Genres

Visitors Review

JCHathaway-1 2012-05-20 00:16:34

Interesing movie--would make a good Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, if it weren't already a musical

Given the reactions in other reviews, I'd suggest that this is one ofthose movies that is horribly mismarketed. The trailers, packaging,etc., bill it as a romantic comedy when, as another reviewer observed,it is actually a dark comedy, or a tragedy of sorts. The beginning waslight and enjoyable. The middle was tedious and grating. The endingspoke to me on a profound level. Some have criticized the Carly Simonsoundtrack. Man of us narrate our lives with a favorite singer orcomposer, so that merely adds a touch of realism and sense to thesoundtrack, rather than randomly selected background songs that connectto the theme but not the plot. As for the theme of the movie, it hasseveral, which can either make for good or bad art, depending upon theexecution. The primary theme, if you go by the narrative framingdevice, is young adult coming of age. The character has been raised bya single, divorced mother--studies and common sense show that childrenof divorced couples are far more likely to be cynical aboutrelationships. But she is yet naive and optimistic. She trusts tooreadily, and trusts the wrong people. For this Andrew Lloyd Webberfanatic, the film raised familiar feelings to two of his shows. One is_Song and Dance_, the story of a naive young woman trying to make it inNYC and being brought down by a series of bad relationships. In theend, she must confront her own descent and loss of naiveté. The otheris _Sunset Boulevard_, based of course on the Billy Wilder film, whichdeals with moral descent in the pursuit of career. The climax scene ofthis film reminds me of both works. But ultimately, the lesson is thateven our worst failures and bad experiences can be life lessons. Inorder to have our dreams and plans come true, we must be willing toallow ourselves to fail along the way, and learn from failure. This istrue in relationships and in careers. Some people encounter liars andcheats, and become liars and cheats in return. Others encounter liarsand cheats, then learn to avoid them and not stoop to their level.

hazey 2012-05-19 18:00:10

really disappointing

I am so disappointed with this movie. Even after the bad reviews Istill wanted to see it due to an interesting plot and great cast. Ireally liked Just Married, so I figured that even with it's low B-gradefeel I would still enjoy it. Alas, I feel cheated and a little dizzy.The cinematography seemed messy and pointless. There were some greatopportunities for interesting coverage, instead we are left with cheesycliché, boring frames. Direction...was there any? The narration startedto become stale and at times distracted from what was actuallyhappening on screen, who knows it could have been more interesting! Ifeel sorry for the producers and editors that tried to salvage somesemblance of a story from this waste of film! I've seen studentproductions with more coherence! I'm left feeling as though I've missedthe point. So much talent wasted.

RNHunter 2012-05-18 10:47:12

Not Much of a Romance

While there have been a number of great romance movies, this onedefinitely was not. We talk sometimes about violence in films orcruelty. Sometimes the cruelest thing is how we humans treat each otherin everyday life - or everyday situations that are or should beromantic. And instead of romance, there is mistrust, deceit, anger,sorrow, but never really much love. This is such a movie. It is indeeda movie about situations that one would expect to be romantic, butinstead are awkward and awful.Even the scenes that are supposed to be happy really end up beingegotistical and or selfish. None of that leaves some of us viewers witha feeling of happiness nor makes some of us glad to see such a movie.As for the acting - again it was not very believable. In fairness tothe actresses and actors though, it seemed mostly due to a very badscript - or at least one that portrayed the cast mostly at their worst.If there is to be a villain or villains in a movie, it is morecomfortable if the villains are comfortable with their evil and do itby choice. In this case the villains are portrayed as "bumbling victimsthemselves" – which just makes them seem witless and silly.

2012-05-17 22:36:32

Little Black F

This movie is for girls because girls like the little drama crap. It was way too boring. They would need the best actors and it would still be really really really really bad.

ctomvelu 2012-05-17 12:07:27

Slight comedy

Formulaic, lightweight comedy-- so lightweight it almost floats off into thin air -- about aninsecure chick (pop-eyed, pencil-thin Brittany Murphy) who sneaks apeek in her boyfriend's (somber Ron Livingston) Palm and definitelydoesn't like what she finds there. Before she is done, she has managedto corral three of his former gal pals and they along with theboyfriend appear as unwitting guests on a Sally Jesse Raphael (KathyBates) -type TV talk showwhere much dirty laundry is exposed, thanks to the machinations of anevil show producer (steely-jawed Holly Hunter). It's a paycheck, Isuppose, but what in the hellis Oscar winner Kathy Bates doing in 'tween' crap like this?

