Rating: 
Summary: The Graduate Redux
Review: Like Al Pacino, Frances McDormand tends to dominate any film she plays in, and so it is here. Unfortunately, it's not enough to salvage this cliche-ridden remake of The Graduate (the major difference being that the girl ends up sleeping with the guy's mother). The other actors provide uninspired, wooden perfromances.Spend your money elsewhere
Rating: 
Summary: Kindhearted and Heartbreaking
Review: Are creative freedom and ethics mutually exclusive? Jane's Harvard/UCLA psychiatric resident son Sam believes they are (Frances McDormand and Christian Bale) and that his legendary record producer mother -- homes in Laurel Canyon and Malibu -- is "developmentally disabled," if not personality disordered. He is the sexual but responsible adult he believes she is not. When they find themselves temporarily sharing the Laurel Canyon house with her current lover and his band, Sam tries to protect his brainy MD/PhD fiancee from her "scene" and keep order in their lives. The ultimate mother-son betrayal unfolds; he discovers that authentic love, freedom and ethics just might not be as simple as he thought and how passion for life and your work can create tempting and messy emotional attachments with colleagues. Now what? We can hope he won't go under and drown in his confusion, taking his fiancee with him. Laurel Canyon is a touching and memorable love note to the paradoxes of creative, hedonistic LA -- and to the unique problems of some boomer/Gen X-Y relationships -- with pitch perfect intimate acting by a well cast ensemble, including by the Hollywood Hills and the infamous Chateau Marmont. Hard to pull off for the subject matter, the original music is actually beautiful and satisfying. Close to the bone with a near documentary feel that's likely more the effects of suffering a tight budget; flawed pacing and character development, but thumbs up. (Rating 6 out of 10)
Rating: 
Summary: Lisa Cholodenko embodies inhibitions, choices, and love...
Review: The story surrounds Sam's (Christian Bale) mother Jane (Frances McDormand) who is a successful pleasure-seeking record producer in California. Sam escaped the hedonistic life style of his mother to seek a more responsible spot in the world through attending the Harvard Medical School from which he has recently graduated with a emphasis in psychiatry. In addition, Sam has furthered his rebellion against his mothers life style by proposing to a beautiful Harvard scientist, Alex (Kate Beckinsale). The perfectionist Alex moves with Sam to California where she can work on her thesis in regards to fruit flies and Sam can begin his residency in psychiatry. In order to save some money Sam and Alex move temporarily into Jane's house, which is a haven for drugs, sex, and rock-n-roll. Alex, who grew up in a rigid life style with country clubs and specific societal rules, are fascinated by Jane's life style and begins to explore the world that she never has experienced, which is about to lead into an emotionally painful journey. Laurel Canyon is a terrific film about inhibitions, choices, and love, which Lisa Cholodenko embodies through the different characters. Cholodenko depicts the personal rules of the characters through social interactions between the characters as well as in the mise-en-scene. These personal rules are about to be broken as the characters are set in a society where rules are not the norm or wanted. This leads to interpersonal conflicts as it will most certainly hurt the individuals in the social setting in which they live. The conflicts lead the audience to ponder what is acceptable and desirable in our contemporary society where many different norms exists. In essence these norms are scrutinized through the fine direction and performance by an excellent cast.
Rating:
Summary: A long self-involved crisis
Review: 'Laurel Canyon' is the meandering American version of a tale that was better told in another Christian Bale film: 'Metroland'.
Sam (Bale) and Alex (Beckinsale) are two yuppies displaced from their hum-drum successful lives into the "wild" home of Sam's disfunctional mother (McDormand).
The story attempts to show the ambiguity of love and committment as the secluded Alex starts to experiment in the world of sex, drugs, and rock & roll. Simultaneously (and all-too predictably), Sam is drawn into an attraction with a co-worker.
There were only two scenes that I liked: when Sam returns home after a drunken proposal and the explosive scene at the hotel. Beyond those two moments, 'Laurel Canyon' is a poorly written and one-dimensional film and I don't understand why such talented actors were drawn to it.
For a movie that explores the commitment, honesty, and culture issues more skillfully, do yourself a favor and see 'Metroland' instead.
Rating: 
Summary: Lacking a good plot
Review: Laurel Canyon really disappointed me.
it is not a good movie.
Rating:
Summary: Almost but not quite
Review: Just as Frances McDormand's character asked Kate Beckinsale's character for the opinion of the recording of her single, she commented that it didn't pull her in. This movie is as such, it doesn't seem to pull us in. As we sat through the commentary about how the movie was made, the Director explained that she could empathise with the cinematographer because both of them worked through the ranks. Furthermore, she explained that she got so involved in the writing of the story that the direction of the movie came second and that, she had problem in resolving the ending. Alas, the cinematographer came to the rescue with his suggestion of how the movie should be ended. Whilst there's no denying that the Director was very detailed in projection of her characters, the course of the story itself was deliberate. The Director explained that she wouldn't want to make it as-a-matter-of-fact. Tensions were set up for the purpose of captivating audience's attention. In the end, we had a promising movie that failed to deliver, that is, capturing the string of our hearts. Whilst all actors and actresses were brilliant, they had to work around the skeletons of the movie. A movie that's about following our hearts and a message that the Director should take heed herself right from the start. A missed opportunity but commendable.
