list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around A Mighty Heart on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/A_Mighty_Heart/286540/default.aspx Title: A Mighty Heart
Year: 2007
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Plot: Angelina Jolie stars as Mariane Pearl, wife of slain journalist Daniel Pearl, in director Michael Winterbottom's adaptation of Mariane's memoir recounting the abduction and murder of her husband (played in the film by Dan Futterman) by Pakistani militants. It was on January 23, 2002, that Mariane Pearl's life took a grim and unanticipated turn that no one could have seen coming. The South Asia Bureau Chief for the Wall Street Journal, Daniel Pearl, was in Pakistan with his pregnant wife, Mariane, when he set out to conduct one last interview for an upcoming article; the pair were due to fly back home to the U.S. shortly thereafter. By all accounts, it was the same type of interview he had conducted a hundred times before, and though the only concern that Daniel had voiced beforehand was that he might be a bit late for dinner, it would soon become obvious that something had gone horribly awry. Later, in an attempt to rise above the seething vengeance and cycle of violence that the post-9/11 world has fallen into and familiarize her newborn son with the father he will never know, Mariane penned A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband Danny Pearl. The remarkable true story behind the murder that shook the entire world, Mariane's deeply personal novel is adapted for the screen by the BAFTA award-winning director of The Road to Guantanamo. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 3
Number of Lists: 13
Number of blog posts: 8
Number of discussion threads: 4
SpoutRating: 2
]]>Mon, 01 Dec 2008 02:59:43 GMTA Mighty Heart2007Michael Winterbottom<a href="/players/P____36009/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Angelina Jolie</a> stars as Mariane Pearl, wife of slain journalist Daniel Pearl, in director <a href="/players/P___194595/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Michael Winterbottom</a>'s adaptation of Mariane's memoir recounting the abduction and murder of her husband (played in the film by <a href="/players/P____25411/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Dan Futterman</a>) by Pakistani militants. It was on January 23, 2002, that Mariane Pearl's life took a grim and unanticipated turn that no one could have seen coming. The South Asia Bureau Chief for the Wall Street Journal, Daniel Pearl, was in Pakistan with his pregnant wife, Mariane, when he set out to conduct one last interview for an upcoming article; the pair were due to fly back home to the U.S. shortly thereafter. By all accounts, it was the same type of interview he had conducted a hundred times before, and though the only concern that Daniel had voiced beforehand was that he might be a bit late for dinner, it would soon become obvious that something had gone horribly awry. Later, in an attempt to rise above the seething vengeance and cycle of violence that the post-9/11 world has fallen into and familiarize her newborn son with the father he will never know, Mariane penned A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband Danny Pearl. The remarkable true story behind the murder that shook the entire world, Mariane's deeply personal novel is adapted for the screen by the BAFTA award-winning director of <a href=/films/275042/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>The Road to Guantanamo</a>. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide3Slightly Tagged (1-5)13842http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s286540.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/A_Mighty_Heart/286540/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Movie_Prep/Weekly_Prep_for_10_24_Releases/651/36621/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: ChrisThilk
Post To: Weekly Movie Prep
Post Date: 10/23/2008 12:29:51 PM
Body: It's going to be an interesting Friday in theaters this week. You've got a handful of horror, a pretty standard looking cop flick, a period drama directed by one of Hollywood's elder statesmen and the third entry in a pre-pubescent-targeted series that's filled with singing and dancing basketball players. So it's a mixed bag to say the least. And here's what I'm probably watching in preparation for those: Changeling: Million Dollar Baby, Bridges of Madison County, Bronco Billy, A Mighty Heart - Clint Eastwood has a strong tendency to overdo it when it comes to putting his female characters up on a pedastal and these few movies are perfect examples of that. The last one, of course, is Angelina Jolie's previous entry in the "Won't Someone Help Me Find..." genre, something that allows her primarily to put those ginormous lips to their best pouting usage. High School Musical 3: High School Musical, High School Musical 2, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, The Breakfast Club, Superbad - It's best not to ask why I'm going to wind up seeing HSM3. But catching up on the story so far and then cleansing the pallet with some quality tales of high school hijinks that are decidedly less family-friendly is probably a good idea. I'm not much of a horror fan so I'm not likely to see the new batch of flicks. But what's on your docket for this week?