SpencerL 2012-05-17 01:28:41

I hated Little Black Book

This was the worst movie of all times. It was horrible. How could anybody like it? It had bad acting, a bad script, a bad everything. This was the only film I ever bood at in my life I wish I could throw popcorn at the screen. DONT' SEE IT!

Jay 2012-05-16 11:12:57

The Little Black Book

This story started off funny...and then went to dramatic..and then back to funny!! It was the first love story that I have ever seen or read that ended with the Girl reaching her dreams instead of the Happy ever after with her prince charming!! it showed that women can live happy without a man in there lives!! i loved it!!

japhorrorwriter 2012-05-16 07:20:30

I WANT MY MONEY BACK - HEAR THAT? REVOLUTION?

What were they thinking? Here is my beef - plain and simple. When you collect great resources: atalent pool that most Hollywood films strive for: K Bates, H Hunter, RLivingston, B Murphy and especially fresh new talents like J Nicholson,you throw them in front of expensive cameras and lights, you wouldthink you end up with a good film. Halfway decent would do.Watching the film last night, I have never seen more 'walkouts' fromthe theater. People even left just before the climax began. Thats bad.Rather than writing a personal review of why I disliked it, I welcomethe studio to take a cue from the audience, and the box office figures. Assumably, the people behind the film over at Revolution Studios areexperienced in their field. But why would they release Little Black B,in its current state? Fix it first. They know whats wrong with it.Hell, the audience knows whats wrong with it. Why not spend a couplemore bucks and end up with a story that truly maximizes the footagethey shot and end up with a coherent story? There was even VOICE OVERin it. Fixes should have been more simple. There are tons of factors in why a movie turns out bad. When its on anindependent film, reasons are simple. Economics. They simply had nomoney. But when oodles of cash are thrown into a production, whatexcuse does Revolution have to release films like "AmericasSweethearts", "Hollywood Homocide", "Anger Management" or "Tears of theSun". Same principle applies - great talent, great production value,great concepts, great stories, poo movie. Those were economic andartistic disasters and frankly a waste of everyone's time. Althoughthose films made a reasonable amount of box office, I mean, come on. Igot duped just like everyone else into seeing them. And nobody sawthose films a second time. I don't fault the filmmaker, the actors, the DP, the weather, thecurrent state of the country, etc. for Hollywood blunders. I fault thestudios and the prod companies (or whoever took my money) that let thisget passed up the food chain. Or passed down, or whatever. I fault theBRASS - the executives. If their bosses like it, and they know in theirhearts they will end up with another Little Black Book or an AngerManagement, then risk getting fired for the sake of integrity. Don'tlet them release another single movie that people forget about a monthlater. Thats not why people make films. They make them to tell greatstories. And thats not why we see them. We go to the movies to seegreat stories. To escape. Not to wonder why everyone is leaving thetheater. And why I sat there like an ass.Please, send me my money back....

K-Slicer 2012-05-15 06:31:51

Please Throw The Book At Me...

