Plot:
Among the characters are a mature couple about to renew their vows (Sean Connery and Gena Rowlands); a woman (Gillian Anderson) who accepts a date from a stranger (Jon Stewart); a gay man dying of AIDS (Jay Mohr) and his mother (Ellen Burstyn) who has struggled to accept him; two young people who meet in a nightclub (Ryan Phillippe and Angelina Jolie); a couple having an affair (Anthony Edwards and Madeleine Stowe) and a man (Dennis Quaid) who tells his tragic life story to a woman he meets in a bar (Patricia Clarkson), but seems to have a strange connection to another mysterious woman. As the film continues and the stories evolve, the connections between the characters become evident.
I love how the movie reveals the connections between the characters, it was done expertly and seamlessly. At first, the couples' narratives stand independently.
Meredith (Gillian Anderson) is a theater director being wooed by an adroit, enamored architect, Trent (Jon Stewart) whom she tries to rebuff at every turn only to finally succumbed. it is explained that her problem in trusting man starts when the guy next door she married so early in age turned out to be gay and they ended up divorced.
Then there is willful Joan (Angelina Jolie) who's trying to catch the eyes (and heart) of sullen Keenan (Ryan Philippe). Joan is an actress wannabe, and she pulls no stop in ensnaring Keenan's interests, including having her sister steals her car to have Keenan walks her home. it turns out that Keenan is keen to be with her, it's only that he has AIDS, transmitted from his now demise drug addict girlfriend. however, Joan rallies for his affection and in the end, Keenan relents for them to be together.
the film also includes the many secret trysts of Gracie (Madeleine Stowe) and Roger (Anthony Edwards) in which Roger is getting frustrated at not having their relationship out in the open whereas Gracie is content to have the affairs as it is. she is however not content with her rather unimaginative husband though.
as for Hugh (Dennis Quaid), he frequents clubs and dining places each night with different sob stories for anyone eager to hear his stories. his stories are often tragic and imaginative that it could only be true that he's lying.
Mark (Jay Mohr) on the other hand is dying in the company of his mother Mildred (Ellen Burstyn). it is terrible for her to find out that he is gay when it is clearly he's nearing his end. she doesn't even get to know her son's partner who died earlier due to AIDS. it was a heartbreaking moment when they openly share honest truth to each other.
The tale is interwoven with a lover's spat between Paul (Sean Connery) and Hannah (Gena Rowlands) over a supposed infidelity on Paul's side which occurred a long time before their daughter was born. It seems that Paul was attracted to a co-worker once and when he decided not to pursue her, he found in himself that he loves Hannah more than ever.
it is revealed first that Meredith was once Mark's wife, and that after attending his funeral, she went back to her parents' home. it is then revealed that Gracie and Hugh are husband and wife, that he's taking improv class just so he could be imaginative as Gracie wanted.
all in all, it is revealed that Gracie, Meredith and Joan are the daughters of Paul and Hannah. all the couples gathered at Paul and Hannah's vow renewal ceremony officiated by Roger, the family pastor. there, they mingled together and Keenan commended Hugh on his imagination for being able to produce great video games, much to the surprise of Gracie. As they danced together, everything turns out well for all of them, except for Roger.
Review:
the most likable character in this movie would have been Trent! i love his sense of humor and honest conversation. i mean, you would have a heart of stone not to like him immensely. so is Joan. her persistence is commendable. i do love the scene where she's sans make up and caught vulnerable by Keenan. yet her beauty shines through.
even though Hannah doesn't understand it, I get it when Paul said he realizes his love is much greater for Hannah once he decided not to pursue Wendy. i mean, that is one solid moment of truth, an epiphany even, for you to realize whether the person you are with is worth staying for or not.
i don't like Gracie much. she's selfish.
to sum it all up, this is a nice family movie. about shedding cynicism and mistrusts to be in love, to take it all, the hardships and all that, in the name of love.
Plot:
In 1926 in the Australian outback town of Dungatar, schoolboy Stewart Pettyman dies in unknown circumstances. The only witness to his death, schoolgirl Myrtle Dunnage, is branded a murderer and exiled from the town by Stewart's father and town councillor, Evan Pettyman (Shane Bourne). 25 years later, Myrtle, now an accomplished dressmaker and going by the name Tilly (Kate Winslet), returns to her hometown to take care of her ill mother Molly (Judy Davis). Upon arrival, she is greeted by local police sergeant Horatio Farrat (Hugo Weaving), who is secretly a cross-dresser. Tilly returns home to find the house squalid and her mother plainly mentally ill which has earned Tilly's mother the nickname "Mad Molly" throughout town. Unable to remember the events of 1926, Tilly asks her mother about Stewart Pettyman's death, as she believes that day left her cursed. Molly claims to know nothing about the incident.
