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"Revolutionary Road" (2008 - DiCaprio, Winslet)

The Ü™

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Uber, I think we have finally found some common ground. Hallelujah!

A Beautiful Mind wasn't that great, either. And not only because it wasn't about my mind.

And I liked both Titanic and Forrest Gump. They had great special effects (at the time).
 

Ivy

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I did like A Beautiful Mind. I've liked almost everything Opie has directed.

I never saw Titanic and Forrest Gump was okay but syrupy.
 

pure_mercury

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Benjamin Button was more like Titanic Gump.

The worst Best Picture contender (and winner) of all time, however, was Gladiator.

Gladiator is one of the worst Best Picture winners ever, but probably not THE worst. Ever see Oliver!, uber? Million Dollar Baby was pretty lame. I usually love Clint Eastwood, too. There have been pretty bad Best Picture nominees in the last twenty years. The Postman, Seabiscuit, Cider House Rules, Erin Brockovich, Titanic, Good Night and Good Luck, Atonement. None of those movies were anything special at all.
 

Kangirl

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I hated this movie. For reasons along the lines of those LowtechRedneck posted. It reminded me of American Beauty, which I also loathe with a passion. Worthless Oscar bait that pretends to be saying something edgy when it isn't doing anything of the sort. Blergh. *vomit smiley*
 

The Ü™

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Gladiator is one of the worst Best Picture winners ever, but probably not THE worst. Ever see Oliver!, uber? Million Dollar Baby was pretty lame. I usually love Clint Eastwood, too. There have been pretty bad Best Picture nominees in the last twenty years. The Postman, Seabiscuit, Cider House Rules, Erin Brockovich, Titanic, Good Night and Good Luck, Atonement. None of those movies were anything special at all.

I take it you're not talking about the 1997 Kevin Costner movie.
 

Synarch

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After some more reflection RR seems like the prequel to American Beauty. It's very similar in many respects, which is somewhat disappointing as it seems to point to a certain lack of creativity, as if Sam Mendes is stuck in some mental loop. The acting was fine, there just wasn't much meat to the film. Like I said, I don't know if it's a failure of feeling or something, but I haven't been moved by a recent film since "Let the Right One In". I feel jaded with respect to film, in the sense that I want to see something real, rather than something trying to make me think it feels real. How do you achieve this?

On a semi-related subject, tragedy always seems such an easy way out in terms of plot. But, as in life, what comes after? How do you handle life after the fall? Where is the overcoming? Or, the struggle without resolution? Many films seem to careen toward tragedy and then stop there, as if that is the end of the story. As if life was not suffused with suffering.
 

Grayscale

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It reminded me of American Beauty, which I also loathe with a passion. Worthless Oscar bait that pretends to be saying something edgy when it isn't doing anything of the sort. Blergh. *vomit smiley*

I want to see something real, rather than something trying to make me think it feels real. How do you achieve this?

i can understand this sort of cynicism, but i dont think there is any advantage to judging the premise of things as much as the execution.

as far as movies go, i tend to view the general plot like i would an artist's choice of medium. i wouldnt say "nobody has ever tried to make art out of rotten food and trash" or "oil? everyone paints with oil, how unoriginal". the premise is largely irrelevant, execution is where creativity (or lack thereof) becomes apparent. actually, that's why i usually dislike michael bay's work despite its polish. and along the same lines i give movies the benefit of the doubt and dont project pseudo-significance because i want to take advantage of whatever insight (however limited) the story offers.
 

cascadeco

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I saw it one of the last weeks of January.

Mixed feelings.

I thought the acting was good, I thought the general storyline was promising, but there was something dreadfully wrong with it as well, which I couldn't quite put my finger on. I blamed it on the screenplay....it just seemed far too dramatic, or something.

It was like...believable emotions in themselves, but I didn't believe the characters, story, or timeline. Seemed too rushed, too dramatic, something....
 

Ivy

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Sometimes it's distracting when a film has Oscar written all over it. I get irritated when filmmakers kind of swagger in and plop a movie on the table and go "Eh? Ehhhh? Pretty good, no?" I liked Slumdog Millionaire in a way because it was humble and didn't have thumbprints all over it.
 

