cdelacroix1
Joined Jul 2005
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Reviews108
cdelacroix1's rating
I saw this movie and was very pleasantly surprised. I really liked this movie. Although at first I didn't know why.
After all, the script, as narrative, is full of holes. Big holes. Without going into details, the initial scene with shot fired has been accurately described as full of holes as swiss cheese. Yet this scene is a key part of the movie, referenced again and again. This is not good.
The title, pictures, and promos were all fundamentally misleading. I went expecting a martial arts film. But it turns out to be a drama. If you are looking for martial arts action, you'll come away very, very disappointed. This too is not good.
The final sequence is utterly incredible. This has been pointed out again and again. This is a basic plot failure. And this too is not good.
And yet ... and yet I came away really, really feeling good about this movie I had just seen. Why?
Well, first, if you view the script not as a narrative, but as a sequence of loosely connected scenes designed to evoke one emotion or thought or the other ... like tableaux vivants, or what TS Eliot called objective correlatives ... well, it works. For example, we have a main character stripped of everything in a series of narratively impossible scenes; and yet the emotions involved in "losing everything" are conveyed powerfully and evocatively. Likewise the ending redemptive sequence is narratively incredible; but emotionally very, very satisfying. This is all to the good.
The characters, acting, and characterizations were all excellent. Chiwetel Ejiofor as Mike Terry was superb. And the Mike Terry character is simply a delight, likable, appealing, interesting. Tim Allen was successfully cast against type. Ricky Jay's Marty Brown the sports promoter is utterly slimy and yet I couldn't take my eyes off of him. After every scene, I felt like running to the restroom to wash my hands and face and ears. He is sliminess personified. But all the characters were well drawn whether likable or disgusting. All to the good.
The cinematography and scenes were well drawn and well depicted. There were some really gripping, evocative shots I especially like: such as the Tim Allen character in dark profile. All to the good.
All in all, I'd say if you like emotion and objective correlatives, I think you'll like this movie. Don't go looking for martial arts, and don't go looking for a sound narrative; but if you want good, solid punch, you've come to the right place.
After all, the script, as narrative, is full of holes. Big holes. Without going into details, the initial scene with shot fired has been accurately described as full of holes as swiss cheese. Yet this scene is a key part of the movie, referenced again and again. This is not good.
The title, pictures, and promos were all fundamentally misleading. I went expecting a martial arts film. But it turns out to be a drama. If you are looking for martial arts action, you'll come away very, very disappointed. This too is not good.
The final sequence is utterly incredible. This has been pointed out again and again. This is a basic plot failure. And this too is not good.
And yet ... and yet I came away really, really feeling good about this movie I had just seen. Why?
Well, first, if you view the script not as a narrative, but as a sequence of loosely connected scenes designed to evoke one emotion or thought or the other ... like tableaux vivants, or what TS Eliot called objective correlatives ... well, it works. For example, we have a main character stripped of everything in a series of narratively impossible scenes; and yet the emotions involved in "losing everything" are conveyed powerfully and evocatively. Likewise the ending redemptive sequence is narratively incredible; but emotionally very, very satisfying. This is all to the good.
The characters, acting, and characterizations were all excellent. Chiwetel Ejiofor as Mike Terry was superb. And the Mike Terry character is simply a delight, likable, appealing, interesting. Tim Allen was successfully cast against type. Ricky Jay's Marty Brown the sports promoter is utterly slimy and yet I couldn't take my eyes off of him. After every scene, I felt like running to the restroom to wash my hands and face and ears. He is sliminess personified. But all the characters were well drawn whether likable or disgusting. All to the good.
The cinematography and scenes were well drawn and well depicted. There were some really gripping, evocative shots I especially like: such as the Tim Allen character in dark profile. All to the good.
All in all, I'd say if you like emotion and objective correlatives, I think you'll like this movie. Don't go looking for martial arts, and don't go looking for a sound narrative; but if you want good, solid punch, you've come to the right place.
I saw this movie today, 2 days after it opened here in Tulsa. And on the whole, I didn't like it. This movie does have some good features IMHO, but mostly it seems to belong to that genre of misogynistic movies in which misery is the main, though uncredited, character. Just not my cup of tea; but to each his or her own.
The acting is on the whole fairly good, with a special standout performance by Sam Rockwell as Glenn. But the characters are drawn so unpleasantly that it's very hard for me to feel much sympathy for any character over the age of 17. When I think about it, that's an interesting datum: but that age-divide doesn't seem to be a theme to be explored at all in this movie; it's just a coincidence. But generally the movie seems to be driven by a desire to depict any and all adults as unappealingly as possible. That to me doesn't make for a very engaging movie; and does make for a very unpleasant script.
