Matt Takas

I don't get the criticism of this movie. Woke? No. Bad actors? No, but the script could have been a little better. Psychological abuse is like this, really. Unless you've been in a relationship like that, you don't know. It may seem like boring melodrama, but when you are in it, the way Anna Kendrick acted it out can be what it looks like for someone who is caught. Trapped in a narcissistic web. As a man who's been caught in a female narcissists web, that's how it looked. This has not one thing to do with whether or not one is strong or weak when it comes to leaving a relationship. That's not an option. It takes the outside perspective to awaken the person and show them what they need to see for themselves. That said, it was a good portrait of those kinds of relationships. A little more could have been done with it, but it is good for what it presents.

An absolutely beautiful, moving and grim depiction of the human condition as it existed in the American West in the 1800's. The performances of the entire cast as some of the best I've seen from all of the actors. Christian Bale and Rosamund Pike put in some of the best performances of their respective careers. The always fantastic Wes Studi, though not given a whole lot of dialog in this movie, made the most of it. After watching the behind the scenes features, the amount of care and attention to detail, even down to having Native American consultants to ensure accuracy with the two different cultures portrayed in the movie (Cheyenne and Comanche), is absolutely amazing. I am able to appreciate all it took to make this film that can truly stand on its own merits and not be a retread of something else that was done in the past. This is a story, while grim, grisly and quite violent at points, that speaks to the heart of a man and what it takes to find forgiveness and redemption for the sins of the past. It puts on display how war breaks a man, how hate can corrupt a man and take him away from his humanity. One of the messages .... if we take the time to understand others and ultimately their culture, we can better understand ourselves. It also displays some of the atrocities against the Native Americans, which is horrendous and abhorrent to see. That is something that has a theme still running to this day, with them and also with other minorities in this country. This is quite a long movie, but it held my interest for the entire time. The themes are a bit heavy, but the payoff at the end is well worth the long ride. Highly recommended.

An absolute gem of a film, regardless of what Rotten Tomatoes says. This film has what so many films of today are lacking .... a heart and soul, voiced beautifully by Michael Caine. He struggles with the loss of his wife and like some other movies that have come before, we see that he wants to kill himself. But then he meets Pauline (portrayed beautifully by Clémence Poésy) on a bus one day. They become friends despite the huge age difference. I won't say any more about how the rest of the movie goes, but everything somehow works out as it should. This movie touched my heart at a time when I most needed to see that all was not lost in my own life and that if you're open to it, life just happens with some kind of flow. Everything almost always works out as it should. So, forget what the reviews say. If you like a good, heartfelt drama, settle in for a little while and watch this movie.

Very much a one man show shortly after the halfway point of the film. The pacing was a bit slow at times, but there was a point to that. It also seemed that random things were thrown in **SPOILER ALERT** like the monkeys on the space station, but I think that was to show us that despite Pitt's character being out of his comfort zone, he still is able to be calm in the face of disaster. This is very much an existential movie and the message is loud and clear if you are listening and watching closely. A definition of masculinity as it exists in the current world is there. Worth at least one viewing, although I will likely watch at least once more.

Having watched this when I was much younger and revisiting it recently, this movie is really good for what it is. Yes, I know it is not historically accurate, but at that point we were still 5 years out from discovering the real wreck. Probably what makes the movie so compelling, to me at least, is the musical score by John Barry (which earned it an extra star!). That is some of the most gorgeously composed and well placed music for the time. It's the music that pulled me in when I first watched it as a kid and still does now. It helps to enhance the sense of romance that there was way back in time with the sea and the fascination of things like this. There are some slight distractions in the movie that take away from the overall story (already mentioned in other reviews) that could have been left out. It was a little slow in some places, but that helped build the slight bit of tension. While not the best movie in a lot of different ways, it's still entertaining enough to give it a watch. If you are a Titanic fan (I got it from my dad), it's an interesting twist on the reality of the situation that we have at the bottom of the Atlantic today.

It's not often that I write a review for a movie I've seen, but I was floored by just how good this one was. A story of redemption and growth, recognizing what works and doesn't work in ones life. So much could be said about this, but truly it's just something you need to see with your own eyes. The last thing I'll say .... change isn't easy, but with recognition and courage so many possibilities open up. Great movie and worth every single minute of time spent watching!