Rating: Summary: An "It's A Wonderful Life" for the 2000s Review: There were many epics released in 2003, Cold Mountain, Return of the King, and Big Fish, but none was more unexpected than the Romantic Comedy "Epic" Love Actually. Set in charming merry old England at Christmas time, Love Actually, brought forth holiday chher like no other film in the holiday season. You leave the theater, wanting to fall in love with someone. The film brought together great British acting, which included Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, and OMG Keira Knightly. It all came together in a not so tiring 2 1/2 hours. See it for a feel good time.
Rating: Summary: Best romantic comedy EVER! Review: Everyone has their own opinion, but as a movie buff who's watched many romantic comedies, this is by far the best. You cannot help but to identify with at least one of the many love stories that happen in this movie... great cast, great feeling, very entertaining, great ending.... the best ever in my book!!
Rating: Summary: Love Actually is a real feel good movie Review: Both my husband and I loved this movie, which shocked both of us. He's very much a lover of action movies whereas I prefer romantic comedies. We went to the cinema to see this film together and we both came out feeling really good.It's both funny and serious, happy and sad all in one movie. Well worth watching... again and again
Rating: Summary: Where is this movie writer taking me to?(zero stars) Review: I loved notting hill, gave a lot to think about and everybody liked the ending. With this movie I was so disgusted with all the [profanity] it shows and no real interest in giving an uplifting view of what real love ought to be! We left the movie theater as soon as the sleezy part started with the bug-eyed english guy in the bar. I was begining to enjoy some of the other stories but why do you have to "porn it up"? We went to see this movie because of the excellent actors, to bad for them they have to be associated with this material. I really hope nobody buys this DVD so that hollywood sees that people are more interested in less ephimeral things. Go see the PASSION instead.
Rating: Summary: Great Cast! Review: The cast alone makes this movie good. I found it moved a little slow at first but when all is said and done it will leave you feeling satisfied. It is often very funny, touching, deeply sad at times-it will take your emotions on a ride. What I liked the most was that this is a film that doesn't insult your intelligence and there is no sophomoric humor (no fart jokes)!
Rating: Summary: Love is all around us - 4,5 stars! Review: Richard Curtis, the writer and director of Love actually, also wrote Four weddings and a funeral, Notting Hill and Bridget Jones's diary, so it should come as no surprise that this is a feel good movie from start to end. The particular difference between Love actually and those other movies is the fact that instead of following one story, we meet more than 10 individual stories that sometimes cross each other. All of them are love stories, all different and all particular to each character's life, but in the end, they all spin around love. There's Hugh Grant in one of the years most inspired castings, as the new Prime Minister, who falls in love at first sight with one of his assistants (Martine McCutcheon). There's Colin Firth as a man who finds love after he finds he's wife cheating on him. There's Liam Neeson as the widowed step-father of a young boy suffering from unrequited love. There's Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman as a married couple going through the motions. There's Martin Freeman and Joanna Page as a couple who meet in one of the weirdest ways ever (and I do mean EVER). There's Andrew Lincoln and Chiwetel Ejiofor and Keira Knightley as a couple of newlyweds and their best friend. There's Kris Marshall as one of the biggest losers in the love department who figures he needs to go to America to use his british accent as a hook to get girls. There's Bill Nighy as an over-the-hill rock star who manages to get himself one last Christmas hit (and, quite probably, the funniest character in the whole movie). There's Laura Linney as a lonely american woman who's been forever in love with a co-worker. And finally, there's a whole bunch of cameos that I won't spoil for you. Love actually is truly one of those movies from which you come out in love with love. It's fresh, it's funny, it's romantic, it's sad, it's all of those things that love is to all of us. It does have a few minor problems, particularly with some of the pacing. Too many story lines will do that. Also, there are times when you wish a little more time be devoted to some of the stories instead of others. Some are too short for the viewer to have time to connect with the characters. Despite this little misgivings, Love actually is a warm, funny film and a great date movie that you should share with a loved one, not only during the Christmas holidays, but throughout all the year.
