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Twilight

Twilight

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Old fashioned but enertaining
Review: A fairly short review here. Yes it is a very laid back story and it is an old-fashioned detective story, but what's wrong with that? I rather liked the theme of old skeletons and past mistakes coming back. To be dealt with once and for all. In contrast to so much of what passes for action movies today I found this movie very watchable. It reminded me of Newman's other detective films, Harper and The Drowning Pool. World weary, cynical, but also hopeful. Pretty good. And what a treat seeing Newman, Garner, Hackman and Sarandon all in the same movie - wow.Personally I think this movie is a great way to pass a quiet evening or a lazy Sunday morning.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: More like "The Two Jakes" than "Chinatown"
Review: A retired PI who lives with a wealthy entertainment family finds himself involved in a mystery. A harmless errand turns into a brush with death and reveals clues to an apparent suicide two decades ago. This drama brings an all star cast, including Gene Hackman, Paul Newman, Susam Sarandon and James Garner as leads.

Twilight however, can't live up to the expectation. One of the problems is the cast itself. Of the 9 major speaking roles, 6 are over 50 years of age, making the plot feel downright elderly. The movie is somber and always serious, but the script has the actors saying and doing silly things. One has to believe that Paul Newman (the retired PD/PI) is basically inept and foolish at the beginning, but dominating and in control by the finale. That situation might be more believable in a rookie film.

But muddled characters are at home in this movie. They appear and disappear as needed, withhold information when they have no reason to, do things that defy explanation, change their loyalties with little reason or complaint. Plot devices that might seem cliche in some directors hands, seem heavyhanded or infantile in this movie. The few action sequences are filmed poorly with one notable exception. Some characters seem to have no point at all and should have been written out. Sarandon, Schreiber and Hackman however, are exceptions and give fine performances. Too bad they had such minor roles.

The plot has major blinders on as well. For instance, Newman is found at multiple crime scenes in comprimising situations. At none of these is he given more than a stern questioning and a nasty look. The motivations of the police are ignored to better serve the mechanations of the plot. For other characters experiences are forgotten, obvious possibilities are ignored, coincidental meetings are commonplace, and the bad guys painstakingly leave a trail back to themselves for Newman. Heck, they may as well have named Reese Witherspoon's character "Plot Device" for all the purpose she has in the movie. Although she may have been included to attract the under 70 crowd.

By the end all of the characters are required to be so mallable and shadowy that none of them seem real, none can be trusted and you certainly cant care enough about their welfare to be concerned about the conclusion.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: a sleeper worth seeing
Review: Admittedly Robert Benton's neo noir "Twilight" suffers from leaden pacing and a script that lacks any real suspense or suprise (two invaluable ingredients in the genre). It also possesses a strange similarity to Arthur Penn's excellent "Night Moves" (also starring Gene Hackman).

That said, "Twilight" proves a most effective small film that benefits from an excellent cast playing at the top of their game.

Robert Benton has always worked wonders with an ensemble cast and ,in "Twilight", he continues his excellent track record as an "actor's" director. Benton's willingness to sit back and let some of films' greatest artists work their magic makes much of the aforementioned pacing issues almost a moot point. Gene Hackman, Susan Sarandon and the always excellent and grossly underrated James Garner all turn in subtle performances here. It really is a sheer privilage and joy watching these veteran masters spin their polished craft. A young Reece Witherspoon and Liev Schriebner also turn in fine performances.

Of course at the center of "Twilight" stands the beautiful artist Paul Newman. Few actors in Hollywood history have consistently turned in as many excellent peformances. Newman proves yet again that a superb actor can transcend a less than stellar script.

This is an actor's film. Anyone craving watching a concert of well tuned instruments played by masters need to look no further. None of the performances are Oscar worthy, which makes them all the more special. Sometimes the best acting occurs when the audience cannot see the wheels spinning and the strings pulling.

Along with gorgeous cinematography, "Twilight" with its fine performances is a sleeper well worth seeing.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: I figured out the plot too fast...
Review: But I love Paul Newman. He can do no wrong. This is not a bad movie, but it could use a little more suspense, less buffoon from Giancarlo.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: I figured out the plot too fast...
Review: But I love Paul Newman. He can do no wrong. This is not a bad movie, but it could use a little more suspense, less buffoon from Giancarlo.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: reese witherspoon shows her goodies
Review: but what was this movie about? i could not focus on the plot after that nubile nymph was walking around showing her naughty bits. oh well.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Fall of Twilight
Review: Director Robert Benton (Kramer vs. Kramer, Places in the Heart) has crafted a film reminiscent of the 1940's in this complex and character driven film with an ensemble cast of screen veterens and one future star in her first adult role. The mystery is engrossing and the performances are stellar as Benton shows how age sometimes shades the black and white of right and wrong to gray.

The story revolves around former P.I. Harry Ross (Paul Newman) attempting to do a favor for Jack Ames (Gene Hackman) that leads to blackmail and murder, and may involve Jack's beautiful wife Catherine Hayward (Susan Sarandon). A twenty year old murder comes into play as well as Harry slips back into a life he left behind when the Ame's spoiled little brat Mel (Reese Witherspoon) brought him some bad luck a few years prior down in Mexico.

Newman is terrific as he reluctantly tries to fix things for everyone as the bodies pile up. It's a task that gets more difficult as he gets closer to the truth. The unspoken attraction between he and Catherine is cause for concern as well in this character driven mystery. Stockard Channing gives a nice performance as Harry's old flame Lt. Verna Hollander, and Reese Witherspoon acquits herself nicely in her first adult (she has a nude scene) film.

Benton has added some humor to this story also, giving it the feel of reality. This film was not designed for the teen driven box office of today but for the rest of us. It has some terrific performances from the entire cast and some true to life moments.

It is James Garner who truly shines though as the old pal of Harry and Jack, Raymond Hope. Garner always makes it look so natural and easy his performance sometimes gets overlooked. He is really great here and the interplay between he and Newman as they discuss growing older and the events taking place are priceless. It may seem clear what happened twenty years ago but it is the relationships that drive this story and the ones that are shattered forever when Harry finally peels away the gray to reveal the black and white.

This is a fine film that subtly shows what can happen to people who become used to having everything work out for them. As Garner's character Raymond tells Harry, "There's them, and there's us, Harry." Benton has crafted an old style film that you won't want to miss if your tired of the teen box office fare. It is a mature and thoughtful mystery and a meditation on friendship and growing older. This one is worth watching.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Very NAKED Resse Witherspoon
Review: friend said watch this.... WOW VERY NAKED REESE WITHERSPOON! MMMMMM REESE'S PIECES MMMMMM!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Twilight-Newman/Sarandon
Review: Hey, I sat all the way through it with out any fast forwarding. It had me changing my answer as to who did it more than most movies. Slow at times but it keeps your attention. The actors all played their parts.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Film for which STARS are made
Review: How anyone could have found fault in this superior "gumshoe" flick is beyond me! Newman, Hackman, Sarandon, Witherspoon, Schrieber, Channing, Esposito, and Garner (in the film's best role) are flawless. "Twilight" is a brilliant exercise in mystery with homage to the passage of time of which we all must travel.

The cast of "old school" performers can really give up-and-comers like Damon, Hudson, and Paltrow serious acting lessons.


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