cliodhna2

25 May 2012

The Wrestler meets 200 Days of Summer

Crazy Heart is the tale of Bad Blake, a washed-up country singer, who'slife is transformed by the woman he falls in love with.It's a simple story. We've heard it all before, and in theory, it has'boring' written all over it. Well, it's true, there's not much action.And it's also true that at the half-way mark I was wondering what theywere going to fill the next hour with. That turned out to be not verymuch, but it didn't really matter.It takes a great actor to carry a film to the point where you don'treally care what, if anything, happens, because you just want to hangout with him. Even if he all he does is sit down and drink beer, you'llstill be watching. Jeff Bridges in the lead role of Bad Blake carriesit off. You might remember him from 'The Big Lebrowski' (if you don't,you've missed another great film). More than ten years on, he hasn'tlost his touch. Like Mickey Rourke in 'The Wrestler', he's on screen inalmost every scene, and like Mickey Rourke, he's riveting.Maggie Gyllenhaal (she was apparently in 'Away We Go' but I don'tremember her), plays the love interest, Robert Duvall has a couple ofgreat scenes and tasty Colin Farrell is thrown in for good measure.The soundtrack is also worth a mention. As you might expect from a filmabout a country singer, it's country music all the way. But don't letthat put you off. It's pretty darn good.The 'The Wrestler' meets '200 Days of Summer' with a bit of' 'LeavingLas Vegas' thrown in. No guns, nobody gets shot, nobody dies, and Icried, just a bit, at the end. This is my kind of film.

geoaar

25 May 2012

A Country-Western flavored Days of Wine and Roses

Being a die-hard Jeff Bridges fan I wanted this movie to be great, orat least really entertaining. Unfortunately, it was neither.Remarkably little happens in the movie. Bridges' character getsrepellently drunk, throws up, loses a child at the mall and then has a"come to Jesus" moment and sobers up. Other than that, it's some prettywell-worn cowboy/singer fare and really mundane, ordinary life sort ofstuff. It seemed much more suited for the "Hallmark" cable channel thanthe big screen.Bridges was pretty good in an undemanding roll. The rest of the moviejust didn't have any substance. Overall, I'd call it a "miss"...

Roger Moore

16 May 2012

This performance reminds us that Bridges is that rare actor who has never had to make that apology. Crazy Heart lets him be every bit as grand as we'd hope him to be.

Nick Schager

16 May 2012

This is simply a showcase for Jeff Bridges, and a reasonably decent one at that even when the script thrusts Bad down tediously hackneyed roads.

Simon Weaving

12 May 2012

What a treat to see and feel an independent American movie that sifts gently across the Western landscape with a heartfelt touch - albeit dusted over with a hazy drift of nostalgia.

Pablo Villaca

12 May 2012

Tem a sorte de trazer um Jeff Bridges mais do que inspirado em seu centro -- caso contrário, poderia perfeitamente ter se tornado uma produção mais apropriada para a televisão.

Paloma

10 May 2012

I hated this film. Boring Boring Boring

a drunk who gets sober, looses girl, the girl comes back,,, yawn. Thisleft me feeling that I could have spent my time better and moreinterestingly by cleaning the bathroom drains instead. How on earth canone write 10 lines of a review on this film which was 112 minutes ofrepetitive nothingness and clichés. (imdb guidelines o f10 lines) Already at the beginning of the film one becomes bored and nearlyirritated at the music. Rather..too much of it. Quite frankly I don'tunderstand the nominations of this film with best male actor for JeffBridges and Grammy Award. Sorry to ruin this for Jeff Bridges fans, but this film is a flop and adisappointment.

Bev

09 May 2012

What did she see in him?

I could not believe the relationship between Bridges and the girl. What could she see in him?? He was dirty, smoking, and drunk. She was also way to young for him.

NY Writer

04 May 2012

little moviebig performance

Good Lord ain't that what the movie business is about?To photograph a well told story.To find actors who you believe every moment.To keep a consistent flow so that it all makes sense.Right?Mama don't let your babies grow up to be movie goers that didn't go to Crazy Heart.It was a slice of cinematic life few movies capture.Unless you are going to Avatar for the third time, go to this one.This needs to be more successful in order to keep these gems polished.

Jim Lane

03 May 2012

... we can almost taste the sour booze and smell the stale smoke ...

02 May 2012

Strikingly well acted.

