Avalon

Rating:
Summary: Boring, miscast, predictable, manipulative, self-indulgent,
Review: Did I mention depressing?
Avalon looked like a patchwork of vignettes that one might find on "The Loveboat." Nothing really happened! There was the predictable death and the nostalgic final scene in a nursing home.
I'm certain Mr. Levinson enjoyed recreating his youth but he could have done that by viewing old family portraits at home. There wasn't enough significant material for a movie.
The casting was absurd considering this was a family of Jewish immigrants from eastern Europe with a strong religious tradition.
Aidan Quinn as the son looked Irish. His wife, Elizabeth Perkins was not appropriately cast as the Jewish daughter-in-law.
Eve Gordon, who played the other daughter-in-law was miscast too! It was not believeable that the Kevin Pollack character would be married to a women that resembled Nicole Kidman.
The relationship between Aidan Quinn and Kevin Pollack seemed forced.
The cinematography was good. The Randy Newman score would have been great in another movie. It was wasted here because it just enhanced the maudlin tone and made one feel sad for no reason.
Diner was a well done movie and Mr. Levinson is a sensitive director. He should look beyond himself for effective, meaningful material and work with objective, creative casting people.

Rating:
Summary: Bittersweet commentary on family life in America
Review: Every time I see this movie, the last 20 minutes or so depress the hell out of me and it makes me nostalgic for an earlier time in which I didn't even live. The closeness of the family, the way kids, parents and grandparents all shared the household, the family talks in the living room...it's just such a departure from the way families exist today, everyone in another city, if not another state. Everyone zoning out in front of the tv. It's a downer, but it's so true! The mood and look of the film are beautiful to watch. It's a thoughtful film worth catching.

Rating:
Summary: No, not at all for everyone ...
Review: For those who like this sort of thing, this is precisely the type of thing they will like. (A paraphrasing of one A. Lincoln.)

Rating:
Summary: Mr. Levinson at the top of his game!
Review: Great performances by Armin Mueller-Stah, Aidan Quinn, Kevin Pollak, Elizabeth Perkins, Joan Plowright, and a nine year old Elijah Wood anchor this beautiful love letter to the days of oral storytelling, the immigrant experience, and the Baltimore of director Barry Levinson's childhood.

As in most of Mr. Levinson's work (including HOMICIDE), where this piece shines is in the dialogue. And the by play between Mr. Mueller-Stahl, Mr. Quinn, and Mr. Wood - portraying three generations of the same family - provides for some truly touching verbal interaction. And the film plays these themes in other ways as well, primarily by contrasting the oral storytelling technique preferred by Mr. Mueller-Stahl and the television, preferred by the slightly snake-oily dreamer played by Kevin Pollak.

While the overall "look" of the film, as created by Allen Daviau and Mr. Levinson, may be a little sugary I hope that this won't stop you from enjoying the great script, some truly wonderful images, and top notch acting that is AVALON.

Rating:
Summary: Terrible movie
Review: I am a 76-year-old Jew who grew up in East Baltimore, surrounded by Eastern European Jewish immigrants. Avalon depicted almost none of the typically Jewish experiences I recall from my youth: the seder at my great grandfather's table, the after school lessons at the Baltimore Talmud Torah, Yum Kipur services at the synagogue just up Baltimore Street from by grandmother's house, my bar mitzvah, etc., etc. Where was the Jewishness I expected to see? Not in this noisy, confusing chazerai!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, Heartfelt Motion Picture!
Review: I had put off watching Avalon for a long time because I was afraid I would be lukewarm to a film about an immigrant family coming to America and the abandonment of tradition by its next generation. How wrong I was! Avalon is the third element in Barry Levinson's "Baltimore Trilogy". It falls somewhere between Diner (to which I would also give 5 stars) and Tin Men (to which I would give 3 stars) in quality, but it has more sentiment than either.

Armin Mueller-Stahl, who I had not seen before this picture, turns in an excellent performance. I take some degree of issue with Amazon's description of the movie as starring Elizabeth Perkins; she is in fact plays a minor character. Personally, I found her performance one dimensional. Joan Plowright's performance as the family matriarch is much better. Aidan Quinn and Kevin Pollak, the latter of whom I have been a fan of for years, are nothing less than excellent. Yes, this film can get ponderous and a bit long in the tooth, but I would hardly dismiss it as "artsy" or "cutesy". To those who gave this movie negative reviews, I would respectfully suggest that you have forgotten what great filmmaking is all about.

The soundtrack to this film is one of Randy Newman's best ever. Sadly, it is no longer in print. It complements this film beautifully.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely My Favorite Movie Ever
Review: I know it sounds like an exaggeration, but this is absolutely my favorite movie ever. The first time I saw it in a movie theater, I thought it was ok ... but since then I've seen it probably ten times on video and I've come to realize just how amazing this movie really is -- the acting, the score, the art direction, the cinematography, and most importantly, the story, are all perfect. Understated, but perfect. This is a true masterpiece, and it's unfortunate that Barry Levinson didn't receive the acclaim he was due for this film. Watch it twice and you'll see what I mean.

Rating:
Summary: A Hidden Classic
Review: I only heared about Avalon in Febuary 2004, by reading reviews on amazon. Let me just say that if you by this DVD you will not be disapointed. This movie has a great story line, the actors are fantastic, and the movie hasnt dated one little bit. This movie has everything from the very funny parts, to the tearjerker parts. The movie is a real rollercoster ride. But one The whole family would be sure to enjoy. I highly recomend that everone should see this movie at least once.

Rating:
Summary: Opened my Memory Floodgates
Review: I saw this movie recently on cable for the first time. As a man approaching 40, I hate to admit that I was in tears by the end of the move. "Avalon" brought back memories of people, places and events from my youth that I had not thought of in years. At times, it almost seemed that some of the characters were based on my family members. This film made me think about how much my family has changed in the last 2 decades--something that I've been too wrapped in my day-to-day affairs to notice. If nothing else, I'm grateful to Barry Levinson for paying tribute to a way of life that, sadly, no longer exists.

Rating:
Summary: i must have missed the point.
Review: I'm sorry, but this movie was really boring. I didn't see any point to it. I sat through it all, expecting it to get good after reviews I had read here, but I must have missed something. I understood it all, it just seemed pointless. Who cares who cuts the turkey.