]]>Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:29:51 GMTChrisThilkWeekly Movie Prep10/23/2008 12:29:51 PMIt's going to be an interesting Friday in theaters this week. You've got a handful of horror, a pretty standard looking cop flick, a period drama directed by one of Hollywood's elder statesmen and the third entry in a pre-pubescent-targeted series that's filled with singing and dancing basketball players. So it's a mixed bag to say the least. And here's what I'm probably watching in preparation for those: Changeling: Million Dollar Baby, Bridges of Madison County, Bronco Billy, A Mighty Heart - Clint Eastwood has a strong tendency to overdo it when it comes to putting his female characters up on a pedastal and these few movies are perfect examples of that. The last one, of course, is Angelina Jolie's previous entry in the "Won't Someone Help Me Find..." genre, something that allows her primarily to put those ginormous lips to their best pouting usage. High School Musical 3: High School Musical, High School Musical 2, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, The Breakfast Club, Superbad - It's best not to ask why I'm going to wind up seeing HSM3. But catching up on the story so far and then cleansing the pallet with some quality tales of high school hijinks that are decidedly less family-friendly is probably a good idea. I'm not much of a horror fan so I'm not likely to see the new batch of flicks. But what's on your docket for this week? http://www.spout.com/blogs/cinemarian/archive/2008/5/12/28623.aspx Post By: CinemaRian
Post To: CinemaRian Blog
Post Date: 5/12/2008 11:57:12 AM
Body: Considering the title and subject matter, A Mighty Heart is a surprisingly uninvolving and at times, frankly boring movie. It takes what should be bold story of human tragedy and turns it into a police procedural, which is not the way to remember an innocent person who was murdered for two sins being American, and being Jewish. I was vaguely familiar with the story of Daniel Pearl at the beginning of 2002, when the first reports of his kidnap in Pakistan came in, to the tragic news of his death at the hands of Al Qaeda. The Wall Street Journal reporter had been beheaded, and video of his death had been posted on the internet, apparently so that other terrorists could be inspired. His wife, Mariane Pearl, was pregnant at their time with their first child. I remembered being bothered more than usual by this story. Desensitized to mere death, I was saddened by the fact that Pearl was killed in such a barbaric way, that such a private event as his death was posted on the internet, and the fact that his wife was pregnant. Given this material, you would think that it would be very difficult to make a bad film about this subject, but Winterbottom, a talented director who made the occasionally brilliant A Cock and Bull Story, somehow misses the boat. The problem is not with the casting. I have often felt Angelina Jolie's reputation as an actress has suffered because of her high public profile, and the fact that she's really hot. Yes, beautiful women can be great actresses too, and she nails Mariane Pearl, right down the mixed Cuban-French accent. When you compare TV clips of the real Mariane with Jolie, it's impressive. Dan Futterman has a smaller but important role as Daniel, and resists the temptation to turn him into a saint. The problem with the movie is that endless minuets of screen time are devoted to the search for Daniel led by a Pakistani detective (Irfan Kahn). We get scene after scene of the detective interrogating, investigating, e-mailing, meeting with diplomats, making phone calls, and eventually we stop caring, or even understanding. I was completely confused by much what happens in the second half the picture. The problem is that for a police procedural to work, we need to identify with the policeman and not the victim. It seems almost cruel to set up a real human tragedy and that watch some guy search for facts, when the director should be trying to find some sort of emotional or philosophical meaning from what happened. A Mighty Heart ends with the series of titles we usually get from "based on a true story" movies. You know, "John married Katherine and moved to Canada." But after the fate of Mariane Pearl and her husband's parents were revealed, I had no idea who any of the many names were. A Mighty Heart takes a great tragedy and neutralizes its impact with irrelevant facts. It's about the how, when it should be about the why. A Mighty Heart (2007)
