I've just seen Sideways, the new film from Alexander Payne. It is now (in my eyes) the best film of the year, surpassing Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The film is just so well-written and insightful. You feel like magic is happening right before your eyes during this film. Paul Giamatti gives the performance of a career, as the insecure, wine-knowledgable Miles. It's a tour-de-force performance that should be honored the Academy. Thomas Haden Church's performance will surprise those that only remember him as Lowell from "Wings." Although Sandra Oh is underused (but still good), Virginia Madsen is wonderful. The actress, who has never really broken out, has one passionate monologue about how/why she got into being interested in winery. It's one of those rare scenes in film that is so well-performed and realized, that you forget you're watching an actor.

Overall, this ranks right up there with Payne's previous two films, the glorious Election and About Schmidt.

It hasn't opened in Seattle yet. UGH!

Libs .. what is the movie about? I honestly never heard about this movie till right now.

Glad you enjoyed it. It's one of my most anticipated for the rest of the year.

Did you ever see American Splendor, Libs?

If you've seen the number of posts i made about Sideways in the RT thread, you'd already know that I'm really looking forward to seeing this movie.

Libs, I'm hoping it's as good as you say it is.

PG is usually / always great.

Sideways, was indeed the best movie I've seen this year. Hands down. I loved it completely, and have to refrain from gushing over Giamatti & Madsen.

A+

I'm with you. I've never seen one commercial for this movie. :?

...probably because it's not some craptacular flick like Taxi that gets dumped into 3,000+ theatres, which is a shame.

Hopefully, it'll be able to make around what Lost in Translation did.

So .. any synopsis on the movie Libs??

From Coming Soon:

A wine tasting road trip to salute Jack's (Thomas Haden Church) final days as a bachelor careens woefully sideways as he and Miles (Paul Giamatti) hit the gas en route to mid-life crises. The comically mismatched pair, who share little more than their history and a heady blend of failed potential and fading youth, soon find themselves drowning in wine and women (Sandra Oh and Virginia Madsen). Emerging from a haze of pinot noir, wistful yearnings and trepidation about the future, the two inevitably collide with reality.

Now if someone can just translate that for me in Lehman's terms.

Sounds like the mature version of Road Trip...

:wink:

tom green notwithstanding!

But it's not, really. The road trip is not really what the movie's about.

l am looking very much forward to this...looks great...

Taxi was a very funny movie, so was Sideways - so why negatively compare one movie with another unrelated movie? Let your review stand on it's own - adding putdown comments doesn't reinforce your writing, it detracts from it.

Also, I think it has more in common with Road Trip than one might think on first viewing.

Let me guess, you're Totoronto from BOM, right? :wink:

I am Bradley J. Witherberry from San Francisco, not Toronto!

SO FAR!

The year isnt over yet

Fuck, I really need to see this film.

Arg. I've wanted to see it too. Maybe next weekend - It wasn't playing in Cleveland when I volunteered. There are some adv's to living in DC outside of being among other people with similar beliefs (LIBERAL POWAH!)

Better than ETSOTSM, hmm. That's in a virtual tie with The Motorcycle Diaries for my fav. of the year.

Hm, haven't heard of the movie before. Will probaly be a rental though, thanks for the heads up.

The film still sits at 100% at Rotten Tomatoes.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sideways/

71 for 71. Wow.

Anyone have any info on when it expands and IF it is coming to Pittsburgh?

KJ