Reviews

The trailer was too good, drew too much anticipation. Following the startling debut that was American Beauty, and following it up with the elegiac Road To Perdition (which almost all admired but not all loved), a trailer as booming as this left many expecting a more ostensibly explosive and confrontational film.

This plays like a meditation, yet volatile examination on the essence of what war is: war is unnatural. Gyllenhaal carries his innate innocence and plays a deeply disturbed soldier, whose possible masochism led to his entlistment. He plays on the edge of explosion throughout the film, culminating in an astonishing scene with his friend and (incoming) superior.

Sarsgaard follows with another Oscar-calibre performance, and a cast that swells with vibrance. Mendes directs a crossway of violence and impotence, maximising the incredible camerawork by the amazing Roger Deakins (the celebration scene is some of the best cinematography you'll see), editing with precision and tension, and scored with another beautiful composition, Jarhead should rank as one of the great war films, as well as one of the greatest films of the aughts.

As with anything, representation is vital. It can become an issue when value is attached solely for being ethnic, especially if peope are rating something highly.

Especially the case when the show in question drapes itself in with this facade of representing Latin life. This is hardly slice of life stuff.

Separate from all that is whether or not there is quality in the show...and there isn't much.

It lives off of absurd sex scenes, where the director takes advantage and looks to titillate rather than tell a story, or even be sexy.

And the women, as usual, are the attraction. This show takes it up a notch.

The performances reek of artifice and the stories skim the surface.

You wanna support Latinas? Watch shows where the characters aren't artificial and exploited.

Comparisons to Taxi Driver are understandable, if not wholly accurate. The film is more literal, which shouldn't lead you to believe it's literal, because it's not.

Greenwood's score is intense and paranoid, and it's loud. Therein lies the main difference between this film and the aforementioned classic, which constantly bubbles beneath the surface, to the point of near overflow.

Ramsey's film is more ostensibly focused, beaming with unbelievable intensity thru the eyes of one of our great actors, Joaquin Phoenix. A hunk of mass in this film, sludging around and carrying the weight of something so poignant and deeply felt. His eyes, more forceful than ever (see him when he makes his way), leads to one of the best performances of the decade.

The film moves thru the violence and thru violence. There is no sentiment, but rather weariness, and a somber that reveals quiet dignity and an existential nightmare that never ends.

I haven't written anything close to a review in a long time, so I'm struggling to write this better; I've struggled more to forget this film.

Certain things cannot be escaped. You Were Never Really Here stays with you.

I should comment more on the show, but I have a bone to pick with one of the reviewers.

But first, let me say that The Simpsons is one of the most intelligent and simply one of the greatest shows ever made. Simple as that.

And to jellyneckr...An opinion is one thing...Your comment is nothing but a waste of space. You're too ignorant to have an IMDb account...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

It would be even better if I understood ALL of the dialogue. Some of it was, last night, inaudible to me. A lot like Sexy Beast was upon the first viewing. But I still felt the emotion of the film.

It starts off with a bang. From the first moment, you're into it. There's some a great song that I don't know(I guess it's call Mona Lisa). And the score, by the great Michael Kamen, is great.

Bob Hoskins is absolutely fantastic. The film opens with a shot of the city, and the camera follows Hoskins down to his old home. The confrontation there is astonishing to watch. It's acting at its highest level.

By the way. As "uncool" as it may be, I am a fan of a lot of 80's Genesis and Phil Collins songs. In Too Deep is a great song(Though the instrumentation could be a bit better), but does not belong where Jordan put it. I find it odd that he put it in there, but that is not enough from stopping this from being a great film.

I won't discuss the plot at length, but the film deals with the relationship between Hoskins and Tyson(She is a hooker, he is her driver). Their relationship is intense and perplexing. The way the ending came about was absolutely shocking to me. But it's real and completely believable. No matter the outcome of everything, some relationship has been formed.

Tyson is great, deserving of a nod. Michael Caine is also great in a small, but crucial role. Everyone else is simply ON in this film, but it belongs to Bob Hoskins. Hoskins is a great actor. Here, he gives his best performance to date. The Oscar should have been between him and Sean Penn for At Close Range. And I think Hoskins may have deserved it more. His performance is hilarious and heartbreaking. Brilliant work. This is one of Jordan's best films.

P.S. Chris-132. I'm sorry, but the review you posted was for

Mona Lisa Smile. This is Mona Lisa. Two very different films.

****

Elizabeth Shue is more than just gorgeous...She is beyond...I cannot even begin to describe how unattainably great looking she is in this Masterpiece...Fantastic Script, Brilliant Direction, and two Remarkable Lead Performances.

Overall, I didn't like the film...But Leonardo DiCaprio. I remember feeling some sort of anger for him in Titanic(Before having even seen it-I don't thin it's great, but still...). But this kid can act. He's been brilliant before. And this is one of his best performances. He is just mesmerizing. Absolutely brilliant. The film didn't suck, but I didn't find it to be very good...But still...What a performance.

A great film with great performances. First of all, Juliette Lewis, though off at times, is definitely a very talented actress. And why bring up something she believes in? Leonardo DiCaprio is a great actor, and Johnny Depp is the man.

How some people can be ignorant. I have no problem(Well, I admit I have some problem) with people who dislike great films because the films did nothing for them. I have an incredible lack of patience with people who dislike something and believe their lousy opinion actually means something. I love film. And I watch great films. And I have, at least, as much love for real movies as anyone here or anywhere else. And when I watch something that affects me like this, then it's a real movie. I saw this film twice in theaters and each time I missed the first 5-10 minutes. I missed the man in the beginning and I missed the beginning of the best war footage ever shot(By far. the scenes in Platoon and the helicopter scene in Apocalypse Now cannot even live up to this and those are among the greatest of all films). This film is an absolute Masterpiece. I rented the film when it came out and I've owned for a few years...Very few films have ever had the effect on me that this. It is one of the very best films ever made. It devastates me every time. And I have to say, I have an incredible incredible dislike for people who think they know about films. These arthouse freaks get to me(And I can be an arthouse guy, myself) when they not only dislike a film but when they TRY (But without knowing it fail) to take away from the meaning of the film for the people who were impacted by it. This isn't some dumb sell-out movie. This is not the Linkin Park of movies. Sorry to burst your bubbles wannabe film buffs, but Spielberg is, along with Scorsese, as good as it gets-BOTTOM LINE...If you don't feel the same way about his work, then I apologize because you are really missing out. Spielberg may be the most popular and most amount grossing (Interesting use of words) of all-time but he is a genius and the other geniuses(Scorsese, Kubrick, Coppola, Fellini, Leone, Eastwood, Stone, Lee, etc etc) feel the same way about him. So all you fools who not only dislike Steven's work, but label it as popular nonsense, go tell the directors you admire that one of their great heroes of the cinema is nothing but a joke. I always wonder how people will respond to that (Someone is gonna tell me they don't care what anyone else thinks, it's their opinion-Opinions are stupid).

This is a masterpiece and you not seeing how it is one doesn't change what it is. It's just how you feel but your feeling doesn't replace the emotions caused by this film for the people who do love it, myself included. And I know film.

People have a right to feel what they feel about a movie, but a great movie is a great movie. Some may not feel that way but this film hit me too hard for me to be wrong. This is a masterpiece and it hasn't even hit me yet the way I know it will when I go and see it again. Brilliant

This is a 10 and there should be no half mark taken off because they didn't show any other Axis Powers here...It's not about them...And Ted Danson is a great actor. If it hits you that hard, then give it a 10. Don't be so stingy for something that means so much.