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DVD The Upside of Anger
The sight of two lost souls finding something unavoidably necessary in each other carries The Upside of Anger through it pleasant episodic drift. When Terry Wolfmeyer (Joan Allen) realizes that her husband won't be coming home again, she hits the skids and the bottle, leaving her four thunderstruck daughters (Alicia Witt, Keri Russell, Erika Christensen, and Evan Rachel Wood) to fend for themselves while she fends off the attentions of concerned neighbor Denny Davies (Kevin Costner). Writer/director Mike Binder (who has a good bit as Costner's sleazy producer) juggles too many subplots in this comedy/drama--his charming young actresses are all but wasted--then tosses in a wrongheaded climactic twist and terrible explanatory narration from young Wood. But the two leads do career-best turns: If you've given up hope on Costner, you'll be surprised by his shaggy dog appeal as a perpetually soused radio show host/faded ex-baseball star, while Allen's boozy, brittle performance is so remarkable that even her comic drunkenness is nuanced. --Steve Wiecking
I must admit that when I bought this film, I was expecting the storyline to follow the same, stale, husband-done-me-wrong plot. It was Joan Allen that eventually forced me to whip out the checkbook. And so, I was incredibly surprised to find this to be a movie of such depth.
First of all, as practically all reviewers have raved, Allen and Costner are phenomenal. It was mid-way through the film that I realized how superb the acting was, as they were actually making me fall in love with utterly unlikable characters. Joan Allen has long-since been the most underappreciated actress in Hollywood. It was hard for me to watch Julia Roberts walk away with her 2001 Oscar for the lackluster "Erin Brockovich," while Ms. Allen's amazingly convincing performance in "The Contender" went without even a nod. As for the coming award season, yes Charlize Theron was wonderful in "North Country," and I'm sure that Reese Witherspoon will be lovely in "Walk the Line" (or at least I think I'm sure), but come on people, Joan Allen's moment to shine is years past due. But Ms. Allen doesn't carry this film on her own. As stated earlier, Kevin Costner is amazing. I liked his performance in this film more than any of his previous roles. Yes, he has a heart for sweeping epics, and yes "Dances with Wolves" was a great film, but to see him so subdued, and really capturing the essence of this man he was portraying was truly enjoyable to watch. He has reinvented his career.
And finally, all of the whining about the plot redirecting its aim. I honestly don't understand all of the problems so many people seem to have with this. To me, it only made the film all the more enjoyable, proving that in that end, perhaps the only champion to anger is divine irony. Life, fairly often, will throw both at you.
This is a great film and highly recommended on my part.
She got gaps. I got gaps. Together we ain't got no gaps.
Stallone's response to Burt Young's question 'what do you see in my sister?' (Talia Shire) is kind of like Costner, drifting in an alcoholic fugue, the glory days as a Detroit Tiger (Denny McClain?) over, with the horribly emotionally wounded Joan Allen.
This movie is reminiscent of the Diane Lane "Under the Tuscan Sun" story several years back. I found "Anger" much more engaging and was frankly bored by "Tuscan Sun."
Part of that is due to Allen's brilliance and her ability to do more with what she was given than Lane was. And, frankly, Costner is better now aging than he was before saving the world and being heroic. I liked "For the Love of the Game" and I thought "Open Range" was one of the best westerns ever made.
Here we deal with Allen's anger and the impact it has on her four daughters ranging from 15 to I imagine 23-24. Mike Binder knows that anger is like a drug and like a drug it allows us destructive self-pity and the excuse for not changing.
Why Allen's husband disappeared is almost irrevelant as her rage is so close to the surface. That rage fuels the first 3/4ths of the movie.
Costner plays sort of a sounding board and his accptance by the daughters as a friend-father-figure comes really earlier than his acceptance by Allen as a partner and a friend.
My only criticism is that Binder does too much with the issues. The acting talents of the daughters are never really used and they drift from one crisis to another. Allen's 'my life just fell apart so let me be a psycho-witch' becomes tedious and her explosions, while brilliantly acted, causes one to wonder if her husband had the right idea.
