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Fearless

Fearless

List Price: $9.97
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: What's fear?
Review: Maybe everyone or at least I will sometimes wonder what if the plane I'm taking crash or something tragic happen...

This compelling movie gave me some idea or I should say insights of the aftermath of a plane crash, how Max Klein's(Jeff Bridges)life change after surviving a plane crash. Max suddenly become a phenomenon,he is fearless. Was it a miracle?? Did he become spiritual?? He saw the "Light",he help to lead some people out of danger. He then walked away from the scene. But Max was never himself again,he felt distanced from his wife and son and only reckon with helping Carla Rodrigo. Great performance by Rosie Perez as Carla Rodrigo(also a survivor)but a mother who unable to save her child and full with guilt and woe. He also realised that he's no longer having strawberry allergy. Bizzare things happened to him and he seem to enlighten by the true meaning of Life and death.

There's a twist in the end and I'm totally astounded by such brilliant and awakening finale.

Interesting way of depicting the situation by Max's recalling bits and pieces of the incident and through several angles from the survivors during their healing session.

Superb direction by Peter Weir. Vivid special and visual effects,amazing script by Rafael Yglesias. Mesmerizing movie which what me wonder what's life all about and what's fear?? Am I dare enough to face up to my greatest fear??

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "You want to kill me but you can't!"
Review: I was once on a plane in which an engine exploded shortly after we got airborne and we made an emergency landing. The noise and the planes sharp bank to the right had people praying, kissing loved ones, and grasping hands of strangers in seats next to them. I remained calm but dreaded the thought of a plunge to earth. The experience didn't change my life, but it did stay with me. In the film Fearless, Jeff Bridges is an architect on a business trip, always a nervous flier he is suddenly overwhelmed by calm and confidence when the planes hydraulics conk out and the passengers prepare to die. He is collected enough not only to save himself but others. Bridges has undergone a life changing experience. He faced his fear head-on and won, and he survived a life threating situation, even while others did not. The scenes of how Bridges reacts right after the crash are brilliant, as is the entire film. In the aftermath of the crash the airline appointed psychologist, a figure treated with disdain by Bridges and well played by John Turturro, is concerned about two passengers - Bridges, who seems to have not reacted at all, and Rosie Perez who is mired in a fit of mourning at having lost her 2 year old in the accident. This film is extemely deep without being needlessly philisophical or dark, it is given every opportunity to become sentimental and trite and refuses them all. There are moments that remind one of the more surreal aspects of "It's a Wonderful Life". Tom Hulce has a good role as slick lawyer who knows all the angles of profiting from an accident and Isabella Rossellini is top drawer as Bridges suffering wife who can't seem to connect with her post-crash husband. A stunning achievement.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: It¿ll make you think
Review: Fearless will make you weep but most of all it'll make you think. Career performances from Jeff Bridges and Rosie Perez.

NEED WIDESCREEN VERSION DVD!

[DW]

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I Thought I was A Ghost...
Review: Fearless is like no other movie, it treads in dangerous water. The story follows a plane crash survivor and the trauma that affects him and changes his day to day life. In many ways, the viewer comes to realize that what Max Klein is going through is actually far worse than being killed in the crash he survives. Fearless is a life affirming experience and an important overlooked film. Jeff Bridges may be the most underrated American actor of his time and he turns in another stellar performance here. I was also surprised by the range of Rosie Perez who gives a great performance as a crash survivor who loses her 2 year old son. Peter Weir is a master director and the use of sound in this film is astonishing. This movie has one of the best endings I have ever seen. Buy this DVD.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Surprisingly good
Review: Jeff Bridges is one of my favorite actors, and in this movie he gets a more unusual role than most, playing a man beset by survivor guilt after he miraculously survives a plane crash with hardly a scratch that kills all but a few of the passengers. As someone who's survived a couple of situations like this myself (although not an airplane crash) I could really relate to Jeff's character, and I think he did a fine job with the role. Weir's portrayal of how the crash unfolded using flashbacks seen through the eyes of various passengers as well as Jeff's is a truly inspirational stroke and an extremely powerful and effective device.

This traumatic experience paradoxically gives Jeff a new lease on life, which he now approaches completely fearlessly--hence the title of the movie. His new devil-may- care attitude and confidence is a little too much for his wife, who desperately tries but can't really understand what Jeff's character is feeling, or his connection to Carla, who he helps to cope with the guilt of losing her child in the crash. The movie poignantly compares and examines Jeff's new-found desire to live life on the edge with the torpic attitudes of those who haven't been similarly "awakened," and whether his approach is ultimately more in touch with reality than theirs. As recent events have shown, our connection to life is more precarious than we normally think as we methodically go about the mundane business of our everyday lives. But life has a way of throwing curveballs at us when we least expect it, like the lyrics in the Grateful Dead song, "When life looks like easy street, there is danger at your door, or as Chekhov said, "Life will sooner or later show its claws." So who's to say whether Jeff's character is any crazier than the rest of us?

