Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-24 17:24:31

Clear Blu, average movie, a slam to Seattle & Vancouver both

It is not that I would say this is a bad love story film, just run-of-the-mill with Eckhart at the helm (and I enjoy his movies). Technically it was a mess though.The story follows a self-help guru as he travels to Seattle (Vancouver subbed but the large volume of CGI shorted both of the cities). As he performs his schtick, we are made aware of his tragic back story, family issues and other assorted concerns. Aniston appears as the random love interest that wants to fix him all whilst dumping her current boyfriend. The Blu clarity is solid throughout, to such a point the CGI was almost irritating. They green screened every single outdoor shot, sometimes using horrible pictures of Seattle blown up outside hotel windows (so poorly done that the same window over two scenes had two different views of the American skyline). The DTS was uneventful with the exception of a few crowd scenes in the meeting halls. The special features were bittersweet and include:* Giving Romance a New Look, 3 minutes. Essentially an ad plug for the FX company - helps one realize how much CGI was in this story.* Deleted scenes, 6 cuts totaling 13 minutes, in HD. They cut out the majority of one character's role (Aniston's loser boyfriend) - glad they went, nothing worth watching unless you are a fan of Joe Anderson (Amelia, Across the Universe).* Commentary, these guys were so self-congratulating I called it quits at the 16 minute mark. * BD Live, only feature is to save clips and share them with your buddies, nothing else.The performances are fine, but the story just felt forced. When you see the Vancouver skylines it feels like a waste that they screened them out (beautiful mountains). The Seattle shots look miserable at times so there was definitely no location chemistry. To me, this BD is a renter as you will get a clear pic and sound, but lame supplements with a fair amount of plot misery make for a lower rating. English DTS, Descriptive Video Service, Spanish, French with English SDH, Spanish and French subs.

2012-05-24 13:42:25

2 1/2 stars for formulaic romantic comedy

This clunker of a romantic comedy lacks both romance and comedy and manages to waste such likable actors as Jenifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart. They have no chemistry here and Aniston pretty much just stands around looking cute. The film begins OK with Eckhart's character a motivational speaker of sorts who brings together people who have lost loved ones. He, himself lost his wife in a car accident. There is a big secret however as to how it all occurred. I was expecting that he was actually driving drunk or on drugs or in the middle of a fight. Actually the big secret, only disclosed at the end, was that he was driving and not his wife. Wow! Big deal.The movie is formulaic and includes a "his and hers quirky best friend". Also included is the "you're too good for me/you don't understand me break-up". And of course, we know what's going to happen. I bumped this movie up ½ a star because of a nice supporting performance by character actor John Carroll Lynch as Walter. He is one of the seminar attendees who lost his 12 year old son in an accident on a construction site. He has several memorable and touching scenes.

MBunge 2012-05-15 10:36:51

For people who can't get enough of "Along Came Polly"

This film is like a less funny, more heartfelt version of Along CamePolly. I'm not sure why Jennifer Aniston wanted to play an even moreunderdeveloped second banana in another story about a guy dealing withhis emotional issues but if you loved the first edition, you'll likethis inferior doppelganger. Basically, if you gave Along Came Polly an"A", you'll give Love Happens a "B-".Burke Ryan (Aaron Eckhart) is a guy who's become a media star bywriting a book on dealing with grief. On the verge of launching himselfas an international corporate brand, he returns to his hometown ofSeattle to host a week long seminar for folks still dealing with loss.There, he's struck by the beauty and quirkiness of a florist namedEloise (Jennifer Aniston) and asks her out. She responds by pretendingto be deaf, though they eventually go out on a few dates in the eveningwhile Burke continues to help people at his seminar during the day. Butboth Burke's seminar and his relationship with Eloise are undermined bya secret. Though he's become famous counseling other people on theirgrief, Burke remains emotionally paralyzed by his wife's death 3 yearsago.Let's be clear about something. Despite its title and its marketingcampaign, Love Happens is not a romantic-comedy. It does have somedecent humor and rudimentary romance. As previously mentioned, it'salso structurally similar to Along Came Polly, which was an actualromantic-comedy. However, Love Happens is really a mildly amusing storyabout the power and burden of grief. I can only imagine the studiofeared people wouldn't be interested in paying money to watch a mildlyamusing story about the power and burden of grief, so they've tried tofool everyone into thinking it's a rom-com. Which is a shame, because this is a decent movie that is appealinglydifferent from a generic chick flick. It takes the subject of griefseriously, both how it can cripple people emotionally and the ways inwhich people can deal with it. Burke's honest and deep wish/need tohelp folks get out of the very trap he's stuck in makes him quitesympathetic. His struggle to help a guy named Walter (John CarrollLynch) come to grips with the death of his son, while Burke can't bringhimself to do the same with the death of his wife, defines him as bothnoble and relatable.Jennifer Aniston doesn't have much to work with in Love Happens. Eloiseas a character isn't anything more than a collection of rom-com clichésand some arbitrary quirks that are never explained or elaborated upon.She's gorgeous, of course, and the lack of depth to Eloise seems toallow Aniston to give a performance just a bit beyond the genrestandard. Instead of being stuck with the contrived mannerisms ofheartsick lonely girl, Aniston plays Eloise as a grown, functionalwoman who's just made some bad relationship choices. That extends tothe romance with Burke, which isn't much of a romance. These aren't twopeople falling in love at first sight. They're grown ups who are onlytrying to get to know each other. The story doesn't force themtogether, which makes their attraction more believable and engaging.Love Happens does have some laughs, though it doesn't try and wringhumor out of everything in the story. It also has a big emotionalclimax that ends with one of those slow speed standing ovations. Youknow, where one person starts slowly clapping and everyone else joinsin? That's such a stupid and insultingly manipulative rom-com cliché,it's actually quite surprising to see it in a 2009 film. It's likehaving a pie fight break out during an episode of 30 Rock.This is an okay film with two likable stars and a story that doesn'tfollow the same formula you've experienced many times before. I thinkthat makes it worth seeing. But if you though Along Came Polly wasawful, I can't imagine you'll enjoy it more a second time around withfewer jokes and more tugging at your heart strings.