...and give me a black eye. Of any and all pieces of media that I have everseen, heard, touched, tasted and smelled, this is the worst piece to havethe word 'black' in the title. There was no book, and it wasn't black. If itwas meant to be a 'black comedy', then it fell on its face because itstumbled over a black cat. I shall cease the punspeak and continue mycommentary in the accepted normalspeak.There are some decent aspects to this pile of bunk and those reading thisshall be spoiled: (1) Kathy Bates was probably the only ray of sunshine inthis hopeless crock. She was sadly underplayed in my mind and she shouldhave stolen this away from the cutesy starlet. (2) I have to say that HollyHunter is still in top form. She can play a conniving b**** better thananyone that I have seen in quiet some time. While she isn't up there withSharon Stone, she did prove the point that certain parts of the workingworld require backstabbing to survive. If an actor can make a philosophicalpoint and make it well, then the performance is well-done I believe. (3)Extending the second reason, the climatic sequence was the best in the film.It came from nowhere in my mind considering certain hints were being dropped(Hunter's going-along with the plan, the Working Girl movie poster, Ira'sobsession of the little black book idea). Maybe a more astute viewer couldhave seen it but I did not. I believe it was carefully plotted, written,acted, and filmed in order to incite a deep emotional reaction from theviewer. Is it just me or did the entire cast and crew read Aristotle beforethe sequence was shot? I could be missing the point but I am from the schoolthat suggests philosophy is the underpinning of all human understanding.Three reasons give a score of three.Now for the negativity: (1) Brittany Murphy blows like an untied balloon.She blows like the bitter cold winds that sweep across the high plains ofNorth Dakota in the dead of winter. She can't act and she hasn't acted wellin anything (except for Just Married, that was funny). I think this rolecould have been better for someone like Scarlett Johannsen. If she dyed herred locks blonde and chopped it short, she could pass as a Diane Sawyerwannabe. (2) What has happened to Ron Livingston? He is truly a no-hitwonder as far as I can tell. His best performance was in Office Space butthat was a defeaningly silent failure at the box office. He had no heart inthis movie despite whatever extending circumstances might have caused not tohave it. (3) Carly Simon was used and abused in this movie. Maybe it was amutual you-save-my-relevance-to-history-while-I-can-fill-up-my-bank-account-kind-of-agreement.Plainly, I believe the greatest chanteuse of the 1970's is trying to extendher relevance span much like Styx did with Adam Sandler in 1999's Big Daddy.It's pure exploitation for the sake of keeping the cash cow happy. (4) Ihated the premise of this movie from the outset. Why can't the heads behindthis film realize that the biggest questions cannot be answered? Thequestion is, should past secrets stay buried or be revealed? The answer isBOTH, end of story! It depends on every relationship and every circumstanceinvolving those relationships. She should have let the situation alonedespite everything else involved and the world would have been at ease. Thatis why I hate doubt; when you are at ease, everything is right with theworld. (5) I leave the psychobabble for more common sense themes. I hatedhow the character of Joyce got screwed because she was the one we were meantto root for. In fact, the other two women (the self-absorbed doctor and theshallow, vane model) didn't deserve the screwing either. While the situationwas complex from the outset, they didn't deserve any of the attention. Ifyou are outside the situation regardless of your flaws, then you don'tdeserve to be sucked in and then burned at the stake. The characters Murphyand Hunter played both deserved to be burned at the stake. (6) This movieattempted black comedy and failed miserably. It tried to express someopinions on the insatiable American appetite of reality TV and the crueltyof the world of television. I would think films like Network and BroadcastNews (even Ringmaster with Jerry Springer) would profess those opinions inbetter ways. If this movie had marketed itself as that and the heads behindthis film went more the jugular, this movie would been much better. I thinkif James L. Brooks had at least directed this movie and cast somebody likeHolly Hunter or Scarlet Johannsen in the main role, then we might havesomething to talk about. (7) The ending was a farce so nothing more needs tobe voiced.Overall, this movie bites and I felt cheated for the most part. I did laughin a few places but it just made me cringe over and over again. Somebodytreated me out, so I waited until the end of the horror to make my opinionsknown to the world. When it's free, who says you can complain? If anyone outthere has a little black book, burn it now so your significant other cannever find it. If you are in a relationship that is more worthy thananything you had prior, why hold on to the past? It's the kind of stuff thatmakes Hollywood rob us of our hard-earned money.