]]>Mon, 12 May 2008 15:57:12 GMTCinemaRianCinemaRian Blog5/12/2008 11:57:12 AMConsidering the title and subject matter, A Mighty Heart is a surprisingly uninvolving and at times, frankly boring movie. It takes what should be bold story of human tragedy and turns it into a police procedural, which is not the way to remember an innocent person who was murdered for two sins being American, and being Jewish. I was vaguely familiar with the story of Daniel Pearl at the beginning of 2002, when the first reports of his kidnap in Pakistan came in, to the tragic news of his death at the hands of Al Qaeda. The Wall Street Journal reporter had been beheaded, and video of his death had been posted on the internet, apparently so that other terrorists could be inspired. His wife, Mariane Pearl, was pregnant at their time with their first child. I remembered being bothered more than usual by this story. Desensitized to mere death, I was saddened by the fact that Pearl was killed in such a barbaric way, that such a private event as his death was posted on the internet, and the fact that his wife was pregnant. Given this material, you would think that it would be very difficult to make a bad film about this subject, but Winterbottom, a talented director who made the occasionally brilliant A Cock and Bull Story, somehow misses the boat. The problem is not with the casting. I have often felt Angelina Jolie's reputation as an actress has suffered because of her high public profile, and the fact that she's really hot. Yes, beautiful women can be great actresses too, and she nails Mariane Pearl, right down the mixed Cuban-French accent. When you compare TV clips of the real Mariane with Jolie, it's impressive. Dan Futterman has a smaller but important role as Daniel, and resists the temptation to turn him into a saint. The problem with the movie is that endless minuets of screen time are devoted to the search for Daniel led by a Pakistani detective (Irfan Kahn). We get scene after scene of the detective interrogating, investigating, e-mailing, meeting with diplomats, making phone calls, and eventually we stop caring, or even understanding. I was completely confused by much what happens in the second half the picture. The problem is that for a police procedural to work, we need to identify with the policeman and not the victim. It seems almost cruel to set up a real human tragedy and that watch some guy search for facts, when the director should be trying to find some sort of emotional or philosophical meaning from what happened. A Mighty Heart ends with the series of titles we usually get from "based on a true story" movies. You know, "John married Katherine and moved to Canada." But after the fate of Mariane Pearl and her husband's parents were revealed, I had no idea who any of the many names were. A Mighty Heart takes a great tragedy and neutralizes its impact with irrelevant facts. It's about the how, when it should be about the why. A Mighty Heart (2007) http://www.spout.com/blogs/lisasussman/archive/2008/2/25/25555.aspx Post By: lisasussman
Post To: lisasussman Blog
Post Date: 2/25/2008 5:29:07 AM
Body: I can't and I WON'T see this movie, because the thought of Angelina Jolie playing the role of some kind of Mary Magdelene Martyr on YET ANOTHER MORAL AND SPIRITUAL CRUSADE make me wish I could spit acid rain straight into her Dolce cabana. She is so utterly full of it with her mosquito nets and linen shirts and her ever-increasing bounty of crestfallen multinational children in their urban-casual attire. What's next, Angelina, are you gonna fly into outer space to adopt some starving martians? Yeah, well, I DON'T BUY IT I DON'T BUY IT I DON'T I DO NOT!!!! Your aim is the eat hearts of all men before their very begging eyes!!!! TAKE OFF THOSE BIG HUGE SUNGLASSES!!! This review's key point: HOMEWRECKER! SOCIOPATH!!
