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Capone really things Ridley Scott needs to change the title of his new film, A GOOD YEAR!!!
Hey, everyone. Capone in Chicago here. I've been hearing rumblings for a little over a month that there was something not quite right about this frilly fare concerning a ruthless London investment expert (Russell Crowe) who rediscovers his softer side when he visits the French vineyard where he spent the better part of his formative years. But as I sat down to watch what I thought, at worst, would be a passably dull voyage of self-discovery, I had no concept of just how abysmally awful A Good Year would turn out to be.
The problems are apparent from the beginning. Crowe plays the shrewd Max Skinner as a charming rogue. Crowe is an awesome actor who has spent his entire career giving us memorable characters, almost without fail. But rarely has he pulled off charming, and certainly never to the level where he can carry what is essentially a male "chick flick" (a term I abhor and almost never use). A Good Year is also supposed to be amusing, bordering on a comedy. Again, Crowe isn't exactly known as the Giggle King, and there are dozens of lines in this film that clearly are supposed to induce laughter that just hang there like a dense fart in a room with no breeze.
What absolutely kills me is that this movie represents a reunion between Crowe and director Ridley Scott, the pair that knocked my socks off with Gladiator. You can be a Gladiator hater, but when I first saw it on a big-ass screen with a beefy sound system, it rattled my fillings. I don't expect this reteaming to yield similar results, but I'd at least expect them to try to make something different. A Good Year breaks no new ground. In fact, it shamelessly tramples on some disgustingly familiar territory. Anyone who saw Under the Tuscan Sun might have an idea of the tone of this film; screenwriter Marc Klein (Serendipity) makes sure of that with his adaptation of Peter Mayle's book.
The most frustrating thing about this film is that most of the elements are there. Skinner's uncle (the energetic Albert Finney) raised him at the picturesque vineyard as boy after his parents died. Young Max is played thoughtfully by Freddie Highmore (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; Finding Neverland). But when Max gets old enough, he leaves behind the serene Provençal lifestyle for life in the big city. We don't quite get the missing piece to the Max puzzle—his journey from sweet kid to sublime asshole adult—and that may be part of the problem with the movie. When Uncle Henry dies, he leaves his estate to Max, who has no interest in holding onto it. After a possibly illegal bit of dirty (and quite successful) trading on the London stock market, Max decides it's time for a holiday (if only to avoid being fired or arrested). The vineyard is in disrepair, so Max decides to clean it up a bit with help from the staff and sell it with the help of his sleazy realtor (Tom Hollander of Pirates of the Caribbean).
Naturally Max begins to grow fond of the property and the people, especially a beautiful waitress played by French actress Marion Cotillard (probably best know for her work in the Taxi film). Max also gets an unexpected visit from a young American woman (fellow Australian actor Abbie Cornish) who appears to be the illegitimate child of his uncle and may have a rightful claim to the vineyard.
The cringe factor really takes hold in this work whenever Max harkens back to how wonderful and carefree his childhood was with his uncle, who would let Max sip various wines and pretty much just have free reign and no responsibilities. Nothing is more boring on film than watching someone else have fun. I count myself a fan of most of the major players in this film, but there's no denying they are floundering here, Crowe most of all. I've grown quite fond of Abbie Cornish lately, having seen her put forth powerful performances in the Australian offerings Somersault and Candy (opposite Heath Ledger, which should come out in the United States fairly soon), but she seems completely uninspired with her California girl accent and ultra-tiny bikini.
I guess my only question to Scott and Crowe is: Why? Why this project? Why this story? Were you both looking to prove you could do something beyond extraordinary action and intense drama? I'm all for actors and directors stretching their wings and showing us their range, but not when the results fail so resoundingly. A Good Year is a failure of the highest magnitude, and if you read this and still go to see it, you have no one to blame but yourself. Enjoy.
Capone
capone@aintitcoolmail.com
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For this article needs fixed. Oh is this my first First?! Seems so...Sweet farting leprechauns!
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I thought this looked a bit iffy but wow, after Kingdom of Heaven (extended) who would have thought this was coming? New title: Tripe - from the director of G.I. Jane!
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"A Good Year is a failure of the highest magnitude, and if you read this and still go to see it, you have no one to blame but yourself. Enjoy."
Maybe Capone should consider the possibility that to disagree with him doesn't equal being wrong.
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'nuff sed
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Because it's very apparent that Rid and Russ were having too much fun making this film to really worry about whether it was going to be a box office success or not. Yup, it's a lethargic and often indulgent film, but this was clearly a case of Scott and Crowe chucking a few bucks in to work together again. The end result is warm and comforting - you've shortchanged it somewhat, Al.
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Just watch his American 60 Minutes interview. Just a bit of giggling there - most alarming.
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A year in Provance by peter Mayle.
The book was a sensation when it was published. The tv show was an absolute disaster for the bbc. It starred the late great John Thaw. Which guaranteed it to be a success. It wasnt. and thaw who was a shy man and bit gruff. Never gave any interviews ever again for rest of his life. Thaw never spoke about it. such was the slating it got. And it was ultimately Mayle who fled the south of france after he got tired of people stopping him in the street and return to provance bombed. Mayle didnt like and doesnt the Current french govt. -
Damn you Michael Bay
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But that has nothing to do with this film, which I'm sure, does not suck as badly as Pearl Harbour.