2012-05-15 02:25:19

Very weak movie, zero chemistry between stars

My wife and I just watched this movie, and we agreed that it was a very weak effort. We both like this kind of movie, we both like Aaron and Jennifer but there was just no chemistry between them at all, and we did not come to care about either character they played. Neither character seemed to have any substance to them, just one or two obvious traits for the plot to develop. It's a barely passable movie. If you're really desperate for another romance movie, I suppose it can pass the time OK, but I can't recommend it. John Carrol Lynch, Dan Fogler, and Judy Greer were all more interesting to watch than the leads, who seemed to be going through the motions.

md 2012-05-13 13:04:49

LOVE SUCKS! MOROSE, PAINFUL, AGONIZING

Don't expect comedy. Don't expect chemistry between the two stars. There was nothing but angst throughout the film and it was also very depressing. Everyone telling painful stories; wah! wah! wah! 'I can't get over my life problems.' OMG I was in hell watching this. It may be the worst movie of the year. It should have been marketed as an art film about death, dying and recovery. NOT a romantic comedy at all!

2012-05-13 02:17:54

Popocorn flick

So I read the one star reviews and they had me laughing pretty good. To put things in perspective I would say that my fav films are ones like Shawshank, Forrest Gump, Band of Brothers, Toy Story, The Bourne Series, Love Actually just to name a few. I guess I will never understand how people take things so seriously in films...so many comments about the bird...really people come on lets remember it is a movie ha ha ha one reviewer titled their review animal cruelty ha ha ha. Anyhow I liked the movie, some good performances here. Just watch it for what it is and relax and enjoy.

Babushka 2012-05-11 20:12:16

Not your typical love story

I've wached many a love story in my time. I was surprised to discover that the film producers were able to present this story with some originality. For instance, the two characters in this film do not kiss in the movie, not a single time. They do not get involved in a dramatic fight either, although Eckhart's character is rude to Aniston's at some point. The movie is mainly about Eckhart's character so Aniston's character doesn't get much screen time in comparison. Also, Seattle is portrayed so beautifully it makes me want to move there despite the rain.

docudrama 2012-05-11 15:25:08

Why did Jennifer accept this role?

My wife took me to this movie. I thought I'd like seeing Jennifer,which I did. But the movies sucks. Other than Jennifer, it's repulsiveand insulting.Repulsive: The smarmy snake-oil salesman. What a creep. Insulting: All the touchy-feely men talking about their emotions, allthe time.After 3 minutes of seeing Mr. A-OK whine and cry, I just wanted to walkout.Bottom line: This movie makes you want to slug the first snake-oilsalesman you see. Jennifer is too well off to lower herself to thislevel.

