Rating: 
Summary: Love is FABULOUS!
Review: Last Thanksgiving I went to visit my little sister who lives 12 hours away from me. We are very close and hadn't seen each other in quite some time. We went to see this film while I was there, and though I'm sure the fact that I was visiting and would have to leave again soon affected us, this movie touched both of us and brought us both to tears on more than one occassion. The movie follows quite a few different characters and their various relationships. All of them are connected with each other in some way, which you see as the movie unfolds. Hugh Grant as the Prime Minister is a RIOT! Perhaps the most touching is Liam Neeson, a recent widower and his adorable step-son. Neeson's character deals with his grief by helping his step-son get the coolest girl in school to fall in love with him. Emma Thompson also shines (but when does she not?) as a woman who discovers that her husband (the always captivating Alan Rickman) may be having an affair. Also touching is the young man who is in love with his best friend's wife, but in an effort to conceal his feelings, treats her cruelly. Cynics and maybe even people who have not truly ever been in love may find the film fluffy and pointless. Not surprising if you have never experienced those types of feelings before. If you have, trust me...you'll "get" this film. I've also seen some complaints here about too many characters to follow. I didn't have a problem with this at all. The film in no way seems overcrowded. It is not confusing in any way and in fact you NEED all of these people to convey the entire message of the film which is: Love is all around. And what a great group of people it is! Thompson, Firth, Grant, Neeson, and Rickman are all WONDERFUL. At the beginning and the end of the film, we are treated to scenes from airports all around the world. Real people greeting their loved ones. The joy and love evident at an arrival gate at the airport is truly palpable. And it is in this film as well.
Rating:
Summary: Heartwarming
Review: Heartwarming is the most appropriate word to describe this movie. I first saw it in the cinema and I couldn't get the smile off my face afterwards. When I saw the DVD at the store I couldn't resist and I'm pleased to report that it has the same effect on repeat viewings.The multiple storylines have the potential to disengage the viewer, yet terrific acting by the mammoth cast and director Richard Curtis' unashamed sentimentality leave you caring about each and every character, more so than some romantic comedies that focus on only one couple. My personal favourite is Liam Neeson's character, a widower bonding with his love-struck young stepson. Hugh Grant's prime minister also has an hilarious dancing scene after taking a stand against the US president (Billy Bob Thornton) (a pointless story arc, thrown in to demonstrate yet another form of love, this time patriotic).
Not every story has a happy ending. Notably, those of the devoted sister (Laura Linney) torn between her mentally ill brother and her sexy co-worker and her boss (Alan Rickman), who may or may not be cheating on his wife (Emma Thompson). The film is not without it's flaws. Some characters are less-than-endearing, such as Colin and his quest to get laid in America, yet they are not allowed enough screen time to truly irritate. The tenuous connections linking all the character are completely unbelievable, but somehow add to the film's charm.
At times it seems like Curtis has tried to cram almost too much into the movie, and some storylines are poorer for it. Ultimately, however, the technique pays off. Any one of these storylines could have been made into an entire film, and it would have been just another formulaic Hollywood movie, this at least strives for some degree of originality in it's focus on a variety of relationships at various stages, rather than just two beautiful young things getting together. I have heard this film criticised for being unrealistic, but it's a romantic comedy, what do you expect? It IS romantic and it IS funny, but it also has moments that 'real' people can relate to, like the pain of being in love with someone you can never have. If you want a dose of harsh reality, go watch a documentary, or the news. If you want a heartwarming, enjoyable piece of fluff that will make you believe, if only for the duration of the closing credits, that "love, actually is all around," then you need to see this movie. Just don't make the mistake of taking it all too seriously.
Rating:
Summary: Love, Simply
Review: "Love Actually" is not a complex film, nor is it a terribly deep film. Nevertheless, it accomplishes its goal of expressing, in simple (but not simplistic) terms some of the different kinds of love people experience in life. It begins with the message "Love, actually, is all around" and it maintains that course throughout the film. Among the many different types of love the film covers are first love, new love, seasoned love, love on the rocks, frustrated love, unexpressed love, unrequited love, love between strangers, love between friends, love between parent and child, love between brother and sister, platonic love, dangerous love, and of course, lots and lots of romantic love. It doesn't explore any of these in a particularly deep fashion, but we do get the variety of experiences and feelings that can be labelled under that most simple name: love. The film is carried by an excellent soundtrack, a compliation of great songs including a soulful number by Norah Jones and one of Dido's best songs, and some well-turned performances by some really great actors. While you won't see Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Laura Linney, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, or Liam Neeson at their dramatic best, you will see some solid, believeable performances from each of these and the many other folks in the film. The actors alone make this movie worth watching. In the end, take the movie for what it is... not too serious, not too deep, but attempting to express one of the simplest and most basic of themes: "Love, actually, is all around." In such times as these, I can live with that. In fact, I rather enjoyed it.
