Ritshirt

So how can a movie with both Tim Robbins and Jeff Bridges be not great? Well, Bridges' performance was just so-so and the storyline was just too predictable (apart from the ending of course). I loved Jeff Bridges in the Big Lebowski as well as in Peter Weir's Fearless, but the way he played Michael Farraday... a bit too dramatic in my opinion. OK, so his character was very one-dimensional. But the same can be said about Oliver Lang, but Tim Robbins should be nominated for an Oscar solely for his eyebrow performance (the way he delivered 'the look'!) The press have called Arlington Road a psychological thriller (at least here in Holland), but what was so psychological about it? Characterization was minimal, especcially for Oliver Lang. So what do we know about him? His motives are explained in a 2 minute scene, in about 3 lines. He lived on a farm, the government stole their water, and now he's p****d and has decided to bomb buildings for a living? That's it? Oh, and i do not like car chases and man to man fights in my Tim Robbins films. The brilliant ending saved it from being mediocre. People who like their thrillers psychological and their endings unHollywood should watch The Usual Suspects.

So why should you read the book even if you liked the movie? Because the novel, by Lorenzo Carcaterra, it just so much more better: it's more gripping, thrilling, moving and touching. The movie is not bad at all, but I had expected soo much more after having read the book. Characterization is minimal (which was done very well in the book) and the performances were really just average, considering the potential of the cast (De Niro, Hofmann, Patric - I'm not really a Brad Pitt fan...). The themes and story are all present, but this movie could have been so much better. I urge all of you to read the book

Could it be possible that I'm the only person on the web who's got something to say about Dr. Katz? Probably not (guess a lot of fans don't know about this site), cuz it's a great, clever series, especially the parts where the characters fantasize about their thoughts (anyone remember 'I wonder how Jesus would sound if he'd talked with a gay, southern accent' ?(not the exact quote, I know)) One thing though: what's with the distorted animation? It's sort of the trademark of the series, but gets annoying after a while...