First off, let me say this thing will be a hit. It's Russell's romcom-- whatever good or bad you read into that, it's there.

The Good:
- Bradley "Picasso Face" Cooper: the performance of his career
- DeNiro: best role for him in years
- J-Law: kinda surprised Best Actress is the buzz here, but she's had a hell of a year, and this is strong enough that it wouldn't be *entirely* a consolation for Winter's Bone, which she should have won for
- the crowd laughed consistently throughout and applauded at the end
- the final act is a REAL pleaser, full of warmth, "moments"-- everything you want in a romcom
- the depiction of Eagles fans as racist slap-happy punks was hilarious and accurate. There's actually a sad desperation around the entire issue of Eagles fandom here that sort of carries over into a larger thing about how men need sports and what we replace in our life with it. I dug.
- Russell's visuals in some scenes really worked...

The Bad:
- ... but at others seemed really ehh. This is the least polished looking film he's done imo, full of unnecessary handheld, some strange edits, and considering how it stars Hollywood stars and feels like a Hollywood ending, I'm surprised he didn't go for something closer to the more polished visual style he used in Huckabees. It's not disruptive... it just doesn't feel like an auteur film.
- the script has some fairly jarring tonal shifts. Sometimes I sensed the audience laughing at something that either (a) wasn't meant to be funny or (b) was meant to be funny but was at the expense of a character with a mental disorder. Either way, when scenes like that are put immediately next to scenes that are supposed to be touching, it undercuts the touching stuff, and as a result, I never really got misty. Prime spoiler-free example: a scene where DeNiro talks to Cooper in bed about football, where the beats feel like a joke so the audience laughs, and then immediately there's sincere emotion and confession. I wondered if it would've played better on screener without the audience's chuckles disrupting. I know Russell likes to play with the humor in moments of drama, but it prevented full emotional investment for me.
- Jacki Weaver has little to do...
- ... but not as little as Chris Tucker, whose character is entirely extraneous. It's like Russell found out he could get Chris Tucker, so he wrote a couple of scenes just for him that don't really advance anything.

Overall, I'd give it a 3 out of 4. Like I said, I'd be surprised if it's not a hit, and it certainly has all of the big moments that'll lock in Cooper, Lawrence, and DeNiro in acting categories come Academy Awards season. It just never grabbed me by the heart, though I'm absolutely sure there will be many people moved by its sincerity, especially those who have dealt with similar behavior in loved ones.

Looks like a peak performance from B Cooper

the audience laughing at certain scenes and the way the other characters treated Bradley's character at points seemed unnecessarily cruel.

I mean, I say all of this as someone who enjoyed the film with reservations, but there's a fine line between an accurate portrait of mental illness's sometimes comedic eccentricities and a comedic portrait of how wacky mental illness can make someone behave. Sometimes he hits it just right (the Hemingway book scene, for me, was just about perfect). Sometimes he doesn't at all (adding comedic bits into Cooper's big freakout at home, etc).

I get that he's playing with that line some, but tonally it hurts some of the parts that work better, imo.

Only thing I wanted to say is Jennifer Lawrence as always looks mad good. Especially that http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn1VGytzXus

cuz after that fucking debacle of the harry potter chick movie, I can go blind into movies longo says are great anymore


there are two trailers, one that's all about football and one that doesn't mention football at all. why are they trying to trick people into seeing this movie if it's so good?

http://card.mygamercard.net/lastgame/rjcc.png

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

... then you may not like how this guy just out of a mental asylum acts like a socially retarded asshole to someone as hot as Jennifer Lawrence and she literally falls over herself to try to get him.

I mean, O. Russell's always had a bit of a misogynist streak in his films (stars who are bummy, insensitive, possibly violent... but this girl *gets* him!), so it shouldn't be a surprise. It's handled better in the second part of the film-- the more cliched part, so again, that shouldn't be a surprise-- but if it bothered you in the last film, I'd bet it'd bother you here.

mostly whether or not I feel personally offended intellectually. katniss is looking kinda good tho. hmmm.

http://card.mygamercard.net/lastgame/rjcc.png

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

this movie is fucking shit.

good if not great performances by all involved, chris tucker's appearance was a treat, but W>T>F

the story didn't make sense, and it wasn't interesting.

it seemed to circle around the point where you find out katniss actually DOES know about football.

not that shocking.

http://card.mygamercard.net/lastgame/rjcc.png

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

Some rough moments here and there (probably could have been 10 minutes shorter) but it's really affecting by the time the third act rolls around. Jennifer Lawerence is a lock for a nomination.

She better not win no Oscar for this tho, LoL.

A little rough at times but enjoyed it

I hope so.
Anyway, Bradley Cooper did good. A bit exhausting to watch him at times tho.
Lawrence was cute. Don't know why people are making a big deal out of the age difference. Her character was early 20s. He was early 30s. So what?

about 40 minutes left, so this is premature of course. I have no clue why this chick got nominated. She annoys the SHIT out of me as a character. Bradley is great, DeNiro is great, Chris Tucker plays his part well...I'll be back at the end

especially about the female characters. And the characters who are in the movie but don't have much impact esp Chris Tucker, Eli from BE, the mom, the doctor

and I hated the ending...betting EVERYTHING on a dance competition? really?

Normally not a big fan of J-Law but her outfits got me thru this. Coop's running gear could be the halloween choice for lazy frat boys this year too.

DeNiro did his thing but I would've liked to see more from Whigham & Tucker. Thought I was done seeing Stiles but that was good casting.

Had potential at the start but went for the cheesy cliche ending of course.

my gf forced me but i thought it was a solid movie. Oscar worthy? hell no. but entertaining. dialogue was my favorite part especially chris tucker's.

i don't agree with any of Longo's negative critiques above

people laugh at cruel inappropriate shit, because that's what we do as humans; we enjoy others misery. we're awful for that. having been in a relationship with a woman who was bi polar and manic depressive who did not take her meds, some of that shit rang hella true and i still laughed.

it was funny. the dialogue was sharp. the acting by Cooper, Lawrence, Deniro and Tucker (loved his little scenes) were fantastic, not good, great. Also the way it was edited and shot worked within the theme of mental illness: abrupt sudden cuts, fuzzy shots, intense close ups. that shit fit

also for some one who hates predictable happy endings, fuck if i wasn't rooting for Coop to go snatch up J-Law at the end... fuck Nikki!

also i really enjoyed how Russell showed us Lawrence's fineness without being obnoxious about it. Her little dances in the gym outfit in her dance studio... mmmm (stayed biting the bottom lip hoping my lady wouldn't catch me)

only thing that felt forced to me was the racialized violence at the game. i felt there was another route they could've gone to have Cooper's character have an outburst

4/5

I think the genre is a little played (quirky romance) but it was a fresh take.

It made me conscious that you don't see a lot of blue collar folks in small films. Hipsters, yes. But not regular people.

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"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson