The Official Review Thread of 2009

[Sonic Youth]

you can have all the gracious, dotting little aunts.

You forgot "British". :p

[Sabin]

More witless, arch, smug condescension from the Coens -- what a surprise!

Arch, smug, and condescending I can understand, but how is this witless?

[Uri]

You can have all the immaculate, sweet nature nuns you want, let us keep the nagging, mean spirited rabbis, thank you.

ROTFLMAO!

I had no problem with the rabbi, it was the freakin' relatives I couldn't stand.

Oy vey, take zwei – you can have all the gracious, dotting little aunts you want, let us keep the klaftes.

[Big Magilla]

You can have all the immaculate, sweet nature nuns you want, let us keep the nagging, mean spirited rabbis, thank you.

ROTFLMAO!

I had no problem with the rabbi, it was the freakin' relatives I couldn't stand.

[Damien]

You can have all the immaculate, sweet nature nuns you want, let us keep the nagging, mean spirited rabbis, thank you.

ROTFLMAO!

[Uri]

I saw It's Complicated. By Far the best Nancy Meyers film ever, or, in other words, harmless. Anyway, I came up with two observations. One – this movie should be seen as a part of a double feature with Lorna's Silence. Seeing these two back to back is the best and easiest way to illustrate what's fucked up in Western society. Second – of all the Americans films I saw recently, there are only two I can consider better than IC – Single/Serious Man. The others, though some are certainly more interesting or thought provoking or aiming higher, were worse: 500 Days of Summer (yes, yes, I'm going to hell for this one), Avatar, Brothers, The Rebound, Whatever Works, Inglorious Basterds, Cheri, Sherlock Holmes, Nine. There must be something malignantly wrong about American cinema if such a trivial, marginally competent fluff such as IC is in the top quarter of any given group of films. And it makes me sad, very sad.



Edited By Uri on 1263908643

[ITALIANO]

You can have all the immaculate, sweet nature nuns you want, let us keep the nagging, mean spirited rabbis, thank you.

[Uri]

A Serious Man

More witless, arch, smug condescension from the Coens -- what a surprise! As a friend of mine said about these assholes, why create characters if all you're going to do is show contempt for them. Partially salvaged by Roger Deakins's cinematography and knowing production and costume design.

3/10

Not on Sabin's birthday!

I found it a mixed bag. Michael Stuhlberg is a definite find, but some of the other characters were written and played way too broad and I hated the ending.

I generally like the Coens, but I approach all their films with a bit of trepidation. Fargo was their highpoint for me and No Country for Old Men and Burn After Reading were welcome surprises after several failures in the 00s.

At the other end of the scale I hate Barton Fink, The Hudsucker Proxy, Intolerable Cruelty, The Ladykillers and Paris j'taime and have yet to get what all the fuss is about The Big Liebowski.

You can have all the immaculate, sweet nature nuns you want, let us keep the nagging, mean spirited rabbis, thank you.

[Big Magilla]

A Serious Man

More witless, arch, smug condescension from the Coens -- what a surprise! As a friend of mine said about these assholes, why create characters if all you're going to do is show contempt for them. Partially salvaged by Roger Deakins's cinematography and knowing production and costume design.

3/10

Not on Sabin's birthday!

I found it a mixed bag. Michael Stuhlberg is a definite find, but some of the other characters were written and played way too broad and I hated the ending.

I generally like the Coens, but I approach all their films with a bit of trepidation. Fargo was their highpoint for me and No Country for Old Men and Burn After Reading were welcome surprises after several failures in the 00s.

At the other end of the scale I hate Barton Fink, The Hudsucker Proxy, Intolerable Cruelty, The Ladykillers and Paris j'taime and have yet to get what all the fuss is about The Big Liebowski.

[Damien]

A Serious Man

More witless, arch, smug condescension from the Coens -- what a surprise! As a friend of mine said about these assholes, why create characters if all you're going to do is show contempt for them. Partially salvaged by Roger Deakins's cinematography and knowing production and costume design.

3/10

[ITALIANO]

The Hurt Locker comes so achingly close to this.

It's very careful to get as far as it can from THAT, actually.

From the scenario or from the fatalist quality I'm describing?

From the alternative story which is not told.

[Damien]

I wouldn't count on Tobey, despite the Globe nomination. Bridges, Clooney and Firth are definites. Freeman is highly likely, although if there is widespread indifference to Invictus he might be shunted aside (though more likely, folks will vote for him because they'll consider it voting for Nelson Mandela). That leaves 4 or 5 others fighting for the 5th spot. I'd say the most likely would be Jeremy Renner or Viggo Mortensen. (Go Viggo!)



Edited By Damien on 1263886050

[Big Magilla]

A chance, yes, but a slim one behind Bridges, Clooney, Firth, Renner, Freeman, Mortensen, Foster, Damon and maybe even Copley.

[Reza]

Brothers (Jim Sheridan)

There are inconsistencies in narrative, characteriazations and logic but this character study of the traumatic aftermath of traumatic war experiences is quite affecting and nicely acted -- Tobey Maguire does haunted extremely well. A solid piece of craftsmmanship on Jim Sheridan's part and if it veers into melodrama now and then and has little intellectual depth (or point of view on the war in Afghanastan), this small film still works on an emotional level.

6/10

Any chance of a Tobey Maguire nomination?

[Damien]

Brothers (Jim Sheridan)

There are inconsistencies in narrative, characteriazations and logic but this character study of the traumatic aftermath of traumatic war experiences is quite affecting and nicely acted -- Tobey Maguire does haunted extremely well. A solid piece of craftsmmanship on Jim Sheridan's part and if it veers into melodrama now and then and has little intellectual depth (or point of view on the war in Afghanastan), this small film still works on an emotional level. And there's one absolutely shocking sequence in the film that completely astonished me -- me with my 51 years of going to the movies.

6/10



Edited By Damien on 1263893570