There are some nice scenes, and some interesting camera technique ... such as focusing on a face and then slowly drifting left or right till the face is out of the picture, even though the character is still at the center of a scene. I think that makes for some interesting camera work, but of course the execution really reinforces the generally misogyny of the movie ... and if the movie doesn't "like" its own characters enough to treat them with greater respect, why should I? I do think there's much to be said for tragedy as a genre ... but this almost seems the opposite, in a way, because tragedy always treats the tragic hero or heroine with some sense of honor, decency, and respect. This movie depicts largely self-inflicted misery and seems intent on an absurdist treatment of such misery that is far from respectful or humanistic, but rather dystopian and disrespectful.
To anyone thinking about seeing this movie: unless stories about unappealing people wallowing in self-inflicted misery is inviting, I would recommend a pass on this movie.
The acting is on the whole fairly good, with a special standout performance by Sam Rockwell as Glenn. But the characters are drawn so unpleasantly that it's very hard for me to feel much sympathy for any character over the age of 17. When I think about it, that's an interesting datum: but that age-divide doesn't seem to be a theme to be explored at all in this movie; it's just a coincidence. But generally the movie seems to be driven by a desire to depict any and all adults as unappealingly as possible. That to me doesn't make for a very engaging movie; and does make for a very unpleasant script.
There are some nice scenes, and some interesting camera technique ... such as focusing on a face and then slowly drifting left or right till the face is out of the picture, even though the character is still at the center of a scene. I think that makes for some interesting camera work, but of course the execution really reinforces the generally misogyny of the movie ... and if the movie doesn't "like" its own characters enough to treat them with greater respect, why should I? I do think there's much to be said for tragedy as a genre ... but this almost seems the opposite, in a way, because tragedy always treats the tragic hero or heroine with some sense of honor, decency, and respect. This movie depicts largely self-inflicted misery and seems intent on an absurdist treatment of such misery that is far from respectful or humanistic, but rather dystopian and disrespectful.
To anyone thinking about seeing this movie: unless stories about unappealing people wallowing in self-inflicted misery is inviting, I would recommend a pass on this movie.
I saw this movie today ... it opened here 2 days ago ... and was deeply moved. What an engaging, fascinating story, told well from beginning to end.
The acting was excellent throughout; but by far the greatest thumbs up should right go to Karl Markovics, perfectly cast, and perfectly performing, the Salomon Sorowitsch character.
The scenes are convincingly composed, with a strong sense of colorlessness and drabness supporting the script throughout ... but depicted in such a way that the characters and the story are strongly reinforced. I don't know when darkness and absence of coloration has gone so far to convey vividly a vividly colorful storyline.
The story has what looks to me like a few unconvincing scenes, but this is rare in what on the whole is a script that conveys authenticity at every moment in (almost) every scene. On the whole, the story is what makes this movie and the story is engaging, compelling, demanding, and never, ever boring. To me what really stands out in the story is the complex motivation of the characters ... and how humanity shines through in even the darkest circumstances. As one of the most brutalized characters says, of a black & white drawing he composed of his native Odessa, "To me Odessa is blue, always blue." That really could have been the title of the movie, it rings true at so many levels.
This is a dark movie, but one that is at the same time full of action, adventure, and hope. I can see why the movie won the 2008 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language movie. It certainly deserves such an award.
The acting was excellent throughout; but by far the greatest thumbs up should right go to Karl Markovics, perfectly cast, and perfectly performing, the Salomon Sorowitsch character.
The scenes are convincingly composed, with a strong sense of colorlessness and drabness supporting the script throughout ... but depicted in such a way that the characters and the story are strongly reinforced. I don't know when darkness and absence of coloration has gone so far to convey vividly a vividly colorful storyline.
The story has what looks to me like a few unconvincing scenes, but this is rare in what on the whole is a script that conveys authenticity at every moment in (almost) every scene. On the whole, the story is what makes this movie and the story is engaging, compelling, demanding, and never, ever boring. To me what really stands out in the story is the complex motivation of the characters ... and how humanity shines through in even the darkest circumstances. As one of the most brutalized characters says, of a black & white drawing he composed of his native Odessa, "To me Odessa is blue, always blue." That really could have been the title of the movie, it rings true at so many levels.
This is a dark movie, but one that is at the same time full of action, adventure, and hope. I can see why the movie won the 2008 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language movie. It certainly deserves such an award.