Genres

Visitors Review

2013-05-14 02:18:46

Blu-ray review

This review is from: She's So Lovely [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) In every aspect, the blu-ray is light years ahead of the old DVD. There is an occasional spec of dust here or there (this IS Echo Bridge we're talking about here) and there is some wonky ghosting during the first 20 seconds of the credits but otherwise this is a fine upgrade in bothe both picture and sound. It carries over the same extras as the DVD, minus "An Actors Look at Cassavettes". Also, dont be mislead by Amazons info for this title, the aspect ratio is 16x9 2:35 Widescreen. If youre a fan of this film you owe it to yourself to pick this up.

Tijmen 2013-05-13 11:38:44

She's So Monstrous

Yuck. What a terrible movie. I really can't phathom how combining a greatactor like Sean Penn (Dead Man Walking, the Game), a good actor like JohnTravolta (Pulp Fiction) and an ok actress like Robin Wright Penn (ForrestGump) can result in a monstrosity like this. The Penns play Maureen andEddie with absolutely NO charm, with as result that the first half of themovie is almost unbearable. Travolta at least seems to try after that, butthe sheer stupidity of the story is too large an obstacle for even him toovercome.Conclusion: a real waste of time, money and talent.

2013-05-11 23:53:19

Sean Penn's best work

I wasn't terribly impressed with Sean Penn's work with titles like Dead Man walking, but he is excellent in this film and proves he is a serious and talented actor. If character development is important in a film, this is the right movie for you. Opening up Penn's shell is mysterious and wonderful

saywardstudio 2013-05-11 09:04:35

don't know what to think

I saw this one on TV on a weekend, when I was cleaning house and hadthe tube on, and it started, and I watched a few minutes of it, and Ithought, OK, I want to see what happens to this wretch of a girl. Ithink she played the part brilliantly. Eddie really loves his girl. Thethought that him and this girl are going to procreate...>shudder< butthe little girl turns out really cute, sweet and unbelievably normal inthe end...more on this later... I liked the way they went up to therestaurant when it was pouring down rain and just asked for food...that was pretty cool...seemed old fashioned. I also thought the wayEddie was getting edgier and edgier as the film went on and finallybroke was played well, and the fact that he had no clue he was gone solong...he seemed like he really didn't have ONE CLUE about what wasgoing on. Then comes the day when he gets let out and here is where thefilm actually struck a raw nerve with me. He gets out. The girl hasbeen married to this other guy for like 10 years, and Eddie comes back,and she's like, OK this is your Daddy, THIS guy we've been living withall your life is NOT your dad...he's your two sister's dad, but NOTyours. And this poor little girl has to absorb all of this AND meet theguy and he has to tell her and it gets all emotionally draining way toomuch way too fast. (There goes the normal life!!!) And then the momLEAVES WITH EDDIE!!!! WTF???? SHe has been married to this guy for 10years, has cleaned up her life and was living in a wonderful house andhad a wonderful life, and then she leaves(leaving her husband of 10years and her kids behind!!)and goes with this bonehead. In a way, itwas beautiful that,I guess, her love for him never died. But it cameacross as shrill and like she just 'used' him all those years until her'true' love came along. I guess she never knew the meaning of 'movingon' or 'getting over him'. Maybe this film is just too 'real' for mebecause I personally have dealt with this same thing.(I was the littlegirl in a similar, but not quite the same situation) Not to such anextreme degree, and it just grated my nerves. It was weird, different,and unforgettable, but I wish I could!

2013-05-09 20:19:05

Lovely says it all

This movie is absolutly the best movie I have ever seen. It is sad, dramatic and (at times) funny. I am not very old and yet I love Sean Penn. He is the best actor. He is able to get so in-touch with the character you actually forget you are watching him at all. He is by far the greatest actor of all time. The fact that they had Robin Wright Penn act along side of him was brilliant. The two make a great duo and really bring the movie to life. Travolta also does a great job. It really touches the heart. You will laugh, you will cry, you will care. This movie is truly one of the greatest films of all time.