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I thought the only director Crowe didn't want to bludgeon with a blunt instrument was Ron Howard.
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When you say things like "there's no denying they are floundering here, Crowe most of all." AND "Nothing is more boring on film than watching someone else have fun." It makes me wonder if you've seen a movie before. Because many of the films I have seen portray people having fun, and hey, it's almost never boring. Then, to make a statement that everyone is floundering but then to NOT explain why they are floundering just plain sucks. It's obvious the subject matter didn't grab you, the thematics of the story were unrelatable to you, and since you're from Chicago I would imagine vinyards are like another planet for you, or maybe like The Shire, a fantasy land that can't possibly be real. My guess is you just didn't relate to anything in the film, so that must mean it sucks, right? Right?
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...and it really is as bad as Quint and the other reviewers indicate. We're talking 'Gigli' bad here. And I LIKE Abbie Cornish's bikini (even though it's more clothing than in her most memorable scenes in both Somersault and Candy). What the hell they were thinking is beyond me, but I find it amusing that the light 'Oscar' talk dancing about this movie has not only fled, but is now denying it ever existed.
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by making this film. He appeared on Friday night with Jonathan Ross, wasted. Which kind of destroys the bs that he has cleaned up and is now sober. The first film he made in Hollywood was a long forgotten film with Salma Hayek. Guess what it was a comedy. too. He then tried the macho route and became a winner. in master and commander he looked all at sea, pardon the pun and he looked like he was enjoying the rum too much.
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title should be "Fightin 'Round the World"
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Crowe has blown me away consistently in almost every role he has taken (his greatest being "The Insider" in my opinion). I agree with Capone, after seeing this, the same word echoed in my head over and over. "Why?" why why why
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A FISTFUL OF KNUCKLES, and edit gunfighhts and fireballs and exploding helicopters into the trailer. And put exploding helicopters on the poster, as well. I point you towards the US edition of Park Chan-wook's JOINT SECURITY AREA, whose cover features enormous fireballs and helicopters, neither of which are actually in the film in any way, shape, or form.
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and fightin' 'round the world! Best episode of any show ever. I even dressed up as South Park's Russell Crowe for Halloween last year.
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That was more like a plot summation than a review. I thought the movie was great. I laughed at those little one liners as did my audience. i thought Russell Crowe was brilliant. I thought the movie was beautifully photographed. it was fun and it looked like everyone had fun. Sure it wasn't anything original. Most movies out of Hollywood lately arnt. To me it was like watching to buddies make a little movie with there camcorder on the weekends. Just for fun. I recommend it. Either you like it or you dont. Ridley Scott is god, Blade Runner and Alien proved that. he can do whatever the hell he wants in my opinion.
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Maximus's idyllic life is disrupted by an uprising in Tartarus that threatens all of paradise. An epic war ensues. Could be a trilogy of films.
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And Capone (while a little over the top) is right. We're ushered through this movie and we know how it will end all sappy and happy but it is hard to believe that this young kid who would arguably have the best childhood in the history of childhoods would suddenly turn into a giant CACK and never see his beloved uncle again. SHITE
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"Look at me! I'm rich! Always have been! I got nookie as a kid AND a bitter adult! Now pay money to see me do it all!" ... Uhhhh... No thanks.
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Plissken you have a badass name which is why you shouldn't be saying really gay things like "Ridley Scott is god", and you can't be drooling over a chick flic. Now you must go get drunk and get in a bar fight to make up for it. Ok that's all, I have no other homophobic or insecure statements to make at this juncture. I'm really just killing time until I go out to see Borat tonight.
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Wasn't there an English show last year that edited together security camera footage from pubs and clubs of Rusty and his fisticuffs? I'm from Oz and there was some legal reason why they couldn't show it on telly here but they played the audion on drivetime radio talkshows every chance they could. Comedy gold.
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You're killing me, LMAO.
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The tv show (A Year In Provence) was a fat waddling turkey of a thing; another yuppie fantasy about how much it sucks to be rich in the English speaking world. Ridley Scott should've known better. If the basic premise is pretentious and stultifying, then anything that comes out of it is going to suck as well. I'm with Nosferatu Jones; if I went back to my idyllic childhood, I'd be in a fibro shack in South-West Sydney, living on boiled potato and shit.
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I'd punch the shit out of you! But I'm not. I am, however, moviegoer with no interest in seeing this film. Even the previews can't make it look interesting. If previews suck, you can usually bet the movie's gonna. Remember, Ridley Scott also made crap like G.I. Jane, White Squall and quite a few other turkeys. His crap and his so-so films far outnumber his good stuff.
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Probably biggest miscasting of the year. Russel Crowe as male Diane Lane is like Orlando Bloom as ancient Roman heartthrob, medieval crusade blacksmith heartthrob, blacksmith pirate heartthrob, and American shoe designer heartthrob. Oh wait, that actually happened.
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Wanna know what my things are on this movie? I dont know.
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At first you made sense, then your post really lost me. Maybe I'm on drugs, or maybe you are. Seriously, were you trying to make sense, or a point, or anything?
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Perhaps this will finally make people realize that Ridly Scott is actually a hack who has had a few moments of brilliance - rather than the other way around. For every Blade Runner, Alien, and Gladiator there's a dozen fecal films in his name. But then perhaps not. Ridley Scott seems to be one of these directors who gets lauded as a 'master' no matter what level of rubbish he puts out.
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