Siamois 2012-05-10 11:46:18

Not much happens... not even love

The premise of this movie held a lot of potential but unfortunately,Love Happens doesn't deliver as... not much happens in this movie. Aaron Eckhart, who seems to struggle not to be type-casted as youraverage guy in light romantic stuff plays... Burke, an ordinary dudetrying to overcome his wife's passing by becoming a modern-day guru forpeople who have lost loved ones. Jennifer Aniston, who basically embraces her career of being typecastas a romantic interest in romantic flick plays herself once again. Thistime, she goes by the nickname Eloise but she'll still be that samesingle woman who's had a string of bad relationships and is tilllooking for "the one".Director/writer Brandon Camp doesn't give the character of Eloise muchsubstance, and seems content just to let Aniston do her usual work. Heseems to have focus mainly (in the script and on screen) on Burke. Inthe first few minutes, it seems to work; Burke is an interestingcharacter. The self-help speeches are well-written, the pressure onBurke's shoulders is felt. Unfortunately, much of the movie revolves around the relationship thatdevelops when Burke and Eloise bump into each others and begin to knoweach others. Their interest for each others is uninteresting and lackscredibility, in part because Eloise is so poorly sketched and alsobecause, as we learn to know Burke's real issues, it just seems...wrong. And as the film goes on, it just gets worse as it seems Brandon Campdoesn't understand the topic of mourning very well, and also seems tosend the message that using people as emotional crutches, gettinginvolved in relationships when you are not fully ready are good things.Many scenes are almost surreal. Releasing domestic pets into the wild,breaking and entering at your former in-laws, lying, magically curingyour sense of loss by shopping at Home Depot... I like quirky stuff,but the mix of comedy, romance and the intense drama underneath wasn'tdone very well. To top it off, the whole movie is wrapped in a sort of romanticrelationship that never happens, and played out with two actors whohave little to no chemistry together.Aaron Eckhart is a gifted actor that should have no problem findingroles, but as far as a lead, he's been slightly unlucky and needs toselect projects a bit more carefully or risk being type-casted in thattype of flicks much like his co-lead. For Aniston, this is the latest in a string of duds. As for BrandonCamp, this isn't his first project tackling grief as he wrote the poorDragonfly (2002) and I shudder when I look at his next project,Steinbeck's Point of View, which also seems to deal with issues of lifeand death. I have nothing against writers who focus on certain issues, as long asthey master those issues well, which isn't the case for Camp.

2012-05-09 17:41:27

What's love got to do with it?

This is a movie about grievance and that's that. Jen plays another one note performance (don't get me wrong, I love her) but the story line was lacking. I was waiting for the spark between them but sadly it never came. At one point, I fell asleep! and I love romcoms! You'd think a room full of people squished in opening night and I fell asleep! Yes, that bad. Wait for video if you really wanted to watch this and if you don't care then you can definitely pass on this. Sorry Jen.

2012-05-07 00:21:51

disappointment

This review is from: Love Happens (DVD) The story was a good one. However, Jennifer A's character was incidental and had less depth than the intricacies of Aaron E's motivational speaker character. He had more and therefore could do more with developing a filled out screen personality. The ultimate connection of the two was a bit unconvincing.

2012-05-06 11:53:18

Updating movies

This review is from: Love Happens (DVD) I decided to up date my VHS movies to DVD and was able to find on line all the movies I wanted to get at Amazon. DVD is in good condition and was a good buy.

J 2012-05-05 03:01:32

There must be a million different Love Stories

And Jennifer Aniston should star in every one. Nice, nice little movie. Jennifer is gorgeous!! She must get facials daily. Can't believe she's 40! Aaron Eckhart is so very handsome. First billing was well deserved. Ohhh and they both act very well. :-) Hate that I'm such a drooling, sloppy fan of Jennifer, I really do. She just knows how to pick them. Again, just a nice little movie that is exactly what you think it is.

2012-05-04 11:52:05

Helpful

This review is from: Love Happens (DVD) I found this movie to be extremely helpful in the time I needed support the most. My little brother died obout a month ago. When I came home from the funeral this movie was in my mailbox from Netflix. I didn't even realize it was partly about letting go and taking the time needed to mourn the loss of our loved ones. I'm so thankful for watching this movie.

quixote_89 2012-04-26 21:25:02

Didn't see that coming

Well, having set down with a glass of wine and an unhealthy amount ofchocolate I was in the mood for some syrupy clichés and the usualslushy chick flick obligatories. As it happened I ended up blubbing myeyes out and writing this review which I have never done for any othermovie to date. This is certainly a chick movie, but the acting fromEckhart and Aniston is beautifully parred down and Aniston really showswhy she should be given more credit in this genre. Without givingspoilers, the trailer really doesn't do it justice, this is a filmcontaining a journey about Eckharts character not just a blossomingrelationship, which is what the trailer really tends to mislead theaudience with. The relationship between Anistons character Elouise andEckhart's Burke is really sweet and shows the maturity of thecharacters as well as the realism of the situation. OK, the story isreasonably predictable and you kind of see the end coming, but its veryentertaining, thought provoking and life affirming.All round good stuff :)