JocktheMotie

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Sometimes it's distracting when a film has Oscar written all over it. I get irritated when filmmakers kind of swagger in and plop a movie on the table and go "Eh? Ehhhh? Pretty good, no?" I liked Slumdog Millionaire in a way because it was humble and didn't have thumbprints all over it.

I agree. Most of my beloved movies don't fall under Oscar categories. A movie is a personal experience for me, and I like ones that give me something new, a new perspective, or just take me on a great ride. I can't relate to this movie. I can't relate to Slumdog Millionaire, to be honest thought it was hokey and silly. The last great movie I've seen was The Prestige, and I don't think that won anything.
 

Ivy

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I liked the hokiness of it. It was innocent.

Plus now I can say "WHO WANTS TO BE............................................................................................................................... A MILLANAIRE!" and I'm very thankful for that.
 

Tigerlily

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just saw this today. i was hesitant because i didn't want to feel bad and i don't so that's good.

i liked it. it will probably continue to grow on me but in case it doesn't i want to pick up the book.

life isn't always rosey and this story isn't shy about enlightening those of us who may be unfamiliar with unhappiness.

my take on april is that she isn't happy with the life she has chosen and tries to get frank to run off to paris in order to jump start the passion again. he's bored but fuck, who doesn't get bored? he sees the bigger picture when he gets promotion and more $$$ and tries to get her on board with this.

the mental patient (who is cathy bates grown son in the movie) is spot on. he tells them like it. i loved when he said, "I'm glad I'm not gonna be that kid!" when referring to april's unborn child. he was right.

the end was unfortunate but the very end was classic. *grin*

i'm not much for going to the movies and sitting in a nasty theater with strangers other than when my arm is twisted by the kids so i missed seeing this which is cool because i preferred watching it at home. i will make the husband watch it this weekend and see what he thinks. we have both often thought of "better" places to live and are we living life to the fullest so he may not hate it. i think april needed to see a shrink as frank suggested and had she been given a good antidepressant, would have been fine. oh well such as life. :rolleyes:

Kate Winslet was gorgeous in it. Neither of them felt as though they fit in. Maybe they were both intuitive? At the end Frank moved to the city to fufill his need for "different". Had April listened they would have survived. the book will probably fill in some missing parts and complete the story.

young, unmarried people without kids won't get much of the story line so if thats you, i'd skip it.
 

statuesquechica

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The movie poorly translates the plot of the book and loses the subtlety of the characters, their quiet, private fight within themselves for a life that has meaning. After reading the book I just wanted to be alone with the two main characters and turn their decisions and actions over in my mind. I like a book that is not so clear in what is/isn't wrong or right. I like the gray areas; infinitely more interesting.

After seeing the movie, I felt it just hit me over the head with its obviousness. Their interpretation of the book's plot just saddened me.
 

speculative

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I just saw this tonight. I don't read much anymore; I am a slow reader, and so I can get through many more stories by watching movies than reading books. Also, I can get through a movie in one sitting, whereas the only book I have ever managed to read in one sitting was The Hobbit, when I was young.

I had trouble deciding whether the director wanted me to feel that Frank, or April, was the "bad guy," or whether they were both the bad guy, or whether neither was the bad guy. At first, I felt that the movie might be subtle, but it turned out to not be as subtle as I had first assumed. There wasn't much meat to the characters. The brief scene portraying the origin of their relationship at the start of the film is a hint of how much character development really goes on in the film. I did think that the fight scene at the end was potent. In the end, the film and characters were not "rooted" enough in anything for my tastes. For example, there wasn't enough of Frank's job shown to justify his boredom with it. There wasn't enough of the marriage shown to justify April's actions. Too much was assumed. Don't get me wrong; I'm a big fan of starting in the middle of the story with quite a few assumptions, and I write stories that way myself, but the assumptions have to play themselves out in the characters and story and I just didn't feel that I could backtrack to extrapolate these assumptions.

I do think that Kate Winslet did an outstanding job of portraying a character in fear of ceasing to exist; fairly spot on...

Overall: solid, good film but not great.
 
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