While this film is certainly not breaking any new ground the characters were interesting and the actors were well-cast. I enjoyed it.
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I thoroughly enjoyed this film. I thought it really excelled in not making any of the main characters be too heavy-handed. At times they all played both the instigator and the peacemaker. Other films would have had Harris' character be far more eccentric.
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The acting really carries this film. That said, despite the heavy topic the film still felt like a lifetime movie. There was a better film in there, I think.
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Did I enjoy myself watching this film? Yeah, I did - and that means something. I think this film gets the benefit of what I like to call "The Coffee Shop Effect". It's hard to walk into a coffee shop and not (in some way) like the guy or gal in the corner singing songs and playing guitar. The characters in the film were likeable and the music was good. However..... the 9/11 stuff was just plain awkward as an occasional backdrop. It also felt like the characters were moving from one true American to another in an effort to show that we are all alike and good people. It just felt.... forced.
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The description of the film is rather misleading in that I really did not feel a sense of the characters trying to recover from the father's death. It seemed as though they were struggling with things that they always struggled with. Since we never get too close to any of the characters and really don't care that much for them one way or the other it really felt like one of those films where you get a snapshot of their lives at a given point in time and nothing more. McDowell as been lauded for her role here but I really wasn't blown away by her or anything else in this film.
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The film had a few laughs in it and it was a bit quirky. In a way it felt like a mix between Blue Valentine and Beginners (both films that I adore).... but not as good. Not bad, but not great.
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Is this film a cinematic masterpiece? Um, no. Do you see the end coming a mile away? Uh, yeah. Does it often feel like a Lifetime movie. Sigh....
Did it end up winning me over in the end. Yeah, it did.
The leads were for the most part extremely engaging (especially Abrahams, who carried this film). Don't get me wrong - the film has a ton of flaws - most noticeably the dialog by Sting's daughter to the portrayal of stereo-typical italians. That said... it still kinda worked.
It did get one thing right - Buffalo is an amazing place to live.
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This movie was good but by no means great. It does a fantastic job of showing a snapshot in time of the kids and their parents and that in itself is very interesting. In that sense it very much reminded me of "Boyhood" but that film had the added layer of actually following the characters through the boy's formative years. I felt like after seeing 20 minutes of this film that I had pretty much seen all that I needed to see.
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Another fantastic effort from Sarah Polley. I don't know how she managed to take a tired genre (I was on guard at the beginning) and make it feel knew and fresh but she did it.
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This is one of those films that had a little bit of everything: a great story, excellent acting and some really good music. It's a shame that movies like this do not get more press. I enjoyed very minute of this film. Hall and Suvari are fantastic.
For the Hallmark channel crowd
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For those who are not a fan of Terence Malick (and for some that are) this film is probably a dud. While not his best work it was certainly worthwhile.
The late, great comedian Patrice O'Neil used to say that he wished that he knew how to watch a film before he started watching the film. I think about this now and then when I watch a movie. In my head I am an armchair director and I want to take in the whole film. At times it really robs me of the enjoyment that I otherwise might have had.
I think that this film is a great example of me over-thinking. I probably spent half the film trying to figure out where they were going and if all of the events were true and.... stuff. And then I finally realized that the film wasn't so much about Barnum the man as it was about how so many of us struggle to escape our lot in life. It felt very much like a mix between Les Miserables and Rent. It might not be the best film ever made but by the end I was smiling and I felt like the whole experience was worthwhile.
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Movie starts. Nice to see Depp laying playing something other than a Pirate.
Acid joke
Acid joke
Acid joke
(checks watch. 30 minutes feels like eternity)
Acid joke
(quick search to see if this is the whole movie. Ebert confirms that it is)
Eject Maverick, eject
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The film seems to go like this: they had enough budget for 5 decent actors and then the rest of the actors were filled with a “whoever shows up on the set gets to act” promotion. Worse, much of the dialog is atrocious and many scenes are completely uninteresting.
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A very underrated entry in the catalog of Woody Allen films. I thought the story was excellent and the acting was on point. Stewart and Eisenberg shine.
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Gerwig is either hit or miss with me. This one was a definite hit thanks to a good story and a great cast.
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A really unique, charming and interesting film.
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I've always been a fan of off-the-beaten-path indie movies and this definitely fits that bill. Very enjoyable.
In an odd kind of way this reminded me of the fantastic ESPN "30 for 30" piece on Ric Flair. At the end of the day Dylan showed you what he wanted to show you and even when he appears to be candid I doubt that it is really him. That's not a criticism in any way, and it may actually be a compliment.
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I think there was a better film in here. It was just ok - there is nothing compelling about it. It's tough to pull of these films with sexual backdrops.
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What an extremely original film. Loved every minute of it.
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While I generally enjoyed the earlier installments in this series I can't imagine what Hanks was thinking when he went back to the well one more time. Woof.
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An excellent character drama. Hupper is always fantastic, of course.
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The film goes in a very different direction than what you might expect from the description. I found that both extremely refreshing and interesting. Excellent film.
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A FANTASTIC character drama (and a bit of a dark comedy).
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This was a decent film. I ultimately hoped there would be a little more in there but I liked the moral question that it presented.
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One of my favorite traits of many good films is subtlety. This film had that and so much more in spades. In a way it reminded me of Blue Valentine in the way that it made me feel. Easily one of the year's best.
(side note: How did Michelle Williams get second billing? She was in the movie for only a few minutes)
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I really really really wanted to like this film more than I did. It fell way short of what it wanted to be.
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The first half built a pretty interesting mystery and then.... known story.
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