"Rachel Getting Married" is the story of a young woman, Kym (Anne Hathaway) who leaves her current rehab center to spend a few days with her dysfunctional family and attend the wedding of her sister, Rachel (Rosemarie DeWitt.) She assumes she will be Maid of Honor but with her history of drug abuse, no one trusts her and there is an immediate crisis. Her father (Bill Irwin) attempts to make her comfortable but he is no more trusting than her estranged Mother (Debra Winger.) The groom, Sidney (Tunde Adebimpe) and his large Jamaican family and many bohemian friends fill the household with wonderful music, dancing and many wonderful speeches but all this happiness becomes unbearable for Kym who feels and is looked upon as the "black sheep." You feel as though you have just walked into the middle of a family situation where you do not belong and the tendency to leave is very strong. Were it not for the extremely dynamic and strong performance of Anne Hathaway, I would not have finished watching this movie...but gradually she won me over and she is the core of the film. This film is a deep character study and one must be able to relate to Kym on some level to appreciate and enjoy it. The cast is superb but the entire experience was a bit too exhausting for my taste. 3/10/09
rabbisanta's Reviews
Displaying Review 16 - 20 of 25 in total
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Great quirky Indie drama, not really a black humor comedy, with four lead actors who do wonders with the script through excellent acting. Amy Adams plays Rose, the older of two young women sisters, who cleans houses to make ends meet. Jason Spevak (who really holds his own with the name actors) plays her illegitimate 6ish yr old son Oscar, an inquisitive little kid, always inadvertently getting in trouble. Emily Blunt plays Norah, the younger sister to Rose, who is so flighty she can't hold a job. Alan Arkin plays the sister's father, Joe, who has all these comical get rich schemes. There are a number of pretty quirky plot lines, however, the majority of the movie is about the character developments and relationships among these four - each has inner demons to conjure with the help of the others. Some of the scenes are really good: the sisters in their initial foray into crime scene cleanup; Grandpa Joe teaching Oscar how to be an entrepreneur; the sisters making Oscar feel special as the "Little Bast*rd"; and many other scenes. Some of the other scenes do drag a bit, and the movie is somewhat slow paced. If you are looking for out and out comedy, then this isn't your movie. However, if you're looking for a family relationship type drama, comical at times, then this is a very good movie to see
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If Kurt Vonnegut were to write a love story it might look like this. Brilliant in its conception and just as brilliant in its execution you will be mesmerized as the mind is captured and let loose amidst a flurry of emotional backlash. Dare to be vulnerable in the eyes of someone you love. Have the strength to know that the you which has been created came through the full range of the human experience...this includes love lost and trauma, fear and humiliation, passion paired with pain. It is one thing to let those things go...it is another to lose them altogether. Jim Carrey gives his best performance to date and Kate Winslet is superlative as always. Be prepared to think, but go with the flow and you will come away with something unique and wonderful.
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This predictable Drama/Thriller could be a composite of several well known movies like Fatal Attraction, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, The Crush and even Play Misty For Me, to name a few. It's one of those stalker movies where the Guy gets stalked instead of the girl. The girl in this case is a beautiful blonde office temp played by Ali Larter(Heroes) and the guy she stalks is a very handsome Asset manager, played by Idris Elba( The Wire) who has recently been promoted and seems to have it all together. Derek Charles (Elba) is married to Sharon, who used to be a secretary at his firm, but now is a new mother. Sharon is played by singer/actress Beyonce Knowles. Derek and Sharon seem like the perfect married couple with a seemingly close relationship, beautiful baby and a new house. But of course the new temp threatens to spoil everything with her obsession for Derek. What makes this typical love triangle a little different is the attitude of Beyonce's character, who is anything but timid and quiet. This movie is somewhat unbelievable at times but also entertaining. All three leads are interesting to watch on the big screen but I think Beyonce has the best role of the three and shows us she's got sass and an edgy attitude which spins the story in a more updated style. I also liked the soundtrack which was some great Rhythm and Blues numbers. This is not the best written script but it will still appeal to many viewers who enjoy watching a psycho chick get what is due her.
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To claim Never Back Down is a movie that offers anything much more than diluted Karate Kid meets Fight Club would be a stretch. But to declare it a VERY pleasant surprise is most certainly true! Cliche, obvious, what sports movie isn't? Well, at least this tries to be more than just street fights or even pit fights [which I liked in 'Confessions of a Pit Fighter' but that movie offered nothing else]. The Challenge this movie is going to have is it not going to get compared to the gritty Ring Of Death type movie which I LOVED, it going to fall short of Rocky, Karate Kid and Fight Club. Still, if you are a fan of Mixed Martial Arts and some teen drama too, this is certainly worth a peek. My low expectations were far exceeded and I walk away very surprised at the quality of the fights. The acting was predictably not a strength but I don't watch MMA for acting skills, I want to see beat downs. This has a little bit of both. Djimon Hounsou is a stand out while Sean Faris is simply a fighter. Cam Gigandet has a surprising resemblance to Brad Pitts character in Fight Club. =) In short: Fight Fans *should* see this sport fight flick with low expectations, even though it is not for everyone. Hope this is Helpful!