The entire town is quickly alerted to Tilly's return, as well as that of William Beaumont (James Mackay), son of the wealthy and snobbish Elsbeth Beaumont (Caroline Goodall). Gertrude Pratt (Sarah Snook), the daughter of the owners of the town's general store, possesses feelings for William, but lacks the confidence to tell him.
The town gathers for the local Australian Rules final game, and everyone is shocked when Tilly turns up to the match in a bright red couture gown that distracts the Dungatar players. During the interval, the handsome Teddy McSwiney (Liam Hemsworth) confronts Tilly about her distracting dress, and Tilly agrees to change.
After changing into a black but equally alluring outfit, Tilly gives her business card to Gertrude, offering to make her a dress for the upcoming footballers dance. The last quarter of the game begins, with the teams having swapped ends of the field. Due to this, the opposing team from the nearby town of Winyerp are distracted by Tilly's dress, and Dungatar emerges as the winner.
Later, Gertrude arrives at Molly's house to take up Tilly's offer. Tilly agrees to make the dress in exchange for the truth about Stewart Pettyman's death. Gertrude reveals that Tilly had hidden from Stewart Pettyman who had been bullying her unmercifully, but that she revealed Tilly's location in self-defence. Subsequently, Stewart died, but in circumstances unknown to her. Despite feeling betrayed by Gertrude, Tilly agrees to make the dress for her.
At the footballers dance, Gertrude's dress is a huge success, and she successfully uses it to capture the attention of William. They later become engaged. Soon, all of the townspeople begin asking Tilly for extravagant dresses. Simultaneously, Teddy pursues a romantic relationship with Tilly. Tilly and Sergeant Farrat also bond over their shared passion for designer clothing, and they form a friendship. Noticing that Tilly is beginning to regain the favour of the townspeople, Councillor Pettyman recruits dressmaker Una Pleasance (Sacha Horler) to start a rival dressmaking service to steal Tilly's business. This is initially successful, but when Gertrude hires Tilly to create her wedding dress, the rest of the townspeople return to Tilly, ruining Una.
Tilly uses a feather boa to bribe Sergeant Farrat into letting her read her former schoolteacher Beulah Harridiene's (Kerry Fox) witness statement from the day Stewart Pettyman died. Upon reading it, Tilly discovers that Beulah's statement is false. On the day of Gertrude and William's wedding, Tilly confronts Beulah, and she admits to lying in her witness statement. Tilly rushes to the wedding reception, where she tells Sergeant Farrat about Beulah's lies.
Tilly claims that Pettyman had no right to send her away, but Farrat reveals that Pettyman is Tilly's father, and that he had a right as a parent. Meanwhile, Beulah approaches Pettyman's anxious wife Marigold (Alison Whyte), who became a recluse after the death of her son. Marigold is the only townsperson unaware of the rumour that Tilly murdered her son, but Beulah reveals this information to her. Marigold breaks down and starts yelling at Tilly, labelling her a murderer. Tilly runs from the reception, but Teddy chases after her.
Teddy takes Tilly to the schoolhouse, where Tilly begins to remember the events surrounding Stewart Pettyman's death—Stewart subdued her against a wall, threatening to come at night to murder her mother and assault her if she moved. He charged head-down at her, intending to injure her. Instead, she stood aside at the last moment, and Stewart hit his head on the wall and broke his neck. Teddy reveals that the only witness was his brother Barney (Gyton Grantley), who had been sitting on the town silo at the time and saw the whole thing, but due to being developmentally disabled, no-one thought to ask him. Tilly and Teddy then go to his caravan and consummate their relationship, after which Tilly begins to believe that she may no longer be cursed. Later, she and Teddy sit on top of the town silo. Teddy shows off by jumping into the silo, despite Tilly's warning cries. The silo holds sorghum, and Teddy suffocates as he sinks into the grain.
