Rating: 
Summary: So bad it's good
Review: A cabana boy (Joseph Feinnes) falls in love with a married woman (Gretchen Mol) who is staying at the vacation resort that employs him along with her politically powerful husband (Ray Liota). After a little maneuvering the cabana boy seduces the married woman and then inserts his jade stem in her jade passageway followed by tearful farewells and her inevitable return home. Consumed by passion the cabana boy follows her to Yonkers New York where he continues to park his jizzm wagon in her love garage until her husband gets wind of things and warns him to stay away. Upon failing to heed this advice, cabana boy is shot and left for dead, but as luck would have it, he survives with his head conveniently disfigured beyond recognition. In the spirit of Monte Christo, cabana boy takes a few years off to build a new identity complete with wealth and powerful fiscal/criminal credentials before returning to the Empire State to obtain vengeance and to reclaim the object of his desires. In case it isn't patently clear what he's up to, he takes the name "Esquema" and a fake South American (but not Brazilian) accent. Cabana boy insinuates himself in the husband's life, solves his racketeering problems and then demands his wife as payment. Before you can say, "what is the point of revealing yourself if you're not going to kill him", cabana boy seduces the wife again and runs off with her. The couple spend an idyllic night in the country during which cabana boy repeatedly inserts his splutter plug into the wife's love socket before the husband catches up to them and shoots cabana boy in the morning. During the inconclusive ambulance ride in which we guess that cabana boy will either wind up dead or further disfigured/disguised, the wife reminds him of how they first met. Oddly enough, this film is so wretchedly bad that it's good. "Forever Mine" is poorly done to the point of being wildly entertaining. How Joseph Feinnes and Ray Liota got roped into this film is beyond me. Even more puzzling is how Ray Liota who electrified audiences with his portrayal of visceral villains in "Something Wild" and "Good Fellows" managed to play such an incompetent bad guy in this film. In scene after scene, Liota attempts to be threatening and menacing but comes across as a nice family man doing his best to play a bad guys. The only original part of this film is the bad acting and while irony may no longer be in vogue, this is precisely what makes this movie worth watching.
Rating: 
Summary: forever mine
Review: a great love story...it has all the elements ... what I would like to say ..I am interested in the getting the sound tract to thi movie....it has great music...anyone with the soundtrack or anyone who can tell me where to get a soundtrack I would appreciate that very much....email calvin@acs-isp.com
Rating:
Summary: ...this Gretchen Mol flick. What a bargain.
Review: After watching "Attraction", I promised myself to pre-oder this movie on DVD -- which I did, with no regret. But please don't take it the wrong way. I mean, this so-called "romantic drama" sucked big time, especially its Monte-Cristo-fourteen-year-later part. Even the flashbacks didn't seem to give a plausible, convincing picture. (An IMDB commentator from England wrote that when this film was shown at the Torun camerimage festival in Poland, "the whole audience was in stitches, which would have been fine except this was supposed to be a romance"). So true. Whoever could envision beautiful young Gretchen Mol's love at first sight with a beardless Joseph Fiennes must be a hopeless romantic. Whoever could go farther to explain her attraction to a disfigured Senor Esquema (whom she kissed passionately even BEFORE he revealed himself as her former lover) must be a genius in helpless romanticism. Ironically, despite all those flaws, I decided to give "Forever Mine" 4 stars instead of none. Not as a comfort to the movie makers who were undoubtedly obsessed with Alexandre Dumas and Gustave Flaubert's great books. Simply because Gretchen Mol was so lovely and so wasted in her role, just like what happened to her in "Attraction". This beautiful and talented actress deserved all those 4 stars. How she managed to turn a camera-required chemical into a fascinating love scene was beyond me. Of course she didn't get to save this turkey, but she did give those who admire her enough patience to wait for something better (like her shining role in "The Thirteenth Floor"). I'll wait.
Rating: 
Summary: Forever Mine? - Oh, Never Mind
Review: An excruciatingly boring movie with nothing to recommend it. Hard to believe that any film could make Joseph Fiennes seem uncharasmatic or Ray Liotta appear talentless, but this one manages to bury them both underneath an avalanche of trite cliches and slow pacing. Leading lady Gretchen Mol tries to bring life to her role through a series of overwrought grimaces, but she only comes off as a refugee from an old-fashioned melodrama. The script is abysmal; rather than allowing the characters to show any real emotion, it has them spell out their feelings to the audience via a series of "remember when's". As in, "Remember when I first saw you and my heart stopped?" Or, "Remember when we drank beers and gazed passionately into each other's eyes?" (snore) The cheesy dialogue isn't helped at all by Angelo Badalmenti's syrupy score, or the slightly out-of-focus "romantic" photography. On the whole, a silly and sophomoric dud that didn't make the theatrical rounds ... and isn't any better on home video.
Rating:
Summary: Forever Mine? - Oh, Never Mind
Review: An excruciatingly boring movie with nothing to recommend it. Hard to believe that any film could make Joseph Fiennes seem uncharasmatic or Ray Liotta appear talentless, but this one manages to bury them both underneath an avalanche of trite cliches and slow pacing. Leading lady Gretchen Mol tries to bring life to her role through a series of overwrought grimaces, but she only comes off as a refugee from an old-fashioned melodrama. The script is abysmal; rather than allowing the characters to show any real emotion, it has them spell out their feelings to the audience via a series of "remember when's". As in, "Remember when I first saw you and my heart stopped?" Or, "Remember when we drank beers and gazed passionately into each other's eyes?" (snore) The cheesy dialogue isn't helped at all by Angelo Badalmenti's syrupy score, or the slightly out-of-focus "romantic" photography. On the whole, a silly and sophomoric dud that didn't make the theatrical rounds ... and isn't any better on home video.
