Such a great film, amazing performances and a great story. It was based off a great book. Hopefully this is career changing for Rachel McAdams

9/10 (A-)

A-

I don't cry at movies, ever. Period. I was *this* close to losing it when it was over. I'll eventually buy this on DVD. The score was beyond amazing.

Maybe it was because I was on the airplane and I was a bit sleepy, but I just didn't feel a connection with the movie. Still a good movie, McAdams is great though, as is the supporting cast. I will rent it first before I decide if I want to buy it, hopefully I'll like it more.

- B

Wonderful film. Rachel McAdams gives a strong performance. A-

Just outside my ten best films of the year, it really surprised me. I fell in love with it and it is not only one of my best movies of the year, but higher in rank on my favorites of the year list.

B+ (against a harsh grading for me)

I definately have too see it again. But for now, I'll give it a B+. It wasn't as involving as I hoped for.

Shockingly, I really liked this movie. More than I could have ever imagined. It's great with a fantastic performance by McAdams. I didn't love it to the extent of others, but it's certainly a memorable movie for me. It's just great.

B+

=D> Hehe, yay.

I rewatched this a few weeks ago and I liked it much better, a beautiful movie with a very impressive performance from Rachel McAdams. (raised from a B to a B+ )

I think I'm going soft. I almost teared up. I'm not going to go into a mini review, as nobody else really does, and I doubt mine are read anyway, but for this and all future movies that I grade, feel free to ask me anything about them.

I was very touched by this love story. It took me a second to recognize Cyclops, and even longer to recognize Regina from Mean Girls. I was hooked from the start with this beautifully written story. I realized Gena Rowlands and James Garner were Allie and Noah when she told him she felt like she heard the story before. Just a beautiful love story!

A

Libs, you are probably the only person on the planet, at this point, that could convince me to watch a Russell Crowe movie, and that is really saying something, considering my absolute dislike of the guy. This was a great film! :2up:

?????????????? Was Russell Crowe in this movie ????????????????

No, he was saying that he's liked every movie I've recommended to him.

You have excellent movie tastes! I would recommend every movie that I've watched at your recommendation.

Speaking of Russell Crowe: A Beautiful Mind? Heh.

You are an evil woman. #-o :razz: Jennifer Connelly couldn't get me to watch it. Curiousity about the movie that beat out FOTR at the Oscars couldn't get me to watch it either.

When would you like me to rent it?

Yes. The performances by Crowe and Connelly are amazing.

I can't believe I'm even considering this. Ok, I will watch A Beautiful Mind :wf: , but if I don't like it, it won't have anything to do with the movie, most likely.

I'm spineless.

Argh...now that the spell has been broken, I demand you to see L.A. Confidential with Crowe, one of the finest movies ever made! You won't regret it!

This movie has really grown on me, over time. Even though the scene, when they meet and kiss in the rain could have been better writen (I mean more eloquent), it is a very good film. Kuddos to the director (shares my birthday).

Haha...there are two reasons that I have to deny your request, Lecter...

1) "Libs, you are probably the only person on the planet, at this point, that could convince me to watch a Russell Crowe movie"

You're not Libs. :razz:

2) LA Confidential is a movie that I own, and it's the only Russell Crowe movie that I've ever seen. I bought it before I hated his guts over that Meg Ryan scandal and all of his on the set and off the set outbursts.

Funnily enough, I think Libs like L.A. Confidential quite a bit

Well, at least I'd be surprised if she didn't.

A-

I watched The Notebook yesterday again and it has impressed me even more. The entire cast is great and while the movie is overly melodramatic and over-clichéd at times, it is still impressivly heartbreaking and well-made. The chemistry between the young actors is wonderful and the movie is one of the best romances I have ever seen and also the movie that brought me the closest to crying and that even on the second viewing.

B+++++/a-

I've come out of reclusion to give my opinon on this one movie.

Everyone shouldsee it; one of the best romances ever and the ending is just incredible.

NOTE: This review was written in July 2004




Noah: "So it's not gonna be easy, it's gonna be really hard. And we're gonna have to work at this every day, but I wanna do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, you and me, every day."

It's hard to find a romance film that will truly stay with you after you have seen it. In most cases, you will simply go for two hours to be entertained, and then forget about the film a few days after. It is also hard to find a romance that actually makes you want to experience what the characters have. Most films just simply show you a fantasy, take you to a place where people meet at the snap of a finger and fall in love even faster. Their romance is not developed and therefore you are simply entertained by it and not really moved by it. There have only been two films that have truly shown me what love is. The first was last year's Christmas fable Love Actually, a brilliant film about the power of love in many different situations. The other is The Notebook, a powerful and moving drama about love conquering all odds.

Gena Rowlands plays Allie, an elderly woman sick with Alzheimer's who lives quietly in a nursing home. Her husband is a man named Duke (James Garner), who tries to cope with the fact that his wife has virtually no memory of who he is by telling her the story of their past. This is where we meet Allie Nelson (Rachel McAdams) and Noah Calhoun (Ryan Gosling), the film's two principal characters. They come from two different backgrounds, but meet by chance at a carnival one night. The two fall madly in love and have a summer romance full of passion and happiness. But after the summer ends, Allie's disapproving parents (Joan Allen and David Thornton) send her back home and off to college without a chance to say goodbye to Noah.

Years pass, and Noah writes Allie endless letters. She never recieves them, however, because of her mother's sneaky ways. Eventually, the two learn to live without each other. Noah goes off to war, and when he returns, he begins to build a dream house that Allie once said she wanted. Allie goes off to college and, while volunteering as a nurse during the war, meets Lon Hammond (James Marsden) a rich gentlemen who falls in love with her and ends up proposing. But fate steps in as Allie sees Noah's picture in the paper. She returns and the two begin to experience the feeling they had before and have not had since. But Allie must decide whether to follow her head, or to follow her heart.

The movie, as predictable as it sounds, actually doesn't take the easy way out and make characters unlikable. James Marsden's character actually doesn't turn out to be a bad guy and the parents turn out to be sympathetic close to the end. It takes time to develop characters, and truly makes you feel for the young lovers to the point that you will be crying once they get together. The scene that I quoted at the top of this review is where I lost it.

Although Garner and Rowlands both give good performances (especially Garner, who you will cry with in a scene when he breaks down), the movie really belongs to the two leads. Rachel McAdams, who played evil Regina George in April's smash hit Mean Girls, delves into another type of genre here. To say she pulls it off successfully is an understatement. She gives one of the best performances I have ever seen in a romance, and certainly the best female performance of the year so far. She is so utterly believable that you feel exactly what her character is going through. Her performance was, in a word, fantastic, and it proves that she is one young star who can actually act. Ryan Gosling, who I had only previously seen in Murder By Numbers also gave a great performance. He makes the role seem real and fresh, not a fake Hollywood character creation. He is a young actor who is going places. Also, the two stars have such believable chemistry that at times it isn't even like you are watching a movie. It feels that real.

Director Nick Cassavetes shows some real filmmaking talent here. The shots of the water are simply breathtaking, and the movie's scenery is truly beautiful. He deserves recognition for his strong work, as does cinematographer Robert Fraisse. Fine work indeed.

The movie does have some flaws. The story isn't terribly original and it's obvious from the beginning who Allie will end up with. But the story isn't important here. What is important is how powerful the film is, how strong the performances are, and how this movie truly makes you want to fall in love. I rarely cry in movies, but this film had me crying my eyes out, especially during the last 30 minutes. I will be seeing this movie again soon because I loved it so much. A definite must-see and one of the best of the year so far.

9/10 (A)