]]>Mon, 25 Feb 2008 10:29:07 GMTlisasussmanlisasussman Blog2/25/2008 5:29:07 AMI can&#39;t and I WON&#39;T see this movie, because the thought of Angelina Jolie playing the role of some kind of Mary Magdelene Martyr on YET ANOTHER MORAL AND SPIRITUAL CRUSADE make me wish I could spit acid rain straight into her Dolce cabana. She is so utterly full of it with her mosquito nets and linen shirts and her ever-increasing bounty of crestfallen multinational children in their urban-casual attire. What&#39;s next, Angelina, are you gonna fly into outer space to adopt some starving martians? Yeah, well, I DON&#39;T BUY IT I DON&#39;T BUY IT I DON&#39;T I DO NOT!!!! Your aim is the eat hearts of all men before their very begging eyes!!!! TAKE OFF THOSE BIG HUGE SUNGLASSES!!! This review&#39;s key point: HOMEWRECKER! SOCIOPATH!! http://www.spout.com/blogs/paul/archive/2007/12/21/23067.aspx Post By: paul
Post To: paul on spout.com
Post Date: 12/21/2007 4:15:34 PM
Body: New in theaters, Rolf de Heer’s Ten Canoes and Michael Winterbottom’s A Mighty Heart, Angelina Jolie’s passion project. Both deal with marginalized people and raise the question, “Can westerners make a movie to help us understand non-western people?” Dances with Wolves and Apocalypto come under a bit of scrutiny as well. Download FilmCouch #25 or subscribe in the iTunes store (search for “filmcouch” or click here to launch iTunes) and a new free episode will download every Friday. Join the FilmCouch group Originally posted on:SpoutBlog » Paul
]]>Fri, 21 Dec 2007 21:15:34 GMTpaulpaul on spout.com12/21/2007 4:15:34 PMNew in theaters, Rolf de Heer’s Ten Canoes and Michael Winterbottom’s A Mighty Heart, Angelina Jolie’s passion project. Both deal with marginalized people and raise the question, “Can westerners make a movie to help us understand non-western people?” Dances with Wolves and Apocalypto come under a bit of scrutiny as well. Download FilmCouch #25 or subscribe in the iTunes store (search for “filmcouch” or click here to launch iTunes) and a new free episode will download every Friday. Join the FilmCouch group Originally posted on:SpoutBlog » Paul http://www.spout.com/blogs/solafekxela/archive/2007/7/24/15731.aspx Post By: solafekxela
Post To: solafekxela Blog
Post Date: 7/24/2007 4:31:30 PM
Body: It’s been quite a few years since Angelina Jolie won her Oscar for Girl, Interrupted; it seems as though she dropped off the face of the serious acting world - until now. Michael Winterbottom’s A Mighty Heart rolled into Cannes film festival this year, and its another one of those current event films. Last year brought two of them - United 93 and World Trade Center. Obviously these are not easy films to sit through, but, if done right (like United 93), they can be truly moving. Sadly, Winterbottom’s telling of the brutal murder of Wall Street Journal writer Daniel Pearl in Pakistan is neither moving nor respectable in any fashion. The only great thing about the film is Jolie’s performance, which, contrast to many opinions, is not eclipsed by her star power.  I would like to think that most of the problems with the film happened in the editing room, but it is simply too flawed for editing to receive all the blame.  The first twenty minutes of the film are actually pretty good - the telling of the events leading up to the murder is effective and emotional.  It’s after this first act that the film comes to a screeching halt instigated by disorienting editing, a host of confusing minor characters, and varying points of view that distract more than inform.  When dealing with a topic this serious, it is imperative to remain focused and straightforward. By halfway through the movie, I was so confused that the film no longer had any staying power and the emotional moments just laid there on the screen.  If this were a fictional event, these faults would not be so serious. However, if one remembers all the discussion last year about whether it was too soon for such films to be made, it should be noted that the proper handling of such recent tragic events is critical, especially to those people directly affected by the events.  A Mighty Heart is almost offensive in its mishandling of such a serious topic. Winterbottom exploits the persons involved by randomly showing us images simply to provoke an emotional response. Random cuts to Daniel throughout the film serve no other purpose. The lack of a single point of view results in not only confusion but also a lack of suspense. It is a shame that some of the powerful images in the film fall flat because of all the distractions. Some more careful editing could have prevented these mistakes and resulted in a more powerful film. As is, A Mighty Heart is anything but mighty. C
