dsa_ca
Joined Feb 2005
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dsa_ca's rating
The book overall was not special, but had enough heart to convey a fine coming of age tale. It was also a bit of a slow burn with drifting away from the main plot line many times before meeting back to towards the tail end to finish the story. The movie version feels like it is rushing and plodding at different times to reach its end, not knowing what to use from the more than enough material from the book to tell a tale.
The first movie based on a John Green's novel 'The fault in our stars' had a little fantasy about its plot, which made suspension of disbelief happen naturally for the audience to enjoy the story. Unfortunately for John Green's other novel 'Paper Towns' it had to get things right about reality.
And to make it into a PG-13 movie is hard. Everything has to dumbed down and put into appropriately classified boxed up stereotype. There is even a gimmick guest appearance from Ansel Elgort from the 'Fault in our stars'.
The movie version should not been such a miss-hit. But the story in the book drifts away many times into long and unnecessary conversations between Q, Ben and Radar while playing games in their room or at the school. These conversations are important for the audience to bond with the three endearing characters. It slows the pace down but helps the book reach its not so stunning climax. The book also helps understand Margo's relationship with her parent's better, which is important to understand her constant vanishing act.
The cast fails to deliver the dialogs convincingly and make everything look stiff. Worst off Cara Delevingne, the reason of all the trouble the hero gets in just days before his final exams, should definitely raise her acting level in her next project Suicide Squad to not terminate that franchise at the word go. Except for Justin Smith's Radar all everyone fails to have any kind of timing.
The film comes off as having a very lazy production hoping to find success on the back off John Green's reader following; but thankfully they too disowned this serving.
The first movie based on a John Green's novel 'The fault in our stars' had a little fantasy about its plot, which made suspension of disbelief happen naturally for the audience to enjoy the story. Unfortunately for John Green's other novel 'Paper Towns' it had to get things right about reality.
And to make it into a PG-13 movie is hard. Everything has to dumbed down and put into appropriately classified boxed up stereotype. There is even a gimmick guest appearance from Ansel Elgort from the 'Fault in our stars'.
The movie version should not been such a miss-hit. But the story in the book drifts away many times into long and unnecessary conversations between Q, Ben and Radar while playing games in their room or at the school. These conversations are important for the audience to bond with the three endearing characters. It slows the pace down but helps the book reach its not so stunning climax. The book also helps understand Margo's relationship with her parent's better, which is important to understand her constant vanishing act.
The cast fails to deliver the dialogs convincingly and make everything look stiff. Worst off Cara Delevingne, the reason of all the trouble the hero gets in just days before his final exams, should definitely raise her acting level in her next project Suicide Squad to not terminate that franchise at the word go. Except for Justin Smith's Radar all everyone fails to have any kind of timing.
The film comes off as having a very lazy production hoping to find success on the back off John Green's reader following; but thankfully they too disowned this serving.
When Miss Zellweger's character Dorothy sobbingly tells Jerry Maguire, 'You had me at Hello' after abruptly ending Jerry's 'You complete me' speech, it all seems completely corny in now very typical Cameron Crowe style. Or in Almost Famous, when Miss Penny Lane says to William 'It's all happening' and when Lester Bangs talks about 'Industry of Cool'; when out of context, just one word, corny.
But all those dialogs became memorable as they were part of well written stories and characters. Most of these Cameron Crowe dialogs are now oft repeated pop culture references.
In one of the multiple endings of Mr. Crowe's new movie 'Aloha', Bradley Cooper's character Brian Gilchrest is standing outside a dance class watching one of the girls, performing a Hawaiian dance routine, who after a brief moment bursts in tears and comes out to give a warm hug to Mr. Cooper. The audience by now must have lost track of what the movie is about. Even if they are paying the highest amount of attention, they may not be able to shed a tear of joy with the two protagonists. Nothing that is played out within the 105 minutes running time has done anything to conjure up to the emotional hug towards the finale.
