Rating: 
Summary: You too will fall in love with Love Actually
Review: This movie is quite possibly one of the best movies I have seen since Bridget Jones's Diary. I loved it and so did my fiance. Not only is it extremely well written, it is also extremely well acted. There is not another feel-good movie out there this holiday season!
Rating: 
Summary: Warning, save your money!!!
Review: I generally don't write movie reviews but I felt compelled to in this case. Before I decided to see the movie I went online and read several reviews. Though there were a few dectractors, the overwhelming number of reviews were positive so decided to see it. I wish I would have listened to the detractors. Don't let the cast fool you, this was definitely one of the worst movies I have every seen. It is NOT funny, insighful, sentimental, smart, charming, or entertaining. All the characters are either fools or idiots, the relationships are juvenile, and the jokes typically revolve around being vulgar in inappropriate places--a tired joke that's made more tired by this movie. I could have forgiven all of it's other failings if it would have just delivered on one dimension, but it didn't. I wanted to laugh, but it wasn't funny. I wanted to be stimulated to think, but the storylines were too cliche. I wanted to like the characters, but they were uninteresting bores or outrageous dolts. If the movie is trying to make a statement about love, it fails miserably. What passes for love in this movie is little more than a combination of adolescent fantasy and a couple different underdeveloped hollywood cliches about relationships. It's not a "complex" portrayal of love as some have said, it's a silly, shallow confusion of love with immature psychological attachment with a little bit of sex mixed in. It is a truly sad, pathetic film.
Rating: 
Summary: Still sorting it out.....
Review: Just saw the movie...11;45 am showing and theater was pretty full..LOTS of characters and some took up time from more interesting and more realistic characters...think it will overall be popular, but will cause lots of discussions...which is a good thing..LOVED the lack of makeup and fearless actors showing lines and wrinkles...American actors would never do that...but who can hold a candle to Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson...it is quirky....go see it...bet you will like it...
Rating:
Summary: A great romantic comedy about love in all shapes and sizes
Review: If you loved Bridget Jones's Diary you will most likely love this movie. It is fun and clever, with quite a few great performances. There are multiple storylines happening simultaneously and so, yes, inevitably some fall to the wayside. However, the movie sticks to its title. Everything is about love, in all its incarnations: new love, forbidden love, love of the family, love at first sight, first love...and all the humor and drama involved therein. I highly recommend it! On a side note...a few reviewers have mentioned "political overtones" in this movie being a problem. I utterly disagree. The 9/11 attacks are mentioned in the opening monologue. This was done not to exploit those who died, but to speculate that they were probably thinking about the ones they loved, not about whom they hated. And a press conference scene between the Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) and the President (Billy Bob Thornton)is actually in NO WAY POLITICAL. Its all about a girl. See the movie yourself and you be the judge.
Rating:
Summary: All I Want For Christmas
Review: Richard Curtis, the director of "Love Actually" wrote the scripts for "Four Weddings and a Funeral," Notting Hill" and co-wrote "Bridget Jones' Diary." So he knows of what he speaks, romantic-comedy-wise.
"Love Actually" is literate, smart and has enough horse sense to realize that in most cases Love is complicated, hotly sought after and rigorously fought for: in other words it's not a walk in the park though, it often takes that route.
Curtis has assembled many of the same faces we have seen in his other comedies: Hugh Grant, Colin Firth to name a couple and all the other actors are charming and quite attractive, but I think in order to give this film the flavor of the others mentioned above, he may have given us too many sub-plots of which some are not as interesting as others. But chalk this up to first time director jitters because so much of what Curtis puts on screen is fun and witty. In particular Bill Nighy as Billy Mack, an almost washed up Rock Star looking for a comeback hit record, who records a Christmas version of "Love is All Around" and promotes it to a apoplectic radio dj as instead of from "some smug teenager... from an old ex heroin addict looking for a number one record at any price."
