A random Decemeber so far. Passed my driving test, got a new job, caught swine flu and recieved 2 di...
A random Decemeber so far. Passed my driving test, got a new job, caught swine flu and recieved 2 diamonds in the same month from ciao. Have now had 8 from ciao so thank you guys. :D
Member since:14.08.2007
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Title: Stranger Than Fiction -------------------------------------------- Cast:
Will Ferrell- Harrold Crick Emma Thompson- Karen Eiffel Maggie Gyllenhaal- Ana Pascal Dustin Hofman- Jools Hilbert Queen Latifa- Penny Escher
Director: Marc Forster
------------------------- The Plot -------------------------
Harold Crick is an IRS man who leads a pretty normal life. His life is run by numbers and he does the same thing every day at the same exact times. Then one day he starts hearing an woman's voice, the even weirder thing is, that this woman's voice is describing him and everything he is doing or is about to do.
He goes to a shrink and they say that what he is describing is schizophrenia, he is adamant that it's not. The voice is not telling him what to do; she is explaining what he is about to do or what he has just done.
Then one day whilst standing at the bus stop, his 'narrator' starts to talk about his imminent death. He needs help and goes to Professor Jools Hilbert played by the wonderful Dustin Hoffman.
Alongside this story, is a story about Karen Eiffel, a famous writer who has been suffering from writers block for the past ten years. Eiffel's books are famous for having heroes in them, only for her to kill them off
in horrible ways. She's just started a new book, but can't find a way to kill the lead character… Harold Crick.
He goes on a hunt from Karen Eiffel to stop his imminent death from happening, by stopping her writing the finale scene of her book.
--------------------- My View ---------------------
I got this film from blockbusters today and was pleasantly surprised. I am not a big fan of Will Ferrell and still think comic actors like Jack Black could have still done a better job, but towards the end of the film you start to feel for him.
The chemistry between him and Ana Pascal played by Maggie Gyllenhall (the sister of Jake) was there from the first moment together. It's an unusual couple but I think it just works. I have never really seen a film with either of them in that was fantastic, but I think this film was close.
It's quite a predictable film, but who doesn't love a predictable film now and again. Throughout the film, Hoffman's character is asking is the story a comedy or a tragedy, I for one was hoping that it would be a tragedy, but over all I think it's neither. It didn't make me cry, which is pretty easy so that proves it wasn't a tragedy and it didn't make me laugh out loud, which was amazing for such famous comic actors like Will Ferrell & Dustin Hoffman (I've only seen him in Meet the Fockers).
The story is very original and I don't think it's ever been done before. It's weird, quirky but really works.
The main characters in the film (Ferrell & Thompson) really stand out and pull you into the film. They are both lonely people who have nothing more to live for than their job. By the end of the film, you feel for both characters and I think that's a great job on the directors/writers part.
-------------------------- The Characters -------------------------
The characters are all quite good in this film, I was really surprised. They are four pretty unknown actors in my house, besides Dustin Hoffman but the chemistry between the four really worked.
After seeing Blades of Glory before the summer, I will never get the image of Will Ferrell in tights out of my head and I wasn't expecting much from him in this film, but I was really surprised. After seeing him in so many comic roles, I was amazed that he could actually pull of a slightly dramatic role so well; I really thought he might be another Jim Carrey and only be able to act 'funny'.
Maggie Gyllenhall was fantastic, her chemistry with Will Ferrell despite the 10 year age gap was really good, and they just clicked from the first scene together. Of course I know her younger brother Jake, and because of him have known about Maggie for a while, but found that her portrayal in Mona Lisa Smile & Donnie Darko were pretty terrible, but here she may just be the star of the show.
Professor Trelawney or Emma Thompson was another surprise, as you can tell I'm a Harry Potter fan and it's probably the only film I've actually seen her in that I enjoyed, she might not be the star of the movie, but her being the narrator throughout the first hour or so really worked and was great for the story.
The last but not least is Queen Latifa; I have actually never seen a film I adored with her in, Chicargo was good but not great. She only has a small role in this film but it's still quite memorable. ------------------------------- Other Information --------------------------------- I was pleasantly surprised by this film and I would recommend renting it, just don't pay out to much. It'll never compare to the big blockbusters that have been released this year but it's still a pretty good film.
The acting is very good and the story pulls you in from start to finish. It's one of the best films I've seen with Will Ferrell in and it's actually made me start to appreciate his work.
Over all I think this film is a great family movie, kids younger than 15 may get a bit bored with the storyline, but it's a nice movie just to watch late at night. ------------------------------------- Thanx for reading.
Kirsty.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
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Comedy - Director: Richard Boden, Mandie Fletcher, Martin Shardlow - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Rowan Atkinson
Comedy - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Tessa Peake-Jones, Buster Merryfield, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst
I think the subject matter made this one hard to qualify for an E - but this was nonetheless a very good review indeed......probably in a sense your best to date. Richard.
eve6kicksass 28.10.2007 10:20
Great review of a fine film; I'm not a Ferrell fan either, though he was surprisingly good in this!!! Chris x
Soho_Black 27.10.2007 19:43
Thanks for letting me know you've updated this. Re-rated for you.
Much was written about Will Ferrell's first "dramatic role" as Harold Crick, an IRS ... more
auditor who begins hearing a voice narrating his life. ButStranger Than Fictionis hardly a drama. However, what Ferrell does--like Jim Carrey before him inThe Truman Sh...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Will Ferrell stars as Harold Crick, a lonely tax man whose world is turned upside-down ... more
when he starts hearing a mysterious voice narrating his life. With the help of Professor Jules Hilbert, the bewildered and hilariously resistant Harold discovers he'...
Advantages: Easy to understand - documents ALL her life and her impact upon England as a ruler. Disadvantages: Some people might prefer a 'traditional' film adaptation.
Advantages: Witty, gritty, thrilling... the best gangster film I've seen in years. Disadvantages: A bit of a Deus ex machina ending, some predictable moments...negligable really
Entwife 08.06.2007 (04.02.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
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Oct 26th, 2007
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