And it is same for the rest of the endings. The prophecy revealed earlier this year in the Sony email hacks comes true and it is for real that 'Aloha' the new feature by Mr. Cameron Crowe is a confused mess.
Mr. Crowe gets into his Elizabethtown mode and comes up with a movie worse than the 2005 Orlando-Kirsten starrer Dramedy. A male protagonist juggling multiple things like ex-girlfriends & her family and reviving his failing military contractor career is teamed up with pixie-dream girl who is supposed to be of Hawaiian-Asian heritage, but is as white as they come because this is a Hollywood production.
The casting is least of this film's problem. The character's barely act as per the situation. John Krasinski brings up the laughs but his character makes no sense. John plays Rachel McAdam's husband, who does not speak much and mostly expresses his emotion by touching or hugging. But when his marriage is falling apart, you would expect his character to straighten up but the movie just ties the ending happily without addressing John's character's frustrating silence trait.
One also cannot blame the written characters if the situations and plot lines are thin as a paper. Apparently Mr. Crowe researched in Hawaii for many years while writing the script. And it shows that he is trying to say something about USA's "approach" towards Hawaii and is trying showcase Hawaiian culture. But all he could muster is some mystical folklore and background dancers to showcase Hawaii.
Emma Stone's character Allison Ng is supposed to represents the Hawaiian perspective, but it is completely lost on the audience. All we see is a Emma Stone speaking about some alien exotic culture that she is fascinated with. She fails to immerse in her character for obvious reasons and later on in the movie she is the Pixie dream girl who is going to change Mr. Brokenhearted Cooper's career and life.
Bill Murray's Eli Musk character is so underwritten that the finale's satellite launch gives the film the b-grade sci-fi stench.
Miss McAdam tries hard to bring out some emotional touch to scenes with her barely present opposite characters of Bradley and John, but the disjointed editing fails her completely. Creaking doors, staring kids and other characters without any dialogs; the editing creates a whole another mess to the already fallen apart situation.
This film in the ends takes down with it the most anticipated words on the movie posters of the late nineties and early 2000; A Cameron Crowe Film. Mr. Crowe's next movie has to be something special to pull in some audience at the cinemas playing it, as Aloha feels like a final goodbye from the audience to him.
But all those dialogs became memorable as they were part of well written stories and characters. Most of these Cameron Crowe dialogs are now oft repeated pop culture references.
In one of the multiple endings of Mr. Crowe's new movie 'Aloha', Bradley Cooper's character Brian Gilchrest is standing outside a dance class watching one of the girls, performing a Hawaiian dance routine, who after a brief moment bursts in tears and comes out to give a warm hug to Mr. Cooper. The audience by now must have lost track of what the movie is about. Even if they are paying the highest amount of attention, they may not be able to shed a tear of joy with the two protagonists. Nothing that is played out within the 105 minutes running time has done anything to conjure up to the emotional hug towards the finale.
And it is same for the rest of the endings. The prophecy revealed earlier this year in the Sony email hacks comes true and it is for real that 'Aloha' the new feature by Mr. Cameron Crowe is a confused mess.
Mr. Crowe gets into his Elizabethtown mode and comes up with a movie worse than the 2005 Orlando-Kirsten starrer Dramedy. A male protagonist juggling multiple things like ex-girlfriends & her family and reviving his failing military contractor career is teamed up with pixie-dream girl who is supposed to be of Hawaiian-Asian heritage, but is as white as they come because this is a Hollywood production.
The casting is least of this film's problem. The character's barely act as per the situation. John Krasinski brings up the laughs but his character makes no sense. John plays Rachel McAdam's husband, who does not speak much and mostly expresses his emotion by touching or hugging. But when his marriage is falling apart, you would expect his character to straighten up but the movie just ties the ending happily without addressing John's character's frustrating silence trait.
One also cannot blame the written characters if the situations and plot lines are thin as a paper. Apparently Mr. Crowe researched in Hawaii for many years while writing the script. And it shows that he is trying to say something about USA's "approach" towards Hawaii and is trying showcase Hawaiian culture. But all he could muster is some mystical folklore and background dancers to showcase Hawaii.