Alton Quint 2013-05-09 15:11:21

Wonderful

Every thing about this film is wonderful, except for the violence andthe dark beginning. The performances by Penn, his wife and Travolta areall wonderful. This is actually my favorite Travolta role and this wasthe first time that he really dug beneath that cool and cocky exteriorto show himself as a real actor, displaying a wide range of emotions.But the movie of course is carried primarily by Sean Penn and RobinWright Penn, playing two messed up lovers who are out of luck in everysense of the word. He loves her madly, while her feelings for him aredifficult to understand. She seems to adore him, but then it becomesclear that she also is using him. When she is knocking at the door ofthe guy who abused her earlier and he starts to get nervous she askshim "Aren't you a tough guy?" and he replies no. That whole moment wasvery interesting and I think it said it all.One interesting fact that I wasn't aware of when I watched this film isthat it was originally set to be made in the 80's, with the legendaryJohn Cassavetes directing. That made me wonder what kind of beast itcould have been and I believe we would get a very different kind ofmovie. All praise to his son Nick though, for he is also a capabledirector, yet there can never be another John Cassavetes again.James Gandolfini plays the nasty neighbor of Eddie and Maureen, a sortof a pre-Soprano signification of the creepiness and villain potentialhe is capable of, which he previously displayed in "True Romance".Harry Dean Stanton is delightful as always when he appears in suchcameo parts. Although the second part of the film may be a slight letdown after the strong first part, this movie is a definite treat forthose who are sick of standard Hollywood fare and for the fans of Seanand Robin Penn and Travolta. The strength of the story and theperformances is enough for a 10.

unreel-3 2013-05-09 08:23:37

She's So Selfish

There are a lot of movies with characters who have worthless lives withlittle substance or morality. Maybe it was the title that indicated to methat somewhere in this awful film about a woman's undying love for heremotionally unstable husband, I would find a trait or two that would givethese people merit or make them pathetic enough to be lovable.Most of the acting is good.

TAMMY 2013-05-08 19:02:46

short comment

Sean Penn is brilliant!!!! John Travolta is Great!! Had a lot of funny scenes. Didn't like the ending too much, but it was free on demand so it was worth it.

2013-05-05 07:46:22

"Love is so difficult": a crazy couple's romance

This movie is hopelessly out of step with the times - evoking one of the 60's European cinema's themes of questioning the bourgeoisie lifestyle. It's a fascinating, irrational celebration of passion, even if these feelings have destructive consequences and involve unquestionably insane, violent, socially dysfunctional behavior. Taking an unflinching look at urban bar-flies who live in a hotel worthy for crack addicts, the subversive film is emotionally messy, ambivalent in its social values, theatrical but gritty, deeply romantic but totally debauched. The three main characters are repellent, but not nauseating, because they have such flair, are darkly funny and display touching humanity. The actors playing them (Robin Wright Penn, Sean Penn and John Travolta) go not for realism or the usual Hollywood character arc, but for what they see as artistic "truth" in any given scene. Whatever. Oops, I mean, all three are outstanding.Robin Wright Penn is, at the beginning, pregnant and smokes and drinks, looks like she shoots up heroin, and constantly trips over her high heels all over the sidewalk. It seems to be raining all the time, too. She walks and talks like a street hooker in the old Times Square. Even with all this, she, to me, truly is so lovely and heartbreakingly tragic, beautiful and not quite right in the head and bad news. This film has that oh-so hip mid-90's indy Miramax flavor. (Put it along something experimental like Leaving Las Vegas from a couple of years before and it's not really that weird.) As you can read anywhere else, this script is by the late, some say great, American film rebel John Cassavetes (hence the theme mentioned above and the ever-present raw feelings) and was directed by his son, Nick. There's a strong sense of mise-en-scene, and for such a wacky story, it's well-paced, lean and taut, and Cheese Doodles leave an orange stain on your fingers. But I digress. I must have been channelling Eddie Quinn, Mr. Penn's character. Check out Penn's acting genius in this cheerfully deranged flick. Like several of his verbal riffs: he speculates on his wife's clairvoyant abilities and goes off on, "Can you type 170 words a minute? Can you sew? Can you dance? What can you do?" and his rather elaborate drink order a little while later before he goes on about seven women controlling the world at their computers. This stuff has to be seen and heard to be believed. In fact, by watching the DVD's extra feature, An Actor's Look at Cassavetes, a sit-down with the Penns and Mr. Travolta, this movie could be seen, to a certain extent, as the Penns' acting workshop - like, say Hurly Burly. An opportunity within the confines of the Hollywood structure to exercise acting chops for all involved, including the guy from the Sopranos, James Gandolfini, as the alcoholic rapist neighbor, as well as Harry Dean Stanton and Gena Rowlands. In the discussion, Robin finishes Sean's spoken ideas and I instantly comprehend their palpable chemistry on screen.John Travolta, back in the day, is at the top of his game in the movie's second half as the maybe-gangster guy who snatched the lady out of the gutter. He has that Pulp Fiction, Get Shorty-era cool, magic charm going on here, both witty and goofy. Watch for these fun, showy hand gestures he does.The music on the sound track is suitably bizarre enough. There's a big band standard-sounding opening by the most idiosyncratic Bjork and slightly mesmerizing, creepy songs by Grace Jones. I could extend this essay, but I've covered my main points. If you want to know the plot, watch the movie or read some other review.

