Robert Loggia excells and makes a start at his appearance in 'lost highway'.Why scientology ? The Fathers are conservative, granted, but they really want to manage your soul in 'the Church'.Guess what, windows is the system ;-)The movie is beautifully done, the plot twists and turns, William Gibson [none other but himself] has a cameo, and grudgingly concedes that he indeed was the first to coin the term.The women in this movie are the true protagonists [excuse me ladies, I know it's never different, Ollie puts it where you can't ignore it. In your face]...A very good movie, highly recommended.I hope this summary entices you to see the movie. You will not be indifferent !

rogierr It's a pity it wasn't released 5 years earlier: the mood created by cinematographer Phedon Papamichael (Phenomenon, Cool Runnings) is so eighties-like, the great Michael Mann (L.A. Takedown, Manhunter, The Insider) must like it, if only visually: it's very clean and cool. Except Mann usually adds some really excessive displayals of power with lots of shooting (Miami Vice) and lots of music. Wild Palms is far more subtle. The great score was created by legendary composer Ryuichi Sakamoto (Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence). The chosen hit songs (Where the streets have no name, Hello I must be going) just add slightly to the mood and you really have to pay attention to the songtexts. And notice the subtle fashion statements, like the sober collars? There are 5 episodes directed by 4 directors, one of which is Kathryn Bigelow (Near Dark, Point Break, Strange Days): Strange Days (1995) is a nice movie about more or less the same subject but without the aesthetics and the good acting. James Belushi is great, Robert Loggia and Angie Dickinson must be the devil themselves. Wild Palms may feel like 'Dynasty - the play - set in the future' about families in multimedia instead of oil. The story IS about media monopolies and law-suits (MS anyone? - Church Windows): there seems to be no credible independent justice system anymore in this future. There are family intrigues, but definitely never really feels like a soap opera. However, one of the flaws of Wild Palms is that you can see that it is made for tv because you can see where the commercials are supposed to be. Wild Palms is quite lengthy, but I just couldn't wait for the next episode to be broadcasted seven days later. I wouldn't recommend trying to watch all episodes at once, because the pace is rather low. Cut it down to 180 minutes and you can show it in a theater (although Warhol's 'Empire' wasn't cut down a minute...). Definitely more interesting than 'JFK' and 'Nixon' together. 9/10