Emma Stone's character Allison Ng is supposed to represents the Hawaiian perspective, but it is completely lost on the audience. All we see is a Emma Stone speaking about some alien exotic culture that she is fascinated with. She fails to immerse in her character for obvious reasons and later on in the movie she is the Pixie dream girl who is going to change Mr. Brokenhearted Cooper's career and life.
Bill Murray's Eli Musk character is so underwritten that the finale's satellite launch gives the film the b-grade sci-fi stench.
Miss McAdam tries hard to bring out some emotional touch to scenes with her barely present opposite characters of Bradley and John, but the disjointed editing fails her completely. Creaking doors, staring kids and other characters without any dialogs; the editing creates a whole another mess to the already fallen apart situation.
This film in the ends takes down with it the most anticipated words on the movie posters of the late nineties and early 2000; A Cameron Crowe Film. Mr. Crowe's next movie has to be something special to pull in some audience at the cinemas playing it, as Aloha feels like a final goodbye from the audience to him.
Aimee Finicky could be that girl/boy in school who focuses on their academic and always tries to make way for their future.
It is a dream for Amiee(a girl) to have Sutter, an outgoing party hopping high school charmer, showing interest in her. Her dream may seem like a nightmare for many in the audience. Going literally through physical pain and emotional trauma and disappointment, one really wishes having an intervention for her. Because by viewing through any vantage point, this relation if just started at the end the movie 'The Spectacular Now', seems only destined to be turbulent.
These flawed but deeply lovable and real characters, such as Aimee and Sutter, are the ones that are responsible for the positive reaction to 'The Spectacular Now' at the yearly festival circuit grind that an independent movie goes through. Among the audience for an early screening of the movie there were more than a few disgruntled audience members.
Adapted from a novel with the same name, the movie is filled with overwhelming genuine teen romance moments. It is also pleads innocence for the decisions made by its teen adult leads that makes the movie hop off through their times during the final year of school.
Broken up recently from his longtime high school sweet heart Cassidy (played by Brie Larson); Mr. Keely may be on a high school rebound. Sutter Keely's life takes a turn for the tragic for his spectacular now lifestyle when drunken and passed out he meets Aimee, on a neighborhood front lawn the morning after he discovers Cassidy dating with school Footballer Marcus.
Aimee being mostly an unknown entity for her entire school life appears gullible to Sutter's boyish charm. Her attraction to Sutter comes at a cost of her only friend Kristal, a friendship that heavily relies on Aimee being a pushover.
As Sutter's influence on Aimee increases, he gets her to start drinking and prods her to take a stand against her mother, who uses Aimee to get away from her daily early morning paper delivery profession. Aimee overwhelmed by the life changing experience and relationship decides to commit to Sutter even further their High School arrangement.
Her request for Sutter to consider moving with her to Philadelphia for further studies shows off her growing confidence within her and in the relationship. While Sutter quietly makes the transition of being tamed into have deep affections for a person of opposite sex.
On Aimee's insistence Sutter confronts his mother and sister to provide contact of his abandoned from childhood father. The long awaited visit to his father's place provides Sutter a vision for the future to his own 'spectacular now' life agenda. With his father spouting the very same banality of living the life now; Sutter realizes where his life might be heading towards.
Aimee's love and affection towards Sutter after the anti-climactic Father-Son re-union finally breaks the bubble for Sutter to make him realize that it is time to embrace adulthood.
Mr. Ponsoldt's primary skills seem to be depiction of alcoholism and it consequence after last year's 'Smashed' and 'The Spectacular Now'. Sutter's short interaction with his father and realization that his father's alcoholism is a cautionary tale for him brings out the best out of the director.
Additionally, the romance and its poignant and touching moments is where Mr. Ponsoldt triumphs over the novel. The novel by Mr. Tharp sketches far more complex and real characters and brings out an emotionally numbing end to Sutter's spectacular now theory. But Mr. Ponsoldt gives us a slice of high school romance that rarely looks so truthful in cinemas.