Rating: 
Summary: Too Cute
Review: Excellent talent holds you to the end of this story, which would have looked ok on a stage, but the contrived feel ultimately disappoints.
Rating: 
Summary: dumb "romantic" comedy
Review: Now I wasn't looking for some deep intellectual awakening when I rented Love Actually, but I did expect a sweet and entertaining little movie that was fluffy and a bit touching at the same time.What I got was a rather boring, charm-less, unfunny movie with zero romance, and a complete waste of great talent. Love Actually takes on about ten romantic vignettes, and in the begiinning, theres actually potential.The actors are charming, the set-ups are fun, and things are pretty entertaining.This holds up for about fifteen minutes. After that, the film jumps aimlessly from one romantic vignette to the next; never letting us get involved.I'm sorry, but the director just isn't able to pull it off;when a movie is made up of a serious of vignettes, the films main goal is for each of the seperate pieces to be interesting and compelling.This is not so in Love,Actually-each of the actors get about ten minutes of overall screen time.Add a boring and unfunny script, and an ending which seems more like the director all of a sudden "remembering" that he made a romantic "comedy"(I stress this because the movie isn't funny-at all) using ten thousand different stories.The ending is spectacularly rushed, but by then, I was just glad this dumb mess of a movie was over. Which is a shame really.This movie starts out with great potential, and the cast is charming and excellent(Emma Thompson,Liam Neeson,Laura Linney,Colin Firth,Hugh Grant), and I started out thinking I was really gonna get into this movie.But nothing and no one ever gets developed for you to really care about anything that goes on with this movie.For light weekend fluff, I'd recommend Groundhog Day,Moonstruck, heck, even How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days, and Bridget Jones's Diary are a heck of a lot more entertaining and well put together than this mess.
Rating: 
Summary: The perfect romantic comedy
Review: The movie shows a collection of stories that at first seem independent of each other, but we start seeing interrelationships as the action advances. The narrator is trying to demonstrate that love is everywhere and that is why he is "telling" us all these different anecdotes. I have always favored British humor, and in this case I was not let down, since some of the situations are absolutely hilarious. There are almost no words to describe the unbelievable cast, which includes actors like Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson and Colin Firth, among many others. David (Hugh Grant) is the new British Prime Minister and upon his arrival at his new "home" is captivated by Natalie, his new personal assistant. Bill is a singer at the end of his career trying to make a come back with a Christmas hit by adapting the lyrics of an old hit to make it a Christmas song. Peter and Juliet got married recently, and Peter's best friend, Mark, is having trouble dealing with this new event because he holds a secret that can destroy everything. Colin, a young impetuous guy, is looking for love and decides that his best option is to go to America, where the girls are "easier". Daniel (Neeson) has recently lost his wife and is trying to surge into clarity again while taking care of Samuel, his beloved stepson. At the same time, Samuel has a crush on a girl at school and is very serious about it, seeking Daniel's help for his quest. Sarah is in love with one of her co-workers, but has a burden that makes her life very complicated. Finally, Jamie is an author, who found his wife cheating on him with his brother, and looked for refuge in France. Here he meets Aurelia, a Portuguese girl that works as his maid. This is the best romantic comedy I have seen in the last few years. The dialogues are funny and witty, the cast is first class and there is not one dull moment in the whole film. As a final note, just watching the scene in which Hugh Grant dances, makes this movie worth seeing!
Rating:
Summary: Love Actually Exists
Review: Ok, so I admit it. I thought this was one big romance movie, really I did. Then it hit me, love is not just what you feel as when you want to have a relationship with someone. It's what you feel towards your mother/father/sister/brother. It is what I feel for my kids, or that special feel I get everytime I'm in love with someone. It was great to see this in a film all the different sides to the feeling of "love"...Although I wasn't sure exactly what happened with Alan Rickman's (love that voice!) and Emma Thompson's characters, I think it means I will have to see it again. In all, it makes you feel great once you see it. Like you are floating on air.
Rating:
Summary: Long, Charming, and Christmas-y.