After seeing Jeff in his most well known role (The Big Lebowski), I wasinterested to see if he could top it. In short, yes he can. On the face of it this is actually a pretty boring story. Not a hugeamount happens, and that which does happen is fairly easy to predict inadvance. This, however, doesn't really matter. This is a film solelydedicated to character development, and in this case it is quitespecial. All the parts are performed flawlessly without exception, Jeffin particular. His character has a good set of assets and flaws, all ofwhich are very believable. Overall really good, perhaps 8/10 is harsh.

brocksilvey

01 May 2012

Not So Crazy About Crazy Heart

Somebody put in an order for a fresh batch of movie clichés, please,because "Crazy Heart" has used up the inventory.This film must have been the personal pet project of Scott Cooper, ashe served as writer, director and producer, so I can only assume thatthe story was too close to his heart for him to be able to see what alame retread it was. But I can't imagine what drew good actors likeJeff Bridges and Maggie Gyllenhaal to such warmed over material.Every country cliché is present and accounted for: Bridges plays awashed up music star who's lost the ability to write songs until he'sinspired by his muse. There's your movie. Gyllenhaal is said muse, andthere's a considerable ick factor in seeing her paired with Bridges --not only is she about, what?, 30 years younger than him, but he looksso disgusting for so much of the film that you can't imagine any womanfalling into bed with him. She's got a little boy who she allowsBridges to get close to. If you think that means that we have to endurea scene of the drunk Bridges accidentally putting the little boy inpossible danger and then enduring the wrath of his mom, you'd be right.In fact, there's a good chance you're right about everything, since youcan call this entire film's plot, virtually scene by scene, far inadvance.Bridges won an Oscar for looking like hell and doing his own singing --he's been much better in a hundred other things.Grade: C

01 May 2012

BRIDGES AT HIS BEST

One of the true good things to happen this past Oscar night was to see Jeff Bridges win for best actor. He's done a number of great roles and should have been so honored several times in the past. So I was anxious to see if his performance in this week's release of CRAZY HEART was the best he's turned in. The answer lies in personal preferences, but he did do a great job here.Bridges stars as Bad Blake, a once legendary country star who's seen better days. After years on the road, years of drinking and smoking, years of bad marriages and managers, Blake is doing the only thing he knows how. He travels on his own from town to town playing small locations to make a living. The first of which we see is a bowling alley with a bandstand.Life on the road has taken its toll on Blake. His health isn't seen as fatal when we first meet him but the excesses he's lived through seem to be catching up with him. Along with those excesses comes a certain amount of stubbornness as Blake continue to turn down attempts by his protégé from years back, Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell), to help him by buying new songs from him. Having not written one in 3 years, Blake continues on his downward trail.And then Blake meets a young woman who comes to interview him after a show. Jean Craddock (Maggie Gyllenhaal) has seen better days and yet goes through life with a smile on her face. A single mother, Jean is attracted to Blake and the two begin a romance that starts with one night and moves into the possibility of a more permanent arrangement.When Blake falls asleep at the wheel on his way to visit Jean, she ends up having him stay at her place until he recovers. Before leaving the hospital, Blake's doctor sets the record straight for him: he's an alcoholic, he has emphysema, the possibility of a stroke is there and if he doesn't get his life together he won't be around a lot longer.Unfortunately Blake doesn't take the doctor's advice. Once he's able, he heads home to heal. But he misses Jean and her little boy Buddy and invites them to his home. Can Blake make the changes necessary in his life to have the family that he longs for but lost so long ago? Or will his desire for drinking and a hard life rule over those dreams?The movie works well because it doesn't focus totally on the ills that Blake puts himself through. It offers us enough to realize what his problems are without having to dwell on them or on the effects that his alcoholism has on him and his life. Rather than long passages showing us what's going on in his life along these lines, we get small glimpses instead. But these are enough to make their point and allow time to show the other side of Blake as well.We get to see the side of Blake that wants to make amends for his life. We get to see the side of Blake that shows him wanting to take his life in a new direction but finding that there is no easy route to do so. And we get to see a side of Blake that through all the bluster and talk of being the big time country star, he's still a simple man at heart.Bridges characterization of Bad Blake gives a depth to the character that some would not have been able to carry off. Blake here is a man that you want to succeed, that you want to see change, that you want to find a better life. At the same time, the story doesn't move in the normal pattern where everything ends hunky dory half way through.The actors that support Bridges here also turn in great performances. Gyllenhaal offers a subtle approach to her character. She's not the doe eyed fan who is overwhelmed by the star presence of Blake. She's interested in him first as a person she's interviewing as a journalist and only later becomes romantically inclined. Collin Farrell (who I had no idea was in the film based on trailers and the like) does a great job as Tommy Sweet. The character is one that could have followed directly in the shoes of Blake, but has instead embraced the fame and fortune in an entirely different way.Both Bridges and Farrell sang themselves as the characters and it adds a nice touch. It's always better to hear the actual actors rather than see them replaced in voice over. It adds a nice touch and both actors do a commendable job here.CRAZY HEART might appear on the surface to be just another story of a musician who fell from grace or another alcoholic tries to find redemption flick. But it's more than either of those tales. It's the story of a man who has a chance to change his life for reasons he didn't know still existed inside of him. And that makes for a great picture and a performance that is indeed Oscar worthy.

30 April 2012

Crazy should be right title for this movie

I am sorry I have better use of my time than to watch a movie about aAlcoholic and abuser of women. The main player in the movie aka Bad Blake admitted he was married 5 times huh what a loser he is then we get this so called sweet and nice girl Friend who wants to get to know him better and is doing a so called story on him and next thing you know they are in bed together plus she want to bring home to meet her 4 yr old son huh. Wow now that is a great role model to have around huh ? After 40 mins of this I shut it down and boxed movie up and I may even give it away or resell it here. The acting was not very good , plots been done before and lead actor Jeff aka Bad Blake keeps mumbling and drinking and womanizing. Like I said there is better movies to watch than this one.