Rating: 
Summary: Risque and Dramatic
Review: I loved this movie. It isn't the average depiction of mother-son and boyfriend-girlfriend relationships. Introduces Sam (Christian Bale) and Alex (Kate Beckinsale) when they are in the middle of their relationship, which seems to be very stable and predictable and boring. The engaged couple both are attracted to other people and other lifestyles. The perfect portrayal of humans' nature to want both stability and spontinaety at the same time and how we all try to achieve both in our lives. Deals realistically with human emotion and desire, in the midst of temptation. Frances McDormand provides an awesome performance.
Rating:
Summary: Well performed independent film
Review: This film represents the best in independent filmmaking. Instead of formulaic plot that's heavy on action and skimpy on the acting, what you get in this film are stellar performances and an interesting story, a sort of look into the complicated life of a rather conservative medical student, Sam (Christian Bale) and his girlfriend Alex (Kate Beckinsale, who looks great as usual) and his somewhat embarrassed relations with his free spirited Record producer mother (Frances McDormand). While there is little in plot, it hardly matters in a film like this, as the performances take you away into a world most have never seen, namely a record producer's studio in the Hollywood Hills (Laurel Canyon). The best scenes in this film are when Ian (brilliantly played by Alessandro Nivola in a very convincing British accent) is recording two songs, receiving instant feedback by Alex and Jane (McDormand). I absolutely love the songs he sings ("Shade and Honey" and "Someday I Will Treat You Good") and rushed out to buy the soundtrack cd after seeing this film in the theater. In fact, the entire soundtrack is good, and that's another reason why I love this film.
Frances McDormand's performance as a mother more interested in producing a record album than connecting with her son at his personal interests is outstanding and Oscar-worthy. She's so free spirited and independent, that it wasn't difficult for me to see why the younger Ian was attracted to her in the first place. She does have her limits though, when Ian wants a threesome with her and Alex, she breaks the mood and explains to him privately why it just wouldn't work. Alessander Nivola also has the best performance of his career, fooling me into thinking that he was a British actor, not an American one. He does that great of a job with the accent, and apparently, he's really singing too. As I watched this film, I was hoping that Alex would dump Sam and end up with him, because they seem well suited to one another.
Sam is the character I felt the most out of place, as I couldn't figure him out. He flirts with a fellow Med student, almost to the point of cheating, and we just don't get to see much chemistry between Sam and Alex, only that there is something standing in the way of those two, which probably had little to do with the thesis she struggled to write in Jane's house. The film ends without any kind of resolution, but its okay in a film like this. Independent films work because they don't follow standard plot rules, so long as the performances are strong (as they are in this film) and the story is compelling. The ending left me wanting more, but that's better than an ending where I wished they cut it down some. The musical choices on the soundtrack is the last ingredient that compels me to give this film five stars. It is a film that I watch regularly (every couple of months or so) and never get tired of doing so. This film has a certain "je ne sais quoi" quality I can't really describe, but compels me to watch over and over. The director deserves huge kudos for making a film like this, one that focuses on the characters and gives us a small slice of their lives, as incomplete as it is. Human relationships are often too complicated to be solved in a two hour movie, so I'm glad the director leaves the ending the way it is, with Sam taking a much needed mental health day to clear his head.
Rating:
Summary: Lisa Cholodenko embodies inhibitions, choices, and love...
Review: The story surrounds Sam's (Christian Bale) mother Jane (Frances McDormand) who is a successful pleasure-seeking record producer in California. Sam escaped the hedonistic life style of his mother to seek a more responsible spot in the world through attending the Harvard Medical School from which he has recently graduated with a emphasis in psychiatry. In addition, Sam has furthered his rebellion against his mothers life style by proposing to a beautiful Harvard scientist, Alex (Kate Beckinsale). The perfectionist Alex moves with Sam to California where she can work on her thesis in regards to fruit flies and Sam can begin his residency in psychiatry. In order to save some money Sam and Alex move temporarily into Jane's house, which is a haven for drugs, sex, and rock-n-roll. Alex, who grew up in a rigid life style with country clubs and specific societal rules, are fascinated by Jane's life style and begins to explore the world that she never has experienced, which is about to lead into an emotionally painful journey. Laurel Canyon is a terrific film about inhibitions, choices, and love, which Lisa Cholodenko embodies through the different characters. Cholodenko depicts the personal rules of the characters through social interactions between the characters as well as in the mise-en-scene. These personal rules are about to be broken as the characters are set in a society where rules are not the norm or wanted. This leads to interpersonal conflicts as it will most certainly hurt the individuals in the social setting in which they live. The conflicts lead the audience to ponder what is acceptable and desirable in our contemporary society where many different norms exists. In essence these norms are scrutinized through the fine direction and performance by an excellent cast.
Rating:
Summary: Run-of-the-mill love story with memorable characters
Review: I'm one of those people who saw this movie because of: A. Frances McDormand and the fact that she excels at every role she plays, and B. Christian Bale because I still hope that someday he returns to the type of psychotic role he played in American Psycho.
This is not a terrible movie, but those who are talking of Oscar snubs should have seen more movies in 2002. McDormand's performance as a middle-aged record producer is believable enough and pretty well-done. In fact both Bale and Beckinsale also do a pretty good job as the right brained young professionals who simply aren't used to the "rock-and-roll" lifestyle. (Although Beckinsale took it just a little too far in the role of the nerdy bookworm working on her dissertation) The problem lies within the story itself. You've seen this movie many times before. Boy has girl, boy loses girl, boy gets another girl, boy realizes he misses first girl, boy gets back with first girl. My feeling is that the movie needed a serious disaster or chaotic event to really drive the plotline, but none of the sort is evident. By the way, this review would've been 2 stars if not for the hilarious performance by McDormand's love interest in the film. I think his name was Alessandro Nivola or something.
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