TheOriginalOrangeGoblin 0 Report post Posted October 19, 2003 Mystic River Director: Clint Eastwood Jimmy: Sean Penn Dave: Tim Robbins Sean: Kevin Bacon You know it took a while, a long while. The first three quarters of this year produced very few movies that rose above "entertaining". Hell going into October there were only three movies I had seen which I would qualify as great, Phone Booth, X2 and Dirty Pretty Things(T3 came close). Then came Kill Bill. It blew everything away and was my lock for movie of the year...that lock lasted an entire week. Mystic River is THE best picture of 2003 so far. Better than Lost in Translation, better than Th13teen, better than Phone Booth and, yes, better than Kill Bill. Mystic River takes you on an emotional ride through a small enighborhood and a murder which brings very ugly memories, and even uglier futures. I won't go over the plot, cause really it's pointless. Plus I don't wnat to spoil anything although it really doens't matter. This aint about a big twist ending or a big shoot-out ending, Mystic River's ending is just another step in life and it's heart wrenching getting there. I must first commend the great Clint Eastwood(one of the most underrated movie makes of our time IMO). This movie features no quick cuts or camera tricks. No special effects or action set pieces. It features realism(and soemtimes graphic realism), it features real characters gonig through troubles and trying to find real solutions. Eastwood has a sure hand in all this and stages the film perfectly. Not one shot is wasted and it is all Eastwood's vision, all the wya down to the beautiful score. The acting, just by the actors names, you know is good. But I never expected it to be this good. Sean Penn wins the Oscar already with his performance. If he is not rewarded with the best actor statuette it's ultimate proof of the Academy's bias and BS(although there's been much proof of that already). Penn is gut wrenchingly powerful in the early part of the film but in other parts is coldly sadistic but with a reason and thus even in his more sadistic scenes there is a sense of truth and tragedy towards Jimmy, making this Penn's greatest performance of his great career. Tim Robbins puts in, arguably although only Shawshank comes close, the best performance of his career as his lack of emotional range fits perfect for Dave's traumatic state. Laura Linney, Marci Gay Harden, Laurence Fishburne and Kevin Bacon provide ample support to the leads making this the best ensemble cast of the year. Overall there isn't much to say about Mystic River except this will move you and it will make you feel. It could possibly be classified a Shakesperean tragedy rewritten in modern time. The guilt, the revenge, the inner struggle it's all there. The acting is the best of any movie this year. But in the end this is Clint Eastwood's movie and, as he always does, Eastwood "makes our day" by making the best film of 2003. ****3/4(out of 5*) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MDH257 0 Report post Posted October 19, 2003 A really good movie. A movie for grown ups. It makes you think about how childhood trauma stays with people. I saw it on Friday night and I'm still thinking about how I feel about he characters. Mostly, I feel sad. I don't agree that it's the best movie of the year, but I can see why someone would. 3 1/2 out 4 stars. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Fletcher Report post Posted October 22, 2003 An excellent film that really emphasises how people can so easily change. Tim Robbins was amazing, I hope he wins the Oscar this year. He deserves it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ripper 0 Report post Posted October 24, 2003 A really good movie. A movie for grown ups. It makes you think about how childhood trauma stays with people. I saw it on Friday night and I'm still thinking about how I feel about he characters. Mostly, I feel sad. I don't agree that it's the best movie of the year, but I can see why someone would. 3 1/2 out 4 stars. So what movie would you consider best of the year if not this one? Any man with Amile with a the SPOON~! in his avatar has a opinon I would like to know. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MDH257 0 Report post Posted October 24, 2003 So what movie would you consider best of the year if not this one? Any man with Amile with a the SPOON~! in his avatar has a opinon I would like to know. Okay, here's a list of the best movies I've seen this year (so far). 1.) City of God This is a film from Brazil. It's technically a 2002 film, but Miramax released it in Feb. I saw it in April and I was blown away. You can click on it's title to see it's IMDB listing. 2.) American Splendor Anyone who's seen it knows. 3.) Kill Bill Vol.1 I talked about this in the Kill Bill thread. 4.) School of Rock This movie is a hell of a lot of fun. 5.) Fnding Nemo Mystic River, Seabiscuit also come to mind as being great movies, but those five stood out for me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gert T 0 Report post Posted October 25, 2003 Best movie I've seen of the year, but I think I've only seen about 4 others. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