]]>Tue, 24 Jul 2007 20:31:30 GMTsolafekxelasolafekxela Blog7/24/2007 4:31:30 PMIt&rsquo;s been quite a few years since Angelina Jolie won her Oscar for Girl, Interrupted; it seems as though she dropped off the face of the serious acting world - until now. Michael Winterbottom&rsquo;s A Mighty Heart rolled into Cannes film festival this year, and its another one of those current event films. Last year brought two of them - United 93 and World Trade Center. Obviously these are not easy films to sit through, but, if done right (like United 93), they can be truly moving. Sadly, Winterbottom&rsquo;s telling of the brutal murder of Wall Street Journal writer Daniel Pearl in Pakistan is neither moving nor respectable in any fashion. The only great thing about the film is Jolie&rsquo;s performance, which, contrast to many opinions, is not eclipsed by her star power.  I would like to think that most of the problems with the film happened in the editing room, but it is simply too flawed for editing to receive all the blame.  The first twenty minutes of the film are actually pretty good - the telling of the events leading up to the murder is effective and emotional.  It&rsquo;s after this first act that the film comes to a screeching halt instigated by disorienting editing, a host of confusing minor characters, and varying points of view that distract more than inform.  When dealing with a topic this serious, it is imperative to remain focused and straightforward. By halfway through the movie, I was so confused that the film no longer had any staying power and the emotional moments just laid there on the screen.  If this were a fictional event, these faults would not be so serious. However, if one remembers all the discussion last year about whether it was too soon for such films to be made, it should be noted that the proper handling of such recent tragic events is critical, especially to those people directly affected by the events.  A Mighty Heart is almost offensive in its mishandling of such a serious topic. Winterbottom exploits the persons involved by randomly showing us images simply to provoke an emotional response. Random cuts to Daniel throughout the film serve no other purpose. The lack of a single point of view results in not only confusion but also a lack of suspense. It is a shame that some of the powerful images in the film fall flat because of all the distractions. Some more careful editing could have prevented these mistakes and resulted in a more powerful film. As is, A Mighty Heart is anything but mighty. C http://www.spout.com/groups/Filmspotting/Re_The_Jolie_distraction_factor/304/13808/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: alexcharner
Post To: Filmspotting
Post Date: 7/13/2007 9:57:00 AM
Body: Hey Adam, I was shaken by A Mighty Heart. Winterbottom doesn't spare a detail in showing us Karachi and the avenues of this "War on Terror" that we may never understang. Angelina Jolie and Irrfan Kahn were amazing. Honest, complicated, heartbreaking. Love the show, Alex
]]>Fri, 13 Jul 2007 13:57:00 GMTalexcharnerFilmspotting7/13/2007 9:57:00 AMHey Adam, I was shaken by A Mighty Heart. Winterbottom doesn't spare a detail in showing us Karachi and the avenues of this "War on Terror" that we may never understang. Angelina Jolie and Irrfan Kahn were amazing. Honest, complicated, heartbreaking. Love the show, Alex http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2007/7/6/13256.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 7/6/2007 9:00:28 AM
