ariel84

Despite finding it draggy in places, I still give it a 10. It's authenticity, acting, cinematography, direction--all superb. What resonated with me the most, besides the incredible battle scene with the rondelay of swooping camera work, was the weaving together of glass's loss with the search by the native American father. The convergence makes for an ending that is deeply beautiful. Since Idris Elba and Abraham Attah were tragically overlooked for Oscars, I'm fine with Leo getting the award. And this picture getting top honors along with best director and cinematography.

sigh...i'd like 1.5 hours out of 2 back. what started out as a fascinating examination of male/female dynamics very slowly devolved into a boring film. tight editing would've helped the story immensely. for once, i'm in total agreement with the Academy--the film def didn't deserve a nomination.

the opening shots had me expecting a lot more from this movie. while gyllenhaal is good, his character doesn't creep out the way i would've expected. his literalness is blackly funny, but works against his turning into an immoral slimeball. didn't buy his power plays over nina. i liked the movie. don't know why it's getting so many glowing user reviews.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

don't waste your money. until the allegedly scary thing appears, the film's quite good. if the story just stuck with the mother unraveling over the stress of having a strange child, it would've had this chilling, claustrophic effect. the babadook brings on histrionic acting and tired horror tropes. the pop up book was creepier than its subject.

since there was so much kissing and banter and adorableness at the beginning of the movie, i just waited for the dark stuff. but, it wasn't dark enough. nice little psych horror scifi type flick, though. do not get why both leads were english. didn't like the guy--total lack of sex appeal.

i really wanted to like this. i liked parts of it. the trope of the brooklyn almost-30-person-who's-still-a-child is played out. everything that donna had to say was clever and funny, but, really, who talks like that all the time? and, of course, she doesn't have anything resembling a real job. the ultimate goy boyfriend was annoying. as were the coincidences. worth watching for jenny slate. hope she graduates to a better role next time.

vivian maier's photography is stunning. for that alone, watch the film. the stories told about her as a nanny are intriguing. her employers (there were lots-how she went from family to family, making deep impressions on each, is remarkable. as a nanny myself, i can't imagine working with so many) all remember her very vividly. the film would've been far stronger if maloof had kept himself out of it and simply narrated. he's a serious artist and collector, but his presence makes the film seem sometimes goofy and light. neither quality describes maier's work.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

although the film was shot on location in indiana, it has the blank feel of taking place in nowheresville. that's the best part. the worst was the prosthetic pregnant belly of the main character. it looked like rubber and was shaped like a rectangle. only one really creepy moment in the whole 2 hrs and that involved the person in the red hoodie flitting in the background.

i'm giving this a 2 because of tilda swinton. she is a wonderfully fiendish bad guy. the bad teeth and great costuming are the icing on the cake. ed harris, too, is fantastic. oh, and i liked the idea **** train, hurtling through the frozen world. the rest of the movie is high budget crap. it careens from gorefest to quasi-surrealistic and back again. should've picked one theme and stuck with it. when i see dystopian films with the same old tropes--everyone in matching rags, starving, but not thin enough, all wearing fingerless gloves--i curse "mad max". that great film spawned so many wannabes.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

i've loved tom hardy ever since he played heathcliff in a PBS adaptation of 'wuthering heights'. i thought hardy plus the unconventional setting of the movie would be compelling enough. but, no. he sounded strange-yes, i know it was filmed while he had a cold-his intonation was weird. after abut 20 min i realized that this film wasn't going to get any better. would've made a great audiobook, though.

boring, not engaging, extremely over praised. critics are so desperate for something that's not total junk, they go berserk when a film has a cinematic/thoughtful quality. this one certainly had a multi-layered potentially intriguing story. beautiful b+w cinematography, too. but nothing to draw me into the story. take the 80 min and rewatch a bresson, tarkovsky, or dreyer film.

i was pulled in from the opening sequence. visually stunning. the scoring of this film was perfect: eerie, weird, and unsettling. scarlett johansson was perfection. the amount of control she had was mesmerizing. this was art.

well, that was an hour and a half i could've spent watching something else. i love only two anderson films (the royal tanenbaums and darjeeling limited). they were stylized, but not to the point where the actors were props. the stories of both were touching. this film should've been much better. it could've revolved around the society of concierges and been delightful. too many A list actors with very little to do. the centering of virtually every shot drove me a little crazy. it was watching a series of still life tableaus. i kept thinking, "this is so hipsterish, why am i watching this?"

