Kevin's Watch

Preachy and heavy-handed.

The scene at the crash (that Luci has pictured) was quite well done, but overall I gave the film a thumbs-down.

Cail wrote:Preachy and heavy-handed.

The scene at the crash (that Luci has pictured) was quite well done, but overall I gave the film a thumbs-down.

well what a surPRISE! hahaha!! once again you and i are on opposite sides of the fence, Cailman!! this time, however, I am right!

And it's the first time since Taxi that I thought Tony Danza was better than a potted plant.

Fist and Faith wrote:And it's the first time since Taxi that I thought Tony Danza was better than a potted plant.

AGREED!! boy did he make me uncomfortable!!

Yes, he did. Actually, he was only good in Taxi because he was playing a character who wasn't very smart, or complex, or anything. Danza he can handle that. I've never felt the least bit of authenticity from any of his other performances, and I've been absolutely amazed that he gets role after role, and even a talk show! But his very brief role in Crash certainly made me feel something!

discomfort. extreme discomfort!!

Huge upset - what a shocker!

heh. thass what I'M talkin 'bout. yo!

Finally saw this film. Very good overall. There was much that moved me. Preachy and heavy-handed? Well, maybe a bit, but not so much that it distracted me. For a real preachy and pretentious headache ---> Magnolia. It had a similar premise, in terms of coincidental events causing lives to intersect. The difference is, that film totally annoyed me with its sanctimonious air. That and the singing. Crash is free from such cloying smugness, imo. This film is everything Magnolia wasn't, and I'm thankful for it.

The atmosphere of potential violence and gun play in this movie- the sense that any one of these people could get shot at any time - was really unnerving. To add to the hurrahs, Matt Dillon was excellent.

Not sure that Crash deserved Best Picture, but it's a fine movie, so I won't dump on the Academy too much. As cinematic art, though, Crash isn't in the same class as Munich or The Constant Gardener (which wasn't even nominated).

I finally saw this on the weekend.

It was one of the most welldone movies I've seen in a long time.

It could have gone in so many other directions but didn't. Not to quote Donaldson too much; but when you look at the three kinds of characors, Victim; Villan and Hero--well just about every charactor played at least two of those roles. And I mean EVERY one, with the exception of Tony Danza and the housekeeper; although even she was victimized in a sence by BUllocks bullying towards her, and then she was still willing to console her at the end.

I like the fact that I was expecting way to people to die, given the way most movies are nowadays-especially preachy ones-but they didn't.

Spoiler

As soon as the locksmith gave his daughter the invisable cloak, I turned to the wife as said, "she gets shot."--Plus I was so supprised when Matt Dillan ran baack into the car.

I'd say the only downsideof the movie was Brendan fraser, his agent must have paid somebody off, becasue he definatly didn't deserve to be in a film with actuall actors..It looked like he was reading all of his lines off of a cue card to me.

I agree, Fraser seemed out of place.

i actually thought he was perfect in that yuppie politico role! there wasn't much for him to do besides being Bullock's punching bag and i like his "cool remove". if he'd HAD a scene to get angry in, i'd venture to guess he could have done it. just my opinion tho. not carved in granite.

Good point. I guess after years of watching Law & Order, I'm used to seeing a tougher, more world-weary sort of D.A. than the "yuppie" version played by Fraser. (I actually like him, but not here.)

Crash written and directed Paul Haggis. Agreeing with almost all comments by Lucimay, she's right about this movie and the rest of you are just missing the bus. You'll seldom to get to see a movie more "real" than this movie. the Matt Dillon (probably one of the most underated actors around, Drugstore Cowboy and the movie he made with Deborah Winger) a guy the viewer is probably supposed to hate for the first twenty or so minutes, and then he goes and does something probably get him a valor commendation.

The movie can be thought of as eight or so character studies and a plot or narrative as such is almost non-existant, so when one thinks about or discussses the movie, it's a discussion of scenes or events. So that means it's virtually impossible to say the movie is about "X".

Seeing this movie makes me want to investigate the Series Due South a TV series from the 1990s that Paul Haggis was very involved with, and I know many fans of thies series.

If you do not think this movie is authentic, you're probably just "do not get it".

yeah...right on, Taras!

AND...where the hell was Thandie Newton in all the press on this film??? by GOD she was extraordinary!

i am buying this movie. i want to own it just to watch she and matt dillion again!!!

taraswizard wrote:If you do not think this movie is authentic, you're probably just "do not get it".

Oh I got it. I got two hours of being bashed over the head with the director's/writer's message. Racism still exists, I get it.

It's not that racism exists, it's a matter of how it exists. It's presented in a very real, complex way that speaks more of how we all deal with eachother than 'racism is bad, y'all.'

See, that's the problem I had with it Syl. Whereas you saw it as real and complex, I saw it as hackneyed and contrived.

To each their own, I suppose.

When I mentioned the movie's 'authentincity'. I'll explain a little, I saw the movie as true to life. That spoke to me on so many levels, and don't identify particularly with any of the characters nor do I think anyone I know has a life particularly like those characters. (notice this message discusses characters, reinforcing my idea the movie is a character study)

One of the worst movies I have ever seen. Completely worthless.