Dan the Man's Movie Reviews

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Tag Archives: What’s Eating Gilbert Grape

Pieces of April (2003)

3 Comments Posted by on November 21, 2009

What a great Thanksgiving!!!!

Reformed wild child April Burns (Katie Holmes) attempts to make Thanksgiving dinner — while battling a temperamental oven — for her estranged suburban family at her grungy New York apartment and anticipates introducing them to her new boyfriend, Bobby (Derek Luke). Oliver Platt, Sean Hayes and Oscar-nominated Patricia Clarkson co-star in this drama that observes a dysfunctional family coming together to address the past and heal the future.

Shot in less than two weeks for less than $300,000, Pieces of April was written and directed by Peter Hedges, who adapted his novel Whats Eating Gilbert Grape.

With that film and this, Hedges shows that he can write a pretty decent script even with familiar source material. He happens to have this screenplay that is not only very comedic but also quite dark in its approach.

Though I did like this film I did have a little bit of complaints. The gritty look started to annoy me as I felt that it just looked way too dirty and cheaply made. There was also this little sub-plot that is really mysterious, only cause the film has it that way. Derek Luke is out doing something, and I kind of never understood what it really was.

All these flaws are quickly excused when the performances come out of these stars. Katie Holmes is actually pretty good in this film and gives charming performance as the leading woman, but the one that really knocks it out of the park here is Patricia Clarkson. She gives an amazing performance as an old and dying woman here is funny but also very tragic. You can see that she misses the times that she missed out on with her daughter, and she is upset about that but also still trying to keep her strength as an old woman. She was by far the best out of the whole cast.

The ending is probably one of the more touching and sincere endings I have ever seen. It really did feel genuine and the whole film basically lead up to this point and doesn’t leave us hanging out.

Consensus: Despite its flaws, Pieces Of April is a sincere, touching, and darkly comedic touch on familiar source material, that features an amazing performance from Patricia Clarkson.

8/10=Matinee!!!!

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2000s, 8-8.5/10, Movies , , , , , , , ,

Marvin’s Room (1996)

Leave a Comment Posted by on November 19, 2009

Leonardo DiCaprio can honestly be one annoying little shit!!!

The tables are turned when straight-laced Bessie (Diane Keaton) — who devotes her life to caring for her chronically ill father (Hume Cronyn) — must ask her estranged, bohemian sibling (Meryl Streep) for help after Bessie suffers a health catastrophe.

Never in my life have I seen a more touching and delicate little film about the biggest thing in life, dieing. Throughout the film I couldn’t help but be reminded of the 1993 film What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, also with Leo. Both have the same themes of love, but that one was so much better than this.

Marvin’s Room has some little nice touches of humor and drama. The scenes of humor all come from Robert De Niro and Dan Hedaya as the brother combination in the doctor’s office. I thought some of these scenes we’re funny, but after awhile they just started to get too repetitive and way too lame. I think they were trying a little way too hard on making this a light-hearted drama with comedy that would stick, but in all honesty it didn’t really quite work.

The main problem I had with this film was how annoying Leo was in this film. Honestly, I love Leo and all the films he does but in this one he really is one of the most annoying characters I have ever seen in a film. He whines and complains so many times throughout the whole film, and I really have no clue why nobody did anything and slap his ass up. If that was my kid he would be so blue, people would think he was a cut-scene from the Smurfs. He acts very bi-polar during the whole film, but it tries to act like that we don’t even suspect and just tries to cover it up with a little message of a lost father.

I liked the story between the two sisters (Keaton and Streep), I thought that this was the main strong point of the film and really did add a lot more emotional depth to the story. I realized how much these two missed out on, and you can tell by the way they speak with one another that they really do miss what they both could have had as sisters.

Keaton does the best job out of this whole cast and really shines. She adds a lot more depth, and makes this one-dimensional character very bold and likable, and mostly a person that we all cheer for and love. Meryl Streep does well also, but I don’t think she quite gave it her all in this film, and really did shine away with what could have been a really good chemistry on screen.

C0nsensus: Marvin’s Room tries to be funnier than it actually is, but is a touching if at times stiff, look at the fate and reality of death.

6.5/10=Rentall!!!!

1990s, 6-6.5/10, Movies , , , , , , ,

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)

Leave a Comment Posted by on October 24, 2009

Life is a terrible thing to sleep through, but only if your not this guy.

In a backwater Iowa town, Gilbert (Johnny Depp) struggles to take care of his mentally disabled brother, Arnie (Leonardo DiCaprio), and provide for the rest of his family. But after falling for the stranded Becky (Juliette Lewis), Gilbert discovers exciting new possibilities for his life.

The film is surely a film about a very odd looking family, and the things that happen I found very hard to watch. This is a better film than any other of those great piece of life stories that I have ever seen.

This story is based on a 1991 novel by Peter Hedges ,who also wrote the screenplay, and he and director Lasse Hallström create very memorable characters and spin them in ways so that you know about these people very well and care about them very well when the film is over. I felt myself very attached to these characters and they all gained my sympathy very quick, and anything bad that happened to these characters I felt totally effected by.

The story is very strong in showing how the towns people think of the Grapes as a weird family with a fat mom and a mentally challenged son, and you see how Gilbert tries to keep it all together. He soon falls in love with a girl but he doesn’t know if he can love her as she loves him due to the problem’s with his family. Very strong and compelling story.

Only problem I had with this film was that they just didn’t give Gilbert to express his feelings enough. He’s very quiet when his family bosses him around and you always see he is upset but you never see it come out. I think if it came out then this film would’ve looked to be more strong and very true as sometimes we can’t always hold our anger in.

Performances are also something very notable in this film. A young Leonardo DiCaprio does an amazing job at playing Gilbert’s mentally challenged brother, and he masters the acts and tics this character has without over doing it. He doesn’t get too annoying and your soul goes out to him. Also Depp and Lewis have a very good chemistry in this film that is awkward at first but soon comes out as genuine.

Consensus: Gilbert Grape is touching, true, and the most enchanting film I have seen in years. It gives me a new sense of feeling of life and connects me to all the characters within the film.

9/10=Full Pricee!!

1990s, 9-9.5/10, Movies , , , , ,

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