etacar 2013-05-04 20:06:13

Not so lovely

The characters in this film do NOT act like real people. It's just notauthentic. I sat in the theater thinking "no woman would do that to herfamily." When I can't recognize the characters as real human beings, that'swhen I have a major problem with the film.

mbr515 2013-05-01 22:57:11

What was she thinking

How can she just leave her children for some loser who was in jail for 10years! the movie would have been a lot better if at the end she didn'tabandon her children. That just ruined the whole movie for me. It wasted2hours of my time. I love John Travolta, but I wouldn't recommend it eventhe the biggest fans of John Travolta, or Sean Penn

Paul Cox 2013-05-01 18:15:40

Disappointed

Acting was great, but I was disappointed with the story. Ratherdepressing!I sometimes wonder why some movies are rated three out of four stars bythe"critics," but don't live up to that rating imho. I guess that is why Ilike ratings by actual viewers!

2013-04-29 12:57:17

She's So Lovely

I didn't like this movie. I watch it and the very next day I found myself thinking about how that movie ended and how it bothered me. I will never watch this movie again and I will let my friends and family know. For someone to actually leave their life behind, a wonderful family, and children for a crazy person who can't even stable himself out is pathetic. I just don't like the fact that she pick a messed up person to replace probably the best 4 people in her life. They should have ended it differently and maybe then I would like it, but for a moive to bother me after a night of viewing, I wished that I would have never stayed up to watch it.

Niro 2013-04-29 07:56:27

Wanna See Sean Penn In A John Cassavetes Film? Here it is.

Some of the people who "review" flicks here continually amaze me with theircomplete lack of film knowledge.When I heard an interview with the always-extraordinary Sean Penn, in whichhe said he was upset that so few people had seen what he considers to be hisbest work: this film and the excellent "At Close Range," I knew that I hadto catch this.Then, finding that it was based on an unproduced John Cassavetes script, Iwas all the more eager.That final statement should scare off anyone who expected a happy, romanticHollywood film, as they clearly haven't seen any of the latewriter/director's stark, realistic films. Cassavetes' work relied heavilyon tortured, unlikable or unredeemable characters who can act their brainsout [quite often portrayed by his wife/widow, Gena Rowlands].We're talking serious fare, folks ~ required viewing such as "Husbands,""Woman Under The Influence," "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie" and "Gloria"[the brilliant Rowlands original, not the adequate Sharon Stoneremake].Now comes his former B-movie star & son, Nick, who dusts off papa's scriptand enlists the type of actors who are eminently qualified to play a groupof true undesirables: Sean Penn, Robin Wright Penn, James Gandolfini, HarryDean Stanton, Debi Mazar and the newly-retalented John Travolta, who appearsin the last reel.Even Mom [Rowlands, of course] gets a small but importantrole.And the adorable Kelsey Mulrooney, playing Penn & Penn's nine-year-olddaughter is terrific without stooping to precociousness.Is this a brutally honest film? Yep. Is it vulgar in nearly every way? Ofcourse. Do the leading characters have any chance of redemption, moral orotherwise? Not likely.Do I care?Let's just say that there's more passionate acting in "She's So Lovely" thanwas evident in nearly every other 1997 film.And that's certainly good enough for me.So there.

rfbslb 2013-04-25 21:23:19

Nothing funny about it!

