Rating: 
Summary: Truly Excellent
Review: The film was truly excellent. I laughed, I cried, I felt warm and fuzzy all over. I don't want to ruine any of the twists this film takes for you so I won't go into too much detail but near the end they do something incredible with all the characters. It was an honest to goodness feel good movie with some rather interesting characters and events. I have been into and around Heathrow Airport more times than I care to remember and never saw it quite the way this film made me see it now.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable but over-saccharined romantic comedy
Review: When you go into a Richard Curtis movie (and this time he's director as well) you know exactly what to expect, just as you do when you enter a Hugh Grant movie, and seen as the two names have become somewhat synonymous Love Actually has come under a lot of criticism for predictability. Attempting a Robert Altman-type tapestry of stories is a brave move, but unfortunately Curtis doesn't pull it off as well as PT Anderson did with Magnolia.This time Grant is (unconvincingly) playing a newly elected Prime Minister who falls in love with his tea-lady Martine McCutcheon, who's perky enthusiasm is past its sell-by-date. There's also Liam Neesom, trying to teach his 10 year-old to play the drums to catch the eye of his first love, a young girl with the voice of Mariah Carey. The story is sickly enough, and you can't help but feel Curtis felt this to be prime area for 'hilarous' banter about a 10 year-old in love and the confused but hip step-fater overcoming the death of his wife. Keira Knightly again proves that she's a rising star in the movies after her stint in Pirate of the Caribbean, an undeniably beautiful screen presence despite her rather wooden acting abilities. It's a shame then that her story feels like it was lifted straight out of any number of Curtis movies when her husband's best friend decides to tell her he loves her with a set of picture cards on her front doorstep on Christmas Eve. How perfect is that? Given the fact that there are such monotonous and sickly moments in the film, it's a big plus that Curtis can still pull off a cracker of a story in other sectors. Most impressive of the bunch, predictably, is old hand Emma Thompson. The moment when she realised her husband is having an affair, crying in her room and listening to Joni Mitchell's 'Both Sides Now' is the real heart of the movie, and Alan Rickman is clearly having a ball as the man wanting to relive his youth with his secretary. Laura Linney gives a fantastically memorable supporting turn as the woman in love with her handsome co-worker but bound to her mentally disabled brother. The fact that she can turn the comedy (her dance of triumph when she invites her crush inside) and the sadness of her situation proves that she deserves a big movie of her own. There's also a hilarious subplot involving a geeky lad travelling across to the States convinced that American girls will be crawling over him because of his 'sexy' accent is brilliant. And of course, Firth is playing Firth only as he knows how in the only truly touching love story of the lot with his hesitant affection for his Portuguese cleaning lady. The fact that Love Actually has so many brilliant sections to it only goes to make the bad parts all the more unfortunate. Nothing could ever really come close to Four Weddings and a Funeral, but overall this is probably better than Notting Hill and on a par with Bridget Jones's Diary. Curtis has made the quirky sense of British humour his trademark, and Love Actually was a brave move, which he pulls off in part, and that part's immensely enjoyable. It's just a shame that there's a fair share of dross to sift through to get to it.
Rating: 
Summary: better than I expected...
Review: I went to Love, Actually with no expectations. OR, I expected a trite, boring, sickly sweet love story, as Hollywood often delivers. Sure, it's a Christmas movie, and at the end of the movie a couple "gets together" and it all looks like roses for them. But Love, Actually has more than that. In fact, there are many couples (eight?). There are a variety of situations (just beginning to date, newlyweds, married for a long time, cheated on, starting over, etc.), and there are a number of outcomes. Some of Love, Actually is like a typical romantic comedy, but it's unlike most of the romantic comedies being produced today in that it presents romantic love in so many forms and situations. The acting is fairly good, with Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, and Alan Rickman particularly sharp. The intercutting stories seem to disturb or bother some viewers, but I thought it helped to keep the movie lively and moving along at a nice pace. Eye candy abounds here as well, with the pleasing Hugh Grant and some ridiculously handsome guy (the object of Laura Linney's affection, though I can't remember his name) among the men, and Keira Knightley (surely among the most beautiful women in movies) among the women. There you go. I usually avoid romantic comedies as if they were the plague. Far from repuslive or boring, I found Love, Actually to be enjoyable, actually.
Rating:
Summary: An evening well spent
Review: This movie was a collection of short stories, all loosely connected and leaving you wondering "what happens next?". I saw it twice and loved it both times. It doesn't pretend to be terribly deep, but with a stellar cast you feel like the characters are genuine. Billy Bob Thornton makes a great weasel (it's only a bit part, but boy, is he slimy!). I want to thank whoever cast it for putting all my favorite actors in one show. The storyline involving the porn stand-ins is a little startling at first, but the irony of the situation makes it worthwhile. I thought all of the stories very plausible except the one involving the young man coming to America.