Zen416 2012-05-14 16:55:16

Better Than Expected

I saw this on DVD a couple of days ago and was pleasantly surprised. Ihave to say, Brittany Murphy is a good actress and she certainly holdsher own in comedy situations. Though this is a comedy, she plays thecharacter as the (semi) straight-man role and it makes the film,because it lets the other characters around her (like Holly Hunter,Kevin Sussman and Stephen Tobolowsky in particular) shine in some ofthe funnier parts. The use of the Carly Simon music throughout was anice touch too, instead of the formulaic soundtrack of bubble-gum stuffa lot of other films use. The ending is especially good and makes thiswhole film worth checking out if you give it a chance. It starts alittle slow but once the pace picks up, you'll be pleased you gave it ashot. Rent it when you want a different sort of romance tale.

mister_cellophane 2012-05-10 21:43:02

The "Book" Rewritten

"Little Black Book" is not a terrible movie. This was a large shock forme, after seeing a trailer that filled "How To Lose A Guy..."territory... and I didn't think highly of that movie either."...Book" is definitely no must-see, but it does surprise on a fewlevels. Thankfully, the writers and director have skipped some of themost predictable events (again, see "How To Lose...") that mark thistype of movies. The movie presents happy clichés, then ditches them.The acting was also of a high calibre - particularly on behalf of HollyHunter, who rules the movie with her feisty and sharp Barb. No punintended. Julianne Nicholson, as Joyce, also stands out as a contenderfor greater roles. Unfortunately, Brittany Murphy is just not givenenough to make Stacy original. She copes well, but at the end of theday, Stacy is just another formulaic lead character.Unfortunately, the occasional surprises and the better-than-averageacting can't make up for a still-lacklustre script with some"soul-searching" dialogue that just can't carry its themes. Thecommentary on talk shows is also inadequately covered to make asufficient statement. Which really sums up "Little Black Book"... theymay have rewritten the book, but they left out the point.

Mitiori 2012-05-10 09:50:56

A Little Surprising

I gave the movie an 8 because I mostly enjoyed it.That's not to say that I couldn't deconstruct the poorly concocted andunculled plots, the poor editing and the unlikeable characters. Or thatI didn't FF a few places, surf the Net and take a lot of breaks. It'sjust that I expected an annoying Brittany Murphy "romantic comedy" andgot a poorly disguised sitcom instead. And while I hate sitcoms, itsuited my desire for a mildly entertaining film I'd never seen beforeand that didn't challenge my mind too much.Ron Livinston was completely wasted - I've adored him in everythingI've ever seen him in before this. Not only was he wasted, he was areprehensible character. Other reviewers have already harped on howterrible Stacy (Brittany) and the other characters were. I just want tomake sure everyone realizes what a creep this guy was - which softenedthe dislike I otherwise had for Stacy's actions. I would NEVER put upwith a guy who was lying to me like he was to her. I would have dumpedhim long before I took all of the actions this character did (not thatI would ever do that, but you know what I mean).It was a diversion for people who enjoy movies, like I do.

reblit 2012-05-07 22:26:48

Slightly amusing light sort of movie

"Little Black Book" is a slightly amusing, slightly dramatic movie.The movie is about a man's palm pilot and the things his currentgirlfriend finds in it. Brittan Murphy (the current girlfriend) goes togreat lengths to find out information that her boyfriend (RonLivingston) has not shared with her when he goes off on business andleaves his palm pilot behind.Holly Hunter plays a co-worker at Murphy's new place of employment.Hunter instigates Murphy's action.The movie touches on what a person will do to get ahead at work andwhat a girl will do to find out about her boyfriend's pastrelationships.Julianne Nicholson's character (Joyce) was well done and after watchingthe movie it is her character that I remember.

euroman1970 2012-05-07 13:00:15

Not bad for a romantic comedy

I was pleasantly surprised by this romantic comedy. Most of the moviesI've seen lately were disasters. This film started out slowly and forthe first 30 minutes or so it wasn't clear which direction it wouldtake. The story takes place in New Jersey. It is about a young girlStacy (Brittany Murphy) who dreams of one day working side by side withDiane Sawyer. But she has to start somewhere and accepts a job at alocal Talk Show. She thinks that she is in a great relationship withDerek (Ron Livingston) until he mentions about Lulu, a supermodel heused to date. When Derek leaves on business out of town, Stacy tries tofind out more about Derek's past relationships by going through histhings and his palm pilot (electronic black book). I won't go into moredetails because I don't want to spoil the film. There are severaltwists and the big one at the very end. This was a very satisfying filmfor me. Reading through some other reviews, I am shocked to see so manypeople dogging this movie. I would highly recommend anyone who's everbeen in love to watch this film. Little Black Book deserves a muchbetter review.