All of which is a credit to Allen and her own range. Here's a note on Costner. In both "Open Range" and "Anger" he acts a secondary role with brilliant actors (Duvall; Allen) and they draw from him his own deep talent. 4 stars. Larry Scantlebury
Misses the mark
This movie features Joan Allen as a woman whose husband has left her. She drowns herself in booze and anger and leaves her four daughters in exasperated confusion as she flounders around trying to make sense of a new life without her husband. As her daughters are going through important passages in their lives, she continues on her bitter way, showing little support for their hopes and dreams. Her only solace is her next-door neighbor, a former professional baseball player (Kevin Costner) who offers her companionship and understanding. The movie seems to have an identity crisis and has moments of comedy, drama, and darkness which alternate in no particular order and for no particular purpose. I spent the first 3/4 of the movie trying to decide where it was going and the last part, marveling at the ill-advised twist at the end. The acting was good, but the writing and plot were not and the results were very unsatisfying for this viewer.
Clint Eastwood's 25th film as a director, Million Dollar Baby stands proudly with Unforgiven and Mystic River as the masterwork of a great American filmmaker. In an age of bloated spectacle and computer-generated effects extravaganzas, Eastwood turns an elegant screenplay by Paul Haggis (adapted from the book Rope Burns: Stories From the Corner by F.X. Toole, a pseudonym for veteran boxing manager Jerry Boyd) into a simple, humanitarian example of classical filmmaking, as deeply felt in its heart-wrenching emotions as it is streamlined in its character-driven storytelling. In the course of developing powerful bonds between "white-trash" Missouri waitress and aspiring boxer Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank), her grizzled, reluctant trainer Frankie Dunn... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Clint Eastwood - Hilary Swank - Morgan Freeman Director(s): Clint Eastwood DVD Release Date: Released the 12 July 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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If you're a fan of the frazzled comic rhythms Debra Messing plies on Will & Grace, or if you're pre-sold on the concept of Dermot Mulroney as the world's most dashing heartthrob--an idea given ample evidence here--this escapist romance may provide just enough distraction. The Wedding Date's Pretty Woman-in-reverse plot finds Kat Kat Ellis (Messing) hiring expensive male escort Nick Mercer (Mulroney) to fly to London and pose as her dashing new boyfriend at her sister's wedding so she can face the best man, an ex-fiancé who broke her heart. Non-fans of the stars or romantic comedies in general beware: there's no real chemistry or conflict, and you should alert the media if you can determine exactly when and why Kat and Nick fall in love. Mulroney has nothing to do... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Debra Messing - Dermot Mulroney - Jack Davenport Director(s): Clare Kilner DVD Release Date: Released the 16 August 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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With Sideways, Paul Giamatti (American Splendor, Storytelling) has become an unlikely but engaging romantic lead. Struggling novelist and wine connoisseur Miles (Giamatti) takes his best friend Jack (Thomas Haden Church, Wings) on a wine-tasting tour of California vineyards for a kind of extended bachelor party. Almost immediately, Jack's insatiable need to sow some wild oats before his marriage leads them into double-dates with a rambunctious wine pourer (Sandra Oh, Under the Tuscan Sun) and a recently divorced waitress (Virginia Madsen, The Hot Spot)--and Miles discovers a little hope that he hasn't let himself feel in a long time. Sideways is a modest but finely tuned film; with gentle compassion, it explores the failures, struggles, and... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Alexander Payne DVD Release Date: Released the 05 April 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Movie studios, by and large, avoid controversial subjects like race the way you might avoid a hive of angry bees. So it's remarkable that Crash even got made; that it's a rich, intelligent, and moving exploration of the interlocking lives of a dozen Los Angeles residents--black, white, latino, Asian, and Persian--is downright amazing. A politically nervous district attorney (Brendan Fraser) and his high-strung wife (Sandra Bullock, biting into a welcome change of pace from Miss Congeniality) get car-jacked by an oddly sociological pair of young black men (Larenz Tate and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges); a rich black T.V. director (Terrence Howard) and his wife (Thandie Newton) get pulled over by a white racist cop (Matt Dillon) and his reluctant partner (Ryan Phillipe); a... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Paul Haggis DVD Release Date: Released the 06 September 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Sweetness that doesn't turn saccharine is hard to find these days; Finding Neverland hits the mark. Much credit is due to the actors: Johnny Depp applies his genius for sly whimsy in his portrayal of playwright J. M. Barrie, who finds inspiration for his greatest creation from four lively boys, the sons of widow Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Kate Winslet, who miraculously fuses romantic yearning with common sense). Though the friendship threatens his already dwindling marriage, Barrie spends endless hours with the boys, pretending to be pirates or Indians--and gradually the elements of Peter Pan take shape in his mind. The relationship between Barrie and the Llewelyn Davies family sparks both an imagined world and a quiet rebellion against the stuffy forces of respectability,... More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 22 March 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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