ncbrian

This is a powerful movie, but in an unconventional way. The movie has a very quiet sense of power to it, which is unexpected and beautiful. The movie moves at a very slow pace. It crawls along over 141 minutes. I defiantly yawned a few times in this one. But the journey really is worth it. While you're in the theater you wish that they would have edited more, but after it's over you agree that it all had to be there to create the feeling of the film. Although the pace is slow, it's perfectly spaced moving steadily forward.

Koreeda is a fabulous director. He practices a lot of restraint, letting the kids tell the story, not the words or the camera. He takes his time unfolding his movie, making sure each small detail has been dealt with. The gradually pace in which the movie becomes tragic is something most directors wouldn't dare do. Seeing every day in the life of four children as their lives slowly fall apart is daring, it's much easier to just jump down the road a little and cover it with some dialogue. Koreeda never takes the easier road, it's incredible.

I think that some of the most difficult movie making involves children. When you put children in the leading roles of films you run a huge risk. It's not just the risk of finding a good child actor which is incredibly hard to find, but it's equally as difficult to write for children. Screenwriters have a hard time saying things the way children would. Nobody Knows succeeds all around. The acting here is so good that it has one numerous awards, including the coveted Cannes Best Actor awards to its young star. But the great acting doesn't end here. Each of the four children is equally capable actors, which actually says more about the director than the actors. This thoroughly impressed me. This is a rare case where you see life strictly though the eyes of children successfully.

First, I have to say that I was a huge Ring 1 fan. I was overly excited about the 2nd movie. All three Ring movies were a hit in their native Asian country. Therefore, I was hoping that each were possibly as good as #1. Plus, the creator of The Ring was going to direct #2, this also made me hope that it might be another great sequel. As you can imagine, I was horribly disappointed. Ring 2 is looks more like a movie making fun of all the stupid things about Ring 1.

The main problem is that the movie isn't really about anything. In Ring 1 things were discovered, although many things remained ambiguous. The idea of having no idea what this creepy girl could do, or why she was doing it is what made one so great. Here, the people got smarter and now know exactly what she wants. Also, the main plot of one is completely abandoned. The whole "die after a week" thing is scrapped in favor of a stupid "water control" thing. Then there's the angry deer and the digital photos stuff…not creepy. Plus, not even one "she's coming out of the TV" shot. Just think if when they made the Indiana Jones sequels, the decided to not use anything that made the first one a hit. That's what this is…a disastrous disappointment.

Melinda and Melinda looked liked the most promising Woody Allen film in a few years. It may be the best film he's made in the past three or four years, but compared to his 70's and 80's movies; this one is bland and boring. I do give Allen some credit for trying here. The idea is interesting. I really hope that in years to come Allen will again get his gift back.

Allen tries to really glimpse into human emotion and reality with an attempted view of the same story in two ways, one side comedy, and the other tragedy. It sounds very interesting, and in the first half hour you really get the feeling that the film will take off and go somewhere. Unfortunately, both sides are unsatisfying. The comedy side, although it does have a few good moment, is not funny and the tragedy side…well…not tragic. For being known as a creator of fantastic screen personalities, no one shines in this movie. The only one who makes a mark at all is Will Farrell, but only because plays the part of the neurotic annoying personality that Allen himself used to play. If this was the extent of it, I may have given the movie a B or B-, but, without spoiling anything, I have to tell you that the ending is horrible and frustrating. Unless you're a huge Allen fan, avoid this one.