a movie not many will see. a shame. it is, head and shoulders, better than 99.9% of the crap coming out of hollywood. unflinching, unsentimental, but very moving and sensitive. i missed a good quarter of the dialogue because i couldn't sort out the Northern accent. which really didn't matter. the story was so well conveyed cinematically and through the actors, it is easily grasped. outstanding.

matthew **** being rust cohle, that is, acting inscrutable, showing little emotion, and coming off as nicely creepy years before he realized roles like this were his calling. he's the only reason to watch the film. m. night shymalan covered this these far more effectively in "unbreakable".

this could've been a much, much better film. disneyworld as alternaworld, filmed on location, great premise. but, the acting was so bad, the plot nosedived into ridiculousness, and the whole enterprise became cheesy camp.

blech. expecting dark/black humor because: tracy letts. couldn't finish watching. so much scenery chewing by meryl streep. julia roberts/ewan macgregor: not a match made in heaven. and her face is largely expressionless. insertion of outsider as silent witness (native american nurse) so obvious. just a mess as a film.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

this film marked the beginning of the McConaissance and with good reason: mcconaughey is perfection. smartest guy in the room, charming, and cold. brilliant and gutsy career choice. thomas haden church is also perfection. two great texas boys. i'm not a grindhouse fan, but the black humor. gorgeous cinematography, and friedkin's direction made this B-movie modern noir. had to watch some with one eye closed, but, hey, i had been warned. to think a director in his mid-70s made this film and wouldn't compromise makes me admire william friedkin all the more.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

i rewatched this tonight for the first time sine '01. annette bening seemed too frantic and a little campy, the whole col. fitts thing glaringly obvious, and, of course, i knew the ending. that said, i still am astonished by it. wes bentley's rick is as moving. the much parodied plastic bag scene, overlaid with thomas newman's gorgeous score, ricky's love for all beauty in the world, and thora birch's tenderness for him reduced me to sobs as quickly as it did originally. i was even more struck by the reveal of who angela really was and lester's holding her as a father would, his scene with her in the kitchen is deeply revelatory and, yes, happy. annette bening grabbing his clothes, sobbing, is an image that has always stayed with me. it was film of it's time, but, it still works. as art, as filmmaking, as screenwriting, and as a master class in acting and cinematography. mena suvari on the rose filled ceiling, the petals fluttering down on lester's delighted face is as indelible an image as any in film.

i didn't pay enough attention as to why the family left for canada and there was no need to stick gerard depardieu in the film for the 2 secs he was on the screen, but, other than those two quibbles, loved it. so entranced by the tiger/boy relationship that, by the end of it, i was in tears. of the two "endings", i definitely chose the magical one.

i'll give this film a 1 only because i liked the score. the movie itself was a crashing bore. except for the opening scene. give me tom hanks and wilson anyday over redford's craggy face as a stand-in for actual acting.

it's been a year since i first watched MELANCHOLIA. it is still one of the greatest films i've ever seen. kirsten dunst is as beautifully magnificent. the setting and cinematography still astonish. my favorite apocalyptic film of all time.

haneke's "white ribbon" was magnificent. deserved every accolade. 'amour', mais non. emmanuelle riva, oui. very, very overrated film, especially in comparison the haneke's earlier work. pretty much a big yawn.

This was no "Chopper". I had high expectations, Read a glowing, two page review in The Boston Globe. Love dark, cynical crime films. Would watch Brad Pitt all day, every day. It had its moments. Cinematography was great. Richard Jenkins understated and perfect per usual. Based on a great book. It just didn't work. Too much time spent on Gandolfini's Mickey breaking down. Way, way too much political posturing. Extremely disconcerting to know that it was supposed to be set in Boston, but could see easily that it wasn't. Pitt is such a fine actor and he wasn't given enough to work with. Best moment, best line at the very end. Really good ending. Made me smile. Wish the whole film felt like the ending.

what a disappointment. i totally agree w/all the low scored user reviews, esp w/the user who said this was a film where black people acted out a white person's ideas. extremely annoying: the intrusive music. i gave up about 45 min into it. once again **** by ecstatic reviewers.