Reviews

IMO this is not one of Koreeda's best films, such as Nobody Knows, Still Walking, After the Storm or Shoplifters. It was just OK. I think the main problem I had with it was that THERE WAS TOO MUCH DIALOGUE! It seemed like it was one scene of dialogue after another scene of dialogue. Usually directors set up scenes before conversations--that was not the case with this film. I know Koreeda makes a lot of talky movies--but I thought this was was really talky. It was so talky that oftentimes I didn't have enough time to read the subtitles because there were so many of them! Another thing--I didn't really see the point of having the cops in the movie. IMO they didn't really add anything to the story. Was this supposed to be a family drama or a cop story? It didn't seem like Koreeda knew what he wanted to make.

All of the members of the Bake Squad plus Christina have great chemistry. So far I've just watched 4 episodes and love it! It's seems the conceptual desserts win. That's probably why Ashley gave up baking cakes and decided to make lollipops instead. If you want to see a show that has bakers with incredible imagination and skill--then I highly recommend this show. I was impressed by Gonzo's dragon egg and Christophe's drum set.

What can I say that hasn't already been said? This is the best season so far! Not only is it funny and making insightful comments on our society, but it is just really well written. The last episode is the best--everything comes together, including the fire truck, the coffee shop, Mocha Joe, etc. Highly recommended.

It's too bad this film is not getting a wider distribution in the States because it is the best Woody Allen film I have seen in years! I liked how Woody presented the film from a millennial's viewpoint (opposed to his usual older person). I always wondered what MANHATTAN would've been liked if it was told from Mariel Hemingway's point of view. Well, now you've got it in A RAINY DAY IN NEW YORK. I liked everything about it--the acting, the directing, the cinematography--and especially the writing. There were a lot of clever lines in this film. But what I liked most about this film was how the boyfriend/girlfriend and son/mother relationships were portrayed. It's funny because I recently read D.H. Lawrence's SONS AND LOVERS and this film reminded me of it. It's interesting how mothers play a big part in a son's life. Highly recommended. 4/4

I gave this movie 5 stars because I thought it was just average. (Actually, the guy next to me left half-way through the film so he probably thought it was below average.) I thought the best thing about this movie was Michelle Williams' performance. I really didn't care for anything else. I thought the writing could've used a lot more rewrites. Was it really that necessary to have so much background information?! We already knew Getty was rich--why did we have to watch how he became rich? And his deadbeat son brought absolutely nothing to the table.

Then there was the directing. This was probably one of the slowest paced "thrillers" I have ever seen. Mr. Scott needs to study films like Andrew Davis' "The Fugitive" or John McTiernan's "The Hunt for Red October." Those movies MOVED. This movie meandered. It seemed like it took forever to go from the actual kidnapping to the discovery of the identity of the kidnappers. Otherwise, this film needed some light humor to balance out the boredom--something like "Argo."

Finally, I had a problem with the acting. With the exception of Williams, I really didn't care for any of the other actors. I thought Christopher Plummer was all wrong for his role. This film didn't need a Scrooge-like character. It needed someone more colorful and flamboyant--someone like Kevin Spacey. Or someone like the Alan Arkin character in "Argo." I think one of the reasons this film seemed like it dragged on forever was because Christopher Plummer was very boring! He lacked charisma. (Was the real Getty like that?! He seemed more like an accountant than a successful businessman.) I also didn't care much for Charlie Plummer. I didn't think he brought anything to the grandson character except stupidity, such as wandering around late at night in the worst part of Rome and jumping into any Tom, Dick or Harry's car. (You'll know what I mean if you see it.) Then there was the chemistry. I didn't think any of the characters had any chemistry with each other--especially Michelle Williams and her husband, Michelle Williams and her son, Michelle Williams and Mark Wahlberg. I can go on and on with this movie. But in the end--it was just average.