Legend of Bagger Vance

It's funny to see a movie based on golf when the lead players (characters) can't even swing a golf club correctly. The acting between Damon and Smith was fantastic (as expected from them) and the sets were beautiful and quite realistic.

Don't go if you're looking for a golf movie. If you know anything about the game (some game, chase a sphere around in a motorized wheelbarrow and try to hit it into a cylinder) then you'll understand certain parts that are not explained for those that don't know a club from a bat, but you really don't need them to follow the movie.

The plot? The town hero looses his swing in the war (Nam, I think) and gets voulnteered (spelling?) to compete against two other of the biggest names in golf, completely against his will. Will he save a damsel in distress? I think so. (He's Matt Damon, he has to.) He has a few to many to drink one night (fish would drown in less) and decides to look for his swing. Entre Bagger.

'I'll be your caddy for $5. Yeah I know the tourney pays $10,000 (or so) and the caddy gets 10%, but I'll just take $5.' (riiiiight)

Bagger never seems to leave his side and... well... the other golfers are quite good... I of course won't tell you who wins, but like I said, don't go for a golf movie... it's very inspirational and reminds you to not give up. EVER.

It sure looks good - I've been oddly intrigued by this movie since the first time I heard of it's title - just a nice looking movie. I also heard the incredibly background music helps to makeup for some of the film's shortcomings.

Here's an interesting tidbit: Robert Redford (who directed) originally planned to play Matt Damon's part, with Morgan Freeman in the place of Will Smith. IE: both a bit older. Dunno if Charlize Theron was still going to be cast, but probably not.

I think the younger names are better - they'll likely attract more people, and Robert Redford already has a "drama/sports" movie under his belt - this one would look re-hased, like Kevin Costner's sickingly weak "For Love of the Game."

I think a Damon/Smith/Redford combination ought to be pretty good. I haven't seen a movie in ages, and it is driving me crazy. I'd really like to go see this one, but I am way too busy. Maybe some day...who knows?

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Jim Lewis
To BE or Not to BE, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Barium Enema
Crouching Tiger, Paint Your Wagon - Forums

i found this movie okay, but not that good. my boyfriend (who had the idea to go see it) fell asleep halfway through. he HATED the film, but i thought it was kind of interesting, especially learning a small amount about the game (or at least what makes the game interesting). I DIDN'T like the whole thing with bagger vance becoming this mystical character of some religious nature. a little too much for this film. the chemistry between damon and theron wasn't too strong i didn't think. she did better in reindeer games and cider house rules.

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Travel Pieces

I haven't seen the movie yet, though I'm off to see it either tomorrow or the day after, so I'll write a review then It looks good actually!

Aaaallrrriiighty then, just came back from the theatre ten minutes ago (that's how long it takes me to get home, get on the net and log on to MovieForums ), so here it goes, fresh from the oven!

SOME POSSIBLE SPOILERS BELOW
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I gotta say, I was impressed by this movie, and also dissapointed by some parts! Some of the beginning scenes just plain and simply got on my nerves (there was something about the ever-smiling, knowing everything about everybody mistiqueness of Bagger Vance that just didn't strike the right chord with me). It just didn't look believable, and if the character the whole movie is about is as real as a scarecrow then I think the movie is in trouble!

But as the movie progressed, this glitch either smoothed itself out, or I stopped noticing it, and Will even made me smile a couple of times. That however was not the only short coming of the movie. At times, about half way through, it seemed as if it was going on forever, that there was no end in sight. I mean, how long could you play one golf game that started about a third into the movie?

This is where the criticisms end and the praises start. Matt Damon played his character really well, his performance didn't seem like it had the start-stop-start momentum of Bagger Vance's in the beginning. It was believable, and had more than two dimensions to it. A solid performance from start to finish.

But the cake definitely goes to Rachel Portman for the score. If I wore a hat, I would take it off to her. The music had the effect of patching up where there were holes in the flow, and enhancing it when it was going smoothly. In fact, I have never seen music so drastically turn around a movie as in TLBV, especially in the last few scenes. Just as it was beginning to seem long winded towards the end, the music picked it up and carried it home. I had no words for it, it was marvellous in every way.

And finally, to say a few words about the director, Robert Redford. At times, TLBV looked like a typical feel good movie where the main character struggles to overcome weakness or adversity, nearly fails, and then triumphs in the end. I certainly had this feeling at the scene of the last hole, and I had expected this to ruin the whole movie for me. However, my compliments to Redford for stepping away from this cliche, if only for a moment, in order to continue the smooth flow of the last scene, and coupled with the music, this was enough to soften the feelings of even the toughest critics.

Overall, a good movie, worth seeing at least once. On my scale, it deserves an 8.9.

P.S. One thing I just remembered. I think that Redford should have made Bagger Vance look more...how to say it...trodden, weary from the long road, a bit more dirty and torn up, and he should have spoken with a less refined accent...

I havn't seen this flick yet, but I have to commend Zeph on his fabulous review! I'll have to snatch you up as a reviewer here on MovieForums.com before someone else does.

Thanks Chris, I don't get that every day By the way, is it a paying position?!


Just kidding, I'd gladly do it for free!

