montybrogan Blog

My Review

montybrogan — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 00:40:43 GMT

I was gonna give this movie 2 stars but then I remembered how retina schorchingly hot Jennifer Love Hewitt is in this movie and it got an extra star

Not Like Garden State at All...

montybrogan — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 17:38:05 GMT

II saw this movie yesterday and I could not really find any reviews of the film I did see a lot of comments over on IMDB claiming that his is a Garden State rip off.

I am wondering when people are going to stop being so short sided and realize that just because a movie is about a relationship between damaged people, has a soundtrack with an indie flair and lots of dialogue is not a reason to write it off.

First and foremost this film is not like Garden State because Justin Theroux is willing to play with the craft. In Garden State Braff seems to just give direction, put the camera down and cut it together which is not criticism, it is just the style of the film. Theroux here is obviously playing with the craft of filmmaking, taking bigger challenges in the editing room and allowing the story to jump from the past, to the present and even into our protagonists subconscious.

All in all I walked away from the film with a very good feeling. I always suspected that Mandy Moore had some acting chops and she shows them for the first time in this film playing someone so different from herself. Crudup was good as a character with obvious problems but you still found yourself rooting for and he has the ability to bring some comedy to the role. Biggest surprise however is Theroux who I did not know what to expect from the first time director. He has always been an actor I enjoyed watching and I figured observing a great filmmaker like David Lynch would give him a leg up out of the gate and I think I am right. You can certainly see some influences from Lynch in the film.

Most refreshing however is he seems to be a change from your typical Actor Turned director. Usually you see an actor who wants to make that role for themselves that they know they could kill or has that story inside them that they feel needs to be told and puts themselves in a main role (i.e. Robert Redford). Theroux however didn’t even write the script and stayed behind the camera. He probably could have played the lead role or put himself in the picture but it seems that he is trying to hone this new skill and become a respected director. While this was not a perfect picture and probably won't end up on my Top 10 of the year he is definitely someone who I will look for in the future as a director and an actor.

The thing that made me like it...

montybrogan — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 06:24:40 GMT

A friend of mine saw this at the New York Film Festival last year and did not enjoy it. Hearing him talk about it he said that it's obvious historical inacuracies, failed attempt to get the viewer to feel sympathy for Ms. Antoinette and other short commings made this the first kink in an otherwise promising career for Ms. Coppola.

To a certain extent I agree, that was however until I decided to view the film in a different light. If you look at the film just as a character study then of course you are not going to be impressed with these characters. They are the very definition of gluttons and even the attempts to feel sympathy for her (sticking with her husband) came off as another shirking of responsibilites (that of being responsible for the safety and well being of her children). Then I started to think about how visually pleasing and interesting the movie is. When you go from dreary Austria to colorful and vibrant france, the use of many different colors and the choice to use modern music as a symbol of the interchangablitiy of the story I think were great choices by teh director.

I am not impressed with the story, I liked the acting and I loved the style of the film. This is yet another reason why there should be more females out there directing, they bring a visual style and knowledge that I think is hard for the average male to match.

Just finished the film...

montybrogan — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 06:14:53 GMT

Overall I walked away liking the film. We see some great performances from Michael Angarano, Cynthia Nixon and Brian Stoke Mitchell. The two guys who played the main characters friends (not sure of their names) were also pretty good.

Where this movie falls short in a few ways is trying to do way to much. I honestly think that this is a movie that could have stood on it's own as a story where Dylan is coming to terms with his death and his mother is dealing with going through a tremendous loss once again. When they keep cutting back to Nikki and dealing with her baggage and attitude I just lost interest. I honestly couldn't have cared why Nikki was such an unlikeable person, I have just crown up in a world were all super models are mean and vapid, I dont care what made them that way.

Mr. Angarano gives a great performance and I was captivated by him on screen. It is easy for someone to say that knowing your time on earth was limited you would live life to the fullest and go after your dreams, but that does not always happen. It was intriguing to see a character who was seemingly fearless and wanted to leave his mark on this world and it becomes clear that through the people he has encountered he has done just that.

Styleisticly, I liked a lot of the choices made but it was nothing to set the world on fire, there were some great shots however (i.e. the bathroom about 25-30 mins in). Cut out the Nikki subplot (made the entire thing play like a sunday night movie on TNT) and some bolder choices in the editing room and this is a first rate movie that would be a sin to overlook.

ONe of My Favorite Coen Bros. Movies

montybrogan — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 19:08:02 GMT

I only saw this movie recently but I loved it...As it turns out it is one of

Huge Ed Burns Fan

montybrogan — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 20:13:49 GMT

Ok I need to preface this by saying I am a Huge Fan of everything he has done. I guess as an Irish Catholic kid growing up in the city it was good to see a filmaker telling stories that I relate to and I love this film but there is something that has been bugging me about this movie that I need to get off my chest.

If you look at the original poster for the movie you will see something very different then you see on the DVD box cover, in fact here is a link to the poster (sorry I am in a rush and do not feel like dealing with HTML right now) (http://media.movieweb.com/galleries/3833/posters/poster1_full.jpg)

Now you see we have here a true representation of what the movie is about. A man coming together with his friends before the biggest day of his life and the days that follow. The DVD however has a horribly put together photo of the guys with Ms. Murphy in a Wedding dress with the subheadline 'Till Death do we Party,' ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME. This misinterprits the themes in the film so much it is insane. I got pulled into this story because of Tommy's reluctance to give up the single life and grow up, Dez's maturity at such a young age and all the other sub plot's between the guys. This ridiculous cover is frankly insulting to the great screen play and film that Mr. Burns produced.

Now I realize putting Britany Murphy on the cover with a wedding dress might sell some more copies and help you make money but maybe Bauer Martinez should have thought about that before spending unbeknownst millions of dollars marketing Van Wilder: The Rise Of Taj.

Now that I got that off my chest this is a great film with great perfomances (Ms. Murphy included) that everyone should see.

I can't fully dislike but...

montybrogan — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 19:52:23 GMT

Being something of a geek when it comes to film myself I can't fully dislike this movie but I was not in love with this film. There were elements that were really true, raw and appropriate but there were also times where it became to slapsticky. When you are trying to get people to feel for a character and relate to him there are just some gags you should do and some you should not, having a girl get shit on is one of the things you should not do.

That being said Westby and Malkasian are both ridiculously talented guys and I hope they keep working together. I love seing filmakers go digital now-a-days and I hope more and more people can just grab a camera and shoot a film in this way.

Part of my AFI 100 list that I need to see

montybrogan — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 06:24:59 GMT

Finally saw this one and I am glad I did. Really didn't exactly know what to think at the end of it which made me feel kind of dumb but it was stunning. Only complaint is that it is a tad slow and wish their could be a little more dialogue

One of the more Interchangeable films there are...

montybrogan — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 06:20:11 GMT

I think I need to preface this review by saying I am a big Al Franken fan. He was a bright spot on SNL, he is a fantastic writer, a good radio host and an intriguing person in general. That being said I was not a huge fan of this documentary. It seemed to be hastely put together and generally the production quality is poor. However on the content I was suprised that I did not like it as much as I thought I would have. Al Franken is funny like I expected but he doesnt do much to differntiate himself from his conservative counterparts. They are all passionate and care and the only thing that seperates them is Franken bases his arguments in fact and the others in idocracy. However I came away with the spectrum between the likes of O'reilly and those like Franken having shrunk. That being said I hope he wins in '08