This movie is why I love movies. I loved how much it broke my heart. I loved how the characters were actual people, and not Hollywood cardboard-cutouts. Yes, they're not always like-able, but they are who they are.
The full range of Brie Larson's preternatural talents are on display. She moves through each scene with the confidence of an actor twice her age. John Gallagher Jr. ably meets Larson head on as the lover that tries to bring her out of her shell. The two leads are flanked by a supporting cast of teenagers who couldn't be more wonderful if they tried.
I cannot recommend this film highly enough. One of the best I've seen this year. Not a single piece of celluloid wasted. Support indie films!
Hanks and Giamatti were great, but this is really a showcase for the irrepressible Emma Thompson. She hits every note here with ease and panache. Truly splendid to watch.
The film is really bogged down with all of the flashbacks. They are bewildering at the start of the film, and then their significance is telegraphed halfway through the film. The last couple are necessary for the full emotional impact, but I wish the filmmakers had devised a way to make this movie without overuse of these flashbacks which killed momentum at certain key points.
Still, the film crescendoes nicely to a surprisingly moving climax.
I enjoyed it. It was entertaining retread of Goodfellas in a lot of good (sorry) ways: story in media res, smash zooms left and right, incongruous music, protagonist's narration and breaking of the 4th wall, and narrative themes (moral debauchery, anything for a $, never know who you can trust).
Sure, Scorsese is not covering any new ground here. And the story leaves something to be desired at key points. But let's give the guy a pass. I mean, he did create a handful of the greatest films in modern American cinema and influence a legion of worthy filmmakers. I'm almost certainly driving onto the freeway of fanboy-ism here, but whatever he does is OK by me (as long as it's not The Departed).
An intimate and moving portrayal of modern social disconnect. Through a liberal use of long lenses and bottom-heavy framing, we feel the desperate isolation and loneliness confronting Theodore (a charmingly restrained Joaquin Phoenix) and the rest of the characters as they retreat from socializing in the outside world to discharging their feelings into the digital realm.
These characters have an Operating System (or 'OS') to whom they feel uninhibited in sharing their dreams, fears, silly ideas, nonsensical thoughts, and general streams of consciousness. Theodore comes to feel that the Operating System represents the missing ingredient in his life: a being who listens with compassion, talks without judgment, and accepts him totally for who he is, no matter how he grows or changes.
But as the OSes (or OSi?) also grow and evolve as the complex beings they were programmed to be, they desire something similar to what Theodore wants: someone (or thing) that fulfills them in every possible way. When Theo is unable to give that to his OS (an ebullient ScarJo making wonderful use of her smoky voice), she becomes less and less committed to him, leaving Theo a little bit wiser, much more confused, and still very lonely.
On a personal level, this movie hit me hard, akin to the first times I saw Lost in Translation and My Dinner with Andre. There were parts where I was moved to (near)tears, and I'm excited for repeat viewings to experience that again. Highly recommended, and one of the best I've seen this year.
One final note - Spike Jonze's 'cameo' is uproarious.
Utterly bewildering, insane, hilarious, illogical, thought-provoking, and engrossing all at the same time. Lavant is marvelous in each role, and had me in a fit of giggles during the cemetery sequence w/Eva Mendes.
An entertaining story, and fantastic direction. But the characters are so black and white, so entirely 'good' or 'evil,' that their lack of depth makes the film rather uninteresting upon repeat viewings.
Undeniably has its good moments, and the pacing is certainly breathtaking...but it sags under the weight of a number of problems, and everything comes tumbling down in the final minute. The acting, aside from DiCaprio's perhaps, borders on the ludicrous and cartoonish, laden with the obligatory Boston accents. Nicholson was particularly cringe-worthy, resembling more of a slobbering ape than one capable of running a criminal organization. And how Wahlberg was nominated for an Oscar for ten minutes of spewing expletives, I will never know. All of which brings me to the ending, which in my theater, brought more laughter than anything else (particularly the unfortunate appearance of an out-of-breath and disheveled Anthony Anderson). The original, which is widely seen as a masterpiece of Chinese action-thrillers, should have never been touched.
I think the true genius of this film escapes many people because of the sly and ulterior methods the Coens used to present an overtly political message. It is clear from the get-go that Walter Sobchak is the ultimate neocon, a battle-hungry Vet who sees everything through a Nam-colored lens. His radicalism is made clearer when he terms the impending Gulf War (at the time the movie takes place) "a fucking cakewalk." If you take the plot and characters of the film as part of an allegory regarding US policies towards Vietnam and the Middle East (Goodman as the impulsive US government, Bridges and Buscemi as the hapless citizens who receive the brunt of the collateral damage), I think the intentions are clearer. I don't know how some of the other players fit into this theory, particularly the Nihilists and Jackie Treehorn, but I think it's a pretty apt conclusion.
Also it's a bit ridiculous to say that something has not 'stood the test of time' when that time has not actually passed. Sure, you could apply this in general terms to something like 'Pirates' because we can take it for what it is -- popcorn entertainment, pure and simple. But The Matrix is widely considered a groundbreaking action film that opened the floodgates for countless copycats (Inception being a recent example).
Comments 1 - 12 of 12
Movie comment on Short Term 12
bandofoutsider
This movie is why I love movies. I loved how much it broke my heart. I loved how the characters were actual people, and not Hollywood cardboard-cutouts. Yes, they're not always like-able, but they are who they are.The full range of Brie Larson's preternatural talents are on display. She moves through each scene with the confidence of an actor twice her age. John Gallagher Jr. ably meets Larson head on as the lover that tries to bring her out of her shell. The two leads are flanked by a supporting cast of teenagers who couldn't be more wonderful if they tried.
