Review the last movie you viewed (NO LISTS) V

[FitzChivalry]

Originally Posted by GirlsAloudFan The Savages Very strong performances by Laura Linney and P.S. Hoffman as a sister and brother attempting to care for their abusive and dying father. Hoffman, especially, was a treat in this one. He plays a depressed, grouchy, struggling writer...which is pretty much what I want to be when I get older. So I connected with him. Strong performances all around, really. Even the brief little role of the Nigerian nurse I thought was written and played very well. It was indeed funny at times (again mostly Hoffman) and was for the most part pretty intriguing. Definitely a bit of a slow burn, and some would maybe say that it is too murky and depressing but I thought that the pace and feel of it really fit well with the two lead characters. I also enjoyed the nice happy-ish ending. Pretty good stuff.

I agree with everything in your review except one main opinion . . . I thought Linney was far, far, far and away better in this than Hoffman (and I do love Philip Seymour Hoffman!). I just don't think he did as much with his character or went as far with him as Linney did with her character. Her performance again affirmed my opinion that she is one of the 2 or 3 best working actresses in "mainstream" cinema today. Her transformation and character arc are amazing in this film and she shows us every nuanced detail along the way. Hoffman was good, but Linney was AMAZING!

[joyfulgirl]

Originally Posted by deep I don't work with writers I did read a book, once I see a lot of foreign language films of the last 10, this was the worst self-absorbed, boring characters, why should anyone care about these people? also, nothing happens

Well, no, it's not an action film. It's a coming-of-age story about male-bonding when the most exciting thing in the world is music, literature and ideas, and you hang out with your friends and think about all the possibilities the future holds, and then how that all fades in time. People are self-absorbed at that age. It was a look at a very specific period in these young men's lives. Not a lot "happened" when I was that age either, but plenty was going down inside.

So, we disagree.

[joyfulgirl]

The Year My Parents Went on Vacation 8/10

A really touching story about a little boy in Sao Paulo whose parents are involved in politics in the '70s and have to suddenly go into hiding, leaving the boy with his grandfather in the Jewish section of the city (the boy is half-Jewish but not raised Jewish). Unbeknownst to the parents, the grandfather died right before they dropped the boy off so he is left stranded to be cared for by the good people of the neighborhood and in particular, an old man who doesn't seem to particularly like children. There is a lot of humor here though the boy's circumstances are bleak. He makes new friends and learns the ways of a different culture, against a backdrop of a shared love of soccer as Brazil goes for the World Cup. Very absorbing and sweet, and the boy is wonderful.

It was a "coming of age" weekend for me--one book and two films all coincidentally on this subject.

[deep]

Originally Posted by joyfulgirl Well, no, it's not an action film. It's a coming-of-age story about male-bonding when the most exciting thing in the world is music, literature and ideas, and you hang out with your friends and think about all the possibilities the future holds, and then how that all fades in time. People are self-absorbed at that age. It was a look at a very specific period in these young men's lives. Not a lot "happened" when I was that age either, but plenty was going down inside. So, we disagree.

no problem

we agree a lot. too

I really liked the Joy Division film

the film is getting mostly good reviews, too.


I just could not have cared less about the guy, who counts to ten, twice
and could not understand why his cute girlfriend would even put up with his pity party


other films, I have seen at my local art house
and have enjoyed more recently:

Tell No One

Edge of Heaven

Roman de Gare

Quid Pro Quo

Brick Lane

Before the Rains

The Unknown Woman

The Grocer's Son

[joyfulgirl]

Originally Posted by deep no problem I just could not have cared less about the guy, who counts to ten, twice and could not understand why his cute girlfriend would even put up with his pity party

Oh, I agree with you there. I wanted to smack him. But I've known people like that and even though I didn't like him, he was real to me. I don't have to like a character to appreciate their place in a film or a book, and he did have some redeeming moments.

Originally Posted by deep other films, I have seen at my local art house and have enjoyed more recently: Tell No One Edge of Heaven Roman de Gare Quid Pro Quo Brick Lane Before the Rains The Unknown Woman The Grocer's Son

We have two great art houses here, too, but we tend not to get things as soon as you do out there, often not until they're about to be released on DVD, sadly. I did see a couple of weeks ago "My Brother is an Only Child" which is really good, and "Flawless" (Michael Caine/Demi Moore) also really good, but I rejected "Before the Rains" because it got bad reviews--but you recommend it? I figured I'd wait for the rental. "Brick Lane" is coming soon and I'm looking forward to that but am desperately looking for the book which is somewhere in my house but I never read it, probably because I can never find the damn thing.