HarryGatley 2012-04-26 04:23:43

The Parakeet

I enjoyed the movie up until that poor bird was released into the wild!Yes it is 2011 but I am going to investigate WHY THE PRODUCERS WERE NOTSUED? That was a hugely STUPID thing to show millions of people and thefilm should be BANNED worldwide! I fully intend to contact as manyanimal rights groups as I can because of the cruelty this propagatesamong ignorant viewers and I vow to do ALL that I can to bring suit toban permanently worldwide this evil movie!Okay I have to add some lines. People release doves at weddings andother occasions and they all die horrible deaths. They are imprinted onHUMANS they are not able to fend for themselves. The animal releaseprograms for endangered species has been a long and difficult programbecause imprinting on human makes them so unfit to hunt and breed!Besides that there is the fact that that species is a native of thetropics and it needs to be raised in the wild in the tropics tosurvive. The ignorance of the actors and the producers and screen playwriters is appalling! There is supposed to be some oversight of crueltyto animals in Hollywood. How did you get away with that!I am shocked horrified and angry!

E 2012-04-25 03:16:24

Not your typical romantic comedy

Critics share opinions, and opinions are all they are. I sometimes think they try to "put one over" the public. They've given thumbs up to some real duds, and as is this case, they pan some really good movies. Wonder who pays them?This movie is a really good one. Yes, I agree it isn't the typical "rom/com"; it's quite a bit deeper. I'm seldom disappointed with Aniston's acting; she's a skillful comedienne who can evoke a great deal of emotion without saying a word (see Marley & Me's scene upon learning she'd miscarried). Aaron Eckhart did a very credible job in his role, and he's super handsome to boot! But not to be missed is John Carroll Lynch's performance as a grieving father. My husband, who generally prefers "action packed" movies, was moved by and really enjoyed this movie. It is, maybe, a little deep for a first date movie - but certainly one to see with someone you care for.

2012-04-24 10:10:29

Death, where is thy sting....

It is not often that 'popular romance comedies' have the courage to tackle issues like death and grieving and make the story work, but such is the case with LOVE HAPPENS, a good little film written (with Mike Thompson) and directed by Brandon Camp. And it helps to have a solid cast of popular and well-schooled actors to pull off a subject that might make a few people uneasy. Dr. Burke (Aaron Eckhart) is a seminar man who runs a business with his colleague Lane (Dan Fogler) based on helping people cope with grief - a group called 'A-Okay'. Burke is a popular guru, more so because of his reason for ministering to grievers: his beloved wife died three years ago in a car accident so Burke can speak about grief from experience. But it seems he is running away from something, too. Most of his followers don't notice, but one man Walter (John Carroll Lynch) is a particularly needy client and seems to pick up on something missing in Burke's seminars. Burke is currently in Seattle (his deceased wife's home) with his manager Lane (who is cooking up all manner of marketing tools and opportunities for the A-Okay team). Burke happens to literally bump into Eloise (Jennifer Aniston) who owns a flower business catering to the hotel in which the seminar is being staged. Eloise seems addicted to losers, and is freshly apart from her latest affair: she is comforted and supported by her sole employee, the somewhat dingy Marty (Judy Greer in a terrific cameo), who encourages Eloise to look for some stability in her next mate. Burke is attracted to Eloise but is so out of practice in the dating game that he comes across as vulnerable - a trait that makes Eloise wary at first and attracted later. The odd things the two do in the mating dance finally result in the uncovering of the secret problems Burke carries. Refreshingly enough the film does not sell out with a happy-wappy ending, just a few thoughts that are particularly tender.Eckhart and Aniston are a terrific team on the screen: both are lovable without resorting to being sappy and repetitive. Fogler and Greer are excellent as are such fine actors as Martin Sheen and Frances Conroy in memorable cameos. There is a lot to like in this film that makes it a step above the usual 'chick flicks' that were more popular in theaters. Perhaps audiences, sadly, have difficulty hearing about grieving, but death, as well as Love, happens! Grady Harp, February 10

Julie 2012-04-21 02:25:43

Not what I expected

From watching the previews, I thought this would be a fun, humorous movie that my friends and I could get out and see. It was absolutely not what I expected. I love Jennifer Anniston and she did a good job in the movie. The movie was very slow and depressing. Not the "comedy" I expected. I was even hoping for a twist at the end or an explaination as to why he wouldn't ride the elevator or why she was writing words behind pictures. Maybe I missed something.

kelly 2012-04-20 21:08:16

bad Really bad

I was really disapointedthought It would be funny romantic comedyinstead I was falling asleep So boringcouldn't wait for it to be overone of those movies you wish you would've just stayed home and not waste money on