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| tirebiter |
 Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2005 3:52 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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| lshap |
| Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2005 4:00 pm |
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Joined: 12 May 2004
Posts: 4248
Location: Montreal
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An Unfinished Life
Robert Redford's movies are almost always reassuring, like having your taxes done by your smart uncle who owns an accounting firm. Redford's name on a marquee is a reliable promise of a quality drama, complete with grown-up subject matter, solid production values and minimal special effects.
An Unfinished Life is definitely on this track, following a similar thread of quiet desperation that worked so well in last year's underrated The Clearing, only now the unresolved issues and world-weary sadness are heaped upon Redford's aging shoulders. Redford is back in his familiar cowboy boots as an embittered rancher still mourning a lost son. Aside from the remnants of his ranch, his only remaining purpose in life is caring for his permanently disabled ranch-hand, played by Morgan Freeman. But everything changes when his daughter-in-law -- the one who was behind the wheel when his son was killed -- shows up unannounced, with a granddaughter he's never met.
An Unfinished Life is a small story of anger, grief and forgiveness, set against the large, beautiful mountains of Wyoming. The characters are hardly unique, their story arcs hardly surprising, yet for all its near misses the film never stumbles into limp cliches. Most of that is due to the simple honesty of the story, and the quality of the acting.
The wrinkles and whithered look on Redford's face seem to coax some genuine wounded depth out of his performance. Advancing age seems to do for him what he was unable to do for himself: Add layers of doubt and vulnerability. He looks more like Jed Clampett than the Sundance Kid in this film, which makes it alot easier to believe this is a man suffering from inner turmoil. This is as good as Redford's acting is gonna get.
Freeman's his usual crusty, wise self, and even J-Lo manages an earnest performance that plays nicely off her heavyweight co-stars.
This is a very solid, small-town drama with an aura of sadness and regret wafting through each scene. The central figure in the film is a dead son who's only seen for a few seconds in a photograph, yet the way his presence affects these people's lives makes An Unfinished Life emotionally intense, and satisfying. |
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| wardell |
| Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2005 4:08 pm |
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Joined: 06 Sep 2005
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A History Of Violence -
Although the premise sounded intriguing, the actual playing out of the story fell short of my expectations. Way short. There certainly was violence, as promised, most graphic and sickening. Inappropriately infused with some vague comic relief, and unbelievable acting,(and by that I mean "hard to credit as realistic", not "wow"), the gore was probably the best part of the movie. Its curt, trite ending seemed to leave the audience unsatisfied with anything but the popcorn. By all means, if you have the chance to go to a movie soon, make it "Oliver Twist"! |
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| shannon |
| Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2005 6:17 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 1628
Location: NC
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Quote: but there is a showing of Layer Cake (which I've also been wanting to see)
It's been available at your local Blockbuster™ for three weeks now. |
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| censored-03 |
| Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2005 6:44 pm |
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Joined: 24 May 2004
Posts: 3058
Location: Gotham, Big Apple, The Naked City
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wardell wrote: A History Of Violence -
Although the premise sounded intriguing, the actual playing out of the story fell short of my expectations. Way short. There certainly was violence, as promised, most graphic and sickening. Inappropriately infused with some vague comic relief, and unbelievable acting,(and by that I mean "hard to credit as realistic", not "wow"), the gore was probably the best part of the movie. Its curt, trite ending seemed to leave the audience unsatisfied with anything but the popcorn. By all means, if you have the chance to go to a movie soon, make it "Oliver Twist"! |
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| Nancy |
| Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2005 6:52 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 4607
Location: Norman, OK
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shannon wrote: Quote: but there is a showing of Layer Cake (which I've also been wanting to see)
It's been available at your local Blockbuster™ for three weeks now.
Yeah, I know, but I was wanting to see it on the big screen. Also wanted to encourage them to show more indie and foreign films -- they have sometimes had difficulty getting much of an audience for that. I did really like the movie. Can't say much more without a spoiler alert, so I will just say that it's a stylish, violent British gangster film, and I recommend it. |
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"All in all, it's just another feather in the fan."
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| Nancy |
| Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2005 6:53 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 4607
Location: Norman, OK
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| Hi, wardell! Welcome top the forums. Hope you like it here. |
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"All in all, it's just another feather in the fan."
