okay - i liked "love actually" as did most of my friends. and before you go a judging and a chopping - my soul is blacker than yours.
Kat, just for you, I'll say something nice about the movie:
That was a good idea, using bubble wrap as part of that kid's octopus costume.
Only did they ever EXPLAIN why the nativity play involved lobsters and octopi? No, because it was just there to be CLOYING AND CUTE. Okay, I'm sorry, I have to chop.
Yeah, as far as romantic comedies go, it had WAY more than its fair share of excessively cutesy/unrealistic moments. The soundtrack is excellent, though.
my climbing partner loved that movie. i have not seen it - i have an allergy to cute.
although, i did LOVE finding nemo. so sue me.
please don't chop our fingers. climbers really need those.
Yeah... for a film that featured a veritable LAUNDRY LIST of reasons I might purchase a movie ticket, it was thoroughly disatisfying. My sister and I have a ratings system for romantic comedies, whereby they are scored on the basis of how miserable one feels at the end that Mr. Knightly and Mr. Darcy have never bothered to arrive at OUR houses to right all that's wrong: it's a scale of 1 to 5 bullets to the head, 5 being a real killer, after which the pathos of one's tragic love life makes one want to off oneself, and 1 being pretty lame, overall - no problem.
I gave Love Actually a .5, and only because Colin Firth and Alan Rickman were in it.
Wait, Sarah, maybe you got up and went to the bathroom at the part when the little boy said he wasn't thinking about his dead mother but about a girl. Wasn't that ADORABLE? Or later when he broke about ten thousand laws busting through airport security to follow his ten-year old heart. Sooooo cute. The only thing I can complain about is NOT ENOUGH DENISE RICHARDS, who is talented and lovely and not trashy or mechanical in any way. In fact, many movies have this not-enough-Denise-Richards problem. I'm going to start some sort of petition.
I loved it, actually (<- had to do it). Anyway, I thought the movie was pretty good. I love Hugh Grant.
yeah, more denise richards;
she out-teeths julia roberts by a smile--
uh, mile--other than that,
i won't gush--pinkie swear!
:)
ooooh lord. i thought this movie was wretched. it was alright until that kid went to 'america'...then it just turned into a bunch of silly cameos and cheesy coincidences. it just ended too happily. and did ANYONE believe that emma thompson was hugh grants YOUNGER sister?! i thought not... but, i must say, it DID make me want to go home and snuggle up with my family and fiance in london...that is, if i had either such things.
i'm wondering what a "magic negro film" is and what makes it something one has to overcome in order to like a movie.
Cute movie. rodrigo santoro is so hot!
Totally trite, and completely contrived, but I must confess that I adored the note-cards-on-the-doorstep scene... not that I'm celebrating infidelity, or the wandering eye, but hello, Andrew Lincoln is a babe, and Keira Knightley is a stick, but a stunning one at that.
Conversation between me and my sister on the way to the car:
Me: "Oh my god, the guy with the cards."
Her: "Totally."
M: "I need a guy with cards."
H: "Yeah, but then you'd be married to the wrong guy."
M: "I'm not getting married."
H: "So, no guy with cards. You're up a creek."
M: "Damnit."
i agree with a.march!
Yeah, why are school pageants in movies always so stupid? It totally reminded me of Stepmom, where the kids put on a Thanksgiving play with Bill Clinton coming to dinner. Lame, lame, lame.
Oh, anyone have any guesses on whatever happened between Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman? Did they divorce, separate, patch things up...? I HATE it when they leave stuff like that unresolved, especially since every other storyline, even the really trite ones, wrapped up so nicely!
Yeah, totally confusing with weird/no character development.
And the dad and son Kate and Leo thing just totally killed it for me.
But like a good little sap, I still cried when Colin Firth did the proposal thing.
I hate myself.
i cried from the beginning to the end. i had a trip to london planned for "five weeks before christmas" and had been looking forward to it for months. then i was fired from my job and had to cancel it. so when i saw the caption at the beginning i lost it. plus, christmas depresses me anyway. i don't think i was in the right frame of mind. heh.
Really want to see Love Actually despite reviews. Nice and easy way to spend a couple of brainless hours.
And just curious, but what exactly is a magic negro film?
ok ok ok...see weirdness here is that my fiance who usually hates this stuff really liked it and me the angliophile totally thought it was waaay to cutesy and ordinary, however we both agreed the best part was when hugh grant was knocking on doors looking for the eastender girl and the little girls asked him to sing christmas carols and they danced the awesomest dances in the world..that alone makes me want to have kids....in 7 years.
Movie reviews, yakuza style! So, when do you start doing samurai movies?
QueSeraSera, I don't like foreign films, so I won't see either of the movies you mentioned. I haven't liked a foreign movie since Crocodile Dundee. Also, I can't believe that I'm the first one to post to your guestbook. That's, like, the best Christmas present I could ask for.
Love actually was the best romantic movie i've seen since The Fast and the Furious 2.
