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Another viewer cherishes his visit to ELIZABETHTOWN!
SPOILER ALERT !!
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with a spy by the name of MidnightBomber, who caught a test screening of ELIZABETHTOWN. I've said it before and I'll say it again. I love Crowe's movies and I can't wait to see this one! Some spoilers below, so tread lightly if you don't like that kind of thing! Enjoy!
Hey, Harry & Co.
I was able to catch a test screening of "Elizabethtown" last night, so I thought I'd write in and give my $.02.
When a friend called to say he had scored tickets for a free test screening - an unfinished director's cut of 'some movie' - I jumped at the chance. It seems like Memphis rarely gets to host this kind of thing, so I wasn't going to pass it up.
When I found out we were seeing "Elizabethtown," I'll admit to being a little disappointed. I had been hoping for a film like "Serenity" or "Narnia" - you know, something I could sink my geek chompers into.
I must say, however, that I was very pleasantly surprised.
WARNING: Some spoilers to follow…..
This film had a lot to absorb, so I'll just break it down and give my reaction to each piece.
Orlando Bloom: Bloom does a superb job portraying Drew Baylor, the only "successful" man in his family, now carrying the secret of his recent colossal failure. When the call comes that his father has suddenly died of a heart attack, Drew must travel to his father's flyspeck hometown in Kentucky as the representative of the "California" side of the family. This forces him to suspend his calmly -even whimsically- laid plans to kill himself until family business is cared for. Fortunately, this trip does not devolve into some profound voyage of discovery for Drew, as lesser films would most certainly have strived for. Instead, the film is content to let Drew make small steps, to deal with life as real people do - one day at a time. He doesn't reach any grand epiphanies and reaffirm his humanity while rescuing children from burning buildings. No, nothing so dramatic would dare make its way into the life of such an ordinary guy. Like most of us, he doesn't always have a clear plan. He doesn't always know what he's doing, what he wants, or even what he's feeling. In his life, sometimes things just happen. Bloom is able to convey all this and more in the most complex, layered performance I have seen from him. And yet he does it quietly, understated, as if he were more intent on serving the character in the way it deserved, rather than serving his career with a dramatic role.
Kirsten Dunst: As Claire, Dunst is surprisingly great, bringing a charm and reality to what could easily have become the trite and formulaic "quirky love interest" we've all seen far too many times. Her presence, designed to be slightly invasive and painfully colorful at first, mellows as time passes. With each successive scene, we see her become more human. Instead of staying in the mold of the "eccentric force of change", Claire shows that all her colors run deeper than they seemed to at first. We see her struggle to maintain the free-spirit persona she clings to like a security blanket, as if telling herself she doesn't really care will make things easier. She is flawed, and even a little lost. Yet, as she nudges Drew towards the release and closure that he so desperately needs, we watch as she finds herself, too. I can honestly say that in this film, Dunst's presence is both a spark of life and a warm, comforting glow. As Bloom did, she respects the character enough to breathe real life into it, to make you believe every word and every glance.
Supporting characters: Respect for the characters is a universal theme throughout this movie, and the large supporting cast of is no exception. Whether it's the mischievous child with an ear-piercing scream, or his never-was rock band father, or Chuck and Cindy (see the movie and you'll know exactly who I'm talking about), each puts their own mark on the story. Whether they're newfound family or just there for laughs, each one is given a chance to be more than just a caricature. Each has a soul, and a reason for doing what they do. Possibly the best example is Drew's mother, played by Susan Sarandon in a role that made me forget I don’t like her very much. Her growth, and her unorthodox struggle with grief, felt real.
Simply put, I loved this film. It reminds me of a less angst-y "Garden State," another film I thoroughly enjoyed. The unfinished cut was quite long - about 2.5 hours - and while I know some scenes should probably be removed for pacing's sake, I can't think of a single scene I would want them to cut. The eclectic soundtrack fit perfectly in ways difficult to describe. The humor, clever and absurd, brought an enjoyable dimension to what could have been an unnecessarily heavy film.