Body: In the hopes of resuscitating box office loser A Mighty Heart, Paramount is trying something new. The idea is to cut down from over 1,300 screens, to about 600 - a "retroactive platform release" designed to spread word of mouth and keep the pic in theaters longer. The Variety story is of the "let's just keep the exec talking and count how many outside forces he manages to blame" variety. My favorite part is when Paramount blames John Cusack for stealing their older women quadrant with 1408. "With no new wide releases scheduled to open Friday, the weekend dynamics already are in gear," writes Gregg Kilday at the Reporter. "[T]he three dominant holiday players [are] on track to extend their winning streaks." Sicko will screen at the first Iran International Film Festival, but it's maker is not coming with. A Sicko rep claims that a "right-wing promoted" rumor Michael Moore would follow his film to Tehran is "an urban myth right up there with alligators in the sewers of New York City." Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Fri, 06 Jul 2007 13:00:28 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com7/6/2007 9:00:28 AM In the hopes of resuscitating box office loser A Mighty Heart, Paramount is trying something new. The idea is to cut down from over 1,300 screens, to about 600 - a "retroactive platform release" designed to spread word of mouth and keep the pic in theaters longer. The Variety story is of the "let's just keep the exec talking and count how many outside forces he manages to blame" variety. My favorite part is when Paramount blames John Cusack for stealing their older women quadrant with 1408. "With no new wide releases scheduled to open Friday, the weekend dynamics already are in gear," writes Gregg Kilday at the Reporter. "[T]he three dominant holiday players [are] on track to extend their winning streaks." Sicko will screen at the first Iran International Film Festival, but it's maker is not coming with. A Sicko rep claims that a "right-wing promoted" rumor Michael Moore would follow his film to Tehran is "an urban myth right up there with alligators in the sewers of New York City." Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/stuntman_james/archive/2007/6/30/12719.aspx Post By: stuntman_James
Post To: stuntman_James Blog
Post Date: 6/30/2007 8:06:44 PM
Body: I am not one to watch a movie that dispenses modilin emotions to sell people on buying a ticket and watching it. I am also skeptical about movies that center around current events and reality since 2001. However, this movie attracted me to want to see it. I read this book about a year ago off of a suggestion by a good friend of mine. It was written by Mariane Pearl, the wife of slain Wall Street journalist Daniel Pearl. I read each page and felt two things in the end. She had an incredible love for this man, both in life and in death and she wrote this book to let people know who Daniel Pearl was outside of the info given by fox news and such. He was more than a man of Jewish faith and more than a journalist. He was a husband and a soon to be father. We are given direct access into her world. We sit at the dinner table with her friends in Pakistan. They revel in happiness and delight while she looks burdened and worried. Worried that her husband, chasing a story about Muslim extremists coming to Pakistan to continue their war on the world, is not at home for dinner. Soon we live her pain, her horror as this political thriller just goes all the wrong directions and he is kidnapped by these evil men. We see all the back door politics and meetings trying to assure his safe return. We are given small and very intense moment that rivet us to the action on the screen. We see her fall apart when a body is discovered, only to be shown it is not Daniel. Soon we find out that Danny didn't make it. We see her just fall apart. We just fall apart with her. We want answers, just like she does. Angelina Jolie is Mariane Pearl. I have seen Mariane in interviews and press kits for her books. Everything that Mariane is Angelina. You don't see the gorgeous women of " Brangelina". We see Mariane. The rest of the cast is quiet but powerful. This quasi-documentery remind me of another powerful film of the same elk. United 93 stuck with realism and the same docu style of filmmaking to give us the morbid experience of reliving the events. As with United 93, we are the fly on the wall. Winterbottom crafts a fantastic voyage that plays on the theme of love and loss than just current emotion. With snipets of their love affair and their courtship, we fall in love with them as much as they fall in love with themselves. You will need a mighty heart to view A Mighty Heart.
