pileated's stats
- Review count34
- Helpfulness votes2
- First reviewMay 4, 2008
- Last reviewDecember 23, 2011
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating3.8
Overall rating
4
/
5
Still thinking
PostedJune 27, 2009
Technically, the animation is truly amazing and more than worth the price of admission. The story or rather stories are indeed both dark and amusing with a rather jaundiced view of life and love. Nonetheless, there is humor here and hope along with the hopelessness. In one way or another the characters are battling loneliness - trying to connect to others, fall in love, or find the meaning of life. And in one way or another they all succeed. As the title of this review states- I'm still thinking about it.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
Authentic
PostedApril 26, 2009
Everything about this movie seems authentic. You have the sense that this really is what the trip to "El Norte" is like. The acting is strong and natural; the story poignant and incredibly sad. For me there were two moments which summed everything up. In one as the train north slows outside a town, local kids throw fruit to the people sitting on top of the train. you can't help but smile at the small kindness. Then, a bit later in the movie, as the train slows going through yet another town, the local kids throw rocks at the 'passengers' and call them dirty names. Two sides of the same coin.
Go see it.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
Good enough
PostedApril 19, 2009
The movie is fast paced enough, with enough tension and plot twists to hold your attention. The acting is good enough for the genre. They could have stayed away a little more from the personal entanglements of the main characters and stayed with the basic story. But that's quibbling. All in all it was good enough.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
3
/
5
Realistically Unpleasant
PostedFebruary 8, 2009
Based upon the trailers I expected something like a cross between "Etre et Avoir" and "Backboard Jungle". What I got was less of the former and more of the latter. The movie seems an honest depiction of both the students and teachers in this Paris 20th school. Everything feels authentic including the boredom of the students and the mean-spiritedness or worse ennui, of the teachers.
M. Marin and for that matter the rest of the faculty care more for their rules then for their kids. The kids don't expect much from their education and get pretty much what they expect. I think that on balance I cannot recommend this movie. It is realistic enough, it's just filled with unpleasant and in the end uninteresting people.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
Painfully Accurate
PostedNovember 15, 2008
In many ways this movie is painful to watch. Hoffman cements his position as a modern day Everyman, no matter how smart or how uncomfortable his character is. His search for meaning in life, achieved only at the end of life is our fate. His confusion is our confusion. He seems at his best, as is the movie, when it deals with relationships and the way they develop or not, al most by some mad God's whim. This is in many ways a great film. It is a shame that so few people will see it.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
Throwback
PostedOctober 19, 2008
Straightforward western, done with simplicity and style. The acting is fine, played without guile. The movie is good natured and smart and treats the audience the same way. There is an underlying honesty that is often hard to find in movies today. Go see it.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
A little too low key
PostedAugust 30, 2008
This is really two movies in one - the action thriller and the contemplative thought piece on religion and conscience in the modern world. Cheadle is brilliant and comes close to out acting the script and the direction. But not quite. Still he is more than worth the price of admission and in pieces this movie has some real insights.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
Nice try
PostedAugust 23, 2008
Bardem and Cruz are worth the price of admission. The direction is crisp and the scenes of Barcelona and surrounds are lovingly shot. Woody continues his never ending search for the meaning of life. And like the aliens in Stardust Memories, you want to shout at him, "Make funnier movies."
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
It's still high school
PostedAugust 9, 2008
Impressive documentary with strong 'performances' by all the leading characters. I guess what's most reassuring is that the high school experience for better and worse stays so much the same. At heart this is a sweet movie with less sturm and drang than one would have imagined.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
Almost Perfect
PostedAugust 1, 2008
No one needs to hear another rave about Ledger's performance as the Joker. Needless to say, it deserves all the accolades received. The plot line was remarkably coherent for this genre. Two complaints are the length and some of the writing. Some of the lines are so corny as to make you cringe. This can work in Batman movies that are played for camp. But this movie is played for darkness, which it achieves in spades. And that makes the cliches seem out of place.
They certainly could have taken 20 minutes out with no problem. Moreover, in my theater at least they showed twice as many trailers before the film (likely because they had such a large audience) as usual, which added to seating discomfort.
Go see it. But don't bring the kids.
They certainly could have taken 20 minutes out with no problem. Moreover, in my theater at least they showed twice as many trailers before the film (likely because they had such a large audience) as usual, which added to seating discomfort.
Go see it. But don't bring the kids.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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