Tilly becomes depressed after Teddy's death until her mother encourages her to continue dressmaking. While out in town, Molly suffers a stroke, and later dies. Only Tilly and Sergeant Farrat attend the funeral. Molly's death sets off a chain of disturbing and macabre events. While Tilly and Farrat are holding a wake for Molly, Beulah snoops around the house. Tilly drunkenly objects to the music on the portable record player, and throws it off the verandah, where it hits Beulah and injures her. Beulah is last seen being helped onto the train to Melbourne, ostensibly for treatment but really to be placed in an asylum. Percival Almanac (Barry Otto), the cruel town chemist who mistreated Tilly as a child, accidentally drowns in a pond at the back of his house. It is discovered that Almanac's wife Irma (Julia Blake) was unable to save her husband due to being under the influence of hash brownies, which had been baked by Tilly. In order to prevent Tilly's arrest, Sergeant Farrat takes the blame. He is then removed from the town by his superiors, something which greatly upsets Tilly. Tilly visits Marigold and reveals that her husband has been conducting numerous extramarital affairs, including with Una. Marigold confronts her husband about his unfaithfulness, and subsequently hamstrings him and leaves him to bleed to death.
The remaining townspeople travel to the neighbouring town of Winyerp to perform in a competitive Eisteddfod. Once there, they are shocked to discover that Tilly has designed and sewn all of the costumes for Winyerp's performance. While the townspeople are away, Tilly sets fire to her house and to a bolt of fabric soaked in kerosene that is rolled out down the hill towards the town. Tilly states that she is no longer cursed, and leaves the town by train, her sewing machine her only luggage. The townspeople, seemingly having lost the Eisteddfod, return to the town to find that it has burned down.
Review:
i love KW in this movie.. she is both bold and vulnerable, being charmed by Teddy nonetheless. the pair have a sizzling chemistry that simply heats up the screen, huhu. i admit, the movie can be somewhat tedious, but having the pair simply jogs the pace along just nice.
i feel so sad when Teddy died, i mean, you could not help but feeling sorry for Tilly.. wondering if truly she was cursed in the first place :'(
the townspeople of Dungatar are so horrible to Tilly. even though Tilly had helped Gertrude wins William right up to the altar still she could not win their loyalty..
i guess it takes guts for Tilly to come back and face her past.. i don't know if i had it in me. if only she didn't lose Teddy, this story would be perfect for me :'( but then, who are we to write the story of our own choosing, right. it touched my heart when Molly said to Tilly "you thought you come back for me but it is really for you..." alahai.. sayunya bila your mom cakap macam tu.. the mother-daughter pair really jives well too.
the movie is charming, i give you that. the costumes are riveting and beautiful. i simply love the scene when Gertrude comes out off that horrid wedding dress into a shocker gown that simply bedazzled William into setting a wedding date.. hahaha.. it's priceless! simply to show that no matter how ugly you look, come the experts and all the equipments, you can come out looking like a million bucks!
this review won't be complete without mentioning the friendship between Tilly and Sergeant Farrant. I confess, i've never liked HW since his portrayal of Agent Smith in the Matrix but by golly, he's wonderful in this movie. a true friend in need :) he was arrested though, taking the fall for Molly's misdeeds that were thought to be Tilly's..
yup. this movie is so sad. but i'm glad i watched it. at least i got to see KW at one of her finest.. and LH is a real eye candy, hahaha
Nine people in Baltimore deal with their respective romantic problems, usually thwarted by the differing ideals and desires of their chosen partner. At the center of this is Gigi Phillips (Ginnifer Goodwin), a young woman who repeatedly misinterprets the behavior of her romantic partners.
Gigi and Alex
Gigi is a single woman who repeatedly misreads mundane actions and comments from her dates as indications that they are romantically interested in her, and frets when the guy does not call her.
In attempting to meet Conor Barry (Kevin Connolly), a real estate agent, at a bar, she befriends the bar owner Alex (Justin Long), who reveals the strategies men use to avoid a woman.
He explains that if a man is interested in a woman, he will overcome any obstacles to ensure they date again, and that Gigi has been misinterpreting and obsessing over imagined "signs" that she receives.
Their friendship continues, and Gigi interprets his eagerness to always assist (such as taking Gigi's call while he is on a date) as a sign that he is interested in her. She makes a move, but Alex claims he is not romantically interested in her and chastises her for ignoring his advice. She angrily replies that at least she has not let herself become cynical and bitter like him.
Gigi eventually moves on from Alex, however, in a role reversal, Alex begins falling for Gigi.
After leaving several unanswered messages, Alex arrives at Gigi's apartment to declare his love. Gigi thinks that she is the rule, but after Alex suddenly kisses her passionately, he says that she is his exception.
Janine, Ben, and Anna
Gigi's friend and co-worker Janine Gunders (Jennifer Connelly) is having difficulties in her marriage to Ben (Bradley Cooper). As Janine obsesses on their home renovations, Ben becomes attracted to Anna Marks (Scarlett Johansson), a yoga instructor and aspiring singer, and the feeling is mutual.
