Rating: 
Summary: With such a great cast, why is the movie so boring?
Review: Most casr members had a chance to prove himself / herself as a great actor / actress in previous movies, and made his / her character a rich & interesting to watch. But somehow - this just doesn't happen in this movie, but I'm not sure why. Maybe it's the standard and predictable characters and story line. Maybe it's the obvious lack of attention to details (Sarah, the supposed 'Israeli' has an obviously Russian accent, grammar and sentence structure). Maybe it's a combination of both - the director decided to focus on the wrong detail to 'thicken' the plot and make Kate Beckinsale's charactetr's dillema easier to identify with, but nudity & sex are too obvious and predictable to add any interest to this already boring film.
Rating: 
Summary: Okay, but not great. A disappointment, actually.
Review: A semi-disasterous drama about an uptight son of a famous rock music producer (played by Frances McDormand) who grew up resenting the chaotic nature of life with Wild & Crazy Mom, and as an adult still seems to have a big [problem] about it. His character is really unlikeable, but the director never clearly tilts us in favor of either his mom or his fiance (who gets stuck between the two of them during a trip to California), and thus the film feels unfocussed and shambling. Frankly, I thought this film was poorly written and sluggishly directed, and I think that writer/director Lisa Cholodenko really doesn't have much feel for or understanding of the rock'n'roll lifestyle she's trying to examine. It felt belabored and awkward, which is a tragedy, considering she had McDormand's immense talent to draw upon -- why not make more of that asset? The music wasn't great either: strike three, I'm outta here.
Rating: 
Summary: Cool Film
Review: My friend recommended this movie to me and I had been wanting to watch it for some while, but I didn't think I'd care too much for the movie.
I loved the music used throughout the movie and am considering getting the soundtrack soon (even though Serge Gainsbourg's "Bonnie and Clyde" isn't on it.)
I felt an odd connection to Kate Beckinsale's character Alex and wished that the character could have been developed a little more.
The only thing that left me a bit disappointed was the ending. It leaves the viewer with an "open ending," and that works with some movies, but I didn't feel that it worked with this one in particular.
Still, check it out. I guarantee that you'll be searching high and low for "Bonnie And Clyde."
Rating:
Summary: Steamy and subtle, like the shallow end of a heated pool.
Review: Ever since I took a screenwriting class a decade ago, I have been keenly aware of opening scenes. Though the first ten minutes of a film are usually devoted to setting up everything that will follow, the first seconds will tell you quite a bit about the movie you are going to watch. Rent a movie, or go see one in the theater. Even the credits will give you an idea about what you're going to see, and that first camera shot will set the tone for your entire viewing experience in all but the worst-conceived films.Opening on a sex scene, Laurel Canyon instantly lets you know that what follows will be steamy, and it delivers indeed. This first love scene is also human, and its awkwardness and tenderness opens the space for all the characters here to be genuine. It's Sam (Christian Bale) and Alex (Kate Beckinsale) who make the keynote nookie. He is an interning psychiatrist, and she is working on a Ph.D. in genetics. His internship will take them to Los Angeles where Alex will continue to work on her dissertation. They plan to tie the knot in summer. We are briefly introduced to Alex's unpleasant parents, upper-crusty snobs played nearly to caricature. I'm not sure why the film even includes their pish-toshing and tactless counsel. Maybe it's to contrast Alex's comfort with her parents against Sam's anxiety and embarrassment around his mom. The plan is that Sam and Alex will stay in Sam's mom's house because she's planning to be elsewhere. As a very successful record producer, she travels a lot. But as a very successful record producer, she also smokes a lot of loopy-weed, parties constantly, and changes her plans all the time. Yes, Jane (Frances McDormand) has NOT left the house to Sam and Alex. She's there with her latest project, a British pop band, and her latest beaux, it's lead singer, Ian (Alessandro Nivola). Put Sam, Jane, Alex, and Ian in a house together and internal motives and desires begin to create external friction. And we all know that friction creates heat, smoke, and sometimes fire. Sam proves to be straight-laced, ambitious, and uptight. He wants to get himself and Alex out of the house, but can't apartment hunt and intern at the same time. Alex, meanwhile, starts to lose interest in her dissertation for the fascinating lifestyle of the woman who knows Bowie, B.B. King, and Bruce "The Boss" personally. Sam turns house hunting over to Alex, but she turns inaction into fabricated excuses. Ian, the Puck figure in this Midsummer Night's Dream, tempts Alex with his priapic kindness until she leaves her studies and finds her way into the recording studio, where Jane takes her under her wing and gets Alex to lose some of her inhibitions. All this inhibition-losing gets Jane, Ian, and Alex into sexual play together that starts at heated-pool temperatures, but heads quickly toward jacuzzi on a path toward whistling tea kettle. At the same time, the chasm between Sam's coldness and Alex's willingness increases. But Sam isn't only driven away by his distaste for his mother's lifestyle. He also meets the extremely hot second-year intern, Sara (A Very Attractive Actress) and windmills on the edge of falling in love with her. Director Lisa Cholodenko does a nice job keeping things subtle and human. That's her strength. Add to this a great performance by Frances McDormand, who I find magnetic and intriguing, and you get an engaging film overall. Ian the Rocker adds a good comic foil to Sam's