chris3
Badass
I just ordered a slice of pumpkin pie...
Posts: 1,054 
Likes: 1,051
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Post by chris3 on Apr 3, 2020 21:18:21 GMT
I absolutely loved this movie when I was a kid, but like all of Mendes' work it has aged quite poorly for me. I still think it's his best film by a wide margin, but that isn't really saying much. Most of the technical aspects are aces (especially the cinematography and MAGNIFICENT score), and I love love love both sniveling villains (Law and Craig both deliver wonderfully odious performances and dare to bring some over-the-top color to the dourness). I like Hoechlin, too. Paul Newman of course is great and his death scene is a highlight of the film and quite evocative, beautiful filmmaking on Mendes' part. I'm not a big fan of Hanks in it. He's not awful, I just think he's miscast and never sheds his good guy image enough for me to ever buy him as a hit man. Like, at all. What made the film plummet in my esteem is the script. The saccharine ending and the whole message of "sacrifices the father makes in order to preserve the innocence of the son" rubs me the wrong way. Not that a mob film has to be deep or anything, but the tone of the film is so self-serious that it highlights the shallowness of the script. It's a good genre film, very entertaining and maybe a little underrated, but I don't think it's the modern classic that some see it as. Still good, though, and the score ROCKS. |
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Post by futuretrunks on Apr 3, 2020 22:17:37 GMT
Gorgeous techs, good performances, but the script needed work, not unlike the original Blade Runner.
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Post by jakesully on Apr 3, 2020 23:55:02 GMT
Its such a great film imo. Beautifully shot and superb performances all around. I loved the ending too!
9/10
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Post by Ryan_MYeah on Apr 4, 2020 1:47:49 GMT
Just watched it again on Netflix. Is it weird to call this comfort food viewing?
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Post by Viced on Apr 4, 2020 21:56:17 GMT
The discourse in this thread inspired me to give this a long overdue re-watch... It's good, but most of the complaints here are warranted. The cinematography and score are both great (and nothing can fool people into thinking a movie is better than it really is like those two things), it's mostly gripping, but the story is weakshit. It's the Daniel Craig character that really drags it down. The weaselly son of the crime boss (who is somehow both a spineless little bitch and a cold blooded killer... lol) going rogue and having such an impact on the plot just pisses me off. I know it's a movie very much about fathers and sons... but it'd be better if Newman was really an ice cold bastard and ordered the killing(s) himself. It's like Fredo being a more important character in The Godfather than Michael. The cast -- Newman is great (though not nearly Albert Finney in Miller's Crossing-level great). Hanks is TERRIBLY miscast. He has a few good moments, but just does not jive with the movie at all. The scene in the church basement where Newman and Hanks are mean mugging at each other... you totally buy Newman as a scary bastard, but Hanks just looks lol-worthy and that tells you everything you need to know. Dunno who I'd cast instead... maybe Gary Oldman... though there are dozens of actors who would've been better. And I think Jude Law is good... but would've been a better choice for Connor... and then have someone actually creepy like Crispin Glover as Maguire. But I think the worst of all is Stanley Tucci who brings absolutely nothing to the table as Frank Nitti. Also, the ending kind of sucks. Basic bitch morality stuff when surprisingly... a happy ending would've worked better. The dude already lost his wife and son, I think he's been punished enough. Why don't you just answer the question, you little shit? But outside of all that... solid 7/10.  |
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Post by The_Cake_of_Roth on May 31, 2021 19:44:11 GMT
Gave this a rewatch after not having seen it in years. Hardly remembered anything about it..... probably because the only memorable things in it aside from Newman's performance are tech-related. I don't hate it, but it's hard to disagree with a lot of the criticisms mentioned in this thread, particularly the miscasting of Hanks and the anemic screenplay. There's not really much of an arc to the film - like pacinoyes said, it's literally just Hanks wanting to protect his son from beginning to end, so our perception of him is never inflected in a meaningful way..... he's a boring character as a result. pacinoyes In the initial murder scene, I think Hanks guns down some other guy immediately after Craig shoots Hinds, so technically the kid does witness Hanks kill someone, but I agree it does seem weirdly softened since the act is partially obscured from the kid's POV. Overall, it's kind of a wet-noodle, Hallmark gangster movie. I usually try to avoid using the word pretentious, but I think it fits here and with several of Mendes' films actually - po-faced, pretty-looking, but with not much there-there. |
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Post by theycallmemrfish on May 31, 2021 19:50:27 GMT
Truly despise the ending, but this is the movie that put Jude Law on the map for me (didn't see Ripley until way after).
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Post by franklin on May 31, 2021 20:03:10 GMT
I rarely hear about this movie, it's not as popular or beloved as some people think it is in this forum, and certainly not a classic among the crime films of the 21st Century.
It's just fine, and yes Hanks was miscast, he wasn't laughably bad, but he gets overshadowed by everyone in the movie and you can't help but think what this character would have been in the 2000s in the hands of a Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman, or even Sean Penn (if done now i would have cast Christian Bale, LDC, or Ryan Gosling).
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