]]>Sun, 01 Jul 2007 00:06:44 GMTstuntman_Jamesstuntman_James Blog6/30/2007 8:06:44 PM I am not one to watch a movie that dispenses modilin emotions to sell people on buying a ticket and watching it. I am also skeptical about movies that center around current events and reality since 2001. However, this movie attracted me to want to see it. I read this book about a year ago off of a suggestion by a good friend of mine. It was written by Mariane Pearl, the wife of slain Wall Street journalist Daniel Pearl. I read each page and felt two things in the end. She had an incredible love for this man, both in life and in death and she wrote this book to let people know who Daniel Pearl was outside of the info given by fox news and such. He was more than a man of Jewish faith and more than a journalist. He was a husband and a soon to be father. We are given direct access into her world. We sit at the dinner table with her friends in Pakistan. They revel in happiness and delight while she looks burdened and worried. Worried that her husband, chasing a story about Muslim extremists coming to Pakistan to continue their war on the world, is not at home for dinner. Soon we live her pain, her horror as this political thriller just goes all the wrong directions and he is kidnapped by these evil men. We see all the back door politics and meetings trying to assure his safe return. We are given small and very intense moment that rivet us to the action on the screen. We see her fall apart when a body is discovered, only to be shown it is not Daniel. Soon we find out that Danny didn't make it. We see her just fall apart. We just fall apart with her. We want answers, just like she does. Angelina Jolie is Mariane Pearl. I have seen Mariane in interviews and press kits for her books. Everything that Mariane is Angelina. You don't see the gorgeous women of &quot; Brangelina&quot;. We see Mariane. The rest of the cast is quiet but powerful. This quasi-documentery remind me of another powerful film of the same elk. United 93 stuck with realism and the same docu style of filmmaking to give us the morbid experience of reliving the events. As with United 93, we are the fly on the wall. Winterbottom crafts a fantastic voyage that plays on the theme of love and loss than just current emotion. With snipets of their love affair and their courtship, we fall in love with them as much as they fall in love with themselves. You will need a mighty heart to view A Mighty Heart. http://www.spout.com/blogs/rlpolo04/archive/2007/6/24/11933.aspx Post By: rlpolo04
Post To: rlpolo04 Blog
Post Date: 6/24/2007 10:38:00 AM
Body: A Mighty Heart- **Directed by Michael Winterbottom June 24, 2007You have to have a mighty heart to watch this movie. Yea it’s tough to watch because director Michael Winterbottom (Wonderland) makes this movie boring and really unwatchable within the first half-hour or so. What could have been a movie of great emotional power is instead a chore for us to watch. Having this based on the true story of Wall Street journalist Daniel Pearl, who got brutally murdered by a group of terrorists, is that we know the outcome before the movie even starts and that only makes the movie worse. “How can you find one man amongst all of these people?” - Mariane Pearl (Angelina Jolie) That quote expresses Mariane’s frustrations as her husband Daniel Pearl has been kidnapped by a group of terrorists in Karachi, Pakistan. They’re both journalists and after 9/11, in 2002, they traveled to get interviews and stories about a “shoe-bomber.” They’ve been living in Pakistan for a year and a half. All the other American journalists already left for American but not Daniel and his wife. All he wants is just one more interview with a powerful person, Sheikh Gilani. Daniel gets information through email from Sheikh’s supporting people about when and where to meet him. Eventually it turns into a circus. He always asks the question “is it safe?” and the answer is always “if you’re in a public place.” Being a Jew doesn’t help him either and the terrorists think that journalists are CIA agents. When you’re a journalist you have to do what you have to do, even if it means trusting people in the worst part of the world. We’re never shown how Danny gets kidnapped or any action when he’s being held captive. Instead, it’s all Jolie’s show as she buts on Oscar caliber acting to keep the audience’s attention while the entire movie is all procedurals. Playing this role, Jolie completely morphed and looked more like Jennifer Lopez but let’s thank God that she didn’t act like her. Most of the time we get Jolie just sitting at her table looking through paper’s and writing on a white chalk board because everything is so confusing. Most of all she’s seven months pregnant and she doesn’t want to create any problems for the baby. It’s at the end of the movie where we get the powerful and exhilarating scene of her breaking down and letting everything out but it’s the scenes where she gets interviewed that gets you in the heart. She isn’t going to let anybody terrorize her. Having her baby only makes her stronger as she keeps moving forward. Jolie’s acting can only carry this movie so far. The middle of A Mighty Heart is down right snooze worthy. To top it off, most of the people doing the talking (Pakistani officers) are so hard to understand. Shot in a docu-style way makes this movie more authentic and buts you in the middle of all this commotion. Besides Jolie’s acting, what I loved most were the flashback scenes of Mariane and Daniel (only time he is in the movie are in these scenes) having diner, getting married, and cuddling in bed. Though they didn’t work my feelings the way I wanted them too, they still benefited the movie.