Ben and Anna pursue a flirtatious friendship under the pretense of him helping her establish a singing career. Ben reveals to Anna that Janine once gave him an ultimatum by threatening to leave him if he did not propose. Ben agrees to be friends with Anna, and in order to flirt with him she strips and jumps naked into a swimming pool. She invites him to join, but he decides against it.
Fervently anti-smoking (due to her father's death from lung cancer), Janine pointedly asks Ben if he has been smoking and later is perturbed to find cigarette butts hidden in their back yard. Ben insists that they are not his, and their contractor, Javier (Luis Guzman), says none of his workers smoke at the house.
During a tense shopping trip, Ben reveals to Janine that he has cheated on her. Janine is devastated but rationalizes Ben's behavior, blaming herself for being too cold in the relationship, and decides she wants to save their marriage.
After a positive meeting about her singing career, Anna begins to have sex with Ben in his office. They are interrupted by Janine who, hoping to spice up their marriage, has arrived unexpectedly. Anna hides in a closet, and Ben attempts to send Janine away who then makes a heartfelt plea to save their marriage, and there are indications she succeeds in seducing him. After Janine leaves, Anna angrily departs vowing to cut ties with Ben. As Janine tidies up Ben's clothes back at their completed house, she discovers a fresh pack of cigarettes in a pocket, and she explodes in anger. When Ben returns home, he finds his clothes neatly folded with a carton of cigarettes and a note attached from Janine asking for a divorce. Janine moves into a new apartment by herself to start a new life, and Anna is later seen performing at an upscale nightclub. Ben is alone, purchasing the same beer at the same supermarket where he met Anna.
Conor, Anna, and Mary
Meanwhile, Anna enjoys a close friendship with Alex's friend, Conor. He is romantically interested in her, but Anna is only interested in a casual relationship. Conor misinterprets her hugs and cute nicknames for potential romantic interest.
Anna's friend, Mary Harris (Drew Barrymore), works in advertising for a local newspaper, and helps Conor promote his real estate business in a series of print ads. Like Gigi, she meets many men (mostly online), but despite constantly monitoring emails, pager, phone, and Myspace messages, her dates go nowhere.
While Conor attempts to cultivate a gay clientele, two gay men tell him how he is going wrong with Anna. Taking their advice, Conor decides to declare his love to Anna. Vulnerable after falling out with Ben, Anna agrees to start a serious relationship with him. But when Conor proposes buying a house and moving in together, Anna admits she doesn't want to, and they break up.
Mary later runs into Conor, recognizing him from his ad photo, and introduces herself, since they have only spoken over the phone. They hit it off, and start dating.
Beth and Neil
Gigi's other co-worker, Beth Murphy (Jennifer Aniston), is living with her boyfriend, Neil (Ben Affleck), who is also friends with Ben. After seven years of dating, Beth wants to get married, but Neil does not believe in marriage. With Gigi's newfound pragmatic stance on relationships after advice from Alex, she announces she will no longer misinterpret vague gestures from men as more than they really are. This spurs Beth to confront Neil about their relationship. When he still doesn't want to get married, she breaks up with him.
Later, the preparations for her younger sister's wedding brings the issue into sharper focus for Beth after hearing many back-handed comments from various family members. During the reception, her father Rod (Kris Kristofferson) suffers a heart attack. Beth looks after him as he recuperates while her sisters wallow, and their husbands remain glued to the television playing video games and watching football with constant takeout as the household falls into chaos. As Beth reaches the end of her patience looking after her siblings and in-laws as well as her recovering father, Neil arrives with groceries and helps with the chores. The two reconcile, with Beth saying that Neil is more of a husband to her than her sisters' spouses are to them, and she will not insist they be married. Neil later proposes to her, and they marry in an intimate ceremony aboard his sailboat.
