I saw in her shoes by chance and was very touched by the story and the style of the story teller. I kept trying to leave the room to do my chores while my wife sat weeping. I was so curious at what was causing such emotions and got hooked after the first five minutes. It could have easily been done with great mellow-drama but an unstated settle gave it an ease to watch and experience without you being dragged into the mud. The acting was well done. Really good work from Cameron Diaz and Shirely McClaine. The writing of the story from the book was respectable. To those who read the book know that few things were dropped but it hardly effected the story itself. I highly recommend this film.
Reviews
10 Reviews
Run Lola Run
(1998)
artud
30 June 2006
When the creator of the theater of cruelty Anton Artud claimed that all human beings are connected by an unseen chain that holds us as one being affected by each others actions, people laughed and he ended up in the insane asylum. This film plays brilliantly on this concept mixed with Plato's philosophy about the emotion and reason in executing life and which becomes the choice best suited for greater results. I very much enjoyed the process that this film took to make its point. Well done on various levels. The writing was very Keene on understanding the human psyche. The direction allowed no escape for the audience and kept them well connected to the experience. The acting is done masterfully. Good job!
A Fond Kiss
(2004)
Interesting but incomplete
3 June 2006
Done with broad-strokes rather than the intimate details of true differences and huge challenges that go along this bridging of cultures. The intention is very well appreciated but the complexity of the Muslim culture seemed simplified. Most of the problems discussed were basic rather than substantial. The characters seemed to go on an auto pilot rather than the clarity that needs to exist for a fuller more in depth experience. Too much indicating and very little dimension. The filming style does not really have any impressive thinking behind it. It seemed as though everything was put together in the last minute. This fascinating subject should be the focus of a much better film that deals with the integrity of the problem honesty rather than trying to please everyone as was the intention of this film
Con Air
(1997)
Fun!
15 May 2006
There are many types of love story in this film. The greatest one is the father's love for their child and to have his family back. In my opinion, there is no greater motivation for a plot to stay boiling and brilliant throughout as much as this objective. Nick Cage is caught on the transfer plane of America's most dangerous criminals. He finds himself having to make many choices that could end his life while attempting to save the innocents. The sea of characters are all wonderfully played. The relationships are strong and reviewing. The most intense of these relationships is the Nick Cage and John Cusack even though they only are together in one scene at the end. The direction is strong, but the acting is what makes this movie memorable.
Before Sunset
(2004)
Sooo simple!
15 May 2006
It is a real good filmmaker that can turn the ordinary into extraordinary. Before Sunset does just that in a very simple and effective manner. I have become fond of Richard Linklater's ability and wisdom of seeming magic in what could have been meaningless in other hands. The growth of the relationship within the boundaries of time is as realistic as it can ever be, but unlike reality TV, this film possess an artistry filled with beauty. Bravo! The acting was very natural. Choices were made by the demand of the previous moment rather than for the mere Eggo. Both actors were very much into what they were doing. The listened to each other and really heard one another. Cinematography could have been easily sacrificed if it were not for the wisdom to let the actors do their thing and you just there to record. Great job everyone.
Stunning Victory
29 March 2005
An emotionally exhausting, spiritually satisfying, and powerful executed tale that penetrates even the jaded. After the credits ended, I sat in my seat for a long time thinking that this film has honor, integrity and certainly the right reasons to make such a film. The situation could have been so easily exploited for someone's gain but not here. This story is told with such compassion that it was really hard to leave my seat and the energy that I was wrapped up in. The guy next seat turned to me and whispered "Good stuff, aye" " Yeah" I replied with great feeling of ownership in this well crafted film. I think that everyone that cares about America and the whole world for that matter needs to see this film. But I think anyone who cares about great film-making will make the trip for this jewel.
