Register  |  Sign In
View unanswered posts | View active topics It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 5:58 am



Reply to topic  [ 13 posts ] 
 Arlington Road 

What grade would you give this film?
A 100%  100%  [ 5 ]
B 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
C 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
D 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
F 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
Total votes : 5

 Arlington Road 
Author Message
College Boy Z

Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2004 8:40 pm
Posts: 36662
Post Arlington Road
Arlington Road

Image

Quote:
Arlington Road is a 1999 American drama/mystery film, which tells the story of a widowed George Washington University professor who suspects his new neighbors are involved in terrorism and becomes obsessed with foiling their terrorist plot. The film stars Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack, and Hope Davis and is directed by Mark Pellington. Ehren Kruger wrote the script, which won the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' (AMPAS) Nicholl Fellowship in 1996. The film was to have been originally released by PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, but was sold to Sony Pictures Entertainment before it opened. The eventual release was the first title for Screen Gems while PolyGram (now part of Universal Studios) handled foreign rights.


Thu Feb 03, 2005 3:59 pm
Profile
We had our time together
User avatar

Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 4:36 am
Posts: 13269
Location: Vienna
Post 
Very intense movie with one of the best endings ever. The actors (Brideges, Robbins) are just great here. Very underrated movie. A+


Thu Feb 03, 2005 4:37 pm
Profile WWW
Veteran

Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 3:07 am
Posts: 3014
Location: Kansai
Post 
Unsettling movie with lots of twists and turns, good suspense, and a shocking ending. Joan Cusack who is usually a hoot is extremely creepy in this movie. I grade it a B+.


Mon Feb 07, 2005 7:30 pm
Profile WWW
Mod Team Leader
User avatar

Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 11:00 pm
Posts: 7087
Location: Crystal Lake
Post 
I love this movie!!!



this could quite possibly be the best film of the year, 14 August 1999



*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Warning: Does contain spoilers.

The first thing I would like to say is, to all the people that criticize this movie for " just happens to have terrorist neighbours move in across from him" or " they could never possibly know where he was at all times", then first of all pay close attention to this review and secondly, like Angel Heart and The Sixth Sense, this is a film that needs and deserves a second viewing. More on that in a moment.

Arlington Road is one of the best films that I have seen this year. It is very tense, very well thought out, and it has a point that it wants us to recognize. I have never heard of Mark Pellington before this film but I really think he will be a great director in Hollywood after this picture, whether it does well at the box office or not. What you can't deny is that this man can direct a film. I am actually inclined to say that this film was a personal story to him because he puts that much care into every last detail. I believe that he and the writer ( Kruger ) have major issues here and they convey a certain frustration and paranoia in the film that cannot be ignored.

There are three parts of the film that must be mentioned. Because I don't think I have ever felt quite as emotionally drained as watching these particular scenes. The first is the opening. Here we have Jeff Bridges driving home and he sees a kid that has his hand covered in blood. But a lot of this is done through the kids eyes. He is wandering aimlessly down the street and the camera becomes his mind. It is blurry, hazy and confused. And that is a perfect note for how the kid and then Bridges must be feeling at that exact moment. Brilliant. The second is when Bridge's wife and the rest of her FBI team is on a small farm property. They are there to arrest a man under false pretenses that he has broken some laws. And what ensues is a battle between the FBI and some people that are exercising their right to own a gun and protect their property. Again, tension and heart wrenching emotion are what you are left with. Brilliant. The third has to be the very end. This is an ending that you just don't see coming. And when Bridges is in that underground parking and he finally realizes what is happening, we see it in his eyes. We figure it out when he figures it out, and then the final few images of the film had me horrified. And the theater that I was in became silent. If you haven't seen this film you can't possibly know exactly what it is that I am trying to say here, because words can't do justice to what this film makes you feel. They really can't.

Arlington Road is one of the smartest films that I have ever seen. It has so much to say and it asks us to open our eyes and look at things a little more closely than what we have been doing. The director and writer have taken care of that. But to pull this off you had to have two actors that could convey the emotions so well that you felt that you knew them when you left the theater. And Jeff Bridges and Tim Robbins are perfect. Robbins is quiet but deadly and he is purposely catatonic like in the film because that is what a terrorist living in suburbia America is going to be like. The smart and well organized ones aren't going to have Nazi flags hanging outside their door, they are going to be John and Sally Smith down the street. And there is one absolutely perfect line in here that is the epitome of terrorism and the disbelief that they could be so close to your home. Bridges girlfriend says to him, " Terrorists? Living across the street from us? Right! " And that is the beauty of it. Terrorists have to live next door to someone, it could be you and you would never know it. Jeff Bridges is also perfect because he is a manically obsessed guy in this film. He is so in tune with terrorism and he cares about his country so much that he does become a little strung out. That is not over acting, it is an honest portrayal of a man that knows too much and can not get anyone to believe him. That sounds a little like Hitchcock to me. I also have to mention Joan Cusack because she is absolutely terrifying here. She is a microcosm of American apple pie. She is sweet and lovely and always smiling, but she is just as sick and devoted to her cause as her husband is, and that makes her spooky. She is a great actress and she plays her part perfectly here.