tightly wound intern. These characters aren't cutouts, which is nice. We see that Sam's rigidity is often ready to break open. But like life, Lisa's Cholodenko's portrayal is sloppy sometimes, in the meeting with Alex's parents, for example. They aren't given enough screen time to develop their icky haughtiness properly, so it's rushed into one scene and comes off looking like satire, not realism. Elsewhere, Sam is blatantly unable to put his finger on the lack of mother-love in his childhood as a cause for some of his current behavior. As a viewer, you recognize this aspect of his personality immediately, and since Sam is a training psychiatrist, you'd think he'd have an inkling, but he doesn't. In spite of these glitches, or maybe because of them, Laurel Canyon really involves a viewer in its characters. You can get wrapped into them because there is depth there; moreover, each character is fundamentally likeable. It is nice that Laurel Canyon does not tie up all its loose ends to deliver a typically clean, all-happy Hollywood conclusion. What would have been nice, though, would be to have had any kind of conclusion at all. Though I recognize the hipness of leaving some questions unanswered, I'd humbly request that filmmakers consider their last scenes at least as carefully as their opening scenes.
Rating:
Summary: Rock N Roll!
Review: "Laurel Canyon" may not be a classic film, but it is a most enjoyable evening's entertainment. Certainly, Frances McDormand showcases her versatility as an actress with this wild record producer Jane who likes to rock & roll! From her supporting actress Oscar nomination for "Mississippi Burning" and her Oscar for Best Actress for "Fargo," McDormand has pushed the envelope with a variety of roles. Her easy going smile and manner here is utterly charming, despite the fact that much of the movie is spent in self-medication of one kind or another. The biggest hoot in the movie Alessandro Nivola ("Face/Off," "Jurassic Park 3") who is from Connecticut, but who manages a British accent with ease. He has a great number of levels in the film from singing star to lover to motorcyclist, and manages it all with an intoxicating joy. One of the funniest moments is when his little derriere goes floating by on the inflatable dingy, much to Christian Bale's consternation. Kate Beckinsale who was so charming in "Serendipty" gets to play Alex, the straight-laced doctor who gets caught up in a sexually free drug-tinged lifestyle. One wonders what exactly makes her change from studying the sex life of fruit flies to kissing her boyfriend's mother. But whatever her reason, she looks lovely. Christian Bale is assigned the difficult role of being boring. The movie starts out with he and Alex making love, and that is about the end of their intimacy. The film telegraphs that this is a couple that will break up before the end of the movie; and perhaps they do. While Christian doesn't have quite the variety of emotion as in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" or even "Captain Corelli's Mandolin," he does have one very interesting scene in a car with Sara, an Israeli intern (Solaris, The Truman Show, Ronin), played by British actress Natascha McElhone where they describe how they would like to make love to each other. Sparklehorse's Mark Linkous and the band Folk Implosion do a nice job of playing Ian's band, musically, with Shudder to Think's Craig Wedren doing the score. As a music collector, I loved seeing the house with numerous shelves of records and CDs! The film's ending is a bit murky. So what happens? Whatever's up with the ending, this is not a fast paced flick, but one that has some engaging personal relationships. McDormand & Nivola are worth watching! Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: a fine movie
Review: I would like to preface this review by saying that I do not watch movies like this one. I would buy this movie except where do i put it on my shelf? Between Pulp Fiction and Gladiator? How can i admit to my friends that i liked this movie enough to buy it? anyway here is why i did like it. No one has ever made a more entertaining casualty free movie. Well, first things first. This movie is about an engaged couple that moves from the east coast to California to stay with the guy's mom who works out of her house producing her boyfriends rock album. I think most peopple watching will expect an immediate culture clash between these hard-working yuppies and the drug abusing musicians but that's not what immediately happens. Its like Ed Norton says in "Fight Club", "people will do anything to avoid a fight" The interesting thing about this film is that is juxtaposes the screw-ups with the non screw-ups and as any college kid knows, the life of the screw up is very appealing. What made this juxtaposition great was the awkwardness. I've never seen awkwardness so well depicted on the screen, especially in the scene in the car between Christian Bale and Natascha McElhone, which is the first scene in the movie that really made perk up. Until that scene I was skeptical about the movie. Then, I ask you have you ever been so mad that you have almost no control of what you say and words just come streaming out of your mouth (many of them swears) and in the end you say about one third of the things you wanted to, but the other things were just casualties of your own emotional turbulence. Domestically I think many of us have, and there's a scene of that in this movie, and it was one of the most intense scenes I've ever seen. Christian Bale just erupts. And many actors would have simply gotten angry, they wouldn't have exposed the deep rooted fear this character has of screwing up. There is not another actor working today who could've have made this scene more electrifying (perhaps Daniel Day-Lewis) It is this scene that the movie builds toward and works hard to earn, and its success or failure held the film's meaning in the balance. It did not let me down. I will say I believe Christian Bale to be one of the finest actors making movies today.