GARY R

26 April 2012

Blakes Salvation

This gritty country & western music film leads Bad Blake to an extrication from the dangers of booze, nicotine and one night stands. And the final deliverance for the viewer is the heart lifting musical songs of electric guitars, honky tonk pianos and twangy voices bouncing off the screen into your ears. The outstanding performance of actor Jeff Bridges makes you want to pull even more for his character to seek some kind of redemption, pick himself off the floor and flee the dark confinement of his seedy hotel & bar existence. The innocent kid that Blake encounters will be the saving grace for his temporary girlfriend and his own soul. The youngster almost steals Blake's crazy heart and the film itself. This movie may produce a first class delivery of an Oscar or two.

26 April 2012

Worth Watching

Is this a super exciting movie? No. But it's a good story, and the acting was awesome. Definitely worth watching.

beautox

25 April 2012

Realism? Ha! Who needs it!

To review this film, I have the following questions: The "love of his life" flies to Houston from New Mexico to see him. Shearrives at his house by taxi.Q:what kind of a guy in love does not pickup his main squeeze at the airport? Blake crashes his 31 year old GMC,rolls it over, and suddenly it is back in primo condition a couple ofweeks later. Q: if he is so "down on his luck" where did he get themoney torestore it? If he had full insurance, the insurance companywould total it, and give him a couple of hundred bucks.Jean is a reporter for a newspaper. She meets Blake, and a couple ofinterviews later, she is sleeping with him. Q: does this add to hercreditability as a news reporter? Most news outlets would fire her, orat least cancel her project.Come to think of it, what does she see in this old, ugly, drunk anyway?The film makers appear to be cynical enough to think that C+W fans willlike the music, and ignore the plot, and the "chick-flick" (sorry aboutthe characterization) crowd will just care about the cliché andpredictable love story. Unfortunately, many viewers do not fit ineither group

25 April 2012

Soulful story...

The figure of the cowboy has long been a favorite of filmakers wanting to portray an outsider, a self-reliant man who finds his own way. In this case it's a country singer who's wound up alone and out of sync with his times. Bad's solution is to crawl inside a bottle and to exist on the lowest rungs of the music business. At a certain point, he begins to feel again, sobers up and reaches for some meaning and authenticity in his life.What plot there is exists to support this character study and to allow Jeff Bridges to bring his role to full and glorious life. It's a fine performance and it is the reason to see this film. Fine photography and music give texture to the film's world and add to its emotional resonance. If you've ever listened to Townes Van Zandt or Billie Joe Shaver, or if you have a soft spot for poetic, good-hearted losers, you'll love this movie.

M2b

23 April 2012

My eagerly awaited review of Crazy Heart

Huh?When does the movie start? The film is formulaic, predictable,pleasant. That's the good news, it won't kill you to sit thru it. Waitfor Johnny Depp's Mad Hatter to go see when you're in a mood to endyour own life.I don't understand the raves for Jeff Bridges' performance, and I likehim, always have. I think that's how he's winning awards for CrazyHeart, people like him. His performance is professional. He does thejob. It's not in any way a stand out job of acting, really. He's good,that's it. Maggie Gyllenthal is also OK as his younger lover interest.She looks great from the neck up and Bridges' Bad Blake keeps yappingabout how gorgeous she is. But they don't keep the camera away from herskinny body and flat bottom, and frankly, she didn't look that hot tome. They could have cast this part better. The best thing in the filmwas a big star's unadvertised part as Bad Blake's super successfulprotégé. It's not a secret if you look it up, like they did with TomCruise in Tropic Thunder, but this guy's performance was the best inthe film, so I won't ruin the surprise and name the star here.In the film, they keep raving about how great the song that Bad Blakewrites for Maggie is, called (surprise) Crazy Heart. Huh? (again). Thesong is truly truly ordinary, far less as songs than the ones supposedto be Bad Blake's old hits. In the film, I think they briefly mentionsome famous-not so famous country song writer/singer who the Bad Blakecharacter is supposed to be based on. I never heard of him before, andlikely won't ever again.The cinematography of the Southwest is excellent, breathtaking attimes. The film is not. It is being badly overrated by the jackal packthat reviews films nowadays. They sniff out what the consensus issaying, and write accordingly.If you wait for DVD-rental, unless you're a country music fan, youwon't make it thru the two hours without falling asleep or hittingpause to go surf the channels. Trust me.

23 April 2012

BB

The tale of Bad Blake a fallen country star. Once one of the biggest, he now tours bars and bowling alleys in the southwest. A drunk who smokes and really has lost his passion for making music. Still his protege a hot young country artist played by Colin Farrell still wants him to write for him and a young reporter played by Maggie Gyllenhaal falls for him despite his many faults. This is a really good character movie with an excellent performance by Jeff Bridges. Jeff does his own singing and the songs are actually quite good. I really enjoyed the movie.