Comments on: DVD Review: Two Lovers

By: taly

taly — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:11:35 +0000

after watching this movie I was left with a inkling for wanting to know more. I love movies that end leaving the rest to your imagination. I too believe that Vanissa Shaw;s performance was wonderful. Her character was weak, yet her performance was everything but. I am a huge Joaquin fan and I thought he did a great job playing such a weak, depressing character. He is a strong actor and seems to bring a lot to each role he has played. Not a huge paltrow fan, but I think she also played her role well

By: Andrew James

Andrew James — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:06:15 +0000

So my roommate rented this last night so I watched it with her. Gotta say… not so much.

I liked the performances and Vanissa Shaw is major cutie. Looking like Hilary Swank is bonus but I didn’t really like th story at all. It was very frustrating and rang completely false to me.

I did really like the direction but all of the characters rubbed me the wrong way.

Still, I feel like this is one of those movies that after I watch a few more times I could really grow to love. Now that I can get the lameness of the story out of the way, I can concentrate on everything else that is good.

By: Marina

Marina — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:45:50 +0000

I think it was Dr. Kermode that I heard call James Gray a “mans man” type of director. I wonder what he means by that because his central characters (at least in this and WOTN) are far from “manly”. If anything they’re lost, tortured, confused and even childish.

By: Ross Miller

Ross Miller — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:18:45 +0000

@Andrew James,

I actually really quite liked We Own The Night. I think I “over-starred” it with 4 out of 5 when I saw it when it came out, but I still maintain it’s a solid watch.

Just as a tidbit: I believe Michael Madsen said in an interview (with Empire magazine, I think) that he walked out of the movie. Wonder why, seems like it’s right up his alley

By: Matt Gamble

Matt Gamble — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:26:29 +0000

I’ll never quite understand how films like this do not get wide release and the crap in the multiplex does.

It comes down strictly to money, and Magnolia simply doesn’t have enough of it to give many of their films the push for a wide release. For better or worse, they are a niche distributor.

By: Andrew James

Andrew James — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:42:35 +0000

Hey Jandy,

I would say don’t bother with We Own the Night. It isn’t horrible (the carjack scene is actually pretty amazing), but there are simply better things to do with your time. It’s just kind of meh (with just a couple of scenes that are pretty rad).

By: Jandy Stone

Jandy Stone — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:25:28 +0000

Wow, I remember when this came out in theatres, and I immediately wrote it off, expecting it to be overwrought angst that went nowhere based on the trailer. Marketing fail. I might have to give it another shot now. And We Own the Night, as well, which I never got around to seeing.

By: Andrew James

Andrew James — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:56:31 +0000

Well damn. This is not what I expected at all. You’re right about We Own the Night; the best thing about it was the delicate directing of the city. The story and characterizations were ho-hum, but the city bits were awesome.

I love directors who can capture moments of interaction between people and still keep the vibe of their surroundings just as important as the dialogue (see My Blueberry Nights for a great example of this).

I’m adding this movie to the Netflix queue now.

By: Andrew James

Andrew James — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:54:06 +0000

“Phoenix walk a fine line”

Am I the only one who thinks this is funny?

By: Michael W. May

Michael W. May — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:35:59 +0000

I’ll never quite understand how films like this do not get wide release and the crap in the multiplex does.

Thanks for the heads up on this; I doubt I ever would have known it existed otherwise.