I finally made it to the movies to watch Nim’s Island, Cassandra’s Dream and Lars and the Real Girl.
Nim’s Island was really sweet and funny. It was a tad weird that deadra and me were the only people in the cinema, neither of us being the target audience, but who cares.
The story is how you imagine it to be, the acting is really good. I don’t think that I have seen Jodi Foster acting so joyfully in a long time. Abigail Breslin … what can I say? That girl is amazing. Maddison Joyce (Edmund) was a really great cast. And Gerard Butler… okay, honestly, I can’t say anything objective here. If it were only for his looks, no problem, I can handle that. But then he goes and speaks with an Scottish accent during the movie and I don’t know why, but anytime a guy speaks Scottish, I’m absolutely and hopelessly lost. Then it doesn’t matter anymore, what he talks about and if I understand it (and when they really speak Scottish, I don’t), I just melt away.
Anyhoo… back on track now.
I really loved the opening credits, the artwork was fantastic.
Altogether, great movie, one, I think adults can enjoy as well, if they kept a childish mind. :)
Plus: the coolest flying lizards.
Cassandra’s Dream was a big disappointment. And that although I’m wary of the new Woody Allen movies.
His older ones are great (like Sleeper, Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex, Everyone Says I Love You, Zelig, …), but at some point around Anything Else, it all went downhill. Match Point was so bad, I didn’t even watch Scoop anymore [My sister told me it wasn’t so bad. Not so bad is not good enough for a Woody Allen movie].
With Cassandra’s Dream he managed to lure me in again. I mean, I adore Ewan McGregor (I think I mentioned my obsession with Scottish. Unfortunately, he didn’t speak it in that movie) and Colin Farrell can be really talented when he wants to. And both are very fine eye candy. And of course, Tom Wilkinson is a big plus.
And it’s all ruined. Ruined by a film which feels like it’s eight hours long (and eye candy or not, I can’t watch anybody that long… except possibly Christian Bale, if he puts on a good Scottish accent). Ruined by a story as tedious as it’s unrealistic and predictable. Ruined by it’s absolute pointlessness.
I can’t understand it. There you have a writer/director who should know what he’s doing, a really good cast [and really, they played very well, saving the film from getting zero points in my list] and a story that could be engaging (if it wasn’t so boring) and you get a really, really bad movie.
*sigh*
Lars and the Real Girl on the other hand was a perfect little movie.
Ryan Gosling and Emily Mortimer are great, the story is really sweet and it all unfolds in such a calm and unintrusive manner, it’s a real pleasure to watch. And it’s funny.
What more could you wish for in a movie? [Possibly for a Scottish guy, but they can’t be everywhere, now, can they?]
There will be another Craig Gillespie/Ryan Gosling movie – The Dallas Buyer’s Club, which sounds really good. Written by Chase Palmer, who also wrote and directs the upcoming Number 13, which sounds really good and features Ewan McGregor and Emily Mortimer. [I love it, when there are circles like that.] And Ben Kingsley as an extra.
kalafudra's Stuff 
Ok. Here goes: Match Point was my favorite Woody Allen film post Crimes and Misdemeanors. I agree the ending was a tad contrived but the second act with Rhys Meyers doing the deed was downright brilliant, no?
Why Kalafudra? Why do you stab me where it hurts?
(Stab me where it hurts? Wha!)
I hear ya – a good Scottish accent’s just about enough to make me weak at the knees too!
@presti:
I think what I hated most about Match Point (apart from the fact that it bored the hell out of me because it couldn’t lure me in. I didn’t care about what happened. Not at all.) were the dialogues. They were so … fake. I don’t know what gave me the impression (was it bad writing? acting? Just not English enough, just as in Cassandra’s Dream?), but there it is.
When I stop caring about the characters in a story (or never start to), it’s bad for me.
But, it’s good not to have the same opinion all the time, isn’t it? It’s kind of eerie when somebody (you don’t even really know) has that much the same taste that you have…
Is there anywhere I can stab you where it doesn’t hurt?
@liberrydwarf:
I’m glad I’m not the only one. :)
I’d like to see Lars and the real girl someday – the plot is very cool :)
“Scoop” was nice. It was not like a Woody Allen movie, but it was catching and the story even has a twist you can not totally foresee (Well, I suspected something, but usually I really KNOW what’s gonna happen in Hollywood movies. )
@L:
Maybe I’ll give Scoop another try… At least it has Hugh Jackman… :)
I know what you mean, Hollywood movies are mostly very predictable. At least the big ones.
Lars and the Real Girl is really worth it.
[…] it be. So, if you can’t stand bitter comments about Match Point or Cassandra’s Dream (my review here), better not read […]