[corianderstem]

I forgot to mention it here, since I went on and on about it in its own thread, but ...

X-Files: I Want to Believe

I woke up this morning realizing it wasn't nearly as good as I thought it was last night. Mulder & Scully, great to see you, and all the moments with you guys were great. The rest of the movie? I'm not one to bitch about plot, writing, plot holes, etc. But boy, did I have a lot of problems with it. The least of which was that it was just a lame story to put into a movie. Oh well.

Rescue Dawn

Now THIS was good. I'd heard it was very good, but "war movies" (yes, I know, not yet a war by that point, but POW movies fall into war movie territory) aren't really my thing. But since I'm on a Christian Bale kick (shocker), I watched it.

It's so weird - Bale does an American accent so well that it shocks me when I hear him speak in his plain old accent, and it throws me off. Recent clips I've heard of him speaking, his accent is super thick. On the extra features of this DVD, the accent is there but not nearly as strong. I wonder if he eases off on his own accent while even preparing for another role, or what the deal is.

Anyway. I really liked the movie.

[LemonMacPhisto]

Step Brothers

I haven't laughed as hard at a movie in a long time. You've really got to be a fan of the Angry Ferrell Shouting brand of comedy to enjoy it, I think, but if you buy into that, you'll be fine. It's about as bizarre a comedy as I've seen in a while, too, but it's fully aware of that and uses it to great effect. You'll see half of the lines of this movie on T-shirts by the end of the summer.

7/10

[phillyfan26]

Originally Posted by LemonMacPhisto Step Brothers I haven't laughed as hard at a movie in a long time. You've really got to be a fan of the Angry Ferrell Shouting brand of comedy to enjoy it, I think, but if you buy into that, you'll be fine. It's about as bizarre a comedy as I've seen in a while, too, but it's fully aware of that and uses it to great effect. You'll see half of the lines of this movie on T-shirts by the end of the summer. 7/10

I believe I'm going to see this with College Girl tomorrow. I'm pumped.

[LemonMacPhisto]

Originally Posted by phillyfan26 I believe I'm going to see this with College Girl tomorrow. I'm pumped.

Be ready, sir. The whole thing plays out like the Dinner Scene from Talladega Nights.

[phillyfan26]

Originally Posted by LemonMacPhisto Be ready, sir. The whole thing plays out like the Dinner Scene from Talladega Nights.

I heard almost the entire thing was improvising between Ferrell and Reilly.

[LemonMacPhisto]

Originally Posted by phillyfan26 I heard almost the entire thing was improvising between Ferrell and Reilly.

Not the whole thing, but large portions really seem like it. It's less structured than the other Ferrell/McKay movies.

[GirlsAloudFan]

Hey, I watched the movie Good Will Hunting on TV the other day. Yes, on TV. I own it and I've seen it a hundred times before so it's ok.

But, goddam. I hadn't seen it in probably two years or so and it hit me again. I feel like I could be able to write up a pretty fuckin good post about my thoughts on the movie but right now I'm finding it difficult. Maybe one day I'll wake up and realize that I spent 150 grand on an education that I coulda got for $1.50 in late fees at the public library.

Anyway, yeah, I'm sure all of you have seen it. But I just felt like saying how much I love it.

And Ben Aflleck? Hilarious. A great performance. That guy, despite all the shit he has received in his career, can really steal a scene with the best of 'em. Shakespeare in Love is another example that comes to mind.

Robin Williams? Another guy who has taken a lot of shit. He delivers us such a great character. And he received an Oscar that he deserved.

"Hey it's me, Will. Remember? We went to kindergarten together."

"Don't forget the coffee!"

"Retainer!...retainer...keep your ear to the grindstone"

I could go on and on so I'll stop now.

[u2popmofo]

I still prefer the sequel, GAF.

[deep]

Originally Posted by corianderstem I forgot to mention it here, since I went on and on about it in its own thread, but ... X-Files: I Want to Believe I woke up this morning realizing it wasn't nearly as good as I thought it was last night.

Glad to see you come out of your fangirl fog.

I know, you wanted to believe.

I actually enjoyed the first X-Files movie quite a bit.

This one was a complete miss.

It is too bad, there was some good source material here:
Moon astronaut says we're not alone | Video | Reuters.com

[No spoken words]

Control.

I enjoyed this greatly. The performance scenes were too few and far between, but riveting anyway.

Thought the guy playing Curtis was great, and this was one of the few films about a musician/band that felt real and humanistic to me. I cared for Curtis as a character in the film, as opposed to the Curtis I knew prior....if that makes any sense.