Rating: Summary: Very Disapointing Review: I like romantic comedies, so I thought this film would be just the ticket, well I was wrong. There are a few (and I mean a few) funny moments, but they are interspersed with too many ordinary & unfunny will-they-or-won't-they typical scenarios and dialogue that we've seen a million times before. Some of the deleted scenes are actually funnier than the movie itself! If only they had included these scenes and had, well, a LOT more humour, then it would be a great comedy film. As for the romance - erm - very weak quite frankly. The film flits between different 'romances' but the chemistry between the actors on screen is zero. Its all very predictable, OF COURSE certain people get together at the end, yawn. And what was with that waste-of-space storyline of the man who loved the black man's wife, that wasn't finished, nothing happened with it! I've given it 2 stars not 1 because of the (albeit sparse) funny scenes.
Rating: Summary: Disappointing Review: As a huge fan of just about every member of this extremely talented cast, I went in to this movie really wanting to love it. But what I found was a movie that was a victim of its own message. One of the storylines is about a one hit wonder that replaces one word of his song to "Christmas" and suddenly, he is selling billions of records, capitolizing on consumerism and people's lack of imagination. And that is what this movie is. It throws every single cliche, every single Hollywood romance Christmas cookie cutter blockbuster formula at you. And there are so many storylines that you never get to know the characters. There are so many typical "Hollywood Moments" that somehow you miss the heart. They had to throw in some random nudity to keep the guys from gagging. A powerful politician who loves the overweight girl to keep us women feeling good about ourselves. A romance in Italy where the guy just barely catches the plane to get back into her arms complete with obligatory running up the dark street while music swells in the background. A child as he discovers young love and also does the "plane run". Lots and lots and lots of cliches. Lots of music swelling. Lots of people running towards each other from across a crowded room. Towards the end, it just pushed one button too many and I found myself rolling my eyes. So it is a good film to just see a few nice moments with your favorite actors. But I left this film feeling ripped off and like Hollywood had just stollen two hours from my life that I would never get back again. I might spend $4.00 to see it once, but I would not recommend buying this film. Borrow it from your local library and spend your money elsewhere.
Rating: Summary: Well.. 2.5 Review: I liked quite a bit of this movie - it's pretty funny and interesting. I like how the stories aren't all the same-old same-old love stories - they all have different forms and flavors, and each represents a different kind of person, a different kind of couple. The couples vary greatly in age, approach, and values. However, I think the quantity of main characters does dumb down some of the character development (not all of it - some of it is great). If all the not-quite-but-might-as-well-be-porn had been left out, then there might have been more time to develop the other characters. The porn stars' story is just bad taste, and I am disappointed in the entertainment industry's complete disregard for decency and morality, which is particularly evident in this film. Nothing would have been lost from the movie had these characters been left out.
Rating: Summary: actually intellectual Review: Old and new talent abounds in this film. However, there are too many storylines for any actors to lead; Love Actually employs a true ensemble cast. Such a film must be carefully crafted, and Richard Curtis winds the storylines together, at times unexpectedly, as when the plot reveals the surprising relation of two key characters. The net of characters resembles the net of love between family and friends. Love Actually unfolds a philosophical message, which is stated in the opening and endorsed throughout: "Love actually is all around." I did wonder about the character named Colin, who was so sure that American women would adore his British accent and charm and desire his company. Odder than that assumption was Curtis's confirmation of that. What a strange portrayal of American girls! Colin was not an interesting character, and his interactions with the Americans were not interesting. Despite that distraction, and the overwhelmingly large cast that begs you to take notes, I enjoyed Love Actually greatly-I hate to dismiss any film as a romantic comedy, and Love Actually, like Notting Hill, has that unique British flavor that makes the film more an intellectual romance.
|