Elizabethtown and Must Love Dogs
I saw two movies yesterday. One was awful the other made me really happy. Not happy because it was excellent but happy because, unlike most films I have been anticipating recently, it did not let me down.
Elizabethtown
I will be the first to admit that when I saw Fellowship of the Ring I thought Orlando Bloom was hot. I was also fairly impressed with his acting ability. Looking back now I realise that to play Legolas did not require a huge amount of acting skill, but at the time I was impressed.
In Elizabethtown I was anything but impressed by Bloom's performance, he was mediocre at best. Kirsten Dunst did not overly impress either. There was very little chemistry between the two, which is unfortunate given that in a romantic comedy one of the most important things is chemistry between the main characters.
Anyone who has seen Garden State would recognise it in Elizabethtown. From the slightly screwed up lead actor who makes friends with the quirky girl to the film student feel to the shots to the laid-back soundtrack, Elizabethtown has Garden State written all over it.
There is comedy in the film and the characters are likeable enough but at the end I just felt like there had been something missing. Perhaps it was the slightly unrealistic aspects of parts of the film. Not that we expect a huge amount of realism from our movies but we do expect a romantic comedy to be at least believable, which I felt Elizabethtown wasn't in parts. Or perhaps it was just that it reminded me so much of a poor version of Garden State that I could not help but dislike it.
If you really want to go to the cinema and watch a movie and there is nothing else on then give it a go. Otherwise, I'd leave this one until it comes out on dvd.
Must Love Dogs
I had been looking forward to Must Love Dogs for quite some time. At work I see a lot of trailers and almost always have an opinion on what every movie that is coming up is going to be like. With Must Love Dogs, from the trailer, I saw a typical romantic comedy but one that would actually be funny and aimed at adults rather than teenagers. This is what made me look forward to it.
When I watched the film this is exactly what I got. There is no suspense, no twist ending, no surprises. But anyone who expects any of these things from a romantic comedy (a tradional Hollywood one anyway) is just crazy. Must Love Dogs was absolutely filled with humour, and it was humour that adults will enjoy, and it had a truly amazing cast.
I've always been a fan of John Cusack. He's not spectacular looking but he is cute and real looking, he actually looks like someone you can imagine knowing in real life. Diane Lane is just gorgeous and she carried off the dry humour of her character with a practiced ease. The two together had chemistry, without doubt you wanted them to end up together. The supporting cast is also excellent, never once letting the side down at all.
I, and the people in the cinema with me, were laughing out loud throughout the film. The humour is there without doubt. This is not to say that the film was perfect, there were a few things in it that really annoyed me. One of which was the Sandra D type change Diane Lane's character went through for no apparant reason in the film. The change did not occur for long and was perhaps inspired by the fact that Stockard Channing, who played Rizzo in Grease, was a member of the supporting cast.
Must Love Dogs is a film I would recommend without hesitation, as long as you go in expecting to see a traditional Hollywood romantic comedy you will not be disappointed. It is certainly being added to my collection of romantic comedies to watch when I'm in the mood for them, and believe me that list is not that long.
Elizabethtown
I will be the first to admit that when I saw Fellowship of the Ring I thought Orlando Bloom was hot. I was also fairly impressed with his acting ability. Looking back now I realise that to play Legolas did not require a huge amount of acting skill, but at the time I was impressed.
In Elizabethtown I was anything but impressed by Bloom's performance, he was mediocre at best. Kirsten Dunst did not overly impress either. There was very little chemistry between the two, which is unfortunate given that in a romantic comedy one of the most important things is chemistry between the main characters.
Anyone who has seen Garden State would recognise it in Elizabethtown. From the slightly screwed up lead actor who makes friends with the quirky girl to the film student feel to the shots to the laid-back soundtrack, Elizabethtown has Garden State written all over it.
There is comedy in the film and the characters are likeable enough but at the end I just felt like there had been something missing. Perhaps it was the slightly unrealistic aspects of parts of the film. Not that we expect a huge amount of realism from our movies but we do expect a romantic comedy to be at least believable, which I felt Elizabethtown wasn't in parts. Or perhaps it was just that it reminded me so much of a poor version of Garden State that I could not help but dislike it.
If you really want to go to the cinema and watch a movie and there is nothing else on then give it a go. Otherwise, I'd leave this one until it comes out on dvd.
Must Love Dogs
I had been looking forward to Must Love Dogs for quite some time. At work I see a lot of trailers and almost always have an opinion on what every movie that is coming up is going to be like. With Must Love Dogs, from the trailer, I saw a typical romantic comedy but one that would actually be funny and aimed at adults rather than teenagers. This is what made me look forward to it.
When I watched the film this is exactly what I got. There is no suspense, no twist ending, no surprises. But anyone who expects any of these things from a romantic comedy (a tradional Hollywood one anyway) is just crazy. Must Love Dogs was absolutely filled with humour, and it was humour that adults will enjoy, and it had a truly amazing cast.
I've always been a fan of John Cusack. He's not spectacular looking but he is cute and real looking, he actually looks like someone you can imagine knowing in real life. Diane Lane is just gorgeous and she carried off the dry humour of her character with a practiced ease. The two together had chemistry, without doubt you wanted them to end up together. The supporting cast is also excellent, never once letting the side down at all.
I, and the people in the cinema with me, were laughing out loud throughout the film. The humour is there without doubt. This is not to say that the film was perfect, there were a few things in it that really annoyed me. One of which was the Sandra D type change Diane Lane's character went through for no apparant reason in the film. The change did not occur for long and was perhaps inspired by the fact that Stockard Channing, who played Rizzo in Grease, was a member of the supporting cast.
Must Love Dogs is a film I would recommend without hesitation, as long as you go in expecting to see a traditional Hollywood romantic comedy you will not be disappointed. It is certainly being added to my collection of romantic comedies to watch when I'm in the mood for them, and believe me that list is not that long.
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on Wednesday, November 16, 2005 at 10:49 AM.
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