Rating: 
Summary: Comfortably predictable and worth the final monologue.
Review: A feel good movie for both men and women. Pacino looks like he's having a blast while Chris O'Donnel looks appropriately intimidated. Late night holiday viewing for my family each Christmas season after the kids are off to bed.
Rating: 
Summary: Pachino's ok, but is this anything we haven't already seen?
Review: Great, another Hollywood redemption flick. Veteran Pachino gives his standard good performance, but O'Donnell is a snivelling, whiney, no guts loser. Only out of pity did Pachino come through for this guy. Alot of hype for this film, and it didn't come close. C'mon guys, I know you can do better.
Rating: 
Summary: One of This Decade's Best Films
Review: I have probably watched "Scent of A Woman" thirty times. I find it one of those movies that becomes hypnotic a few minutes into it. Al Pacino is absolutely outstanding in the role of Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade, retired from the U.S. Army. Slade, blinded by a drinking/grenade game he was playing with one of his drinking buddies, is now living as an embittered alcoholic with an adult niece, her husband and two little children. He is an arrogant, angry man used to issuing orders and not displaying very much gratitude or affection. Charlie Simms, played well by Chris O'Donnell, is a scholarship at a nearby prep school in the same town in New Hampshire where Slade lives. Charlie's trying to earn some money over the Thanksgiving weekend so that he can travel home to his parents in Oregon at the Christmas break.He discovers an ad placed by Slade's niece to care for her blind uncle over the Thanksgiving break so that she can travel with her husband and kids to Albany, New York for Thanksgiving with her in-laws.Charlie answers the ad and the adventure quickly develops. Slade has his own plans for Thanksgiving. A last big blowout in New York City before killing himself. He is abusive to Charlie at first and acts as if he is one of his military aides. He doesn't let him in on his plans until it's practically time to leave for New York -- while Charlie had been told by Slade's niece that the weekend would be at her home looking after her uncle. A beautiful bonding begins as Slade and Simms interact and except for his anger and bitterness, it is obvious that Slade is not particularly handicapped by his blindness as he has developed an extra few "senses" which make him seem remarkable. The journey to New York is a roller coaster of emotion from comic to touching to almost tragic. When Slade finally decides to kill himself, Charlie manages to save the day -- although it's pretty touch and go keeping you on the edge of your seat throughout. Charlie has problems of his own. He's not particularly self confident and Slade is tremendously intimidating. Charlie's other problems center around an incident at school which places him at a crossroads -- whether he should rat on some kids at school at the headmaster's own brand of intimidation, or face expulsion. The movie concludes with an impassioned speech by Colonel Slade on Charlie' behalf before a school-wide assembly being held for a disciplinary committee hearing on the incident Charlie has knowledge of. Simms remains true to himself and proves himself to show new confidence and an outstanding sense of personal integrity. Slade has also benefited by his own plans gone awry and his opening a window of care for Charlie as another human being. He emerges as a sign of hope to overcome his bitterness, anger and alcoholism. An absolutely remarkable film!!!
Rating:
Summary: My Two Scents
Review: Actor Al Pacino has amassed quite a stellar career over the years, filled with strong performances, that make him one of the best at what he does. He skills, magnetism, and range put him at the top of my favorites lists. For 1992's Scent Of A Woman he hits another high point, winning an Oscar, and alowing a relative newcomer to earn his acting chops, working with a master. Charlie Simms (Chris O'Donnell) is a young scholarship student at an exclusive prep school in New Hampshire who agrees to look after Lt. Col. Frank Slade (Al Pacino), a blind retired army officer, to earn extra money over the Thanksgiving break. Frank is an acid tongued and cynical bully who completely suprises Charlie with his plans for their weekend together. He has bought them tickets to New York, booked a suite at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel and rented a limousine, all to take the Big Apple by storm. Before Charlie realizes what he has gotten into, he is accompanying the colonel around Manhattan as they begin their wild and eye-opening adventures that include a fast-paced test drive in a Ferrari and a tango with a beautiful woman (Gabrielle Anwar). Frank's passion is women; he waxes lyrically on their bodies, scent, and sensuality, and gradually Charlie becomes aware of the sentimental romantic buried deep within the lonely man's heart. Directed by Martin Brest, the film is nearly pitch perfect, with Pacino commanding the screen. Even though, I know Pacino isn't really blind--he plays the disability very well. By the end, I couldn't imagine another actor, playing it as "real" as he did. I thought O'Donnell was also quite impressive holding his own oppossite Pacino. The script from Bo Goldman has drama, humor and is very organic. The only minor problem I had was the film's very end. A bit predictable if you ask me... The film deserves to have an upgrade to special edition status. The current DVD has little in the way of extras. I wanted more. There's only a few production notes and cast biographies on the disc. Not even the theatrical trailer made the extras. Until a special edition is a reality, the film is still a must see, even in its current form on DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie
Review: For me the best movie I have ever seen since it goes beyond the usual shallowness of regular pictures, and characters have great complexity. You won't get dissapointed! Worth watching many many times, and enjoy all those times.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Films of the 90s
Review: Certain times studios "create" a role so an actor can win an oscar. Such a movie is this. No one but Al Pacino could have done this role. Chris O'Donnell was destined to become a major player in this star making role. All performances are excellent. The direction is evenly paced, and the story has several complications and conflicts throughout. Who-ah! I'm really suprised that didn't become a catch phrase because it certainly is catchy. This character study is complex. There are layers upon layers in this story that could have taken a more safe route but instead goes risky and challenging. A powerful movie with strong performances. Worth watching a couple of times to catch all the complexities of the characters.