benhl285 2012-05-06 09:04:01

Wow

After viewing this movie, I'd have to say that it was probably theworst decision of my recent past to spend money on it. This movie isjust god-awful. Brittany Murphy portrays a girlfriend who is crafty andintuitive but at the same time clueless. Suspecting hidden motives anddoubting everything, which gives us the answer to the rhetoricalquestion posed in the beginning (the answer to which, by the way, isexactly what you would expect). This movie it seems cannot decidewhether it wants to be another pointless fun movie or try and getsomething serious and philosophical across. It fails miserably at both.The acting is dull, and there is no interest in trying to understandthe characters (the poor writing makes the viewer give the extra effortto figure them out for themselves which frankly is not worth it).Recycled cheap laughs (singing in the bathroom) are just stupid and thewhole movie seems like a commercial for a certain musician who in myopinion is just as good at creating moving songs as this movie is atgetting good reviews. Basically I warn you very strongly not to seethis: the characters go on a journey but seem intent on leaving you inthe dust as they do, lackluster performances and lame jokes accentuatethe diverse plot in a way that takes whatever potential this movie hadto be decent and throws it down the drain.

freecourtney1011 2012-05-05 21:42:47

Amazing music, acting, story, and film

This is a film for anyone who has ever been in any relationship, or isin one. Little Black Book is a cute, funny satire on relationshipswhere trust is not there. Carly Simon's music inspired this film as ithas other great relationship based films such as Working Girl, andHeartburn. A great film to watch after a terrible break-up, due to theextremely hopeful and inspiring ending. Brittany Murphy (Sin City) isonce again brilliant, beautiful, and cleaver as the lead who just sohappens gets caught up in one big tangled web with the help of herpartner/friend played by Holly Hunter (Thirteen). Little Black Bookoffers a great story, an amazing cast including Murphy, Hunter as wellas Kathy Bates (Rumor Has It...) and a cameo by Carly Simon.

zidezi 2012-05-05 06:49:29

A Rental - At Best

Saw it during a screening in New York, a few weeks ago. I was expectinga total chick flick, a movie aspiring to be nothing more than that.There were some funny lines, though Murphy's goggly eyes andself-imposed humor, and Kevin Sussman's attempt to overact comedy wereanything but entertaining. Ron Livingston performs with the samenonchalance and lack of originality as in "Sex and the City"; he'son-screen time is disappointingly short if you crave more masculineeye-candy. Kathy Bates, constrained by the limitations of a part thatjust doesn't suit her is at times funny, yet greatly underused. Theending is meant to make us ponder and realize that we might discover alittle bit more about ourselves when spying on our significant others(who would have thought?) I'd give it a two-star rating our of five,for Holly Hunter, who shines in the end in minutes of honest andstress-free performance, yet a second too late to salvage the movie,and for Julianne Nicholson, her natural, candid self. Murphy has a fewgood lines, yet she's trying too hard to generate the comedy vibe; asthe bitter-sweet ending proves it, she'd better stick to more dramaticparts. Bottom line: it's a rental, at best.

2012-05-05 00:18:04

Ridiculous film

Okay, this has to be one of the worst 'romantic comedies' I've everseen - its a completely unbelievable plot line, with afar-too-easily-HATEable heroine - who, by the way, overacts throughoutthe entire film. There are far too many close-ups in the last 15 minsof Brittany Murphy's quivering lips and tear-filled eyes - takes awayany possible sympathy you might have been tempted to feel for herself-involved egomaniac character. And any rom-com that leaves theviewer at the end of a tortuous two hours with neither an idea of howromantically- happy the heroine ends up (whether one actually cares ornot) OR whether there's any chance she might die in some horribleaccident can really be summed up with the words "a complete and utterwaste of my time" - that I'll never get back!

