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Sideways (Alexander Payne)
"Oscar Bound?"
For people to say you have to be around 30 or so to enjoy this brilliant film....you're wrong, I'm 16 and absolutely loved it.
Paul Giamatti robbed again. This performance is one of the best all year (How the hell Clint got in over Paul, I will never know). Here is a performance so touching and yet hysterical at the same time that you can't help but love the guy. You feel his sadness, you feel his love, you feel his laughter and of course you feel his drunkenness.
My favourite scene in this film was when Miles finds out that his ex-wife is pregnant. The hurt on Giamatti's face is perfectly executed, and yet he also feels a closure and tries to show that he is also happy for her, which he is, all these emotions were portrayed perfectly. Thomas Haden Church was great, the character was an *******, but hey, I still liked him, Church gives the character a human quality that you can't dismiss and for some you will attach to him, for others, you will hate him, but in the end, you know that the performance is worthy of a nomination.
Virginia Madson and Sarah Oh, both give great supporting roles and are the glue to make the film stick together, without them the film would have been missing a lot of emotion on the other end of the spectrum (meaning we get a lot from giamatti, but here are some others).
The script was very clever and human. You don't know what is going to happen next because we as humans are unpredictable, so their actions are unpredictable. I honestly did not think this film was going to be funny, I walked into the theatre thinking it was a drama and walked out laughing my ass off. There are too many funny scenes (involving dialouge) to name, but my favs include: "I am not drinking any f*cking Merlot"
The direction here is perfect, who better to get to direct a movie then the writer, who can handle the characters perfectly and guide the actors into the right direction. Unlike other writers who can't direct if their life depended on it...I'm talking to you David S. Goyer. I love the ending, it is so ANTI-Hollywood, (just like Eternal Sunshine and hell even The Aviator for that matter).
We need more films like these, instead of films with talking animals and crappy sequels (Do we need a mask 2). We need movies that we can connect with, we need characters that we can relate to, films that will touch our hearts and make us feel every emotion that one can have in 2 hours or so.
The film is my 3rd favourite film of 2004. Eternal sunshine and Kill Bill Vol 2 taking the first two spots, but I'm excited to see what Payne can show us in the future and as always, I'm looking forward to one of Giamatti's next films, he is quickly becoming one of my favourite actors.
9/10
"Oscar Bound?"
For people to say you have to be around 30 or so to enjoy this brilliant film....you're wrong, I'm 16 and absolutely loved it.
Paul Giamatti robbed again. This performance is one of the best all year (How the hell Clint got in over Paul, I will never know). Here is a performance so touching and yet hysterical at the same time that you can't help but love the guy. You feel his sadness, you feel his love, you feel his laughter and of course you feel his drunkenness.
My favourite scene in this film was when Miles finds out that his ex-wife is pregnant. The hurt on Giamatti's face is perfectly executed, and yet he also feels a closure and tries to show that he is also happy for her, which he is, all these emotions were portrayed perfectly. Thomas Haden Church was great, the character was an *******, but hey, I still liked him, Church gives the character a human quality that you can't dismiss and for some you will attach to him, for others, you will hate him, but in the end, you know that the performance is worthy of a nomination.
Virginia Madson and Sarah Oh, both give great supporting roles and are the glue to make the film stick together, without them the film would have been missing a lot of emotion on the other end of the spectrum (meaning we get a lot from giamatti, but here are some others).
The script was very clever and human. You don't know what is going to happen next because we as humans are unpredictable, so their actions are unpredictable. I honestly did not think this film was going to be funny, I walked into the theatre thinking it was a drama and walked out laughing my ass off. There are too many funny scenes (involving dialouge) to name, but my favs include: "I am not drinking any f*cking Merlot"
The direction here is perfect, who better to get to direct a movie then the writer, who can handle the characters perfectly and guide the actors into the right direction. Unlike other writers who can't direct if their life depended on it...I'm talking to you David S. Goyer. I love the ending, it is so ANTI-Hollywood, (just like Eternal Sunshine and hell even The Aviator for that matter).
We need more films like these, instead of films with talking animals and crappy sequels (Do we need a mask 2). We need movies that we can connect with, we need characters that we can relate to, films that will touch our hearts and make us feel every emotion that one can have in 2 hours or so.
The film is my 3rd favourite film of 2004. Eternal sunshine and Kill Bill Vol 2 taking the first two spots, but I'm excited to see what Payne can show us in the future and as always, I'm looking forward to one of Giamatti's next films, he is quickly becoming one of my favourite actors.
9/10