This is a film that's easy to respect, because it respects the audience. It respects them by giving them realistic, well-rounded characters; by letting dramatic things happen without playing them up for cheap tear-jerker fare; by letting things hang and simmer without immediate resolution, giving us a chance to drink it in and experience it along with the characters; and by giving us hope that even the most colossal failure, even the biggest fiasco, can lead to the things we least expect.
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As I've always said, it's better to see a Cameron movie than a Russell. I am glad to hear that Legolas can actually act.
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Always have loved Cameron Crowe's flicks. Was hoping this would come out in July like it was supposed to, if only to give us something to see during that dire period between mid-July and mid-August.
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...when it was called "Garden State"!
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Try this ...no cheating..
This test only has one question, but it's a very important one. By giving an honest answer, you will discover where you stand morally. No one else will know, so you wont be fooling anyone but yourself if you give anything but a truthful answer.
The test features an unlikely, completely fictional situation in which you will have to make a decision. Remember that your answer needs to be honest, yet spontaneous.
Please read slowly and thoughtfully, giving due consideration to each line.
Here's the situation: You are in Florida; Miami to be specific. There is chaos all around you caused by a hurricane with severe flooding. This is a flood of biblical proportions. You are a photo journalist working for a major newspaper, and you're caught in the middle of this epic disaster.
The situation is nearly hopeless. You're trying to shoot career-making photos. There are houses and people swirling around you, some disappearing under the water. Nature is unleashing all of its destructive fury. Suddenly you see a man floundering in the water.
He is fighting for his life, trying not to be taken down with debris. You move closer...somehow the man looks familiar. You suddenly realize who it is. It's George W. Bush, President of the United States!! At the same time you notice that the raging waters are about to take him under... forever. You have two options-you can save the life of G.W.Bush, or you can shoot a dramatic Pulitzer Prize winning photo, documenting the death of one of the world's most powerful men.
So here's the question, and please give an honest answer:
Would you select high contrast color film, or would you go with the classic simplicity of black and white?
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..genuinely slimy.Presumably written by the studios very own Grima Wormtongue.This kind of shit puts me off seeing it."Susan Sarandon in a role that made me forget I don
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Didn't Moriarty say that he saw this? Where's his review? What about his A History...review? Why do we have to wait until the movies open to see these? Anticipation is much better than surprise! Sheesh!
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You've seen from Bloom eh??
So that'll be two wafer thin bits of ham arranged into a 2 piece puzzle rather than what we've normally come to expect then. -
Sep 09, 2005 8:47:47 AM CDT
I love snobbish people who think because a plot is similar to an
by wackynephews
...they gain some sort of geek street cred for pointing it out. My god people, do you realize that The Island and Parts: The Clonus Horror are the same movie? No, fuckwit, they're the same plot, different movie. Until you realize that there's a difference between a plot and a whole movie stick to wanking off to Fincher's latest opus.
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....there's some real hostility floating around out there :-) For the record, I'm not a plant, and it really did remind me of "Garden State". Don't agree? Hey, that's cool. Just thought I'd share.
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If you read the back of any random porn video box and replaced the word "fuck" with "charm" you'd have an instant Crowe movie blurb. Not hatin. Just sayin.
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And a fine, fine director to boot. I think Vanilla Sky was just about the most subversive film to appear out of a studio in decades, and Say Anything and Almost Famous are so dear to me its almost impossible to quantify.
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And it did look a heck of a lot like Garden State. In fact, I heard no fewer than three people around me say, "I like it when it was called Garden State". Either it is the same movie or the studio is really stupid (or arrogant) for putting out a trailer that makes it seem that way. By the way, here's a fun drinking game you can play with your friends: Any time you hear the guy who does every single voiceover in every single trailer, guess which catchphrase he's going to go with. The choices are, A) "In a time..." B) "In a world" or my personal favorite (and the one I correctly chose during the Greatest Game Ever Played trailer) C) "But sometimes..." I'm telling you, it's fun for the whole family.
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LOL
"In the city.....you must fight to survive. He sold tortillas at a corner stand....and the mob wanted in!"
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Which is the most offensive term for sweet, sweet puddy?
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LOL - too funny. Another drinking (or whatever) game is to rent any Jennifer Lopez flick (oh - stawp let me finish) and evrytime someone calls her "beautiful" you have one. We rented Gili and were loaded to the gills by the end.
