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tcher49
Reviews
The Other Man (2008)
not worth my time
Laura Linney is one of my favorite underrated actors, and Liam Neeson is not bad either, so this film was a MAJOR disappointment. The plot was so confusing that I had to rewind at times to make sure I hadn't missed anything. The editing/directing was abysmal. I'm pretty good at figuring out mysteries, but this one was so badly done that I was left sitting on the couch saying "What just happened?" when the film was over. the ending was contrived, the acting by Banderas over the top, and Linney was absent for most of the film. This could have been a wonderful film in the hands of a competent director. Also, I think this was the film Neeson was making when his wife was killed...could explain his change in demeanor in the film, his weariness.
Love Happens (2009)
very disappointing
I like Jennifer Aniston, but this was NOT her best work. There was NO chemistry between the two main characters, and somehow the mystery surrounding why he drinks and is depressed doesn't have any impact when the cheesy final scene happens. Martin Sheen must have been writhing in embarrassment to shoot that scene...the plot was fragmented, the acting lukewarm, and the best character was the cockatoo. Also, when Martin Sheen first appears at the seminar, he calls him "son" and later Ekhart says "my dad", which is confusing, since he wasn't his dad, but his father-in-law. I had the feeling they were sleepwalking through this film; the energy level is low, and the contriving scenes were insulting. Taking a cockatoo (not parrot) out to the river to set it free? Oh, symbolism. I get it.
Changeling (2008)
A great film, but some questions
I am NOT an Angelina Jolie fan, but found this movie engrossing nonetheless. However, crime solver that I am, there were a couple of loose ends in the film that left me wondering. First, when Ms. Collins goes to the train station to get her 'son' and realizes it isn't him, and then is bullied into taking him home, why doesn't she think to have the kid's fingerprints taken and compared to her son's? Also, at the end, when the boy is being interviewed about the escape and said he didn't know what happened to Walter, why did the police not talk to the nephew of the killer, the boy who told the story initially? He was with his uncle (or was it cousin) when they chased the escaped boys, and surely he would know if Walter was caught and then killed. It seems that the answer would have been easy to obtain, rather than have her wait years and years with no closure.
Bonneville (2006)
Horrible waste of talent
Bonneville is a buddy film about three Mormon women on a quest to return the ashes of Lange's husband to his greedy daughter. Lange, Bates, Allen, Baranski, and Skerrit are wasted in this awful film. The acting veers between mind-numbing and melodramatic. The film is predictable and boring. I am appalled at the overwhelmingly positive reviews on this site...anyone who has a healthy respect for talent could not find this film at all "wonderful". The acting was wooden, the plot predictable, and I can imagine the actors sitting around after shooting asking one another "how did we get into this mess?". What a waste.