Arlington Road raises many issues and asks us to open our eyes just a little and question the conclusions that official boards come up with. After all, The Warren Report is now considered to be more of a comic strip than a credible piece of official documentation. So maybe we should all question other reports that say one man blew up whatever building he happens to blow up. This movie is brilliant, perfect and important and anyone who truly appreciates great film making should really check this out. I really think Mark Pellington should get an Oscar nomination for his efforts here. He is that good.

**** One final note. To everyone who thinks that things in this movie were too coincidental for it to be happening (terrorists move across the street from a university professor that teaches US Terrorism, knowing where he was going to be at all times to become the bait that he was ) then just try to watch the film again. Bridges was followed all the time, that is why the girl in his class says the things that she does about him at the end, and Robbins and his network set him up from day one. That is discovered when in one of the last shots of the film you see Robbins burning pictures and disks and files on Michael Farraday. They did their homework and he became thier next unlucky patsy. That sort of criticism is unwarranted and a second viewing of the film should be witnessed, maybe you'll understand it a bit better

_________________
Brick Tamland: Yeah, there were horses, and a man on fire, and I killed a guy with a trident.
Ron Burgundy: Brick, I've been meaning to talk to you about that. You should find yourself a safehouse or a relative close by. Lay low for a while, because you're probably wanted for murder.


Tue Mar 22, 2005 8:57 pm
Profile WWW
KJ's Leading Pundit
User avatar

Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 4:45 pm
Posts: 63026
Location: Tonight... YOU!
Post 
I loved this movie. It has probably the greatest ending ever to a movie. Amazing to watch!

9.6/10

_________________
trixster wrote:
shut the fuck up zwackerm, you're out of your fucking element

trixster wrote:
chippy is correct

Rev wrote:
Fuck Trump


Sat Jul 30, 2005 7:04 am
Profile
You must have big rats
User avatar

Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 4:28 pm
Posts: 92093
Location: Bonn, Germany
Post 
Atoddr wrote:
Unsettling movie with lots of twists and turns, good suspense, and a shocking ending. Joan Cusack who is usually a hoot is extremely creepy in this movie. I grade it a B+.


I pretty much agree with everything in this review.

And what a great opening sequence!

_________________
The greatest thing on earth is to love and to be loved in return!

Image


Fri Aug 05, 2005 3:17 am
Profile WWW
College Boy Z

Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2004 8:40 pm
Posts: 36662
Post 
Fantastic movie. Great performances, great plot, and one hell of an ending. A-


Sat Aug 06, 2005 2:36 am
Profile
Indiana Jones IV
User avatar

Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2004 10:35 pm
Posts: 1912
Location: Texas
Post 
Amazing Movie. I did not see the ending coming at all, and it was brilliant. Intense and lively. A

_________________
The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous.....


Mon Jul 24, 2006 4:00 am
Profile YIM WWW
We had our time together
User avatar

Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 4:36 am
Posts: 13269
Location: Vienna
Post 
A Poll please..


Tue Jan 16, 2007 1:48 pm
Profile WWW
Orphan

Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2005 5:47 pm
Posts: 19747
Post 
Great film; perhaps one of the best thrillers ever with a fantastic ending to boot.


Tue Jan 16, 2007 4:25 pm
Profile
Sbil

Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 3:38 pm
Posts: 48626
Location: Arlington, VA
Post 
This was very unsettling and disturbing. B+


Tue Jan 16, 2007 5:14 pm
Profile
On autopilot for the summer
User avatar

Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 10:14 pm
Posts: 21628
Location: Walking around somewhere
Post 
Great movie, really really interesting and shocking to watch. A+ One of the best thrillers of all time.

_________________
Image

Chippy wrote:
As always, fuck Thegun.


Chippy wrote:
I want to live vicariously through you, Thegun!


Tue Jan 16, 2007 9:39 pm
Profile
The Lubitsch Touch
User avatar

Joined: Thu Jul 21, 2005 5:48 pm
Posts: 11019
Post Re: Arlington Road
The ending of this movie made no sense whatsoever.

_________________
k


Sat Jan 12, 2008 8:12 pm
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Reply to topic   [ 13 posts ] 

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 35 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
cron
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group.
Designed by STSoftware for PTF.