]]>Sun, 24 Jun 2007 14:38:00 GMTrlpolo04rlpolo04 Blog6/24/2007 10:38:00 AMA Mighty Heart- **Directed by Michael Winterbottom June 24, 2007You have to have a mighty heart to watch this movie. Yea it&rsquo;s tough to watch because director Michael Winterbottom (Wonderland) makes this movie boring and really unwatchable within the first half-hour or so. What could have been a movie of great emotional power is instead a chore for us to watch. Having this based on the true story of Wall Street journalist Daniel Pearl, who got brutally murdered by a group of terrorists, is that we know the outcome before the movie even starts and that only makes the movie worse. &ldquo;How can you find one man amongst all of these people?&rdquo; - Mariane Pearl (Angelina Jolie) That quote expresses Mariane&rsquo;s frustrations as her husband Daniel Pearl has been kidnapped by a group of terrorists in Karachi, Pakistan. They&rsquo;re both journalists and after 9/11, in 2002, they traveled to get interviews and stories about a &ldquo;shoe-bomber.&rdquo; They&rsquo;ve been living in Pakistan for a year and a half. All the other American journalists already left for American but not Daniel and his wife. All he wants is just one more interview with a powerful person, Sheikh Gilani. Daniel gets information through email from Sheikh&rsquo;s supporting people about when and where to meet him. Eventually it turns into a circus. He always asks the question &ldquo;is it safe?&rdquo; and the answer is always &ldquo;if you&rsquo;re in a public place.&rdquo; Being a Jew doesn&rsquo;t help him either and the terrorists think that journalists are CIA agents. When you&rsquo;re a journalist you have to do what you have to do, even if it means trusting people in the worst part of the world. We&rsquo;re never shown how Danny gets kidnapped or any action when he&rsquo;s being held captive. Instead, it&rsquo;s all Jolie&rsquo;s show as she buts on Oscar caliber acting to keep the audience&rsquo;s attention while the entire movie is all procedurals. Playing this role, Jolie completely morphed and looked more like Jennifer Lopez but let&rsquo;s thank God that she didn&rsquo;t act like her. Most of the time we get Jolie just sitting at her table looking through paper&rsquo;s and writing on a white chalk board because everything is so confusing. Most of all she&rsquo;s seven months pregnant and she doesn&rsquo;t want to create any problems for the baby. It&rsquo;s at the end of the movie where we get the powerful and exhilarating scene of her breaking down and letting everything out but it&rsquo;s the scenes where she gets interviewed that gets you in the heart. She isn&rsquo;t going to let anybody terrorize her. Having her baby only makes her stronger as she keeps moving forward. Jolie&rsquo;s acting can only carry this movie so far. The middle of A Mighty Heart is down right snooze worthy. To top it off, most of the people doing the talking (Pakistani officers) are so hard to understand. Shot in a docu-style way makes this movie more authentic and buts you in the middle of all this commotion. Besides Jolie&rsquo;s acting, what I loved most were the flashback scenes of Mariane and Daniel (only time he is in the movie are in these scenes) having diner, getting married, and cuddling in bed. Though they didn&rsquo;t work my feelings the way I wanted them too, they still benefited the movie. http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2007/6/22/11678.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 6/22/2007 10:01:36 AM
Body: New in theaters, Rolf de Heer's Ten Canoes and Michael Winterbottom's A Mighty Heart, Angelina Jolie's passion project. Both deal with marginalized people and raise the question, "Can westerners make a movie to help us understand non-western people?" Dances with Wolves and Apocalypto come under a bit of scrutiny as well. Download FilmCouch #25 or subscribe in the iTunes store (search for "filmcouch" or click here to launch iTunes) and a new free episode will download every Friday. Join the FilmCouch group Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:01:36 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com6/22/2007 10:01:36 AMNew in theaters, Rolf de Heer's Ten Canoes and Michael Winterbottom's A Mighty Heart, Angelina Jolie's passion project. Both deal with marginalized people and raise the question, "Can westerners make a movie to help us understand non-western people?" Dances with Wolves and Apocalypto come under a bit of scrutiny as well. Download FilmCouch #25 or subscribe in the iTunes store (search for "filmcouch" or click here to launch iTunes) and a new free episode will download every Friday. Join the FilmCouch group Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/war/MemberTagFilms.aspxwar
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