To read reviews of movies one must separate the two different styles. The first being people who dissect each aspect of a movie, from production, to cast, to lighting to just about anything to find fault in a film. And to compare one film with another previous film an actor/producer/director did is really useless. Then there are the others, whose only goal is to help you decide if the movie was entertaining or not.
Intolerable Cruelty was good movie. Was it great? Heck no, but most films nowadays are not great. The concept was basic enough, divorce attorney gets taken by a gold digger, and it had the potential to do it in a very cliché way. That was not the case with this film.
George Clooney was fantastic. I find myself enjoying all of his movies and realizing he's actually a pretty good actor. Much the same as I had to get over the `he's just a pretty boy' feeling about Tom Cruise. His character is so self-absorbed that even people around him don't notice much. He wins without effort, he has all the money he desires and is so bored he tears down his house, buys cars and has dental work done just to make life exciting. He needs a challenge outside the ordinary, an ability to completely destroy someone. Enter CZJ.
Catherine Zeta Jones was basically herself, window dressing in tight clothes. She isn't stretched too greatly for acting, but she doesn't need to be. She's a mean conniving woman who wants to get things done the easy way. She accomplishes this initially until Clooney gets her ex off the hook. She's lost, until her desires turn to Clooney and destroying him. Their infatuation with one another is sort of like one predator valuing the others ability to devour prey. Clooney is far more convincing in his `smitten' attitude, but the job is done nonetheless.
The story was very quirky and the side players were excellent. Wheezy Joe was a strange yet enjoyable diversion, mostly because his very ailment would make it impossible to do his job, yet they don't out and out say that. You are allowed to decide these things fro yourself. Billy Bob Thornton was fantastic, ever so briefly.
What happens is that you get a very odd twist on a stale storyline and yes, a decidedly obvious ending. But along the way I found myself declaring, `This movie is really strange' but liking it just the same. Is it great? No. But movies rarely are
Intolerable Cruelty was good movie. Was it great? Heck no, but most films nowadays are not great. The concept was basic enough, divorce attorney gets taken by a gold digger, and it had the potential to do it in a very cliché way. That was not the case with this film.
George Clooney was fantastic. I find myself enjoying all of his movies and realizing he's actually a pretty good actor. Much the same as I had to get over the `he's just a pretty boy' feeling about Tom Cruise. His character is so self-absorbed that even people around him don't notice much. He wins without effort, he has all the money he desires and is so bored he tears down his house, buys cars and has dental work done just to make life exciting. He needs a challenge outside the ordinary, an ability to completely destroy someone. Enter CZJ.
Catherine Zeta Jones was basically herself, window dressing in tight clothes. She isn't stretched too greatly for acting, but she doesn't need to be. She's a mean conniving woman who wants to get things done the easy way. She accomplishes this initially until Clooney gets her ex off the hook. She's lost, until her desires turn to Clooney and destroying him. Their infatuation with one another is sort of like one predator valuing the others ability to devour prey. Clooney is far more convincing in his `smitten' attitude, but the job is done nonetheless.
The story was very quirky and the side players were excellent. Wheezy Joe was a strange yet enjoyable diversion, mostly because his very ailment would make it impossible to do his job, yet they don't out and out say that. You are allowed to decide these things fro yourself. Billy Bob Thornton was fantastic, ever so briefly.
What happens is that you get a very odd twist on a stale storyline and yes, a decidedly obvious ending. But along the way I found myself declaring, `This movie is really strange' but liking it just the same. Is it great? No. But movies rarely are