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| Nancy |
| Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2005 6:54 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 4607
Location: Norman, OK
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marantzo wrote: Thanks nancy. The Space channel up here shows episodes from Firefly. I'll probably catch them there.
Oh, good. You'll like them. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2005 7:00 pm |
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| Wardell, I knew the dishes would incite someone. They are in the mail. |
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| sioux |
| Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2005 7:43 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 802
Location: philly burbs
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welcome wardell.
marantz - I'm glad you liked Serenity. I've been wondering what it would be like to see it without having seen Firefly. Having been an avid fan of Firefly (I agree with Nancy - you should definitely check it out), I was a little disappointed in Serenity, only because I wanted so much more. I want to see it again though - I'm hoping I'll be able to let go of my expectations and just enjoy the film as it is. |
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| Marilyn |
| Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2005 8:05 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 8210
Location: Skokie (not a bad movie, btw)
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| Ditto, Sioux. Serenity wrapped up some loose ends, but I thought the ending reflected Whedon's usual difficulty getting out of his apocalypses. It was like watching Buffy, (kickass River) and Angel (when Mal gets dark and threatening). Been there, done that. |
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| Earl |
| Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2005 8:34 pm |
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Joined: 09 Jun 2004
Posts: 2621
Location: Houston
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Sometimes you lose touch with old friends. Time passes and you realize there's been no contact either way for too long. Nobody plans these things; you're both busy, after all. So one of you decides to pick up the phone to break the silence and, before you know it, it's as if no time has passed. The two of you are relaxing back into the easy conversational rhythms you always enjoyed.
That's how it felt seeing Joss Whedon's Serenity. (Fellow Whedon fan JoeVitus joined me for the screening. Good to see him again, too.) Familiar Joss touches, like a little wisp of a young woman with preternatural ass-kicking ability, or the dialogue which adds humor to suspensful situations without dialing down the tension, are there. But at the same time this movie, based on the FOX-cancelled series Firefly, doesn't feel at all like a TV episode blown up to big screen size. It's fresh and it crackles with the excitement of actors who have a fun story to tell and know how to tell it.
One of its many pleasures is seeing the chameleon-like performer Chiwetel Ejiofor cast as the villain. Here is an actor who has played roles as diverse as the young man who translates Cinque's words in Amistad, the Nigerian immigrant taxi driver living a hard-scrabble life in Dirty Pretty Things, a Manhattan piano player in Woody Allen's Melinda and Melinda, one of the many lovers in the ensemble Love, Actually and a pimp in the recent Four Brothers.
His role in Serenity is that of a goverment operative/hit man who, in his own words, "doesn't exist." He walks slowly, speaks calmly and evenly, all the while suggesting the levels of violence inside him which he can tap into when needed. "There is no shame in your death," he reassures one victim in an early kill which lasts an excruciatingly long time and lets us know what kind of opposition the Serenity crew faces. As another character notes, this guy is especially dangerous because he believes what he is doing is morally right.
Thanks for the fun night, Joss. Let's not wait so long next time. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2005 9:30 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Houston
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Great piece, Earl.
I think you and I enjoyed it more than Marilyn and Sioux. I was bothered that we saw less of Sheppard and Inara, but I was overall very satisfied with the movie. The biggest problem is, as Sioux pointed out, Joss works best in the episodic format. In a series he has time for detail and a steady evolution of character development/relationships that two hours don't give.
SPOILERS
Simon's sudden anouncement that he cares and Kaylee's reaction feels too much like a typical action movie moment. In the series this event would probably have been placed earlier in the narrative, maybe in a lesser fight before the big one, and it would have probably been a large story thread of the episode rather than the throwaway laugh/rousing moment it becomes in the movie. |
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| shannon |
| Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2005 9:42 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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Location: NC
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Nancy, I liked Layer Cake a lot, too.
Can I watch Serenity without having to watch Firefly? I really want to see it, but I don't feel like devoting 20-something hours of my life catching up on backstory in order to do so. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2005 10:01 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Houston
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| Definately yes. The basic relationships are set up at the movie's start and there's nothing in the series continuity you have to be up on. In fact, I've never seen all the Firefly episodes (though thanks to Sioux I did get to see a few that didn't air during the initial run). One of the strengths of the movie, I think, is that we get an introduction without the movie becoming merely an origin entry. |
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