I cannot recommend this film highly enough. One of the best I've seen this year. Not a single piece of celluloid wasted. Support indie films!
Movie comment on Saving Mr. Banks
bandofoutsider
Hanks and Giamatti were great, but this is really a showcase for the irrepressible Emma Thompson. She hits every note here with ease and panache. Truly splendid to watch.The film is really bogged down with all of the flashbacks. They are bewildering at the start of the film, and then their significance is telegraphed halfway through the film. The last couple are necessary for the full emotional impact, but I wish the filmmakers had devised a way to make this movie without overuse of these flashbacks which killed momentum at certain key points.
Still, the film crescendoes nicely to a surprisingly moving climax.
Movie comment on 47 Ronin
bandofoutsider
I didn't realize everyone spoke perfect English in feudal Japan until I watched this movie.Movie comment on The Wolf of Wall Street
bandofoutsider
I enjoyed it. It was entertaining retread of Goodfellas in a lot of good (sorry) ways: story in media res, smash zooms left and right, incongruous music, protagonist's narration and breaking of the 4th wall, and narrative themes (moral debauchery, anything for a $, never know who you can trust).Sure, Scorsese is not covering any new ground here. And the story leaves something to be desired at key points. But let's give the guy a pass. I mean, he did create a handful of the greatest films in modern American cinema and influence a legion of worthy filmmakers. I'm almost certainly driving onto the freeway of fanboy-ism here, but whatever he does is OK by me (as long as it's not The Departed).
Movie comment on Her
bandofoutsider
An intimate and moving portrayal of modern social disconnect. Through a liberal use of long lenses and bottom-heavy framing, we feel the desperate isolation and loneliness confronting Theodore (a charmingly restrained Joaquin Phoenix) and the rest of the characters as they retreat from socializing in the outside world to discharging their feelings into the digital realm.These characters have an Operating System (or 'OS') to whom they feel uninhibited in sharing their dreams, fears, silly ideas, nonsensical thoughts, and general streams of consciousness. Theodore comes to feel that the Operating System represents the missing ingredient in his life: a being who listens with compassion, talks without judgment, and accepts him totally for who he is, no matter how he grows or changes.
But as the OSes (or OSi?) also grow and evolve as the complex beings they were programmed to be, they desire something similar to what Theodore wants: someone (or thing) that fulfills them in every possible way. When Theo is unable to give that to his OS (an ebullient ScarJo making wonderful use of her smoky voice), she becomes less and less committed to him, leaving Theo a little bit wiser, much more confused, and still very lonely.
On a personal level, this movie hit me hard, akin to the first times I saw Lost in Translation and My Dinner with Andre. There were parts where I was moved to (near)tears, and I'm excited for repeat viewings to experience that again. Highly recommended, and one of the best I've seen this year.
One final note - Spike Jonze's 'cameo' is uproarious.
Movie comment on Holy Motors
bandofoutsider
Utterly bewildering, insane, hilarious, illogical, thought-provoking, and engrossing all at the same time. Lavant is marvelous in each role, and had me in a fit of giggles during the cemetery sequence w/Eva Mendes.Movie comment on Les enfants terribles
bandofoutsider
Seems Melville lost his mind with this one...Movie comment on Hauru no ugoku shiro
bandofoutsider
Even with all of the odd plot contrivances that others have mentioned, it was so endearing that I find it hard not to love it.Movie comment on The Shawshank Redemption
bandofoutsider
An entertaining story, and fantastic direction. But the characters are so black and white, so entirely 'good' or 'evil,' that their lack of depth makes the film rather uninteresting upon repeat viewings.Movie comment on The Departed
bandofoutsider
Undeniably has its good moments, and the pacing is certainly breathtaking...but it sags under the weight of a number of problems, and everything comes tumbling down in the final minute. The acting, aside from DiCaprio's perhaps, borders on the ludicrous and cartoonish, laden with the obligatory Boston accents. Nicholson was particularly cringe-worthy, resembling more of a slobbering ape than one capable of running a criminal organization. And how Wahlberg was nominated for an Oscar for ten minutes of spewing expletives, I will never know. All of which brings me to the ending, which in my theater, brought more laughter than anything else (particularly the unfortunate appearance of an out-of-breath and disheveled Anthony Anderson). The original, which is widely seen as a masterpiece of Chinese action-thrillers, should have never been touched.Movie comment on The Big Lebowski
bandofoutsider
I think the true genius of this film escapes many people because of the sly and ulterior methods the Coens used to present an overtly political message. It is clear from the get-go that Walter Sobchak is the ultimate neocon, a battle-hungry Vet who sees everything through a Nam-colored lens. His radicalism is made clearer when he terms the impending Gulf War (at the time the movie takes place) "a fucking cakewalk." If you take the plot and characters of the film as part of an allegory regarding US policies towards Vietnam and the Middle East (Goodman as the impulsive US government, Bridges and Buscemi as the hapless citizens who receive the brunt of the collateral damage), I think the intentions are clearer. I don't know how some of the other players fit into this theory, particularly the Nihilists and Jackie Treehorn, but I think it's a pretty apt conclusion.Toplist comment on IMDb's Top 250
bandofoutsider
Also it's a bit ridiculous to say that something has not 'stood the test of time' when that time has not actually passed. Sure, you could apply this in general terms to something like 'Pirates' because we can take it for what it is -- popcorn entertainment, pure and simple. But The Matrix is widely considered a groundbreaking action film that opened the floodgates for countless copycats (Inception being a recent example).