Reviews

ANNOUNCEMENT: Moviegoer and Rowling Announce Divorce

After several trial separations, Ms Rowling and I have decided to finally and permanently go our separate ways. Whilst we felt a deep and profound love for each other following the first Harry Potter movie, our relationship has experienced an extensive and frustrating series of on-again-off-again periods. This latest work of childish pablum only served to amplify the deep divisions we have regarding plot and plausibility - I want both she wants neither. Ms. Rowling has descended ever deeper into a world of crazed, inane, wince-worthy fantasy, whilst I have grown and moved on. We ask for your understanding and your acceptance of this difficult decision.

There will be no division of assets. Ms. Rowling will retain her billions, whilst I will keep all monies that might have paid for any future theatre tickets to Rowling projects.

At the moment I'm writing this, "The Nice Guys" currently has an IMDb rating of 8.1. Seriously??? You MUST be kidding! I have to believe this score will drop precipitously as more people see this cornball bit of slapstick. My wife and I stared at the screen in utter disbelief that we were suckered into such a waste of our time. Judging by the sporadic number of chuckles in the theatre, the audience apparently agreed with us. Gosling had a few clever lines... emphasis on "few". Crowe looked like he spent the last year bellied up to a smorgasbord. The addition of a perky Nancy Drew character was waaayyyyyyy out of place.

I looked on with jealously as a handful of people walked out before an hour had transpired. Who at IMDb do I complain to get my money back?

It must greatly frustrate the religious right when they are routinely (and unfairly) portrayed in major films as fanatical, sanctimonious, comical, backwoods hicks. Well, "God's Not Dead 2" is clearly their revenge. In this movie, ACLU lawyers are all sneering, oily, evil Simon Legrees. School board characters are all smug, administrative wonks who readily conspire to persecute the sweet, perky teacher. The faces of anti-religion protesters are contorted into manic, rabid, drooling hatred. And mainstream media are all resolutely against God.

There are only black hats and white hats in this film. (Or should I say halos and horns.) No quarter is given to the many nuances or complexities of this issue. Which is a shame. It's a serious subject and deserves better. But the producer and director had no interest in any of that.

Clearly, this film is unapologetically one-sided. Conservative Christians feel embattled and marginalized in an increasingly secular world in which they are repeatedly losing watershed court cases. They haven't had much to cheer about recently and this film hits back at that "unfair", "Godless" world. Consequently, Evangelicals will absolutely love this film. All others will likely never see it unless they're dragged to the theatre and handcuffed to their seat.

As a Christian, I quite enjoyed the discussion of historical Jesus from the researchers/authors who played themselves in the film. What's more, GND2 is cinematically well crafted. But it take's more than just dreamily uttering the name of "Jesus" to make a good film. GND2 quickly deteriorates into a two hour sermon from the pulpit.

Oh, and BTW, it should come as no surprise that Pat Boone still can't act... and neither can Robin Givens.

This movie is not for everyone. It is the prototypical John le Carre spy story. That is to say, it is NOTHING whatsoever like a Bond film. It is, rather, a spy story which reflects the spy industry closer to what it really is - cerebral, meticulous and calculating. There are no pyrotechnics, there are no remarkable escapes from certain death, no martial arts fights, no buxom beauties, no six-pack dudes, or exotic locales. If you love le Carre's writing, you will love this movie. If you're looking for a 007 extravaganza, you will be sorely disappointed.

Personally, I am a big fan of John le Carre and the way he weaves an intriguing, complex story. Consequently, I thought this was a very good film. P.S. Hoffman gives his usual impeccable delivery of a damaged, off-center, and imperfect protagonist - the very kind that le Carre writes so well.

Truly, a nice bit of writing and excellent acting by everyone in the cast. (And it is heartbreaking we will not see Hoffman's genius going forward..... damn!)

First, an embarrassing admission. I didn't read the synopsis of the movie ahead of time, and during the opening scenes I remarked to myself just how good Patricia Arquette looks these days. :-)

As I watched the film, I kept on waiting for something (anything) to actually happen. There are a few dramatic scenes of family issues sparsely scattered here and there. But, not much of anything noteworthy takes place during the entire length of the film - and it is a long film. The "boy" spends the entire last hour of the film doing little more than grinning and mumbling. I appreciate the commitment and the 12 year effort that went into making this film. But at the end of the day, there still has to be something of value to watch. And for me, there wasn't.

Finally, I find it utterly incomprehensible that this movie has an IMDb rating of 8.9. How is that possible? For the life of me, I have no idea how viewers can score this movie higher than some of the greatest movies of all time. Sorry, but I can't take IMDb ratings seriously any more. They were always a little bit suspect, but this is shear madness.

I attended this film with my wife and an absolutely packed theatre of moviegoers. My wife fell asleep (literally) and about two hundred others around us sat in uninterrupted silence as a litany of dreary antics and pratfalls ensued. Truthfully, there were no more than a handful of audible giggles throughout the entire length of the film. Personally, I found it mildly humorous at best. One interesting aspect was watching the long list of cameo appearances by so many well-known names, while the story, within a story, within a story narration was mildly intriguing. The chase scene in the snow was insufferably long and cartoonish. Such a disappointment.

Steve Coogan and Judy Dench weave absolute magic in this movie. It is an excellent film that addresses a very difficult and sensitive subject without becoming either maudlin or hurling shards of righteousness at its audience. Moreover, there are enough twists and surprises to keep everything moving at a nice pace.

For his part, Coogan delivers just the right balance of British elitism and understated wit. He was the exact foil required to compliment Dench's simple, straightforward portrayal of an uncomplicated lady with a very complicated story to tell. As the story progressed, the supporting roles were kept to little more than a series of brief cameos. This created a clean and crisp canvas on which Coogan and Dench give the audience two compelling, outstanding performances I loved this movie.