Saw '(500) Days of Summer'......

F

FAST FRED

500+ Posts
.....via NETFLIX.

The Link

My wife and I really enjoyed it.

The interesting storyline, its non-sequential presentation and some clever split screen scenes aren't really anything new to a film fan who's been watching romantic comedies since the '50s,'60s and '70s, but all that stuff was nicely used here.

Good acting and excellent film making, fresh and offbeat compared to what has often become stale and formulaic in this genre.

smile.gif


A bittersweet movie about a dude, a chick and a relationship, told mainly from the male viewpoint.

I thought it rang true.

Highly recommended for adult viewers, male and female, who have been there and evolved or are perhaps ready to start evolving and would appreciate a preview.

smile.gif
 
I loved it. I am maybe the biggest JG-L fan on the planet, so naturally I loved it -- saw it twice in theaters, which is unusual for me.

I got it for Christmas, too!
 
I seriously think this one could get a best motion picture nom...maybe a best original screenplay, it's that charming. The Academy frequently nominates one "fun" indy type movies, e.g. Little Miss Sunshine, Juno, Sideways, Lost in Translation. Incidentally the first three I mentioned were all Fox Searchlight movies, like 500 Days.

While the storytelling is off-beat (in a great engaging way), it's a spill your guts real movie about relationships, not some high-concept romantic comedy. IMO definitely one of the best of the year.

Movies I feel deserving of big time nominations in no order:
500 Days (see above)
Inglorious Basterds (Incredible villain, entertaining storytelling at its best)
Up In the Air (Best acting performances. Clooney gets another Oscar for firing people)
Avatar (Next generation visual movie with enough of a plot and good acting performance to deliver one of the best theater experiences of the year)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (Inglorious Basterds was Tarantino at his best, this is Anderson at his best)
The Hangover (Funniest movie I've seen in a looong time)
Up (Not the masterpiece Wall-e, Ratatouille, and Finding Nemo were, but a terrific movie none the less and the best 4 minutes of movie making magic this year)

Movies that I really liked/loved, but probably won't get nominated:
Star Trek (By far the best popcorn flick this year)
Adventureland (Did anyone see this? Too bad you missed out)
Public Enemies (Michael Mann and Johnny Depp...awesomeness)
Watchmen (IMO up there with the best comic book movies ever made, but those never get nominated)

I want to see:
A Single Man (Julianne Moore, Colin Firth, and Tom Ford directing? Been getting great reviews...with those three, it must be something worth seeing.)
Precious (Friend, who's opinion I respect enormously can't recommend this enough)
The Hurt Locker (Supposedly the first great Iraq War movie made)
An Education (I can't think of a movie from a Nick Hornby novel that wasn't superb)
Crazy Heart (Jeff Bridges always makes me care about his character...it's like clockwork)
 
Yeah, I know it's an old thread...

For many years something like 90% of my annual movie watching has been at The Paramount's "Summer Classic Film Series." I would only go to regular theatres for "must see" (or "must see on the big screen") films like "Jurassic Park," "Silence of the Lambs," "Saving Private Ryan," or various foreign or "art house" films. That has been changing the past couple years but "(500) Days of Summer," as an '09 release, was never on my radar; in fact I can't say I'd heard of it until recently, and when I did it was a side effect of deciding that a free APL loaner of "The Amazing Spider Man" would not be in conflict with my decision to avoid that franchise reboot while it was at theatres. (For those who may not know: 5DoS was the debut feature film from director Marc Webb, and it was the film that earned him the right to be the low-cost director of the Spider Man reboot.)

I really enjoyed the DVD of this film, enough so that I was glad to see APL's copy had DVD extras (those are often missing from "rental" DVDs). This evening I listened to the audio commentary by the two co-writers, the director, and JG-L, and gained an even greater appreciation for this movie. I've only seen "The Graduate" once (at The Paramount, natch), and that was eons ago, so I now feel a need to watch it again and immediately rewatch 5DoS to appreciate all the connections. I'm not in the "10%" of the audience that got the "Young Werther" joke, so I also need to explore and learn about that.

I found the fiction/coincidence disclaimer followed by the "Jenny...*****" intro text amusing, but assumed it was indeed fiction. The DVD commentary reveals that an estimated 75% of the story really happened.

For those who haven't seen this film, see it! For those who haven't seen the DVD commentary or who haven't seen the movie recently, see it again and reserve time to rewatch it with the commentary.

Truly first rate film making that we rarely see from today's Hollywood...but as an Indie I suppose this wasn't actually a Hollywood product? (Not that I'm particularly knowledgeable on that topic...)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Weekly Prediction Contest

* Predict HORNS-AGGIES *
Sat, Nov 30 • 6:30 PM on ABC

Recent Threads

Prediction Results Threads

2024 Schedules

Back
Top