Rating:
Summary: Seen better
Review: The writers have a great concept story line. However, it unnecessarily repeats itself numerous times. This distracts the audience from watching what's really happening rather than revealing the events in a deeper level. This seemed to have prevented the producer and the director to perform at their fullest. Otherwise, "Laurel Canyon" would have great potential because of its high creativity. All the actors are great, especially Oscar winner Frances McDormand in her role as a music producer. Those looking for a great drama are recommended to rent this movie only once. They can form their own opinion.
Rating: 
Summary: loose script, reluctant acting, lousy directing
Review: a going-nowhere and mucho cliched movie. bore, boring & bored. there's nothing in it to watch or appreciated. very loose and contrite script. still got certain 60s' orgy, casual sex, drug abuse....blahblahblah. very tiresome if you decide to keep watching to make your money worth, but it's also very difficult to keep your eyes open. what a drag.
Rating:
Summary: Drawn into an enjoyable limbo
Review: As a rule, I don't post reviews of films I feel ambivalent about, but I liked the director's previous film "High Art," and I want to like this one. There are some similar elements here, an independent woman involved in a creative career (Ally Sheedy's photographer vs. Frances McDormand's record producer), and drawn to each, like moth to flame, is a younger woman with some kind of attachment to a young man. Here the young man is the record producer's son, and the younger woman is his fiance. Meanwhile, the son is being drawn, hot and heavy, to an attractive professional colleague. So there are opportunities here for greater complexity and deeper betrayals. The setting of the film is Los Angeles' Laurel Canyon, a leafy curving cleft in the Santa Monica Mountains with homes perched high and hidden off the twisting road, where someone with money and a reclusive, free-wheeling lifestyle might very likely build or buy a house with swimming pool, where time (in this case the druggy 1970s) can stand still. And it's an evocative setting for the story that takes place there. (Ironically, we learn in the DVD commentary that the house where the film was shot is actually many miles away in another canyon.) Finally, the strength of both films lies in the performances of Sheedy and McDormand. The other characters tend to be less well defined, and the moth-to-flame younger woman probably the most ambiguous. And because we learn so little of her interior life, her behavior begins to seem predictable. Like the crowd of hangers-on in "High Art," this film has the members of a band, who pass through the scenes without becoming individuals. Only the lead singer emerges as clearly defined, a snake-in-the-garden figure who teases, tantalizes, and is seldom more than an indulgent boy in a man's body. He's an entertaining foil to the handsome but wooden son. The narrative of the film becomes pretty much one of who's going to have sex with whom, while curiously, the only sex comes in the first scene, and then only to show us something about the power relationship between the son and his fiancee. (She's in charge.) Making judgments about pop music is easy, McDormand's character says at one point. It draws you in or it doesn't. Like the recording that the band is trying to make in her studio, the film hovers on the edge of that cusp -- drawing you in and sometimes not. Finally, the film ends in that same limbo, and the director sets up the comic-drama of the last scene so well, you have the choice of just enjoying the limbo. And I did.
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly Wonderful
Review: One of the sexiest movies I've seen in a long time. Francis McDormand and Alessandro Nivola were incredible! She of course is always fabulous and Alessandro Nivola is pretty amazing. Christian Bale is normally much more exciting and this role was hard to watch. I mean, what was his problem? All in all a nice suprise and impressive soundtrack as well.
|