Though Curtis has applied the kitchen sink style of directing to this his first feature, most of what he does works i.e. its funny or charming or both. What he has created is a big gold box tied with a giant red bow of a movie: one that you can take a date to, invite your English teacher to or take your spinster aunt to. "Love Actually" then is about all of us who have ever jumped into that big morass of goo called Love, survived scathed or unscathed, not always smarter for having done it yet forever willing to try it again.
Rating:
Summary: The Best (If Most Frustrating)Romantic Comedy of All Time
Review: That is the spirit in which I can approach a film like Richard Curtis's LOVE ACTUALLY. It is so close to being my favorite romantic comedy I almost wished that my own stupid sense of right and wrong didn't mess it up for me. This is a movie that's so good that it's flaws are doubly illuminated. Love is everywhere or at least that's the premise that Hugh Grant's (About a Boy) opening narration claims. Then the movie goes on to prove just that. We watch as 10 or 15 delightful and charming people fall in love. And in the end each of these people is also connected either directly or indirectly to the other characters in the movie and so in the end LOVE ACTUALLY is a small microcosm of British society. The film has charming written all over it. Hugh Grant again plays that charming and debonair lady-killer he's gotten so good at playing. Colin Firth (Bridget Jones's Dairy) plays this charming writer who falls for his maid, who doesn't speak English. Emma Thompson (Junior) plays a mother and wife trying to come to grips with a tragedy in her own mind. Liam Neeson (Schindler's List) play a widower who's young son has fallen "desperately" in love. And While all this is going on, Alan Rickman (Dogma) and Laura Linney falls people in their office and Keira Knightly (Bend It Like Beckham) marries the man of her dreams, only to discover a little secret about his best friend. As you can see a lot is going on here. I can best be described as if you took a hundred romantic comedies and jammed them together. Kind of a silly and romantic version of Robert Altman's SHORT CUTS. Thankfully most of the major characters are fun, charming, and bring their own little piece of life to the film. There is scene after scene of inventive fun. I also liked how the film was full of silly cameo's that didn't destroy the overall structure. Sure I saw Billy Bob Thorton, but the film didn't try to jam him down my throat. I found my self momentarily going there's Billy Bob, but he embodies his character (The US President, think George W. Bush with Clinton's Libido), he's not playing Billy Bob. The most interesting story arc follows Grant and his secretary (Martine McCutcheon, TV's Eastenders). It's pitch perfect. Every scene of him and McCutcheon made me smile. I wanted to the see the outcome. I truly wanted these two people to fall in love. It's hard for me to want to think that about characters in a more vapid rom-com. It's scenes and characters like Grant and McCutcheon that make the weaker moments of the film fail miserably. Most notably the stupid segments involving the stand-in's on the porno movie set and the dumb scenes involving the annoying British boy who goes to Wisconsin. I wanted to watch characters that were involving. These two story arcs were built on cartoon premises. They're both weaker, like two bad jokes in an utterly flawless comedy routine. They were both to silly, and did not have enough development to warrant their inclusion in this film. The film also suffers from an overload of characters. With so many interesting people to follow, it was difficult to dwell on one set of characters. In the end you wind up getting the Cliff's Notes view of all these people. This hurts the Laura Linney (Maze) story most notably, because Curtis's screenplay tries to introduce dramatic scenes that are barely touched upon. This makes at least one heart-wrenching scene in a mental hospital feel a little out of place. Like it was tacked on cause every comedy needs a dramatic moment. I also hated that the screenplay glossed over much of the Rickman's characters humanity. Leaving the final outcome of his story arc vague, cause god forbid we leave the movie hating one of the main characters. If you're going to waste time creating tension only to keep us in the dark in the end don't waste my