Review:
I've watched the movie many times that i could literally mouthed off the lines :D
the most favourite couple would of course be Alex and Gigi. they're sweet together. especially after Alex starts mooning over Gigi soon as they parted ways.. amek kau. padan muka Alex :evil laughs:
then, there would be the sweet pairing of Connor and Mary. they hit it off so easily because they had the same sense of humor. funny isn't it, how easily one can bumped into one's soulmate after despairing for so long over someone unavailable.
i like the part when Neil realises that though he doesn't believe in marriage, he's willing to give it a shot just because he loves Beth too much. it made the 7 years of waiting worthwhile, don't you think? Beth ni mmg sabar betul!
as for Janine, JC played it so convincingly that to this day i detested her character, she made me itched! same detest goes to SJ's character, she's only into Ben so much so because he resisted at first. but you have to admit, he was unhappy with Janine. when Anna continued to charm his pants off, he simply surrendered, albeit haltingly due to his loyalty to Janine. in the end, they were all three unhappy people. though Janine admitted that she's now dating again.
but then, i do think Ben and Janine are best divorced. their marriage is lukewarm at best and Ben is always held by guilt to stay married to her. of course you have to work hard at making the marriage works. but if you can't find it in yourself to confide in your partner about the things not right in your relationship, maybe it wasn't meant to be. Ben was suffering. he doesn't know how to convey that he's not happy without having Janine freaked out and feeling an ass himself. so he rebelled by smoking as in retaliation.
Well, enough of that. This however is my favourite scene of the movie:
Plot:
Laurel and Audrey (both by Zoe Kazan) are identical twins. Although they look the same on the outside, their personalities are very different. After their mom died, Audrey has left the town to work as a real estate agent in the city whilst Laurel stays home to take care of their father, Frank (John Carrol Lynch.
On the day of their birthday, Audrey comes back home where she notices how unhappy Laurel is when Hunter (Sterling Beaumont) makes a pass at Audrey. It upsets Laurel as the morning beforehand she has lost her virginity to Hunter.
After the birthday party, Audrey invites Laurel to stay with her in the city. Trying to cheer Laurel up, Audrey takes her out for a makeover where innocently Laurel has asked the hairdresser to cut her hair similarly to Audrey's. At first it is kind of upsetting Audrey but she got over it, as they talk it over the drive home.
When they get in a severe car crash together, Laurel is taken to the hospital and is informed that her sister has died. Suffering from post-traumatic amnesia, Laurel doesn't remember being who she is at first. The morning of her sister's funeral, she remembers who she is but decides to keep everyone thinking that it was she who had died and not Audrey. It is not on purpose but rather because her father's girlfriend let slip about how weird Laurel is as she was about to tell Frank that it is Audrey who died. Her words make Laurel keep silent. Then at the funeral, nobody seems to have anything to say the last words in the memory of her. getting hysterical, Laurel rants about her disappointment at everyone for taking Laurel for granted before running away to Hunter's. There she is further aghast when Hunter confesses that it was Audrey that he loves, not Laurel.
Feeling dejected, Laurel then flies back to the city where Audrey used to live. There, she meets her sister's tenant Basel (Jake Johnson) who is confused about her sudden change of personality, because Audrey was never nice to him before.
Living her life posing as her sister, she learns that Audrey had a boyfriend, Charles (Ron Livingston) who is married, but broke up with him before the accident. Laurel continues to spend more time with Basel and Audrey's best friend Claudia (Frankie Shaw), who is suspicious about Audrey's change of behavior.
Laurel begins a relationship with Basel, and they fall in love.
When she finally feels that she is adapting to her new life, she accidentally tells her boss that Charles is her ex-boyfriend, not knowing that Charles is actually her boss's husband, and gets fired immediately. Shortly after this, Basel proposes to Laurel saying that he loved her since he first met her. Laurel, unable to continue deceiving everyone, decides to tell Basel the truth about her being Laurel all along. Devastated, Basel breaks up with her.
Laurel returns to her father's home and he is shocked after she tells him the truth. They have another funeral for Audrey, since the first one was for Laurel. After this, Laurel realizes how much people cared for both her and her sister, helping her come to terms with her own insecurities about being the less fortunate one of the pair.
Laurel returns to the city as herself and looks for Basel who still loves her. In the end he forgives her, they share a kiss and start making plans for the future.
Review:
i have always been a fan of ZK after watching her movie What If with Daniel Radcliffe. She's quirky and i love how her whole face lights up when she smiles.
and in this movie, she doesn't disappoint. her portrayal of Laurel's frustration and bewilderment is topnotch. it was an honest mistake that happens at first but in her journey to find her true self, Laurel understandably decided to live her cool twin's life for a change. when she found the equally quirky Basel, she really fell for him. and he her. i love how comfortable they are in their playful quirkiness.. it is really heart-rendering.
the movie is ok enough to enjoy. it's a simple movie on how to deal about losing someone. first you have to move on, change the scenery, deal with the situation and lastly have someone companionable to share your loss. it is not easy, but it is going to be worth it. as for Laurel, she was finally brave enough to reach out and say out loud what she wants, that is to share her life with Basel, whom i might add, is handsome in his own sweet way :D
