I am a huge fan of Philip Seymour Hoffman and have always liked the films written by Charlie Kaufman. So this film should have been a top film for me.
Unfortunately, I can’t put it there. It was long, plodding, overly complex and I found myself not really caring what happened.
The concept was interesting. Some of the working of the concept, with Hoffman directing the man playing him that was directing the man playing him directing the man playing him was fun to a point.
The giant movement in time without explanation was difficult.
Maybe if I watched it again when I was in the mood to be challenged this much I might like it or find appreciation for it, but at this point, I don’t think I would watch it again.
bummer
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A theater director struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he attempts to create a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse as part of his new play.
When you have great dialogue and two really great actors, you can’t go wrong and this film proves it. This film could have been depressing and wallowed in its own “oh poor me”, but instead showed the human side of two siblings having to deal with their own crap as well as their dying father that abused them when they were young and then abandoned them.
So with all that you would expect long hard conversations about all that happened. Instead you get two people who have their problems with relationships, but are making real lives for themselves and doing what they can to get past it.
The dialogue was natural between all involved. The affection was understated. The dementia seemed real.
This was a great film. For all it could have been, it was far better than it should have been.
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A sister and brother face the realities of familial responsibility as they begin to care for their ailing father.
A behind the scenes look at a movie company overtaking a town. Silly, fun, unflattering portrayal of Hollywood and Politics.
Why was I watching a film that is over 8 years old? Well, because Alec Baldwin was in it. I am a fan of 30 Rock and find the Hulu commercial he is in to be the best commercial I have seen in the last year. So I couldn’t resist a Baldwin film AND it had Philip Seymour Hoffman too. I had to watch.
Baldwin’s part is small and a bit predictable as the leading man with an overactive libidothat believes there are no consequences for his actions.
Hoffman got the girl. Totally unexpected actually. Things seemed to be going well. That often means that things will blow up for many of his characters. I was glad.
A good film. Less talky than most Mamet films. Held up well. Lots of familiar faces.
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A movie crew invades a small town whose residents are all too ready to give up their values for showbiz glitz.
Syndey or as we watched it, “Hard Eight” was one of Paul Thomas Anderson’s first film and was released one year prior to Boogie Nights.
This film, like most Anderson films, develops some great characters and follows them through their days. This followed a man named Sydney played by Philip Baker Hall. He is also in Boogie Nights as is a great deal of the cast of Sydney.
The movie follows Sydney and his mentorship of John (John C. Reilley). The relationship that develops but also how Sydney is always there for John. It isn’t until the end when you find out one of the main reasons for that. And it is a pretty nice twist.
There are times where I wish things were explored more and some things moved too quickly, not getting the time they deserved – like the friendship between John and Jimmy. No idea how it started, possibly as unexpectedly as the one between John and Sydney, but did they both have the same reason for starting? We will never really know if John was sought out or lucked into by both characters.
Good film, interesting characters. I would give it 2 hours of an evening anytime. But then it had Samuel L. Jackson in it, and that means it must be watched here.
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John has lost all his money. He sits outside a diner in the desert when Sydney happens along, buys him coffee, then takes him to Reno and shows him how to get a free room without losing much money. Under Sydney’s fatherly tutelage, John becomes a successful small-time professional gambler, and all is well, until he falls for Clementine, a cocktail waitress and sometimes hooker.
Philip Seymour Hoffman made this movie for me. He was hilarious, cynical and yet obviously someone that could get things done. The first seen between he and Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) in the congressman’s office had such great timing and interaction. You really don’t get enough scenes like that in movies, especially ones that really set up a relationship between 2 people in such perfect terms. Hoffman was nominated for an Oscar for supporting actor for this role. The fact that he lost out to Javier Bardem of No Country for Old Men is shocking. This was a far more interesting portrayal. Maybe he should have brooded more.
I actually even enjoyed Julia Roberts in this film. Though I find her laugh infectious, I often am unimpressed with her performances. This was not one of those.
Charlie Wilson’s War was a good film, great suspense, moved quite quickly, and such a bittersweet ending as we know how leaving Afghanistan in post war turmoil turned out less than 20 years later.
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A drama based on a Texas congressman Charlie Wilson’s covert dealings in Afghanistan, where his efforts to assist rebels in their war with the Soviets have some unforeseen and long-reaching effects.
There is a quote from MASH given by Henry Blake one of the times that Klinger is trying to get out of the Army for family issues. “One half of the family dead, the other half pregnant.” That sort of reminds me a bit of this film by the end. Half the family dead, the other half put the gun to their heads.
The film stars two favorites: Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawk. I don’t believe either have been in a light comedic film in years though. This was of course not a light film. Hoffman comes up with a plot to rob his parent’s jewelry story, convinces Hawk to do the actual deed and things go from bad to worse from there. These guys both appear to be major losers because of some really crappy decisions they have made, including embezzelment, adultery, unpaid child support, and drug use. And one robbery is suppose to make it all better. For these guys that is sort of like saying you have terminal cancer, but a vitamin would make all the difference.
Good film, not happy. Pretty much a Sidney Lumet film. Great characters, but not good people.
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Needing extra cash, two brothers conspire to pull off the perfect, victimless crime. No guns, no violence, no problem. But when an accomplice ignores the rules and crosses the line, his actions trigger a series of events in which no one is left unscathed.
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An unlucky in love nurse finds her life taking a detour when her mother places a personals ad in the paper, while on the other side of Boston, a plumber is trying to change careers.
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Cornered by the DEA, convicted New York drug dealer Montgomery Brogan (Norton) reevaluates his life in the 24 remaining hours before facing a seven-year jail term.
