The defence The Cool Ironist
“Form is the argument.”
Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.
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Swimming with Sharks
Crime · Comedy · 1994
Guy is a young film executive who's willing to do whatever it takes to make it in Hollywood. He begins working for famed producer Buddy Ackerman, a domineering, manipulative, coldhearted boss. When Guy also finds out that his cynical girlfriend, Dawn, has been using sex as a career move, he reaches his limit. Guy decides to exact revenge on Buddy by kidnapping him and subjecting him to cruel and unusual punishment.
Movie details
Swimming with Sharks
“In Hollywood his dreams could come true. But first he has to make coffee.”
1994 Crime · Comedy 1h 33m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.6 / 10
Community rating
Guy is a young film executive who's willing to do whatever it takes to make it in Hollywood. He begins working for famed producer Buddy Ackerman, a domineering, manipulative, coldhearted boss. When Guy also finds out that his cynical girlfriend, Dawn, has been using sex as a career move, he reaches his limit. Guy decides to exact revenge on Buddy by kidnapping him and subjecting him to cruel and unusual punishment.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Swimming with Sharks?
For the defence
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Serial Mom
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Seven Psychopaths
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Raising Arizona
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Horrible Bosses
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For Nick, Kurt and Dale, the only thing that would make the daily grind more tolerable would be to grind their intolerable bosses into dust. Quitting is not an option, so, with the benefit of a few-too-many drinks and some dubious advice from a hustling ex-con, the three friends devise a convoluted and seemingly foolproof plan to rid themselves of their respective employers... permanently.
Pulp Fiction
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The Killer
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After a fateful miss, an assassin battles his employers, and himself, on an international manhunt he insists isn't personal.
Trapped
Thriller · 2002
When their daughter is abducted by experienced kidnappers, the Jennings turn the tables on their seemingly fool-proof plan.
Bad Influence
Thriller · 1990
Wimpy young executive Michael is about to get pulverized by a jealous boyfriend in a bar when a handsome, mysterious stranger steps in—and then disappears. Later that night, Michael runs into a stranger on a pier, who wheedles his way into Michael's life and turns it upside down.
Office Space
Comedy · 1999
A depressed white-collar worker tries hypnotherapy, only to find himself in a perpetual state of devil-may-care bliss that prompts him to start living by his own rules, and hatch a hapless attempt to embezzle money from his soul-killing employers.
Bad Boys: Ride or Die
Action · 2024
After their late former Captain is framed, Lowrey and Burnett try to clear his name, only to end up on the run themselves.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
George Huang
Written by
George Huang
Kevin Spacey
Buddy Ackerman
Frank Whaley
Guy
Michelle Forbes
Dawn Lockard
Benicio del Toro
Rex
T.E. Russell
Foster Kane
Roy Dotrice
Cyrus Miles
Matthew Flint
Manny
Court is in session
Put Swimming with Sharks on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Prestige Tourist
“Technique in search of a pulse.”
Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.