Rating:
Summary: Overall Good Ensemble Work Elevates Film
Review: This film has a virtual "Who's Who" of British actors,all playing different characters that are experiencing the various forms of love and affection.
Each story is self-contained, but there still remains a light thread that binds the different vignettes together(some characters overlap at work, friends of friends, etc).
The plot is rather simple--5 weeks before Christmas, a sample of upwardly mobile Londoners all falling in/out of love.
THe movie tends to drag in places, and the sheer volume of characters does get a bit overwhelming, but there are some brilliant acting moments that smooth over the film's lagging spots.
Who steals the film is a toss-up between Bill Nighy and Emma Thompson. Nighy plays a washed-up Rock 'N Roller who's desperately trying to revive his career by making a schmaltzy Christmas record, and then going on a media-publicity storm to promote the hell out of the record. Nighy portrays the singer with enough broadness to make it funny, but still, there is a sense of real humanity in the acting--Nighy still manages to project a character, despite the cartoonish he's presented with.
Emma Thompson plays a London housewife, whose marriage with Alan Rickman(amiably sleazy) is on the rocks. Her character is essentially written to breeze in, steal the scene and walk out. Thompson does so with brilliance. She takes the attention away from such luminaries as Rickman, Hugh Grant(portraying her PM-brother) and Liam Neeson(achingly beautiful in a woefully written story about a widower). Thompson's acting reaches a peak in a bedroom scene, in which she releases her grief over her failing marriage. The scene is beautiful in its simplicity, and Thompson knows how to keep the grief real, but not hysterical. The controlling reigned in sadness makes the scene all the more achingly poignant.
Neeson's story is rather silly. His widower is trying to console his prepubescent stepson, who is in love with an American girl in his class. Neeson is game, and puts as much conviction and sincerity as he can, but his scenes reek of silliness and contrived humor.
Colin Firth's story of a man jilted by his girlfriend, who runs away to France only to fall in love with his maid is pleasant in its straightforwardness. As is Kiera Knightly's scenes as a newly married bride dealing with her husband's resentful best friend.
Laura Linney is good in the film, although she has very little to do, and her story, an American woman taking care of her mentally ill brother, rings a tad forced. Also tiresome is the passages with a young horndog (an annoying Kris Marshall) who goes to the US in search for sex.
There's some amusing moments with Hugh Grant as the Prime Minister, although his story-line is often stolen by the lovely presence of Martine McCutcheon, who is gorgeous and sexy, as his beautiful secretary.
Over all, this film does not ask any deep questions about love. It presents love in the most idealistic way. Thompson and Nighy both offer award-caliber performances, in this above-average mainstream film.
Rating:
Summary: Best of Christmas Movies
Review: This is a heart movie of the best (and least cheesy) kind. In spite of, and in fact because of, one story which might catch some viewers off guard with its physical parody (because there is no warning), all of these stories are of true life and love. My husband and I have seen it twice and will buy it on DVD when it comes out, which can't be too soon. These are the kinds of lessons you want your teenagers to know about, the kind you want to share with everyone you know.
Rating:
Summary: Love Actually Works
Review: From the very first scene you are bombarded by love. This is a new concept in modern film. Usually we are shown great horrible violence and are made numb by fear.
This wonderful new movie has caused me to feel more love for my fellowman and I find the strength to smile and be free from all this negativity our country and our world is feeling right now.
So for this film, I am grateful and relieved. It's like a big weight is being lifted from your shoulders.
Rating:
Summary: "Love Actually" is grand, actually.
Review: "Love Actually" is grand, actually. "When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love."
