jjauga

Story: 9...clearly Sweden's warning to any American who hints that life would be better in "one of those Scandinavian countries" Script: 7 Performances: 6 Misc.: 9...GREAT cinematography and editing. Beautiful and creative. Overall: 8

Story: 8/10...love the premise and the small container of in which the story plays out. One backyard shared by a dozen or so tenants. One week of action. One grand narrative with a few interesting side-narratives to make it interesting. Only complaint is that it all wrapped up so quickly with a neat little bow on top. And Jeffries' paranoia and chauvinism is rewarded in the end. Blah. Dialogue: 9/10...funny, intriguing, with a deep sea of meaning hidden beneath the surface of the words. Performances: 8/10...basically a stageplay on screen, which delivered some pretty predictable stage-acting performances from several characters. Kelly and Stewart are phenomenal (Kelly especially), but the other characters all LOOK like they are acting. Misc.: 10/10...Hitchcock is just masterful with the camerawork, editing, score, lighting. All the subtle stuff you aren't supposed to notice isn't noticeable, which is what makes it noteworthy! Phenomenal directing. Overall: 9/10...a few parts age quite poorly, but it's clearly a masterpiece and the inspiration for so many single-set movies that followed in it's wake.

Story: **** much to like. it's true. it's hopeful. it's relevant. did a great job weaving the protagonist's past into the present without making it a flashback movie. the whole subplot around the manager just disappears without a trace, which was odd. would've actually liked to have had a scene or two more to establish the father-daughter relationship because i think it is pivotal to the rest of the story. Dialogue: 9/10...really punchy and feels like how i would imagine GMs talk at the trade deadline. but also several longer conversations that really dig into the meaning of the story. seems like it almost could've been a Sorkin work. Performances: 8/10...Pitt and Hill just crush. amazing jobs. Felt like Hoffman was off his game and flat. and his character just disappears. what? Wright-Penn also felt forced. enjoyed mixing in some real scouts with the actors. thankfully Pitt and Hill are 90% of what's happening on the screen. Misc.: 9/10...really beautifully shot. great pacing. very cool presentation of the baseball games with the sharp contrast and lighting for the slow-mo. just a cool film. and the music's excellent. Overall: 9/10

Plot: 6/10...super ridiculous, but super fun Dialogue: 7/10...love the use of tropes, both liberal and conservative, and could easily become quotable Performances: 6/10...nobody was supposed to be serious and for the most part the characters hit their outrageous marks. Gilpin was phenomenal with facial expressions and delivery Misc.: 6/10...actually some pretty good special effects and fight scenes. Overall: 6/10...intended to be exactly what it was. Absurd and an absolute blast.