Take Five
By George Rose
July 14, 2009
He moves through the list twice. The first time we are introduced to his loves: Alison, his seventh grade first kiss; Penny, his sweet 16 love; Charlie (Catherine Zeta Jones), his two-year college relationship; Sarah (Lily Taylor), the rebound used to "pull collective lonely"; and then Laura, the current dilemma. After going over these loves, he recites the list again to see where he went wrong and what he can learn from them. All of this is very entertaining and made all the more enjoyable with an amazing soundtrack. Would you expect anything less from a movie about a record store owner?
Most of the movie kept me hooked, since I'm a fan of relationship stories. A story about several relationships was bound to keep me occupied. However, the film starts to drag a bit towards the last third of the film. One character, a musician named Marie de Salle (Lisa Bonet), should have been cut from the film altogether. The character fit the story but showed a side of Rob that I really couldn't tolerate. Of all the questionable thoughts and confusion running through Rob's head, his interaction with Marie made me dislike his character. Let me elaborate, without giving away too many spoilers: Rob asks Laura is she has slept with this other guy, Ian (Tim Robbins), she says "not yet", so he goes and sleeps with Marie. Why on Earth would a man think that he will get the woman he loves back if he sleeps with some random hippie? At this point, I stopped rooting for Rob and prayed to God that Laura would come to her senses and find herself another half decent man. The film quickly rebounds but at that point I was a little upset. Maybe my own past got in the way of my objective enjoyment but, hey, criticizing movies isn't a perfect science. It's personal!
In any case, the film was very good. The soundtrack is one I will download (ummm, I mean "purchase"), the cast is great, the directing (by Stephen Frears, who was nominated for Best Directing Oscars for both The Grifters and The Queen) was well paced, and the story was very educational. You can learn a lot from this movie about relationships. And don't get me wrong when I say this is a movie about relationships starring John Cusack. This is not to be confused with his sappy romantic comedies. This is a movie for men and women alike, but more for adults than youngsters looking for a live-action Disney fairy tale. If you want to get someone you don't care too much about into bed, go watch something with Julia Roberts. If you want to watch a realistic love story with someone you actually care about that has half a brain and understands the true complications of love, watch High Fidelity.
Overall Rating: B+
Stephen King's Pet Sematary (1989) – watched/written on July 10, 2009
I've come to expect a lot out of anything with the Stephen King tagline positioned before the title. Why shouldn't I? The man is considered a genius and has sold more books than I could ever dream of selling as a writer. The problem with expectations is that sometimes you set the bar higher than it belongs. Since Pet Sematary is one of his many classic tales, I allowed the bar to stay rather high.
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