Rating:
Summary: A misunderstood film
Review: Any true Paul Schrader fan must see this movie. Many reviewers have slighted the film, so much so, that it was never even released theatrically in the states. Still, I believe the film is much better than it has been given credit for, and that most reviews I have read have totally missed the point. The idea behind the film is an epic lovestory throwback to the classic movie,"Casablanca" type grandure. When you understand this, Schrader's heightened language and reality begin to make sence. If you give over to the film, the film will move you. Schrader is too smart and too good a film maker to put out garbage. Remember; we're talking about the man who wrote scripts like Raging Bull and Taxi Driver to name a few. The only major disapointment is Gretchen Mol. She is simply not a good enough actress to live up to Schrader's script. Joe Fiennes does very good, and maintains an intense presence through both identities of his Charactor. Of Course Ray Liotta is great as usual, with a strong performance by Vincent Laresca as well. The biggest surprise of the film was without a doubt the performance of newcomer Myk Watford, who plays Ray Liota's henchman with a superb mix of wild intensity, and humor. His and Liotta's performances will get you up in your seat everytime they come on camera. Bottom line: check it out, especially if you like schrader's other work.
Rating:
Summary: One of the better love stories
Review: At night I will flip through the channels and set the
TV timer for 30 minutes because I know I will fall asleep. When I found this movie, I set the timer and then cancelled it. I watched it all the way through. It wasn't over until 2:30 and I knew I had to go to work the next morning but couldn't quit watching it. I enjoyed this movie very much even though I didn't care too much for the end.
Rating:
Summary: Fiennes-esque
Review: Can it get anymore passionate than Joseph Fiennes? I don't think so. Interesting plot and believeable characters abound this intense romance with Gretchen Mole. Great twisty climax although the ending kinda left me bewildered. Dark and deep at points, but its worth it to see Joe in cabana shorts and shirt. Fun, fun, fun.
Rating: 
Summary: Slightly Noir-ish & Incredibly Soapy Love & Revenge Story
Review: Director Paul Schrader, known as writer too (of "Taxi Driver" and others), may not be everyone's favorite, and you are not impressed with his name any more, but still his style is unique in reminding me of those soapy, but engaging melodramas made in Hollywood in the 1950s. Look at this story: Joseph Fiennes plays a towel boy (with a Spanish accent) at the beach of Miami, where he meets a newly-wed, but neglected wife (and Catholic) Gretchen Mol. Her husband Ray Liotta is dealing some (shady) business, and while he is away from the hotel, Fiennes and Mol fall in love with each other. Soon, however, sense of guilt compels her to confess the affair, and the enraged husband hires men to do what you know already when the film gets started. Well, that's just a beginning. The director makes Fiennes come back years later, under heavy disguise of beard and another hairstyle and ... but wait! this is the most tricky part of the film. A British Fiennes, previously playing none other than the Bard, William Shakespeare, appears as a Hispanic American, and then he undergoes a physical transformation ... you really need a strong will to suspend the disbelief. But when you get over that part, and forget the fact that Liotta is typecast as a lout again, you will be entertained pretty much. The fact is the story is not important. The obsession of the characters is playing the main part, and their acting is not bad, so the ride is quite agreeable, though predictable. Perhaps it is Gretchen Mol that attracts the eyes of the audience, male ones in particular. She is good as a wife torn between the love and the guilt. As he always does, Paul Schrader sees the world from a different viewpoint, with our ordinary characteristics removed, and not-so-normal aspects exaggerated. The gorgeous seaside hotel of the opening scene looks somehow different, or bizzare perhaps (with the score of Angelo Padalamenti, famous for David Lynch films), and the characaters speak often corny dialogues as if they know they belong to those soap opera world. But that may be exactly the point.
Rating:
Summary: Slightly Noir-ish & Incredibly Soapy Love & Revenge Story
Review: Director Paul Schrader, known as writer too (of "Taxi Driver" and others), may not be everyone's favorite, and you are not impressed with his name any more, but still his style is unique in reminding me of those soapy, but engaging melodramas made in Hollywood in the 1950s. Look at this story: Joseph Fiennes plays a towel boy (with a Spanish accent) at the beach of Miami, where he meets a newly-wed, but neglected wife (and Catholic) Gretchen Mol. Her husband Ray Liotta is dealing some (shady) business, and while he is away from the hotel, Fiennes and Mol fall in love with each other. Soon, however, sense of guilt compels her to confess the affair, and the enraged husband hires men to do what you know already when the film gets started. Well, that's just a beginning. The director makes Fiennes come back years later, under heavy disguise of beard and another hairstyle and ... but wait! this is the most tricky part of the film. A British Fiennes, previously playing none other than the Bard, William Shakespeare, appears as a Hispanic American, and then he undergoes a physical transformation ... you really need a strong will to suspend the disbelief. But when you get over that part, and forget the fact that Liotta is typecast as a lout again, you will be entertained pretty much. The fact is the story is not important. The obsession of the characters is playing the main part, and their acting is not bad, so the ride is quite agreeable, though predictable. Perhaps it is Gretchen Mol that attracts the eyes of the audience, male ones in particular. She is good as a wife torn between the love and the guilt. As he always does, Paul Schrader sees the world from a different viewpoint, with our ordinary characteristics removed, and not-so-normal aspects exaggerated. The gorgeous seaside hotel of the opening scene looks somehow different, or bizzare perhaps (with the score of Angelo Padalamenti, famous for David Lynch films), and the characaters speak often corny dialogues as if they know they belong to those soap opera world. But that may be exactly the point.
|