A huge disappointment in Siskel & Ebert's rating! The title does not fit themovie at all. This movie was far from a comedy; it was serious anddisjointed. I was waiting with expectation for it to get humorous asdescribed but it never did. The script provided little to no motivation forMaureen (Robin Wright) to make the choice she did. The script also failed toexplain why Joey(John Travolta) was so enraged he was swearing every otherword he spoke. Too much pointless swearing from all the characters. If youfind watching an innocent-looking little girl swear & drink beer humorousthen you'll probably like the movie."When a Man Loves a Woman" with Meg Ryan & Andy Garcia, is similar to thismovie. The big difference between the two movies is "She's So Lovely" is awaste of time to watch.

Jenny Ho 2013-04-25 14:37:37

"Shut up and drink your beer!"

I was going, "Aw...." when Eddie declared how much he loved Maureen and I was going "Uh..." when Joey let his own daughter drink beer...now THAT'S some comedy. Overall, it is not so totally bad. It's a bit of a ridiculous comedy that makes you all mushy inside and gets you mixed up somehow at the same time. At times, you feel sorry for Eddie's mental state. Acting was perfect, story was a BIT flawed, but otherwise quite funny, direction was not so shabby, visuals were great. This is not a must-see, but for you Sean Penn fans, this is just more proof that Sean can almost fit into any character he is given; although he is best with characters with disabillities. ("I am Sam")

Butter 2013-04-25 08:17:16

Best acting !

All the actors went through hell for this movie and it was worth it. SeanPenn is brilliant as Eddie, Robin Wright has the courage and the strengthtobe Maureen (and she IS Lovely), John Travolta is cool and Harry DeanStantonsteals the show with all his remarks.SHE'S SO LOVELY is a picture for the more attentive audience. It is asharpportrait of an unconditional love and how to deal with the strongestfeelings for each other. Thanks to Robin Wright's over-the-top-performanceand Sean Penn's incredible talent to make his character really perceptibleyou get to see one of the most beautiful love stories ever on the movies.What most people may have a problem with is the unconventional way ofshowing it. I can only say: A great bow to director Nick Cassavates !A movie for generations, a movie to remember, thanks for this one toeveryone involved. 9 out of 10 stars.

Michael O'Keefe 2013-04-24 13:19:06

Love is often not a kind thing.

This romantic and somewhat humorous drama fails to arouse much interest. Ireally enjoyed the rain scenes, otherwise it seems the effort was puttogether at the last minute. A hard luck woman(Robin Wright Penn)tries tomake for a better life while her volatile husband(Sean Penn)spends tenyearsin the 'looney bin'.There is a lot of wasted talent assembled here:James Gandolfini, Harry DeanStanton and John Travolta. This movie seems to take too long to deliver itsmessage. Not a very attractive story and the strong language needed forrealism gets old very quick.

2013-03-31 09:23:34

An Amazing Film

This film is a powerful phenomenological case study. I watched it when it first came out and years later I am still affected. It stays with you. The only other films that have lingered on in my psyche in this way are Breaking the Waves and Leaving Las Vegas. She's So Lovely captures a heart-breaking relational dynamic that is extremely difficult to articulate accurately. A beautiful film; it is unlike any other.

2013-03-30 16:46:38

IT'S ONLY ME, BUT:

This review is from: She's So Lovely (DVD) GREAT SHOWCASE FOR ROBIN WRIGHT. SHE IS EXCELLENT. SEAN PENN PLAYS CREEPY AND NUTSO TO A TEE. TRAVOLTA ONLY GETS A 7 OUT OF 10 ON THIS ONE. WRIGHT AND PENN OUT SHINE HIM IN THIS MOVIE. TRAVOLTA'S NORMAL (?) GUY TO WRIGHTS & PENN'S SOULMATE CRAZY'S DOES NOT STAND A CHANCE.