-Hugh Grant (as Prime Minister) during opening credits of Film the quote above is just one of the many things i loved about this film...when i went and saw "Love Actually" (Friday--the day it opened), I had two expectations in mind. One: it would be just as good as i thought it would be, if not better. Two: it...just...wouldn't. haha Well, thankfully, my first hope was fulfilled. "Love Actually" is grand...need I say more? But I will. The movie--soo good, wildly entertaining, extremely funny, heart-warming, and charming...very romantic...i fell in love with a certain handsome character (Rodrigo Santoro who plays Karl)...mama mia!!! ;-) hehehe. When I went to the first showing at the box office, the lady behind me asked me what the movie was all about. I only had to say but two words, and she was convinced. Is that not cool, or what? ;-) i recommend this movie immensely! it is so funny...(one of my favorite parts is the spectacle of Hugh Grant dancing through and about his house...too, too adorable. :o) his moves...man oh man...maybe one of the best dance sequences I have ever scene...I mean, what is better than spontaneity when it comes to groovin'? not much. hehe Hugh Grant...boy...he could charm the boots off of anyone. :o) yes, even if through some mumbling, uncool bumblin) I also loved it when Liam Neeson had that "serious" talk with his stepson Sam, whom he thought was having trouble dealing with his mother's death when "actually" his depressed mood was due to his passionate and painful unrequited love for a slightly older America pop star. The eight or nine-year-old boy was so serious when he told Daniel (Neeson) that he wasn't too young to be in love...that, too, is so incredibly cute. =) This movie will have you laughing at every point of the film. ok, well except for the really touching, tender moments like when Laura Linney goes to visit her brother in a pyschiatric hospital--her brother, who during Laura's last visit tries to strike her, but this time throws his manly arms around her and hugs her tightly--is the forgiving spirit of Christmas at work here? maybe...you could go ahead and infer that. This random act of love may bring tears to your eyes, but of course some might be a little irked that in order for her to tend to her brother she had to forfeit her newly-begun relationship with the really tall, dark, and handsome Brazilian Rodrigo Santoro. tut tut tut. What a shame...they never did bring complete closure to what went on between the two. That's maybe the one thing I disliked about the film. the ONE. haha...in other words, everything else was wonderful. hehe And then there's the really sweet, romantic aspects of the film that will bring some, like my friend Kim, literally to tears. Who knows? Some people cry at weddings. Others, like me, cry at funerals. Who knows why really...who knows why..... the characters are just too hilarious, too sweet, and too cute or cool or just so undeniably hot that you can't NOT like 'em. u kno whadda i mean? they're jus lovable characters, and you and your subconscious suddenly find yourselves relating to them because you or someone you know has been in the same or a very similar predicament as the characters brought to life on screen. The presence of Christmas was never overlooked. =) Well, ok, maybe that is truly obvious because the holdiay was the underlying theme of "Love Actually", but all shrewdness aside, the warm, fuzzy spirit gets you in such a way that you feel like leaping out of your seat, jumping up into the screen, and hugging every single person in the movie. Hmmm...seriously now, what more can I ask for in a movie? A brilliant cast, a story set in the most celebrated, highly favored holiday of the year...the stars speaking in the most beloved accent of them all (English)...handsome, but humble men (who really don't take themselves too seriously), pretty but adorable ladies (ladies who seem to forget just how lovely they really are) and the cutest boy (Sam played by Thomas Sangster) you have ever laid eyes upon; and I mean, EVER. :D Love Actually has it all. And the great part about it is, it's not just exclusive romantic love that is celebrated. You have several forms....maybe even the most essential kinds--the love of a family, the love between a mother and daughter, stepfather and son, friend and friend, but most of all, the love of a community...a community joined for a single purpose: to present to the world a love that consumes and touches all. I wanted to see "Elf" the same Friday Love came out, but since it was already late in the evening, I only had time to see one, so of course, I, being the Christmas-loving, romance fanatic that I am, chose the movie that has those similar aspects of humor and Christmas as I am sure is seen in "Elf", but with that added, much endorsed instance of love's beauty. Love is actually the greatest thing on earth, and "Love Actually", well...attempts to show the most dear and great things about it. I must say, the makers of "Notting Hill" and "Bridget Jones's Diary" succeeded in doing just that. (pip pip! cheers!!) So throw away your cynicism and lame opposition to anything and everything that has to do with the entirely human emotion of love, and do yourself and every other cynic out there a favor...just see the movie!! You won't regret it. =)
Rating:
Summary: The best romantic comedy ever made
Review: i thought that this film was brilliant it was funny, sad and had a real feel good factor about it! The cast were amazing especially Hugh Grant because he's gorgeous.But i thought the star of the film was Bill Nighy, he was hillarious. I have now seen this film 4 times and i think its one you can watch over and over again. Truly genius writing and directing by Richard Curtis i think he's great and i love all of his films. I love Hugh grant,I love Hugh Grant, I love Hugh Grant.
Rating:
Summary: A good, heartwarming movie.
Review: "Love Actually" is a heartwarming movie with a few well earned laughs, and some admirable performances. Like other ensemble movies of its kind ("Short Cuts", "Magnolia"), story segments are cut up, with characters who don't all interact or even know each other, and it isn't always clear what, if any, connection all the separate people have. There are funny and touching glimpses of relationships in various different stages: puppy love, office flirtation, new marriage, midlife marriage. The theme of the movie seems to be that all people have some love in their lives, even if it takes on very different forms. I was particularly fond of Hugh Grant as the lonely Prime Minister, Emma Thompson as a wife reconsidering her marriage at midlife, and Laura Linney as a lonely office worker with a longtime crush. Others didn't work as well for me, like Keira Knightly's irritating performance as a narcissistic new bride. The movie at times bears a strong resemblance to both "Four Weddings and A Funeral" and "About A Boy," two of my favorite romantic comedies. "Love Actually" doesn't rank quite as high as those two, but I did leave the theater feeling uplifted.
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