Lori Wiegele

I thought this movie was excellent. The producers hit just the right tone...sweet without being sappy, nostalgic without seeming to be, evoking an Italian lifestyle with tenderness and affection. I guess I was in the right mood to enjoy this sweet romance set in working town Pennsylvania. The location was interesting and real in its gritty, blue collar setting. Yes, the family of Tony Oliverio was vintage, old-school--okay maybe stereotyped--but they were gentle in their loudness, and loving and generous. I loved the food aspect and wished that there was even more. This movie came before The Bear, and so the scene of the actual feast was appreciated for its low-key and loving presentation. I thought the acting was excellent. I particularly enjoyed the work of the young girls, Katie and Beth. They were both very natural and moving. I was very sad for Katie, and I think a lot of men would not understand why Tony would dump her. Katie was beautiful and liked sex. I felt for her when she said she didn't just lose Tony, she lost a whole family. Beth was also a good actress...very natural, pretty and hit all the right notes. My favorite was Josh Helman as Juke. His character was superb. Loved the movie. Wish it went on for four more hours.

Only true lovers of history will enjoy this. I suspect that the 7 other patrons at the 1130 matinee and I were all lovers of history. It was long. In spite of its length, I still didn't grasp the real reason for Napoleon's legend. Apparently he was a good strategist and won many battles, but in the end, he took down a total of 3 million men and lost his reputation. The movie does try hard to relay the historical events, but that is a tall task to do in two hours. The script focuses on two things mostly: Napoleon's weird relationship with Josephine, and the battles. I think the writers felt that to understand Napoleon you had to understand his obsession with Josephine. I think they did a good job of that. The battles, I think there were a total of four, were really excellent. The last one did an amazing job of showing just how insane humanity is....men running at each other with bayonets and just slaughtering each other. At one point the British sent their infantry out and thousands of them in separate units squared up. Napoleon sent in his cavalry which ran in circles around the square, but they were getting cut down by the infantry. I'm sure no animals were harmed in the filming, as they like to say, but I found myself hoping desperately that all those beautiful horses turning somersaults and flips and getting bayoneted were CGI. I thought the musical score was interesting and provocative. I did nod off a few times but probably because I worked all night. I thought Joaquin Phoenix' interpretation of Napoleon was weird. The resemblance was good, but his portrayal almost made Napoleon seem like a cross between some Southern Gothic inbred and a buffoon. I thought Napoleon was somewhat formidable, but not so as played by Phoenix. The actress playing Josephine was convincing in her role, especially in the scene where she has to read her part in the divorce that was forced on her. I give it 4 stars because I walked away wanting to know more about the real Napoleon.

Not quite on a par with Private Ryan, but it held the attention of the audience (with a median age of about 60). I thought for awhile that we spent quite a long time in the trenches with the 2 protagonists, but decided the point there was to show us what the trenches were really like. I still feel like no movie could ever come close to depicting what a hell that truly must have been. I did notice immediately the similarity with Private Ryan and the mission the corporal was being sent on, and I felt disappointed because it seemed like such a RIP-off of that movie. Also there was one scene where one of the corporals was reciting all the kinds of cherry trees one might have and all I could think of was Forrest Gump's buddy talking endlessly about all the things you could do with shrimp. There was a scene where the surviving character fell into a river and down something that seemed like Niagara Falls, and survived. That was a bit ludicrous to me, as it also was when he emerged from the river and didnt seem to have any of the wounds he sustained earlier. I thought he had a significant one behind his left ear but saw no evidence of any wound. We all got the message though. The futility of war. The senseless slaughter of young men on pieces of turf that belonged to neither side. I was also aware of the musical score throughout and it did quite a bit to increase the tension and anxiety, the fear and the sadness.