I watched this movie soon after its release on streaming and was stunned by how awful it is. At that time it had something like a 98% fresh rating among critics, which I will never understand. This tedious exercise painstakingly recreates unpleasant VHS-level video of a bunch of unfunny, uninteresting characters in a sad motel. If only the MST3K crew could have had their way with it. It makes Down By Law look like Die Hard.

So is it a time capsule, chronicling an era (the early 80s) when computers were on the brink of taking over the world? Or is it a trippy science fiction film about the first and only truly A.I. computer? Or is it making some obscure statement about sex and humanity vs technology? Or is it a quirky "mumblecore" comedy? Well, it seems to be all of those things and more; and it's a movie I enjoy more as time passes. In fact, this one of my favorite independent films. I watch it so often, I'm surprised my wife hasn't thrown my 온라인카지노추천 out the window. The story is told partially through a faux documentary format and partially via a traditional (though somehow simultaneously atypical) narrative. This throws some people for a loop, hence the complaints from some viewers who felt "taken out of it" when it switched in and out of documentary format. This did not bother me. Another of my favorite films, "The Grand" with Werner Herzog, does something similar and I thought it worked well in both cases. I liked the characters a lot and the setting (a cheap motel) was the perfect little "world" for them to spend a weekend. And I liked spending the weekend WITH them. There's no other movie quite like it. And sometimes it's enough to be shown something new. Talk about "fresh." This movie should be rated fresh because that's precisely what it is.

Not very engaging, interesting or funny.

Too plausible to be funny, and otherwise lacked anything else to make it interesting other than the fantastic production choices.

It goes places and then it goes some more distant places

By no means did I see this as 'hilarious' or even a comedy. I did however think it fascinating as an authentic, dug-up treasure of footage from over thirty years ago at a computer nerd convention. For that I was glad to watch it. Brilliant in many ways, therefore, but NOT hilarious!

Yawn. "Computer Chess" has been praised for being delightfully retro and very intelligent, which it is, but it's also a bore to watch. Rather than pull us into this geeky, black-and-white world, Bujalski repels us with long shots and uninteresting conversations. Darren Aronofsky's "Pi" was very similar to "Computer Chess" and was far more interesting. I suggest you watch it instead.

Weird and brilliantly inventive. Skirts the boundaries between comedy and fantasy.

Heady, quirky, enigmatic "comedy" about the uneasiness of humanity's relationship to machines. Some moments work, some don't.

Never found this funny at all, and without any humor that worked for me, it was a real chore to get through.

If Eraserhead was shot like a 70s porn movie...

I just watched this on dvd and i don't usually do reviews. I'm not a programmer but i am a chess master who played in tournaments in the 80s and 90's. This film to me was disappointing. I hate it when i feel i could have done better. This felt like a student film with hints of Lynch, and maybe Altman's Nashville 'cept with chess nerds. It's as polyester as it feels or computer beige. The Papageorge story line is just dropped at the end. There's a throwaway bit of freakishness with the nerd and the hooker. Just a hodgepodge, not ready for prime time. .... the game is throwing bones.... and the bones weren't here.

Slyly funny, discreetly thematic, vibrantly unique, and mostly boring in spite of itself -- a quintessential Bujalksi film.

I'm not really sure why the critics liked this so much - it really dragged. Linear but not quite linear. Mysterious yet boring. Maybe too niche of an interest - apparently very accurate as a period piece. I found myself wondering if any of the actors were also on the autistic spectrum Really just too meandering, I think.

Nice idea and making.

With nothing special to say and an underwhelming "I want to be like Lynch" approach, this film meanders until it finds and end.

I could see where the director was trying to go with this, and at times the movie is interesting. However it's so slowly paced and I found very few relatable characters. There are moments that boarder on genius but most scenes are just a slog to get through. In the end I can't really recommend it, but there are certainly worst things you could be stuck watching.

Set in an 80s tournament for chess software, several teams battle against each other to find the winning program that will attempt to beat a human grand master. Filmed in retrograde black & white, this period black comedy is very nostalgic for a geek generation, but the comedy is rather niche, lightweight and rather dries up towards the end. I'm sure the film has something clever to say, but it was lost on me. The Guest and Altman influences are in format alone. Swing and a miss.

A great premise wasted by affected writing. The movie should have had a more moderate aim and lighter tone.

really weird and interesting.