January 19, 2005
Million Dollar Baby
Well I really wanted to not like this movie, because I hated Mystic River so much, but despite my efforts, I enjoyed it from beginning to end.
Except for a few religious qualms regarding Eastwood's relationship with Catholicism (in this movie and Mystic River) and the end of the movie, I have no complaints. All of the actors are perfect for their roles. The story feels full, the characters are real people, and the directing and music compliment the story wonderfully.
It's definitely one of the best from 2004.
Posted by wendytime at January 19, 2005 01:30 PM | TrackBackI had heard people dismissing MDB as nothing but right-to-die propaganda, but I'll be sure to catch it now. I never saw Mystic River though.
Posted by: Jonathan on January 19, 2005 01:39 PMWhat didn't you like about Mystic River? That was a fine movie!
Posted by: Kyle on January 19, 2005 01:44 PMMystic River is so full of cliches I don't know where to start. One would be use of religion to look cool. Oh I get it, church is going on peacefully while the dead daughter is being found! So clever.
Then there was the insane moment where Laura Linney comes out of nowhere with her Lady Macbeth "You can rule this town!" speech..
Then there were Sean Penn's horrible goon-like helper men, named the Frizelli brothers, or something to that effect. The whole mini-mafia set up was stupid, and their hangout was complete with a convenient locale by the water for killing people by.
Sean Penn weeps his way melodramatically through the whole thing... and then everyone else melodramatically reacts to EVERY thing.
The MUSIC was incredibly heavy-handed, repeating itself over and over and over, and even the stinking organ at the church was playing the same theme as the score for the movie. God help us all, it was awful.
About the time of Linney's Lady Macbeth speech, I just started laughing and couldn't wait for the stinking movie to end.
I could probably go on.
BAH. Most. Overrrated. Movie. EVER.
Posted by: jeri on January 19, 2005 02:04 PMOh, and Jonathan, it's not a right-to-die movie at all. That's only a miniscule part of the story. It didn't feel like the movie argued for a certain point - it was what one guy did in a particular situation. Not that I agreed with it.
Sorry you already know the ending. I didn't before I saw it.
Posted by: jeri on January 19, 2005 02:07 PMYeah, sorry to have posted that spoiler but I don't actually know WHO dies!
P.S. I thought it was hilarious in Collateral when Tom Cruise called Jamie Foxx "Lady Macbeth" when he was trying to clean up his seat.
Posted by: Jonathan on January 19, 2005 02:49 PM