Customer Reviews

Learning Curve

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Some times we just have to cut to the chase and get down to business. "Learning Curve" does just that - writer/director Andy Anderson has a particular take on life and it vividly shows in this film. "Curve" is not a movie you see every day. The market forces would never create a story like this as it should be - this is where independent filmmaking shines. So, a high school teacher can't teach his students - they just don't want to learn (not that they CAN'T learn!)...I've been witness to situations similar to this in my high school days. I was put in low-level applied classes with all the goof-offs and Dopeheads and Metal Heads: all who didn't want to learn a thing. Needless to say I wasn't one of them, I did want to learn, but spending three years with these types of students left me with a sour after taste in my mouth in regards to the public school system...So, now comes "Learning Curve" and with this teacher's method of teaching, I applaude with great glee. Learning through imprisonment and electric shock cuts through the B.S. and gets right to the heart of the matter. And what's more, IT WORKED! They did begin to learn! Overall, Mr. Anderson has crafted a film that's part satire, part reality and part shocking. This is his second feature film and I hope that I won't have to wait years and years to see his next effort on the big screen!

And this is the weakest. This film began some years ago as Detention, a black black-comedy with lots of gritty raw footage. A movie that grabbed you by the lapels and shook you, it precluded all mealy-mouthed hem-hawing about good and evil. But that same year, another film with the same name was released, and this Detention got lost. Andy recut it, chopped about 30 minutes, gave it a new name, and offered Very Special Ed, a brilliant, scathing, frightening movie that worked in every direction. I had thought the original unimprovable. I was wrong.

But now he has recut it again, and it is diminished by the newest rearrangements. Some scenes were (I think) reshot, and they seem curiously without energy, as if everyone felt they had done this once already. The forcefulness is lost, and the new ending, while similar to the previous versions, again, comes out a bit tepid.

A wonderful film is in here, this just isn't it. Still pretty good, with some flashes that are so good they shake you (e.g. the now shortened assembly scene where the teachers are learning just how many times they are supposed to look at a student) but overall, a notch below its previous lives.

One wishes it success, but the disappointment of seeing something wonderful reduced, for whatever reasons, is saddening.

I am waiting for this to arrive but have watched it on Net-Flix. I thought it was a pretty good film. The only down side is, I wish they would have gone into more detail about the main character Mr Walmsley. He was at one time associated with a psychiatric wing affiliated with the VA. They just never explain his entire past. Over all not a bad movie.

Learning Curve is a great little movie that shows what teachers would really like to do to their students if they could. It's a very entertaining movie, it contains nudity so anyone that may be offended by this should not watch it. But it is a different kind of movie, has humor as well as drama. I really love this movie and don't let the bad cover picture fool you.I recommend this to anyone who doesn't like mainstream movies.Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

....then this is it.
The film is about a teacher who has had enough of uncivil students and their bad behavior including the use of vulgar language, harassment, threats and rudeness in a system that has failed just about everyone. The teacher constructs an elaborate scheme to teach his troubled students a lesson once and for all. Under his control, the students will be forced to learn or suffer the consequences.

Some of the scenes are very satisfying to watch. Probably many teachers were cheering this on. A lot of it though is very unrealistic and you have to take it with a grain of salt. You have to just go along for the ride.

The film is low budget and slightly amateurish. There are a couple of scenes where the dialogue didn't match the movement of the actor's mouths. There are times when the production is cheap and it's a bit hard to take however, most people who like comedy or something offbeat will enjoy this. It's worth seeing.

Our system of education does not adequately serve some students who are potentially the most capable. There is a sizeable subset of students for whom a school is little more than a holding facility that frees both parents to have careers (or at least get the kids out of their hair for a few hours). A student who is especially inquisitive, an abstract thinker, a dreamer, or just too smart, will only pose problems.

You get the impression that Learning Curve (aka Detention) was written by a teacher or someone close to a teacher. It is a satirical look at a system gone wrong. An incident that figures strongly is the (supposedly real-life) case of a self-appointed "book review committee" that gets a textbook banned for "encouraging creativity," leaving Mr. Walmsley's class with no book to study. Mr. Walmsley is our caring lesson-provider who devises an unconventional scheme for dealing with student apathy.

A glance at the DVD case lets you know it's a low-budget B movie with a cast of unknowns. What are the chances this movie will be any good? Well, if you don't take chances as a consumer of entertainment, you will never be pleasantly surprised. This movie is surprisingly good.

The movie goes in a different direction than you think it will and the ending is worth hanging around for. There are moments of dry humor such as when the "students" discuss fiscal policy. There is a memorable scene when a "student" reads aloud from Conrad's "Heart of Darkness."

Afterward, I googled Andy Anderson, the director, to discover more hidden gems. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything.

I just happened onto this little independent film, and must tell you - was pleasently surprised. I really didn't know what to expect from this film, but as I was watching it I soon realized that my eyes were glued to the screen for the full 108 minutes that it ran. I know that many of the other reviewers have stated excellent observations, however, I would just like to add my endorsement. Check this one out. Rent it, buy it . . . you won't be dissapointed. As I was watching; it did remind me of another picture I saw years ago titled "Class of '84." These two films would make a great double-bill!

This is one of those movies that I wish I had the opportunity to assist with the script. I would have had that substitute teacher ripping the throats out of some those smart mouth high schoolers! lol

Besides the fact that I was mesmerized by the good looks of the leading man, (The substitute teacher) the movie was really good. It kept my attention til the end. Not a bad way to spend an hour and a half. A real gem. A must for my DVD collection.

I really enjoyed this movie because it deals with bullys in a very different way. I bet it got some snickers from some of the teachers that watched this movie. I highly recommend this movie to anyone that has dealt with bullys in thier life.