If the site does well enough, you never know! Obviously I'd love to make a profit off of this someday - although I'd probably keep running it even if I didn't/don't. It's a heckuva lotta fun overall.

What I really need to do is finish all this other work I've got going on right now so I can finish the new sections that have been lying there for months on end and then launch this sucker with news and reviews!

Don't worry about the site, even with the current number of members you have enough to at least cover all the costs of the server and the registration of the domain name...

So are you waiting for the vBulletin v2.0 update to launch these new sections??

The domain is $13.50 a year, and hosting doesn't cost much these days. The site actually has yet to generate a penny of revenue - I've never had paid ads on the site.

I had some up for awhile as part of an ad trade, and the blue one up now are from my webhost (who I highly recommend, by the way! ).

As for vBulletin 2.0 - sort of. I won't upgrade until a week or two after its release, when the inevitable bugs are worked out.

But yes, I'll probably make some cosmetic changes to the board, launch the new sections, and upgrade the forums all at once. We may lose the current polls we have, but the new poll system for 2.0 is better, so we'll be okay.

Overall you'll probably just visit MovieForums.com one day and see a mainpage with content as opposed to jumping straight to the forums.

And yes: all Moderators and basically all active members will be rewarded in a sense with a sneak preview of the system and most likely a position (if they want it, of course) on the site as a writer of sorts - reviewer, news editor, or both.

It'll all be automated, so as to take up as little of your time as possible.

$13.50 isn't all that bad actually, I thought it was more like $70 for two years with InterNIC...

You should start thinking about some sort of ad program, I think the imrpression ones you were talking about earlier are pretty good in this situation.

I just hope that when you upgrade you won't loose all the threads, there aren't too many polls around, but there sure are a lot of threads

Oh, I don't see any chance of losing the threads - the upgrades are obviously created with that in mind - the poll feature is a hack however - it'll be supported in 2.0, but otherwise it's independent code they probably won't bother upgrading along with 2.0.

I'd have to put the CPM/impression based advertising up upon launching content as opposed to just the forums. They don't accept forum-only sites really.

As for InterNIC (Network Solutions) - they used to hold a monopoly on the market, but it was opened up recently. Notwork Solutions, as many like to call them, is still the leader in market share due to its old monopoly status, but is losing rapidly.

It is, simply, probably the last registrar (or close to it) that I would willingly register a domain name with. Some places are now selling domains as cheap as $9.99 a year.

NetSol, in addition to it's ridiculous prices, is one of the slowest in terms of service, and "hangs on" to domains even after they expire! I've had my eye on a domain that expired in December which is still not available! They actually have had lawsuits pending concerning the release of these domains. I have a friend who claims he's been waiting on one for a year - I believe he posts here as well.

If you ever register a domain name, I hear Gandi.net and RegisterFly.com are good - although personally I use 000Domains.com

This is an interesting discussion although Walt will probably think that there are 14 replies to the thread "Legend of Bagger Vance"

I really didn't know it was that cheap to register a domain name! Hmmm gives me ideas!

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Black Holes Suck!

Well, if you decide to start a site, let me know and I can point you to several resources depending on your current level of knowledge. I fancy myself as a pretty proficient programmer.

Excuse me. Am I interrupting your delightful conversation on Web expenditure? Forgiveness, please.

Back to Bagger Vance.

I'm surprised that the reviews for this movie were middle of the road. How could Redford go wrong with that cast? So I was a bit worried going in. However a couple of seconds in my worries floated away. Expecting, as I was, a slow moving drama, I was surprised at how upbeat and comic the picture was. The preview was excellent but it didn't advertise the light elements of the story.

Bagger Vance (Will Smith) is an angelic creation who helps Matt Damon discover his authentic golf swing (It's a metaphor for restoring your inner self people). Damon, a disheartened war veteran, is coaxed back into playing a tournament against the world's top two players by his caddy and the requisite love interest (Theron).

The film is a success because it neatly side-steps cliches. Damon's opponents are carefully drawn. They are not the bad guys but just two guys who love to play.

Matt Damon has plenty of demons weighing him down but he is no grouch in the picture. Normally, the film would end with the throwing off of his demons, but Damon overcomes his problems halfway in. He is a complex, very interesting character. Theron is just as original. She, surprisingly, provides a strong comic element even though her father has recently committed suicide and Damon no longer speaks to her. She is a modern day women living in 1930s America.

Perhaps the best performance comes from Will Smith. This guy is such an underrated talent. We all know at this stage he can do comedy and he can do action but Smith is equally adept at these meatier roles. Bagger Vance could have come across as a long winded preacher. It's actually a poorly written part but Smith makes his words seem honest, heart-felt. He has such an appealing presence on screen that I wanted to see more of what really was a supporting character.

Redford is a director who surprises. I adored Quiz Show. But I haven't seen any of his other works. I'm not a fan of his as an actor.

He takes on stories like Bagger Vance, that would be easy to turn into sentimental garbage. However, Redford controls his script, preventing such treacel from ever leaking onto the screen. After Bagger Vance, I've got a new found respect for the man.

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I couldn't believe that she knew my name. Some of my best friends didn't know my name.

This was one of the most BORING movies I have ever seen...getting through it was a chore that I never want to repeat. I don't know what Smith, Damon, and Theron were thinking when they agreed to appear in this crap.