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w22dheartlivie 
"Kitty Lover"
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 Posted - 03/21/2011 : 21:42:19
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I did something I NEVER do. Well, I did it once on Christmas when I shook lose the $3.99 to watch Twilight: Eclipse since I was home and spent Christmas alone. I saw that Pay Per View had on Winter's Bone for $1.99 and broke down to rent another movie. I have about 4 things to say about it. Overall, I give it 3 1/2 stars. And I apologize for not writing a more in-depth review, but as often is, I'm just writing, not thinking on it.
�1. First of all, this film is freaking BLEAK. VERY bleak. But that's okay, considering its about a 17 year old girl trying to hold her family together while she tries to track down her meth dealer dad to appear in court so they won't take their house that dad put up for bail. She rubs the local meth dealer trade the wrong way, with all the expected repercussions, including the obligatory gang beating by the meth dealer's wimmen who beat her senseless and knock out a tooth. But regardless, it was quite a good film. Glad I spent the $1.99 and have it on DVR so I don't have to buy it now. Sort of pleased it was my first nominated film from the 2011 Oscarfest.
2. Jennifer Lawrence was just wonderful and likely was a great choice as an Academy Award nominee. She has a delicate, sort of ethereal beauty that belies the strength of the character she plays. Her character was firmly placed in the midst of the "extremely fucked life to come" category whose only real shot at redemption is her own personal strength. A mentally ill mom, a now-dead meth dealer dad who was knocked off for turning on the good old boys club and saddled with the siblings whose own shot at a decent life seems much more remote than her own. Interestingly, her only real shot at a supportive family life is her Uncle Teardrop, who represents himself as the responsible party for her actions to the local black hearts. An actually great act of love with that, I think.
3. Uncle Teardrop was skillfully played by my man, the great John Hawkes. I've not hidden my admiration for this man and I can say bluntly that I adore John Hawkes. Simply adore him and have since I first saw him in The Perfect Storm. He was great and DID deserve his nomination and I would have supported his win if it had come. I hope Oscar comes knocking at his door again. He's an actor's actor.
4. I made a good choice when I picked Winter's Bone and NOT Burlesque. A film with a dark, somber, hopeless theme vs. Christina Aquilera in a tight dress singing her ta-tas off. Brainless choice.
Okay, that's it. Except, see this film, but don't watch it when you're feeling blue. It's a peek inside the family dynamics of bleak people whose life course is directionless and yet love seems to be there, God only knows why. |
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TitanPa
"Here four more"
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Posted - 03/21/2011 : 22:27:42
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| My wife and I didnt have kids for the weekend. So we picked a movie night where we could watch 3 movies in a row. THis was the last movie we watched. I should have not saved it for the end. It was around midnight when we finished it. Was very tired. Not the movie for us. Well...not at that hour. Bummed us out and confused us. |
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w22dheartlivie
"Kitty Lover"
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Posted - 03/22/2011 : 01:52:41
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| The thing I wasn't entirely sure about was why Teardrop stepped up for Ree. Was it the memory of his now lost brother, love for family, feeling obligated for his nieces and nephews, pity for them, or simply knowing the black hearts of those people Ree was butting up against. The scene where the wimmen take her out to find her father's body was fairly shocking and decidedly cold and their treatment of Ree was fairly abrupt and cold. I wasn't totally sure until he came over and brought the chicks and realized that deep down, he WANTED to be a good guy, but just couldn't quite pull it off. Anyway, TitanPA, sorry my warning wasn't a bit earlier. It's the Ozark Mountain version of Bleak House. Plus drugs. |
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Improper Username 
"inappropriately amused"
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Posted - 03/23/2011 : 13:13:05
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| I too appreciate Winter's Bone very much. It reminded me of my mother's side of the family. |
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Sludge 
"Charlie Don't Serf!"
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Posted - 03/23/2011 : 18:11:05
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quote:
Originally posted by wildheartlivie
The thing I wasn't entirely sure about was why Teardrop stepped up for Ree. Was it the memory of his now lost brother, love for family, feeling obligated for his nieces and nephews, pity for them, or simply knowing the black hearts of those people Ree was butting up against. The scene where the wimmen take her out to find her father's body was fairly shocking and decidedly cold and their treatment of Ree was fairly abrupt and cold. I wasn't totally sure until he came over and brought the chicks and realized that deep down, he WANTED to be a good guy, but just couldn't quite pull it off. Anyway, TitanPA, sorry my warning wasn't a bit earlier. It's the Ozark Mountain version of Bleak House. Plus drugs.
My thought on this was, his own life was pretty much in ruin too and he awoke to the fact that it didn't seem fair to pass it on to the next generation if that could have been prevented. |
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randall 
"I like to watch."
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Posted - 03/23/2011 : 20:15:39
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My take from Sundance 2010:
WINTER�S BONE** (Dramatic Jury Prize) A stereotypical �Sundance film.� It�s winter in the bleak Missouri Ozarks. The sky, the ground, people�s faces, everything seems to be dull grey. Teenager Rhee Jessup is the de facto head of her household, because mom is near-catatonic, pop skipped bail after putting the house and land up for bond, and her young sister and brother aren�t old enough to fend for themselves. If Rhee can�t produce her father to stand trial, she loses everything. She goes from house to house � very slowly � and shakes up the secretive community until it feels it has to strike back. This is a moody little piece, but the mood never changes. We saw director Debra Granik�s DOWN TO THE BONE at Sundance a few years ago (that was our first good look at Vera Farmiga) and felt just as depressed. John Hawkes, a fine actor, has a featured role and does well, but if I never see another meth-cooking hillbilly again, it�ll be too soon. Sometimes this kind of movie works for me (FROZEN RIVER). This one didn�t.
My complete Sundance 2010 report |
Edited by - randall on 03/23/2011 20:17:02 |
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w22dheartlivie
"Kitty Lover"
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Posted - 03/23/2011 : 23:50:01
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quote:
Originally posted by Sludge
quote:
Originally posted by wildheartlivie
The thing I wasn't entirely sure about was why Teardrop stepped up for Ree. Was it the memory of his now lost brother, love for family, feeling obligated for his nieces and nephews, pity for them, or simply knowing the black hearts of those people Ree was butting up against. The scene where the wimmen take her out to find her father's body was fairly shocking and decidedly cold and their treatment of Ree was fairly abrupt and cold. I wasn't totally sure until he came over and brought the chicks and realized that deep down, he WANTED to be a good guy, but just couldn't quite pull it off. Anyway, TitanPA, sorry my warning wasn't a bit earlier. It's the Ozark Mountain version of Bleak House. Plus drugs.
My thought on this was, his own life was pretty much in ruin too and he awoke to the fact that it didn't seem fair to pass it on to the next generation if that could have been prevented.
I think that's a fair assessment. Deep down, Teardrop loves them and WANTS to do right by them, but is fundamentally flawed in his ability to relate. I think he saw traits in Ree that he admired and wanted to a good thing. Plus I think he wanted just a little payback for the loss of his brother. |
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damalc 
"last watched: Sausage Party"
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Sludge
"Charlie Don't Serf!"
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Posted - 04/12/2011 : 17:26:44
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Thanks Damalc! It's nice to get other perspectives. The Wild & Wonderful Whites is streaming on Netflix. I haven't seen it. The description mentions a 1991 documentary, The Dancing Outlaw. Found that one on Amazon instant video.
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Winter's Bone
