It is not every review he's ever written (or close to it). It's not like he loves every film he sees, though I'd imagine he's more inclinded to write a review for a film he loved than one he hated. And it wasn't a review, it was a sentence.

I've given only 3 A+ grades this year, so obviously not.

I'm glad you loved it though.

Dude, your top five is like a revolving door, every other week something takes residence in there. And c'mon, do you really need me to look up all the "One of the best pictures of the year, incredible! A" reviews you've written? Just now I scrolled past the A you gave The Reaping!

That was Gunslinger in The Reaping thread, not TC.

My top five has actually remained somewhat consistent for the past few months, at least in terms of my top two and Jesse James. Rendition and GBG are the only two recent additions.

It's funny that tc of all people is getting criticized for brief reviews. Hasn't he written by far the most full-length reviews in this forum? It's no crime to take a break. I like him and his work either way. : )

I'll write more about the film sometime in the week (probably tomorrow) and how I thought Boston was used, but just to sum my thoughts up for now - this is a great film. I wouldn't quite put it on the same level as The Departed, but it's very close and for different reasons. And the last shot of the film with two certain characters sitting on a couch is absolutely brilliant, especially because of what has just come before.

A+

The last 30 minutes or so really elevate the film to more than it was in the first 90 minutes leading up to it, but alas I cannot overlook the first 90! What we found there was a serviceable, at times meandering, procedural thriller. Sorta like an unpolished episode of Law & Order. The pedophile house rampage in the middle was certainly interesting but almost seemed plucked from a Texas Chainsaw Massacre film or something. Kinda weird and out of place. Performances are all over the place - from terrific (Casey Affleck, Amy Ryan) to competent (Ed Harris) to nearly wretched (Michelle Monaghan, I'm looking at you). Overall though I give it a B+

If by "reviews" you mean plot summaries - - well then, yeah - - I agree...

best film of the year.

Affleck harris affleck and ryan all deserve nominations for this film

It's amazing that even though this film does have some problems, it also has the year's best ensemble performance, a powerful script, and terrific direction at its side. And it was a really moving experience. While the very ending itself didn't seem to pack a huge punch like I expected, spending a good while after the film thinking about what it meant made me realize just how amazing the ending really was. Similar to "Mystic River" in my many ways [including the fact that they were both books written by the same author], I'd have to say that this movie slightly edges out MR for its willingness to portray as true, real, and gritty an image of the dark side of Boston as possible, whereas while the characters in "Mystic River" were definitely conflicted, Eastwood's decision to drop profanity [for the most part] created less believable characters. Affleck gave a superb performance, Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman were their usual great selves, Amy Ryan definitely deserves an Oscar nod, and even the beautiful Michelle Monaghan showed some very strong acting chops as well. Every performance in here worked, even some of the smaller parts played by unknowns had moments of great acting. This further proves that when actors take on directing, their understanding of acting in general leads to better outcomes from their actors [directorial outings from Clint Eastwood, Sean Penn, and George Clooney have been examples of this].

A

On a side note, did anyone else get a weird feeling halfway through the movie that it was about to end? The way Affleck narrated and the way the story appeared to have turned up made me feel like nobody had told me that this was only a one hour movie. It was so relieving when that fat guy showed up and told him that he "found some people" and let the story continue

This film was amazing, I saw it a month ago, and I can't stop thinking about it

A-

A-


Gone Baby Gone is, without a doubt, one of the year's best and most finely-crafted movies and probably the film that surprised me the most. I mean it was directed by Ben Affleck!. Affleck seems to be quite good at this craft, though as he created a movie that deserves several Oscar noms in this season.

GBG reminded me of Mystic River in its style, its general themes and of course the portrayal of its setting, Boston, but it also goes in a different direction and takes a different approach. If I compare both films, I can say that they're both great and while currently, I'd slightly prefer Mystic River over this one, it might change after repeat viewings of Gone Baby Gone.

I think the aspect I liked the most about Gone Baby Gone is the same that most people have already mentioned in this thread - it is its ambiguity and ambivalence. Another thing I can agree on is how the movie just makes such perfect sense in the end. It serves us a great twist which, for a change, doesn't seems to appear out of nowhere as all puzzle pieces fit by the end of the movie. This is great screenwriting and that should be honored.

Now the good screenplay and direction wouldn't matter muich without the great job by the actors in this movie. Michelle Monaghan was the only one who did not impress me very much, though she did her job rather appropriatly. Ed Harris and Amy Ryan were both amazing and with some justice, they would be shoe-in's for Oscar noms this year. Sadly, they aren't. Casey Affleck does a very impressive job as well in the scenes in which Harris and Ryan don't steal the show. His character is probably the hardest to play in the entire film. Morgan Freeman's appearance is short, but well-acted of course. Overall, the movie had a great cast ensemble that worked together very well.

The movie starts off like a standard outing of the genre and it's not until the second half when it really really picks up and only keeps getting better. There are some scenes of genuine suspense and intensity (when Harris and his partner attack the pedophile's house and Affleck comes to their help as well as the scenes at the lake), others work very well on an emotional level (like the conversation betweel Affleck and Monaghan before he goes to Freeman at the end). The movie ends on a perfect note, leaving the decision of whether Patrick did the right choice or not to the viewer, a question that Affleck's character is obviously asking himself in the film's last scenes as well.

How did you see it, Lecter?

Its already out in Germany Snrub. We're the only ones effected by the delayed release.

Fuckers... don't they care about poor little Madeline!!?

I've found a copy that's allegedly "passable", but it's taking ages to dl and I'm going to bed in an hour. It might be days before I get a chance to watch it. DAYS!

Heh.

My initial love for this movie has diminished over time pretty considerably. Maybe I need to see it again?

loyal ur fucking insane. this movie is incredible

I think that comparing a film to CSI simply because it's a crime mystery is lazy. Now if the film had hyper-stylized editing and a dumbed down procedural plot (The Kingdom), I could understand. I don't watch the show often, but did it ever have moral quandries on the level of this film's ending? And if so, did CSI not bash the answer over the viewer's head?

Hey man, it's your opinion, and I respect that




















































even if it sucks.

That's odd, because you said you loved Once?!?