Along Came Polly
(2004)
lots missing but cute
1 January 2005
So along comes Polly (Jennifer Aniston, not breaking much of a sweat from her charming persona in "Friends"). She's all that Reuben isn't: free of spirit, hemmed in by no convention, a lover of surprise, of spicy cuisine - Reuben of course suffers from irritable bowel syndrome and we are subjected to the most, and the worst, of that - of salsa dancing, kept company by a blind ferret and so perkily adorable you want to squeeze her and go "ooh! ooh!" Well, maybe you don't want to squeeze her and go "ooh! ooh!" but you might. They coo, they spat, they bond, they part, they go on and on through the conventions of insufficiently thought-out items like this and spoon out just enough giggles to be tolerable. Baldwin and Hoffman pop up periodically to do something to make you want to throw up, proving that the film's makers knows where their creation's mirth is best revealed. All the performers exhibit the savvy to do well what they do best, with a hitherto silent Dishy finally uttering one brief sentiment of common sense and the others at least not undermining the triteness of the story line.
Alfie
(2004)
Michael Caine was much more handsome
1 January 2005
Manhattan is at its most inviting, exteriors as snazzy as those on "Sex in the City," interiors appropriate to the socio-economic stratum of each of Alfie's ladies. Law shucks his shirt once, which seems odd since the R rating would have permitted many more body shots, but, although short of cash and living more on what he can scrounge - he is not a go-getter in terms of career - he dresses well. Law doesn't have to reach into his versatile repertoire of accents, although he was magnificent as a brooding American in "Cold Mountain," perfect as the rich fellow in "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and appropriately robotic (meant in the best possible way) as the friend of Haley Joel Osment in the heart-rending "A.I." He here puts forth his mid-class English accent, not in the Caine cockney mode nor as one who wouldn't be out of place talking to plants with Prince Charles. The actor has the English sounds that make many Americans swoon - do Londoners fall into paroxysms of adulation when someone chatters at them in Minnesota-ese? - and he is possessed of such a fine set of choppers and regularity of feature and symmetry of face that we needn't struggle to believe that this bloke can do as Alfie does: get the birds and fly right with them to, at the least, a carnal high
Alexander
(2004)
too long
1 January 2005
Too many wrong things to mention, too long of a journey to take. The bulk of the three-hour film details Alexander's defining campaign, his slow 22,000-mile trudge east, a crusade to dominate and then liberate Persians, Egyptians, Indians and anyone else in his path. He's viewed as a conquering hero in Persia, but as he moves further east, further from home, he's met with less enthusiasm by those he liberates, as well as his own troops, who long for home. But driven either by a hunger for a lofty place in history, a need to top dad (Val Kilmer as Philip), or his vision of One World, he ignores their complaints and marches on.
At about the same rate that Alexander is losing his supporters, Stone is losing his audience. We long to admire Alexander the way Anthony Hopkins does - we're an audience hungry for heroes these days - but "Alexander" doesn't deliver.
At about the same rate that Alexander is losing his supporters, Stone is losing his audience. We long to admire Alexander the way Anthony Hopkins does - we're an audience hungry for heroes these days - but "Alexander" doesn't deliver.
Ocean's Twelve
(2004)
fun with old boys
1 January 2005
Don Cheadle is Basher, who is brainy and appropriately important here. Elliott Gould is Reuben, the token Jew and a fussbudget. Carl Reiner is Saul, I guess another token Jew, older and using his rank as senior citizen to issue ex-cathedra statements and to kvetch now and then when things become irritating. There's the small Chinese kid - Yen (Shaobo Qin) - who can squeeze into tight spaces, and speaks only his native language, but appears to be understood by his companions. Scott Caan grins a great deal and has a way too short haircut. And it goes on, and on and on. I'll leave it to you to figure out how many more of the performers you care to memorize by name.
Here's the thing. Our boys have decided to steal one of the great Tiffany Easter eggs once owned by the Imperial Romanov family of Russia. But another major bad guy is after it, too, and getting to the egg requires going through a maze of electronic lights, the sort of thing we saw in the two excellent Tom Cruise movies, but even more gawkingly impressive here.
Here's the thing. Our boys have decided to steal one of the great Tiffany Easter eggs once owned by the Imperial Romanov family of Russia. But another major bad guy is after it, too, and getting to the egg requires going through a maze of electronic lights, the sort of thing we saw in the two excellent Tom Cruise movies, but even more gawkingly impressive here.
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