Overall, this is a powerful movie from Weir on a fascinating subject which he examines without sentimentality or the usual easy answers and Hollywood cliches.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the most life-affirming films ever made
Review: "Fearless" is one of those great movies I decided to watch without any expectations. And I was absolutely floored, not only by the storyline, but by the letter-perfect performances, particularly Jeff Bridges (who is under-rated in general, never more so than here) and Rosie Perez (probably her best-ever performance). This film is second only to Kieslowski's "Three Colours: Red" in my all-time favorites. Both the opening and ending scenes are haunting, heartbreaking, and at the same time, fill you with a kind of hope based on the actions of certain characters. The ending scene, for me, is one of the great single scenes of the movies, and could reduce the most stoic man to tears. If you've never seen this film, you really are missing out on something truly special. I almost forgot about what could be the pivotal scene of the film: where Bridges tries to help Perez come to terms with her guilt by strapping her into the back seat of his sedan, placing a fire extinguisher into her arms, then taking off full speed in the sedan towards a brick wall while "Where The Streets Have No Name" by U2 plays on the soundtrack. The combination is flawless and absolutely heart-wrenchingly human. This movie is just crying out for the Criterion treatment, as the pan & scan version of the current DVD is the only flaw. Don't miss it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Five Star Movie....no Star DVD
Review: This is a fabulous film. Emotionally deep, flawlessly directed and acted, without a false note throughout.

Jeff Bridges is (as always) excellent as a man who has undergone a transcendent experience so profound he cannot find his way back to his real life and world. Rosie Perez is not always my favorite actress, but here she is deeply moving as the guilt-racked, nearly destroyed mother of a dead child. The interplay between these two as they relate to each other and cannot relate to their families is told simply and eloquently, building to a shattering emotional climax.

Throw in terrific supporting performances by Isobella Rosselini as Bridge's loving wife who wants to reach him but cannot find the key to understanding his experience, Tom Hulce as a weasel lawyer, Benecio Torres as Rosie's husband who sees no harm in getting money for the tragedy and you have a full cast of three dimensional characters.

Oh, and there is a frightening plane crash that is grippingly done.

First rate in all departments, I must likewise agree with those that are angry the movie is not offered in widescreen format. Pan and scan just don't cut it. But, if it is the only way to see this movie, see it anyway.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the most life-affirming films ever made
Review: "Fearless" is one of those great movies I decided to watch without any expectations. And I was absolutely floored, not only by the storyline, but by the letter-perfect performances, particularly Jeff Bridges (who is under-rated in general, never more so than here) and Rosie Perez (probably her best-ever performance). This film is second only to Kieslowski's "Three Colours: Red" in my all-time favorites. Both the opening and ending scenes are haunting, heartbreaking, and at the same time, fill you with a kind of hope based on the actions of certain characters. The ending scene, for me, is one of the great single scenes of the movies, and could reduce the most stoic man to tears. If you've never seen this film, you really are missing out on something truly special. I almost forgot about what could be the pivotal scene of the film: where Bridges tries to help Perez come to terms with her guilt by strapping her into the back seat of his sedan, placing a fire extinguisher into her arms, then taking off full speed in the sedan towards a brick wall while "Where The Streets Have No Name" by U2 plays on the soundtrack. The combination is flawless and absolutely heart-wrenchingly human. This movie is just crying out for the Criterion treatment, as the pan & scan version of the current DVD is the only flaw. Don't miss it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Masterpiece
Review: Without going into any deep philosophical ponderings, let's just say that if you do not come to the end of this film without being emotionally gutted from head to toe, there's something wrong. Max Klein's (Jeff Bridges) near-death-experience aboard a doomed aircraft becomes marital death for wife Laura (Isabella Rossellini) as he transcends into a ecstatic state of invulnerabilty to a lifetime shackled by fear. Carla (Rosie Perez), whose despondence is due to the death of her infant son in the same crash, is mentored by the eccentric sensibilities that liberate him from his past. Unfortunately, this liberation includes his relationship with Laura, who struggles to re-connect with a husband whose experience she only relates to as the near-death victim of a doomed marriage.

Peter Weir could have trimmed some scenes here and there to assist with the pace, but the emotional payoff of the final sequence makes the long trip worth your while. "Fearless" conveys the axiom that vulnerability and weakness is the common
thread of all mankind. Separated by invincible courage, Max Klein is dead to his loved ones, and must be brought back to life.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: "Fearless" Requires a Patient Viewer
Review: What happens when a man is fearless at the moment of his death? Fearless is the dramatization of the inner conflict created from facing tragic death and living through the experience. Max Klein (Jeff Bridges) and many others survive a disastrous plane crash, and all involved have to come to terms and accept that such a horrible random event has happened. Max Klein is a hero during the tragedy--lacking fear and comforting others. He leads all of the people around him to safety. Klein escapes into a fearless state of mind that is an extension of the lack of fear he experienced on the crashing plane. He is so fearless he can eat strawberries even though he was previously deadly allergic to them. Klein maintains this fearless state of mind at the expense of relationships with his wife and son. The movie drags on as Klein tries to remain a walking ghost who cannot die. When he isn't able to uphold his honesty with pushy lawyers trying to cash in on the tragedy, he dances on the roof-edge of a high-rise to bring back his fearless state of mind. He hides from his real self by helping others--like the woman who lost her baby--taking her on a surprising car ride that demonstrates she could never have held onto her baby through the plane crash. Klein is finally turned from walking ghost to his living self with the help of his wife and a strawberry.

Jeff Bridges and Carla Rodrigo give very convincing performances. Without their performances and the direction of Peter Weir this movie would only get 3/5 stars. Although the movie moves slowly because of the plot's reliance on inner conflicts, the events move from scene to scene with a moody pace reminiscent of Woody Allen's more serious movies. This movie stimulates thought about life, death, love and God but requires a patient viewer.


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