Garden State

[tanaise]

yes, it's time for one of my movie reviews. i know you've all wait eagerly for them.

So. Garden State.

First off, the reviews--eh. Um. Finding Neverland (whoa, baby, Johnny Depp is hot enough to melt 18 tons of snow on the city hall plaza.) The Motorcycle Diaries (Gael Garcia whatever, likewise). Sideways--well, I thought it was going to be a lot more interesting when I thought it was about two men getting married, instead of a groom and the best man on a bachelor party type thing. A Dirty Shame--oh, I don't think so. And Closer, which despite the presence of both Jude Law *and* Clive Owen is not on my to watch list, due to a strong dislike for movies that are about a) adultery to begin with, and b) things that aren't escapism, basically.

And the movie. I liked it. I really liked it. I loved it. I want the DVD. it's slow, and sweet, and more than a little spacy at times. It loves its fancy shots--sometimes a bit too much. Technically, it probably could have been cut--there's a couple of bits that never go anywhere but are really pretty, so at least they have that going for them. It took me a little while to get a hold of the pace--the first 30 minutes of it are very odd because it's almost slow motion mixed with a lot of the rest of the world flying by him, and while it's that way for a reason, and a good reason, it took a little time to get used to it. I spent the first 30 minutes or so trying to urge the movie to hurry up (and not just because I had to go to the bathroom), and then I realised that the movie truly wasn't about what happens at the end, it's about how to get to the end, and so I just sat back and let it flow over me. It's about getting older and growing up, and the difference between them. And it's about love and about life and about pain. And it really did sort of *pow* me at the end--I don't know why, but I really didn't expect it to end the way it did, though I'm glad it did.

Mmm. good movie. I love the post-good movie feeling I get after the right movies, where I feel kind of lighter inside and just want to be floaty and free, and it just makes me happy. You should get something out of a movie that you don't get out of life, whatever that something might be, and I got that from this movie. The sound track was lovely. I think I have about half of the music on it, and the other half clearly I should own. And I saw the guy I know. If you watch it, the scene where he walks from the back of the restaurant to his table, right as he's putting in his earpiece, there's a blond waiter with spiky hair who passes him. That's Austin.

Comments

[penmage.livejournal.com]

I loved this movie when I saw it a few months ago, and I've been listening to Frou Frou since then, tiding myself over to when I could see it again. It's so beautiful and subtle and funny and sad and brilliant - I can't wait to go see it again.

[rnb.livejournal.com]

I also thought it was good. It suffered from some small problems--the script felt kind of immature, the comedy didn't really work for me--but overall, its heart was in the right place and it was enjoyable.

[tanaise.livejournal.com]

What I really thought was interesting was how funny it was, in not very funny ways. People would laugh, myself included, and then I'd think, "but that wasn't really a joke, was it?"