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Reviews
Closer (2004)
Disturbing, Hard to watch but Truthful.
SPOILER
This movie is not for everyone, and i applaud Mike Nichols for having the guts to put this extraordinary movie out there. The story is simple, Dan (Law) a mediocre writer, goes to Anna (Roberts) to get a photo taken. Dan seems to know all the right things to say even though Anna keeps writing him off and from the start it is clear that for him this is love at first sight. Alice(Portman) is Dan's stripper girlfriend who saw Dan kiss Anna though he dosn't know. We are introduced to Larry (Owen) a dermatologist, in a on-line sex chat with a supposed women (in reality it is Dan's little joke.) who sets up a date with him. He includes things about Anna as a way to find "her" at the aquarium. Well Anna is really there and this leads to a very embarrassing situation. Some time later and Larry and Anna are married, and when Anna comes out with her affair with Dan to him this is where the movie starts.
Jude Law is the perfect example of what i call a great actor, he was good as the heartbroken, lovesick Dan and he could not have done any better, he seems to be so pure in this movie but he is out shined by the two supporting actors.
Julia Roberts falls flat. she just has no charm, no intensity, she seems bland. Jude Law outshone her in all there scenes, and i can only imagine how great it would have been if Cate Blanchett had done it.
Natalie Portman is amazing. She is funny, cruel, cold, vulnerable all in one role. She does not impress me till (in my opinion) the best scene in the movie. Where Larry goes into the strip bar and she is there. She is so calm and cold as he pours his heart out to her, as she says "Lying the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off, but it's better if you do." Her facial expressions are outstanding.
Clive Owen is what i call a brilliant actor. He could carry this whole character by the emotions that are shone through his eyes, but no thats not enough, he throws in some smoldering presence, a forceful voice, an intensity that is not usually found in most actors. He feels every line and while you know you should hate him in the scene where he is forcing Anna to tell him how she slept with Dan in very graphic detail, you can't help but feel sorry for him, you can feel his pain. It is funny that the films two most powerful and the most emotional have him in it. Him and Natalie Portman have amazing chemistry and are by far the best performances in the film. He blazes on the screen and leaves an impression like an uncovered light bulb.
In a summary, this film wile make you cry, make you want to throw up, make you realize the parallels in your own life. It brutalizes you with truth and leaves you scratched and bleeding when you leave.
One Night Stand (1997)
Downeys twenty minutes of screentime is worth watching the whole thing
I am not that big a fan of wesley snipes but he seems to pull this role of okay. I don't really like the film that much either but when it comes on TV i never miss it because of Robert Downey Jr. His role as a man dying of AIDS touched me deeply. It deserved a best supporting actor nomination from the academy. He is the only real comic relief too. with a lift of his eyebrow he can make you chuckle and can express all those feelings without words. Horrible film, But Downey is great. I can't forget to mention at the beginning when Snipes is visiting Downey at that studio, the cinematography is amazing, that dance idea is pure brilliance with the ballerina and then cutting back to Downey in a god like stance.
Home for the Holidays (1995)
one word, Downey
This is a great little gem of a film. The whole time i was watching this film i couldn't help but notice the similarities to my family. The craziness, the fights i mean everything. I laughed so hard during this film but mostly when Robert Downey Jr. was on screen. It is not to say that Holly Hunter was bad, she was quite good as was everyone else but Downey had this presense on the screen and he just stole the movie. while it was apparent he was using heavily he was still at his best on screen. The DVD commentary by Jodie Foster really gives insight to the film and it really sounds like Downey was a pain to work with because of his improvising everything but you feel she has a genuine sisterly love for him. Bottom line is that it was a funny, insightful, and realistic film.
Wonder Boys (2000)
Good movie, but definitely made better by Downey's comedic relief
This is a funny, quirky film that i love. I get the feeling that this film would have been incomplete with out Robert Downey Jr's comedic timing. Don't get me wrong Micheal Douglas and Tobey Maguire deliver their lines with wit and humor but Downey has a presence in this movie that brings it full circle, i just can't imagine another actor giving this character that sense of dry, sarcastic humor, edged with bitterness but just slightly, but also making you have a tad bit of compassion. The bottom line is this is a great cast, a smart, witty and acted out with great intelligence and it is nice to see Maguire in a role that challenges his skills in stead of the one dimensional character of peter parker.
Less Than Zero (1987)
two reasons to see this movie. Downey and Spader.
This movie is far different from the book. Both are good in their own way. The book is a shocking, no hope, bleek, despairing, and amazing novel. The movie however isn't. Clay is a character is like an outside looking in. Almost a cold witness, which Mcarthy just can't act out. This film is beyond his acting skills. It needed some one like Jake Gyllenhall. Blair is the one who has dealt with it firsthand, but seems lost and helpless, and very hypocritical. Gertz can barley manage out a no at the end. i would have preferred to see someone like Scarlett Johansen or Kiera Kightly, or someone who has never acted before, to capture her sense of vulnerability and weakness. Julian is the one character that didn't change in the book. There is a sense of despair about him, a childlike quality. Downey is the only one who could pull this of. He gives a genuinely touching performance of Julian and makes that character so real you want to reach out and save him. The look on his face after he turns his first trick, that mixed look of shame and horror hit hard and and puts a sour feel in the pit of your stomach. The withdrawal seen is the most realistic thing i have ever seen. It is almost impossible to watch but impossible to stop. Then there is Rip the sleazy drug dealer. No one could do this better than Spader. Bottom line. Downey is horrificly, real and amazing as Julian, and Spader is a great sleazball