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Garden State, Garden State, Garden State. That is all.
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Everyone should cut this talented chick some slack. I know she lost her looks in Spiderman 2 a bit, but she's getting it all back. not only is she doing well with her career, doing period films also, but she also has set aside plenty of time to do another album with her music band The Sugarbabes. As the only blonde, caucasian singer in The Sugarbabes, she brings a great, endearing girl next door quality to the bands streetsmart approach and conveyence in their soul ballards. Whe also looks real hot with her eye make up in their new video 'Push the Button' as she gets it on with a male model in a lift. Worth checking out. Do a Google search for it.
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Wonder if any of The Sugarbabes will do a song for the soundtrack to this. Be good to have Kirsten Dunst and the rest of her group contribute to this film, maybe even see Kirsten sing a bit of the track in the actual movie.
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The reviewer says, "You know, something I could sink my geek chompers into." A real movie geek would jump at the chance to screen a Cameron Crowe movie. Honestly. And to people who insist on likening this to "Garden State"...yes, they look similar. And yes, I enjoyed "Garden State." But for God's sake...Cameron Crowe has had this in development for AT LEAST three years. Cut him some slack. And even more about "Garden State"...one might even be tempted to say that "Garden State" ripped off "Beautiful Girls" or "Moonlight Mile." They're similar in tone and topic, but not identical. Everything's derivative.
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is the most offensive. Slit and gash describe the vagina in and of itself, but cunt not only describes the vagina, but also an ugly bitch deity of a woman. Also, Garden State was good, that is all. And coming on the Talkback to claim to not be a plant is the plantiest thing I've ever seen.
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here's the thing. "Garden Staters" are going to go see Elizabethtown and (gasp)still think it reeks of Garden State. Meanwhile Elizabethtowners are going to see Elizabethtown and will see absolutely no similarities to Garden State. So why waste the effort? Here's another revolutionary idea; its actually possibile to like both movies!
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There's always comments like she's 'surprisingly' good as though people are just expecting to bring her down. Well, newsflash, she IS good in just about everything she's in, including Spide 2. And I'm not just saying this because I got excited when she danced in her pants in Eternal Sunshine (which she was also great in) and now I'm pretty much 100% in love with her *apologizes for exhuding geek-like, no-girlfriend behaviour*. However, I refuse to believe that Orlando Bloom will ever pull off a decent leading man performance. I'm sure Kirsten will act him off the screen in this.
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Why would there be a test screening in between the Venice and Toronto Film Festival screenings? He already knows what the critical reaction is, it stinks! One guy hates all but the roadtrip, another guy says it's okay EXCEPT for the roadtrip. One says there is either too much or not enough in it, he can't decide which. One hates Bloom, another hates Dunst. That whole thing is apparently a freakin' mess.
The test screenings didn't help him before, what good would one more do?
When and where was this 'test screening'? -
It is definitely possible to like both films. As I said in the review, I enjoyed both. I meant the "Garden State" comparison as a compliment, not a criticism. Didn't think my observations would start a war, lol :-) Guess I'm naive.
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Put down the conspiracy theory and step away from it slowly :-) I don't know why they had a test screening in between festivals, and I don't particularly give a damn what the "critical reaction" was. If you must know, the test screening was in Collierville, Tennessee, a suburb ten minutes outside of Memphis, at the Malco Towne Cinema. It was at 7:30 p.m. (central standard time) on Wednesday, September 7. If you'd like to investigate further, I'll supply my blood type and shoe size.
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it's weird how like 99% of those test screeners who have written reviews have loved Elizabethtown (even those with the Bloom bias)and the critics seem to be ready to tear the movie to shreds. I have a domino effect theory about critics.........At the rate things seem to be going just wait, by the time the domestic reviews start coming out Elizabethtown will be the worst movie ever made or something.
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I saw the same cut, and loved it. But someone's gotta' be mercilous with Cameron, and trim at least 20 minutes, or it's gonna' tank on word of mouth.
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...it sounds like what I want from a Cameron Crow film. And isn't that what reviews are for!?! We all know reviews and previews and commercials are a load of shit, right? The only thing they are good for is waiting until one comes along that says what you want to hear - this one did it for me. I'm there.
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