Reviews

...but I don't need a film to have a proper beginning, middle and end...with all the subplots wrapped up...

And maybe it's because I love stories for the sake of stories - and music, simply for its ability to tell its own stories - but I loved Elizabethtown, and struggled to understand why so many people disliked it.

I see the movie's flaws, certainly, mainly with editing - many subplots weren't properly developed. And I personally don't think Orlando Bloom is the world's best actor. But really, this film is about people, and stories about people.

Which is interesting, because in its imperfections, Elizabethtown says more about itself than it could. People are imperfect.

Things like the video the kids watch - I think that sums up Elizabethtown. The video had nothing to do with the plot. It was just there because it was interesting.

The climax (arguably, both of them, but specifically the memorial) was great - aside from the somewhat annoying comedy/dance sequence from Susan Sarandon. I loved the bird, and fire, the music.

And the road-trip, which almost seems tacked-on...but it was a vital, beautiful part of the film. It dripped with Crowe's love for his country, and love for his music.

It comes back to two things - the characters, and the music, I think. You don't have to love the songs in the film. I didn't know half of them. But I loved them when I heard them. And you don't have to like the characters - but you feel for them, want them to be OK.

An OK flick, set in Mexico, about a hit-man (Scott Glenn) who hitches a ride with struggling American writer and his Mexican girlfriend after a hit. He pays them to take him to the border – but things get out of hand.

It starts well enough, but quickly struggles and dies.

**SPOILER**

The eventual relationship twist is badly set up and difficult to believe. An absence of passion, and essentially no reasoning behind her leaving one man for the other, made it ridiculous - and the ending was predictable and dull.

**END SPOILER**

Harvey Keitel is the US agent on the hit-man's trail, but he seems a little confused as to how boring and slow the script is...

Hey…would you look at that…it's actually pretty good. Trust Steven Spielburg to get it right.

Everyone knows the story of H.G. Wells' classic alien-invaders story. Spielburg has changed characters around for his version, and created a mixture of terror, humanity, war, fear and sci-fi.

Tom Cruise is a not-so-good divorced Dad who's got the kids for the weekend. Pretty quickly, the alien Tripods erupt out of the ground and start killing.

That stunning sequence, shot with unsteady,hand-held camera, is brilliant, seen through the panicked reaction of hundreds of extras surrounding Tom Cruise. In fact, through out WOTW, Spielburg bounces his film off Cruise – rather then place the superstar, with his too-familiar face, in the middle of the action.

Yes, it's frightening. Yes, it's terribly tragic. Yes, many people die. But Spielburg manages the horror by presenting a drop-beat Dad in the midst of death, trying to do his best.

The acting is surprisingly good. As Cruise's daughter, Dakota Fanning proves yet again she's got a true talent. A scene where she sees hundreds of bodies floating downstream is horrific and incredible – her acting plays right into Spielburg's story-telling ability to present tragic disaster with dignity.

Some sections drag – an extended segment in a cellar as Cruise, Fanning and Tom Robbins hide from the aliens doesn't have the suspense it should've contained...but I appreciated the looseness of the ending.

On the whole, this is a fantastic movie. Placed in context – post September 11 and post the Asian Tsunami – it's even more compelling. One line, from Dakota Fanning, stands out days after viewing – running from the aliens, she tearfully begs to know: "is it the terrorists?"