Those offended by course language be prepared. It is full of "colorful language."
Rating:
Summary: HOOO-- HAH!!!!
Review: This film is a classic, it totally defines modern filming, it is what a film should be like, well made, tender and very precise, it should incorporate explosive or tense scenes with sadness and elegeance, it should put the shy in with the confident to bring out the best in a guy, it should involve Al Pacino in which he single handedly destroys any other actor on screen by his unque crisp talents. Scent of a Woman does this, it is a masterpiece.
Al Pacino is brilliant as Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade, a retired, arrogant, blind army veteran with a hell of a lot of charisma, in this film he is teamed up with Charlie Simms, a young shy college student with a lot to learn. During the thanksgiving holiday he decides to take up the job of taking care of the colonel whilst juggling with his school life problems and the fact that he has been unwillingly taken to New York City for a grand tour by the insistent Colonel. In New York, Charlie (played by Chris O' Donnell) finds out that Frank is planning on indulging in many luxuries before killing himself, Charlie decides to go along although his anxiety shows, he clearly wants to get the Colonel back to Massachussetts safe and sound, but does not seem to have the guts to stand up to the assertive man, bearing in mind he is in deep trouble with the college, and must decide on whether to snitch on some of his buddies for pulling a big prank on the headmaster, this problem could mean him being booted out, and if he conforms he is promised ( by the headmaster) to be boosted into Harvard, he is in a dilemma, the tension is conveyed well throughout the film by Chris O' Donnell and I think that was his best attribute to the film. He still doesn't come close to out-performing Pacino who deservedly won the Best Actor Oscar at the 1992 awards. The ending is even more tense, after avertting a potential suicide bid, Charlie and the Colonel head back to the Baird College for an assembly to see who takes the fall for the prank, with Charlie and his rich buddy (played brilliantly by Phillip Seymour Hoffman, you are made to hate him, he reinforces this feeling constantly, he does act very well) and it ends with the Colone and a magnificent speech that is loud but heartfelt and I love it.
If you like ferraris, fantastic restaurants, sexual material, a bit on the guns, fantastic stories about soldiers juggling grenades, a fantasticly directed set by Martin Brest and Al Pacino in top form then you'll love this film, and everybody should.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful and Funny
Review: This movie is amazing. It makes you laugh, makes you cry, and it makes you want to stand up and cheer. Al Pacino plays one of his best roles ever in playing the Colonel. The message of acceptance and belonging are shouted from the rooftops in this film. It shows you how people in different places in their life are still essentially making the same choices. If you liked Dead Poets Society or Finding Forrester you will love this film.
Rating: 
Summary: 4 out of 4 stars
Review: 4 out of 4 stars. The overwhelming character trait of Colonel Frank Slade (Pacino) is that he desperately wants to believe in the goodness of human nature again. He wants it so bad, in fact, the he is desperately insecure that he will find out that it isn't true. He doesn't want to be disappointed. So he is mean to everyone. He doesn't want to give people a chance to let him down. If someone is nice to him, his attitude is, "Don't toy with my emotions." But along comes student Charlie Simms, who is simply, a good guy. Slade sits in almost disbelief when he learns Charlie is from the Pacific-Northwest instead of the big-shot East Coast. To Slade, Simms is a Rockwellian character. Slade has stopped believing that people like this even exist. In their first meeting, Slade alternates between being touched by Simms' story, and becoming angry, believing that this is an act and Simms is making a fool out of him. For Frank, it is within days of being too late. He is plannning to commit suicide. It will take a great deal of emotional adventure for Charlie to pull him back from the brink of death. (Ironically, though, their adventures consist of Frank teaching Charlie how to live.) The main power of the movie is that all this happens in a single weekend. A weekend is a not a long period of time, and the characters are not even the same people they were when it started. It gives the movie a perceived density. It is is a great movie, but perhaps does not belong in the category of the greatest movies, because of its contrived Dead Poets Society bookends. They could be edited down to almost nothing, and the movie would be only the better for it. The scene where Frank saves Charlie from expulsion might be needed, but it is done as a hollywood cliche. In fact, it falls into the worst of the bad-ending categories: The slow clap (or at least a form of it). (Also, Pacino's "I'll take a flame-thrower to this is place" is not needed. Apparently, he just feels the need to work a line like that into all of his movies. )
Rating:
Summary: sharpshooter meets his day
Review: Irascible war veteran teaches impressionable ivy leaguer-in-training a couple of life lessons during a weekend getaway. In his portrayal of a fallen hero blinded by his own nihilism, Pacino attains something close to an apotheosis.
|