Review: "Love,Actually" is a feel-good Christmastime collection of love stories from writer/director Richard Curtis that aim to say, in spite of strife and bad goings-on in the world, "love actually is all around". In London, beginning five weeks before Christmas, ten different but loosely connected love stories unfold. As the Holiday season builds toward its climax, so do the relationships. The newly elected Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) falls head over heels for a member of his staff (Martine McCutcheon) on his first day on the job. A novelist (Colin Firth) and his Portuguese maid (Lucia Moniz) find love in spite of -or perhaps because of- the language barrier. Newlyweds and long-married couples alike discover chinks in their relationships and new possibilities. Young and old discover loss and new love. And throughout the film, the wonderful Bill Nighy plays a curmudgeonly aging pop star who uses every opportunity his new hit single provides him to inject a little sardonic humor into the holiday cheer. Truthfully,at two hours and fifteen minutes, "Love, Actually" is too long for a romantic comedy. And it's slow in places. And it improves upon viewing during the Holiday season. But it's a charming film with a very appealing -and very large- cast. Sometimes it's a little too cute, but Bill Nighy's Billy Mack character is likely to amuse even resolutely cynical members of the audience. So there's something for everyone. And the love stories are more light-hearted than sappy. "Love, Actually" is fun, light entertainment. The DVD: Bonus features include an audio commentary, deleted scenes, a documentary on the film's music, a music video for "The Trouble with Love Is" by Kelly Clarkson, and a DVD-ROM (Windows only). The audio commentary features writer/director Richard Curtis and actors Hugh Grant, Bill Nighy, Thomas Sangster, and a couple of others whom I couldn't identify. Three of the actors are seeing the film for the first time, so their commentary is very conversational. Director Richard Curtis does mos t of the talking, however, and provides a lot of information. There are 37 minutes of deleted scenes, all of which are introduced by the director. Curtis' introductions and explanations are good, but, unfortunately, the scenes must be viewed one after the other. There is no way to choose what scenes to watch. In "The Music of Love Actually", director Richard Curtis talks about the five songs featured in the film and their influence on the script as he was writing it. Captioning is available in English. Subtitles and dubbing are available in French and Spanish.
Rating:
Summary: Love Actually
Review: An ensemble comedy that tells 10 separate (but intertwining) London love stories, leading to a big climax on Christmas Eve. One of the threads follows the brand-new, unmarried Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) of the United Kingdom, who, on his first day in 10 Downing Street, falls in love with the girl (Martine McCutcheon) who brings him his tea. Denise Richards, Alan Rickman, Keira Knightley and Rowan Atkinson co-star.
Rating:
Summary: Another perspective: no laughs, no romance
Review: I'm not sure why so many people seemed to like this film. It's a romantic comedy. So either the romance should be good or the comedy or both. As to romance, I'm not spoiling anything by saying that there is not a single case in this sprawling ensemble plot of one person falling in love with another: all we get is love at first sight in every case. It reminded me a lot of that John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale vehicle "Serendipity" where we're just asked to accept the love at first sight premise. Closer to genre, it's like "Notting Hill" where Roberts and Grant supposedly fall in love right away. I didn't buy it there: if you did, you'd probably like this movie. As to laughs, I really wonder if anyone who praised this movie ever laughed out loud. I did: once. In a shot straight out of the commercial for the movie, three little girls ask Hugh Grant to sing and when he does, they all dance around as only toddler girls can. It lasts two seconds. I laughed. That was the only time. Not only does the film lack laughs, it tries to be the brilliant and singular "About a Boy" way too often. From the whole plot line of the guy writing a terrible Christmas song that goes number 1, to the Liam Neeson plot which culminates in his son playing an instrument on stage at the school play in order to impress the cool girl he likes, to the jokes about death. But "About a Boy" was a genuine satire with hints of genius: not a bunch of one liners. To give you an idea of the jokes, the movie begins with clawing happy heart-warming music as Liam Neeson convincingly weeps over his wife's death and calls Emma Thompson for support. "I didn't know who else to call." Thompson replies -- in a humorless performance in a role for which she was horribly miscast-- that she'll call him back sometime because she has to go. She turns to her little daughter and carries on a "funny" conversation about how her daughter is to play a "lobster" in the school's nativity play. "I didn't know lobsters were at the nativity!" Would you laugh? Finally, a few scenes later, she stops by to see how Neeson is doing. Again, convincingly, he breaks down crying and sobbing, to which she replies, "Cut it out. Nobody likes a sissy." Look: I laughed uproariously during the suicide jokes in "About a Boy" but here it's played for laughs, and it's just not funny. If you really haven't seen the movie, then my best advice is that if you loved "Notting Hill," then you'll enjoy this movie, but if you liked "About a Boy" and didn't like "Notting Hill," you'll find this one a stinker.
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