Although the movie's ending is a far cry from the novel's numbing vision, Mr. Ponsoldt's version of the end is edgier enough for a Hollywood film which brings out the best from it talented young leads Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley.
Though the romantic leads hog the movie, a shout out has to be given to Brie Larson for her role of Cassidy, a character which makes all the right choices in life for herself. Brie Larson makes sure her character does not devolves into a snippy popular high school girl.
'The Spectacular Now' avoids being a Hollywood Rom-com and is a welcome addition to the coming-of-age genre that always has a new tale to narrate.
It is a dream for Amiee(a girl) to have Sutter, an outgoing party hopping high school charmer, showing interest in her. Her dream may seem like a nightmare for many in the audience. Going literally through physical pain and emotional trauma and disappointment, one really wishes having an intervention for her. Because by viewing through any vantage point, this relation if just started at the end the movie 'The Spectacular Now', seems only destined to be turbulent.
These flawed but deeply lovable and real characters, such as Aimee and Sutter, are the ones that are responsible for the positive reaction to 'The Spectacular Now' at the yearly festival circuit grind that an independent movie goes through. Among the audience for an early screening of the movie there were more than a few disgruntled audience members.
Adapted from a novel with the same name, the movie is filled with overwhelming genuine teen romance moments. It is also pleads innocence for the decisions made by its teen adult leads that makes the movie hop off through their times during the final year of school.
Broken up recently from his longtime high school sweet heart Cassidy (played by Brie Larson); Mr. Keely may be on a high school rebound. Sutter Keely's life takes a turn for the tragic for his spectacular now lifestyle when drunken and passed out he meets Aimee, on a neighborhood front lawn the morning after he discovers Cassidy dating with school Footballer Marcus.
Aimee being mostly an unknown entity for her entire school life appears gullible to Sutter's boyish charm. Her attraction to Sutter comes at a cost of her only friend Kristal, a friendship that heavily relies on Aimee being a pushover.
As Sutter's influence on Aimee increases, he gets her to start drinking and prods her to take a stand against her mother, who uses Aimee to get away from her daily early morning paper delivery profession. Aimee overwhelmed by the life changing experience and relationship decides to commit to Sutter even further their High School arrangement.
Her request for Sutter to consider moving with her to Philadelphia for further studies shows off her growing confidence within her and in the relationship. While Sutter quietly makes the transition of being tamed into have deep affections for a person of opposite sex.
On Aimee's insistence Sutter confronts his mother and sister to provide contact of his abandoned from childhood father. The long awaited visit to his father's place provides Sutter a vision for the future to his own 'spectacular now' life agenda. With his father spouting the very same banality of living the life now; Sutter realizes where his life might be heading towards.
Aimee's love and affection towards Sutter after the anti-climactic Father-Son re-union finally breaks the bubble for Sutter to make him realize that it is time to embrace adulthood.
Mr. Ponsoldt's primary skills seem to be depiction of alcoholism and it consequence after last year's 'Smashed' and 'The Spectacular Now'. Sutter's short interaction with his father and realization that his father's alcoholism is a cautionary tale for him brings out the best out of the director.
Additionally, the romance and its poignant and touching moments is where Mr. Ponsoldt triumphs over the novel. The novel by Mr. Tharp sketches far more complex and real characters and brings out an emotionally numbing end to Sutter's spectacular now theory. But Mr. Ponsoldt gives us a slice of high school romance that rarely looks so truthful in cinemas.
Although the movie's ending is a far cry from the novel's numbing vision, Mr. Ponsoldt's version of the end is edgier enough for a Hollywood film which brings out the best from it talented young leads Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley.
Though the romantic leads hog the movie, a shout out has to be given to Brie Larson for her role of Cassidy, a character which makes all the right choices in life for herself. Brie Larson makes sure her character does not devolves into a snippy popular high school girl.
'The Spectacular Now' avoids being a Hollywood Rom-com and is a welcome addition to the coming-of-age genre that always has a new tale to narrate.
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