Crocidile Dundee was the best foreign movie EVER! Well, excet for Star Wars. Greedo rules.
uh oh.
can i take it back???
Magic Negro?! wow. Please do explain or expand. And I have seen the movie, so I don't mean the character but rather your insight as to what a Magic Negro is. thanks.
i haven't seen in america, but 'magic negro' usually means loveable black characters with supernatural abilities or wisdom that save the day (usually for white people), perpetuating the thought that they only exist to serve, even if it is in a supposedly positive and heart-warming way. see green mile for further evidence.
I'm what apparantly this group would call a "negro". And I have never heard the term "magic negro". This is obviously a term saved for when all the coloreds leave the room.
I assume that the preferred negro role in a film would be something more "negro" and less magic?
yeah i'm totally curious as to what a "magic negro film" is, myself!
can you define that one please?
okay. anyone freaking out over the usage of "magic negro" is missing the entire point of what sarah said, and is a total assmouse. the very fact that she pointed out the demeaning use of black people in movies (like the matrix, or the green mile) as mystical figures who say adorably faux-philosophical things and "save" white people from themselves is extremely perceptive. to point out something like that, and its wrongness, is the opposite of racist in every way.
and obviously posting something on the freaking INTERNET isn't "saving it for when the coloureds leave the room". stop being so trigger-happy.
Hi Casey. The term "Magic Negro" is only meant as derogatory toward the condescending filmmakers who make movies featuring such a crappy role.
The preferred role for any character in any film -- black, Asian, American Indian, Mung -- is that of an actual character, rather than the pile of wise cliches that a lot of crappy screenwriters and directors often substitute for writing a character of color as a real person. This school of writing (known as "Crappy," "Racist," or both) assumes that if a non-white character crosses the screen, he or she is there to A) provide comic relief, B) dispense nuggets of wisdom as a service for whatever white person happens to be walking by, and above all C) not be a realistic, fleshed-out character, so that he or she may devote more time to A) and B).
Again, the term is meant as derogatory only toward the attitudes of the filmmakers, and their resultant treatment (that is, their complete reduction to another set of sterotypes) of entire groups of people.
Ugh. The moral of Love Actually is that, despite the fact that war and hatred are destroying the world right now, quirky middle class and posh people are blessed with love. Except the frazzled non-profit worker with the mentally ill brother...and the hard-working middle aged mother. Come to think of it, the only women in this movie who find romantic love are two ass-licking secretaries, a beautiful cleaning lady and the lovely Keira Knightly, who looks like a malnourished Britney Spears and doesn't seem to have an occupation other than bride and object of affection. The worst part of it is that I fucking bought it and cried the whole way through. But that was because I'd just sent a loved one off to the airport. Blee.
I love faggots with AIDS.
Morgan freeman = quintessential magic negro.
What Another Mark said.
I'm glad several people stepped up to the mic on the magic negro bit. Thanks. Obviously, it wasn't meant in any sort of offensive way.
Also, I didn't mind the Hugh Grant bits in the movie. Had they cut out the stupider side characters and just focused on Grant story and the Rickman/Thompson characters, that would have been a sweet silly pseudo-sappy movie I could handle.
Also: America: as much as you would like to believe that CHILDREN feel PASSIONATE about one another, despite all the hand-tinted posters on your dorm walls of kids in oversized clothing giving each other ROSES and KISSING, CHILDREN DO NOT FALL IN SERIOUS ADULT LOVE. Jesus Christ, I had a boyfriend when I was 10 too, but I didn't run through airports or think I was in love with him. And that isn't CUTE. It leads to pregnant 13 year olds. For real.
Aside from the bits with Bill Nighly, I hated Love Actually too. I expected more from Richard Curtis. Frankly it felt like a bunch of lesser unused bits from his previous films, all thrown together in a nonsensical wash of sachrine. Kinda like his B-sides or something. Yes that's it. The movie is like Richard Curtis's Pieces Iscariot. And that just won't do.
Re: Love, Actually -- I can't believe nobody commented on how at the end, EVERYONE related to all the subplots comes off the SAME AIRPLANE at the same time??? Gimmee a break.
Yeah, evidently Alan Rickman just took a trip on the divorce plane. Also, everyone but Laura Linney ended up at the airport, which makes the moral of the story "you don't deserve love if you have a retarded brother." A heartwarming holiday classic.
Don't go see love actually by yourself like you would some indy movies, it'll make you never want to have a relationship with anyone ever again. The best part about that movie was Billy Bob as president, ha ha.
Yes, Love Actually=a big bag of missed opportunities (bill nighy, hugh grant as PM, billy bob in a kick-ass cameo, a lovely non-stickfigure brunette in an object-of-affection role, overall killer cast) strung together with ultra-crappy, half-assed romantic comedy cliches. This movie was all over the place. It filled me with hatred. Honestly.