time. In the end LOVE ACTUALLY is a wholly frustrating and equally a great film. It's chock full of funny characters, silly romance, tragic stories, and in the end it delivers a movie that is mostly worth watching. I would also be remiss if I didn't mention Bill Nighy's (Underworld) wonderfully silly Billy Mack, a character that is really funny if a tad bit unnecessary. He plays an aging rock musician who's re-written one of his classic tunes into a Christmas song. Sure he's sold out, but he sure won't promote it as if he did. If Oscar has a funny bone, this performance is worth a supporting actor nomination. Listen if you can shut out the flaws, LOVE ACTUALLY will leave you satisfied. If you're like me, then you like the movie with maybe a few too many reservations. LOVE ACUTALLY is the best romantic comedy I've seen in a long time, and one of the best (if frustrating) movies of the year. ****1/2 (out of 5)
Rating:
Summary: LOVE ACTUALLY IS MISSING
Review: DESPITE MY TITLE FOR THIS REVIEW, LOVE IS ACTUALLY PORTRAYED IN THIS MOVIE.........BUT, UNFORTUNATELY, THOSE MOMENTS ALL OCCUR IN THE OPENING AND CLOSING SCENES THAT SHOW REAL PEOPLE EMBRACING AT AIRPORTS.........INBETWEEN, WE HAVE AN HOUR AND A HALF WITH THIS VERY TALENTED (AND ATTRACTIVE) CAST TOILING MIGHTILY TO CONVEY, NOT LOVE, BUT OBSESSION AND COMPULSION, IN THIS......WIERD......MOVIE. THIS FILM MAY HAVE MORE AWKWARD AND EMBARRASSING SCENES THAN ANY FILM MADE TO DATE..........EXCEPT FOR THE SOULFUL EMMA THOMPSON, AND THE VERY FUNNY BILL NIGHY (REPRISING HIS GREAT ROCK SINGER SCHTICK FROM THE UNDERATED FILM "STILL CRAZY"), THE CAST IS WASTED, THE SOUNDTRACK (WHICH MUST CONTAIN EVERY LOVE SONG EVER WRITTEN) IS WASTED, EVEN CHRISTMAS IS WASTED IN THIS..............WIERD...........MOVIE.
Rating:
Summary: Not for Kids or Prudes, But Otherwise Lovely, Actually
Review: Charming film, lots of heart, great actors, insightful and witty script. The boy in the film was wonderful (and completely believable - there ARE earnest, prococious ten-year-old boys out there, and I've known a few of them). I do agree that the recurring simulated sex between the adult film actors/ body doubles gets uncomfortable and redundant. But you can close your eyes, I guess. Emma Thompson certainly turned in a gut-wrenching performance...however, the guy you'll really remember is the outrageous, burnt-out rock star - oh does he crank the comedy up to "11"!!! Sure to be a romantic comedy classic like "Four Weddings."
Rating: 
Summary: Crass remarks about WTC disturbing
Review: "Love is everywhere. When the planes hit the twin towers, I'm sure none of the phone calls made were about hate." -"Love Actually" from Universal Pictures This is how the producers of "Love Actually" attempt to validate their movie. I was appalled when in the opening moments of the movie; Hugh Grant's character crassly utters this line. Why would anyone assume that it would be okay to use the WTC tragedy in this manner? I sat there, stunned in the dark, pulled back to reality. My husband said, "I wish he hadn't said that." I agree, I think this line needs to be pulled from this movie. It is up to you if you want to see this movie; the rest of it was a jump around, too many story lines, amusing fare. I just want to forewarn as many people as possible because I was completely shocked. No one should find themselves sitting in the darkened theater; a victim of Universal Pictures' bad judgment
Rating:
Summary: Be ready to leave happy!!
Review: ** I am adding this paragraph after reading all the bad reviews and the people who are hyper critical. This movie is JUST a movie. It is a romantic comedy which means you can't take anything too seriously. If you leave a movie feeling entertained or you think humorously about it again the next day then it was a success. I definitely thought about Love Actually again and again. So don't let the critics control you- make your own decision. It WAS AND IS FUN!!! Now here's my original review- This was by far the best movie I have seen all year. It was delightful the way they intertwined the several different love stories. It made it very fun to see how they would all relate to eachother. This was a fun movie that really was uplifting and encouraging. It also reminds you how it felt when you first fell in love or maybe were waiting for someone to notice you! Have fun and enjoy!
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