I just tried watching "The Descendants", and had to turn it off.

[Aristus]

What a relentlessly unpleasant film. I don't understand the critical raves...

[Laura PourMeADrink]

1. yup. I think it's because everyone loves George Clooney

so much.

[NRaleighLiberal]

2. my wife and I did not like it at all. But...to each their own...

that's what's great about the arts!

[graywarrior]

3. I couldn't relate to their wealth

[blogslut]

4. I liked it

It wasn't the greatest movie in the world but I liked it.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. The ending makes it all worthwhile, my dear Aristus...

I can still see the closing scene...

George Clooney's character does considerable growing throughout the movie, as do his daughters.

I strongly urge you to watch it again to the end.

I don't think you'll be disappointed.

[ashling]

12. To see or not to see, that is the question

I agree, Peggy.
I admit it was slow to get started, but the ending makes it worthwhile.

[sammytko]

18. I've watched it twice, but keep missing the very beginning, the accident! N/t

[nolabear]

6. I thought it a good film but hated that the father and daughter were in such collusion.

It's about as classic Freud...the actual smart part of the Oedipus idea...as you can get. Using a child as a partner, especially against the other parent, is a very, very bad idea. But hey, it's an interesting story. And the soundtrack is pretty awesome.

I'm trying to get over myself and see "Ted", which I understand is awesome as adolescent male fantasies go.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

7. It was really good

[Hekate]

8. I enjoyed it a lot, but then I'm from Hawai'i. They got it right.

Aside from the fact that George Clooney is eye candy for me, just putting that aside.

Hawai'i is a different culture from the Mainland, and I think the filmmakers got it right, the small things and the big things.

People kicked their shoes off at the door. When he ran down the hill (hey, was that Manoa Valley? up University Drive?) it was wet with rain, not relentlessly sunny.

The sound track was to die for, of course, and now I have it in my iPod. All summer I had insomnia from stress, and I listened to it to relax.

Old families and land have a different resonance there. I can't even explain it. The way that strangers felt they could snark at him over whether he would decide to develop land held in trust ("It affects us all, you know&quot was realistic. So much has been lost to development, and it can never be un-developed. The Islands are small. I asked an old friend who moved away a few years before I did, and she felt the same way.

As for the story-line about the immediate fractured family, it took awhile to get into it and then I was more than okay with it. I watched the movie twice (theater and DVD) and liked how it ended. The three of them are at peace with one another. They pull the Hawai'ian quilt (and those are special in themselves) that had been on their mother's hospital bed over their legs as they sit together.

No worry if you didn' like it though.

Hekate

[Paulie]

9. You should try The Conversation

to this day I shake my head thinking I watched this????

[solara]

10. I thought it was an excellent film

[truegrit44]

11. I watched it twice really really liked it n/t

[In_The_Wind]

13. I started watching it but stopped.

It was depressing.

I didn't delete it because George Clooney is in it.
I thought I would try watching again it after the holidays.

[img][/img]

[MissMillie]

14. That's how I felt about "Requiem for a Dream"

but the cinematography was so good..... and I kept holding out for one spark of good.

[LP2K12]

15. I enjoyed it...

mostly because of the ending.

[HereSince1628]

16. I enjoyed the film, partly because it's repeating question was "should I give up?"

The parallels of a dying wife, a dying marriage, and a dying royal legacy created interesting counterpoints

[geardaddy]

17. I liked it

but then I like depressing movies.

I really love Mike Leigh films. And those are relentlessly depressing.