On the other hand, if you DO want a heartwarming Christmas flick, "Elf" actually does a nice job of it. Funny, totally non-ironic sweet holiday fun. Pretty stylish, too. Give it a twirl.
I loved Elf. That part where he picks up his brother from school and says, "Good news! I saw a dog today!" made me laugh even when the scene was over.
maybe someday i will star in a movie as a magic half-chink. well i can dream, can't i?
Last time I laughed at the movies was when somebody tripped down the aisle...
I was forced to see Love, Actually because I was in movie switching mode and otherwise would have had to go out and face grim reality. It was the theater next door and there were lots of ushers about at the time. The main thing I noticed was the fact that the only people who found true love were the people who had only had 1-2 conversations. Anyone who seemed to know anyone else in any way (e.g., husband and wife) seemed incapable of loving them. Love=anonymity.
Thus I found it not 'cute' but a dark statement on the impossibility of genuine human connection.
I hope my pinky is safe.
to the person that commented on them all coming off the same plane: that was the entire basis of the movie, if you've read about it at all- that it all ends with everyone in the airport and it's all leading up to that. personally, i thought it was one of the best movies i've seen in a long time, so good that when i left, i was thoroughly depressed.
love, actually = extreme frustration. i have a fairly high tolerance level for lame movies, but this one had SUCH POTENTIAL. it was that much more of a letdown. fooey.
p.s.--crazy jane's rating system for romantic comedies is hilarious. i'm telling my sister about it asap.
then "schindler's list"
would be a magic czech film,
"saving private ryan"
would be a magic ranger captain film,
and "erin brokovich"
would be a magic smiling floozy film
or am i somehow misunderstanding the concept?
btw,
any time you encounter a term you don't understand, google it...
in this case,
you will get approximately one dozen results,
using the term with either "film" or "movie"
and a good explanation of it in terms of
"the green mile"
and i guess mel gibson's new movie
is a "magic jew film"
You have to admit, the old rocker guy was pretty funny!
Stacy: You are absolutely one hundred percent correct. Excellent work. You get an A for the day.
If I see you walking down the street, I'll cross to the other side because I quiet like my pinkie finger.
I am often quiet, like my pinky finger. My pinky finger in the ultimate silence.
Me, I'm pretty vocal in my love for my pinkie finger.
i saw love actually yesterday, and i want to thank you, sarah brown, for softening the disappointment for me.
the only romance i was rooting for was hugh grant + the chubby girl. everybody else can suck it.
also, did anyone else think it would have been way cuter if during the little placard wooing scene, the "to me, you are perfect" were not directed at keira knightly, who IS perfect? ugh.
p.s. can i be the magic persian?
Yeah, you know, cause you're far too cool to like something like that.
"Magic negro film"?
Oh, sure, let me explain.
My pinky really comes out on friday night.
listen sarah, i don't know if you'll see this or i'm repeating since you get 843,973 comments... but i liked love, actually; actually.
with the exception of the meaningless and horrible hugh grant character's story line it was a decent film.
plus, the porno stand-in thing was one of the most awesome thigngs i have seen in months.
My friends gushed about Love Actually and how you couldn't help but leave feeling happy. I saw it this weekend and was left wondering what in the fucking HELL they were talking about. Not only is it trite and simpering, it does NOT leave one feeling happy but rather melancholy, and with an asshole of a headache.
i'll let you know when
"love actually"
reaches the 3/$ wall...
meanwhile,
forgive me if i asked this already,
bit did anyone else notice that
"Bridgit Jones Diary"
was a magic pride and prejudice film?
his name was Darcy, even!
please, dear friend, post something else so I can stop thinking about people's disappointing tastes.
Not the people who hated it, though.
Bridget Jones actually is based on Pride and Prejudice. Mark Darcy = Mr. Darcy, Daniel = Mr. Wickham, and Mark rescues Bridget's mother from her own stupidity just like Mr. Darcy rescues Lydia. Helen Fielding, the author, said the similarities were intentional. I think the sequal (The Edge of Reason) might be based on Persuasion
The "Secret Santa" movie on NBC last night turned out to be a "magic negro" film.
C'mon, now. No matter how many times they tried to convince us that Hugh Grant's secretary was chubby (by saying so repeatedly!), she was NOT chubby by any means. She's a slim but *curvy* woman. Curves = good. Stick = bad. Repeat after me. (Obviously some people will believe it if they hear it enough times. And again!))
i love that your post is quite short, but your comment box is amazingly long. and funny.
all of my friends have been attempting to convince me to see L.A. but I'm just not into it after whats been said about it. this is better than ebert & theotherguy
:is also fond of her pinkie finger, will do anything to avoid 'ghost finger' syndrome.
this post, and its comments, were the highlight of my afternoon.
sarah, i love your readers.
Tonight I saw Big Fish. I cried. Both eyes, tears down the cheeks. So you knows it's good & heartwarming. Related to yr post: I like Hugh Grant, but don't want to. What's up with that?