KarieN-2

Much of the darkness has been stripped or made shallow for this movie, but overall, this was a charming version of Maguire's story. The acting was great (Stockard Channing RULES!), the scenery & cinematography was lovely, and the writers tried to stay true to Maguire's examination of the truth behind beauty versus ugliness. (And of course, neither of the stepsisters were *ugly*.)

I'm often the first one to the theater when the British movies come over the pond; I AM their American demographic. So I'm generally biased towards the Brit flicks, but I can't agree that this is Y2K's Best Movie.

I have no quibbles with the acting: Jamie Bell is phenomenal - ("He's only 14!" I kept reminding myself as he danced his little heart out.) Julie Walters was superbly real and compassionate even as hard-assed as she was, and Gary Lewis as Billy Elliot's dad gave a good show. I admire the ambition of the movie and I go for the schmaltzy feel-good stuff everytime...

HOWEVER: Didn't anyone catch how sneaky the writers were? Whenever they reached a difficult point in the script - and there were plenty of 'em, of course, it's a tragedy - they just... kinda... let it go. All of a sudden: Dad's become a scab to support his son's dancing after already knocking him about for it. The older son's just as quickly accepted it, too. As do the townspeople! It goes on.

I don't doubt that people CAN come around to this sort of thing, but isn't that transformation part of the story? Most of its audience won't care because, after all, it IS a feel-good movie, but I felt sort of cheated. My two cents, anyway.

It's no wonder this movie was nominated for best costume design by the Academy (and by a few other award groups as well.) Visually this movie is stunning - the costumes, the make-up, the whole image makes you want to experience London's swinging glam-rock era... (well, perhaps experience it from afar.) Still - it's one heck of a looker. J. Rhys-Meyers is appropriately aloof and alluring as Brian Slade, the David Bowie knock-off; E McGregor is terrific as always, but bears a strikingly disturbing resemblance to Kurt Cobain; and Christian Bale (one of the finest jawlines in the business, might I add) portrays the star-struck fan desperate for a way to connect with his idols - and painfully recalling how he lived through it.

The movie itself is more cohesive than "54", another period piece from the same era, but only... just. So bear that in mind when/if you rent, but it's definitely worth a watch.

Just saw this movie last night (no pun intended) and it's still on my mind... but the problem with this movie is that it's hard to pay 100% attention because you'll also be wondering what you would want to do if you knew the world was going to end in less than six hours. (Trust me, the movie will end long before you come up with an answer. I still haven't.)

Once you've moved past that, however, you'll be fully engaged with all the characters and their decisions and actions, and how they interact in the face of this destiny - still being human beings, after all, some things surprisingly don't change, but some do.

This movie is not for the faint of heart and I mean that in a fully philosophical way. Without revealing anything, and probably not for the reason one might think, the ending made me bawl like a baby.

This movie employs quite a few Egoyan regulars, including McKellar, the writer/director who, also co-wrote The Red Violin - another marvelous film.

I love this movie's realism, juxtaposed with a certain magic, i.e., fate, karma, destiny - and the question of whether these elements exist in real life. Here, the possibilities unfold and are played out as quietly, subtly and unexpectedly as they can and often do in real life.

What surprised me most is that when I was doubting whether our heroes (Alan and Erin) would get together at all, I realized that it was okay - disappointing, but okay - if they didn't; as long as they found happiness, that would be fate calling the shots. The movie as a whole puts a positive spin on being alone with yourself, on the importance of taking the time to find what you really want and need. Which is something we all need in life, but how often does Hollywood promote that philosophy?

All the actors were terrific, especially the two leads, Alan Gelfant and Hope Davis; they were people you might really know - quietly passionate in their pursuits, sometimes just struggling to get through the day. There's a lot of humor too: in the prickling, loving tension between Erin and her mom; in the bar-table philosophies spouted by various characters; and particularly the in blind-dating montage - I will attest to how true to life this is!

See this movie - heck, buy it. The more you watch it, the more you get out of it.