enddust 2012-05-02 00:54:26

Train wreck of a movie

I saw this movie when I attended a free screening of it a couple weeksbefore it was released, and while I am no big fan of chick flicks,Ihad hopes for this film. Thepremise, a woman mining her boyfriend's black book andgetting know his exes in order to get to know the realhim, sounded interesting enough. And the following quotefrom Shakespeare (The Tempest) appeared on the screenbefore the titles came up:Hell is empty; All the devils are here.Ah, I thought to myself, this HAS to be a well-thoughtout movie, since the last movie I saw with aShakespearean quote in it (Runaway Train) had beenvery very good. But I was wrong. This movie was to be a runaway train of adifferent sort.In Little Black Book Brittney Murphy plays Stacy, anaspiring associate producer on afemale version of the Jerry Springer Show, hosted byKathy Bates as an aging and worn out trash TV hostess.Stacy's boyfriend (Ron Livingston of Office Space)goes on a two week business trip and, if you canbelieve this, forgets his handheld device and callsher to tell her he needs a couple of numbers from it.She sees a name in the address list and starts to getcurious about his former girlfriends.At this point, her bizarre chain-smoking overworkedformer bus driver and former something else (I can'trecall at the moment) coworker played by HollyHunter--who smokes everywhere indoors, which I haven'tseen happen in real life since the late 70s--suggestsshe call one of the names from the handheld, a womanwho just happens to be a supermodel (of course) whowas on the show a while back, and stage a fakeinterview. But this fake interview is so that Murphy'scharacter can actually gain info about her boyfriend'sexes so that she can find more out about him whilealso doing the background for a potential show aboutlittle black books, but then it turns out later sheisn't going to do the story about the black books, butthen we aren't really sure. Are you with me so far?From this point, any semblance of a coherent storyfalls apart as she meets the other girlfriends butnever really spends any time actually talking to them.Isn't she supposed to be talking to them about her ex?But no, she is only really interviewing them to comeon the show for a different reason, so she reallycan't talk to them about her boyfriend, at least notdirectly. Instead, she has to lie and pretend to bedoing something different and much time and steam isspent on side trips and watching the shocked look onher face. There is an undeveloped subplot involvingthe show's personnel as well as a nebbishy malecoworker played by Kevin Sussman. The poor coworker'sstory seems to serve no other purpose than to usescreen time, since the subplot involving him comesfrom nowhere and then goes nowhere. As a result of Stacy not being able to talk openly tothe exes that she meetsbecome even more flat and one-dimensional than theyalready are. On top of that, Holly Hunter's characteris given more weight than it should be for such apoorly drawn character, but that is perhaps due to Holly Hunter'sstarpower.There are moments throughout the movie that drag on,and on, and on, and too many moments that weresupposed to be funny just aren't. In the middle of anice moment between the two main characters before hegoes on his trip his dog passes gas. Not once, buttwice. Har har. Sadly, the third act has a rivetingclimax that ties up a couple of loose ends but leavesus feeling cheated. By the time the movie finallyfinds a rhythm it is too late. If you want to see a relationship movie that isthoughtful, witty, and charming, see High Fidelitywith John Cusak. The difference between the two is sogreat it calls up the comparison Mark Twain madebetween the right word and the almost right word: IfHigh Fidelity is lightning, then Little Black Book isthe lightning bug.1 Star

editor-92 2012-05-01 15:41:41

More than a chick flick

I went to the preview thinking "Oh God who can take another chickflick," but it wasn't that at all. The writers seem to know how theformula for these types of films goes and they wisely twist the storyso as to keep you guessing. And I LOVED the ending. Finally is all Ican say! Brittany Murphy could easily be the 21st century's answer toMeg Ryan. She has the short blonde hair, the wide eyes, ever persistentsmile and the infectious bubble in her personality. Not that that'sbad. In fact, even when she's in some horrible films, I can't faulther. How could you? She's so cute you want to put her in your pocket.Holly Hunter steals every scene that she's in; this woman is fabulous.And Kathy Bates is another fine addition to this film. I should haveknown to expect more from a film that stars Hunter and Bates. Not toforget Julianne Nicholson, who was tremendous in Tully and thecanceled-before-its-time "The Others." (Some please bring this showback!) Women will love this film. It's smart, funny and it has anadorable mastiff in it. Men won't leave the cinema groaning, either. Myhusband said it was the funniest show he's seen this year! Give it achance. It won't disappoint.