Since we never really got an "in-theatres now" thread off the ground, I'll just use this thread to mention I saw
Redbelt yesterday and ask that if anyone else has seen it, I'd like to hear your opinion and run a couple of questions past you.
I love Mamet, but this is a renter. Did you like it?
I love Mamet, too. I'd give it a 4/5, so I definitely thought it was good, but didn't seem to love it as much as my boyfriend did (though I think he's an even bigger Mamet fan than I). It was unusual for a Mamet film--while the dialogue was good, this was more of an action film than I've seen him do. He did an amazing job with the fight scenes--they seemed very realistic and not-at-all silly or overly contrived. I'm a sucker for films about honor, and this was basically a very good samurai/honor-type film. Also, I think he got better performances out of the actors than he normally does--Emily Mortimer is always a favorite, and the protagonist was extremely well-acted. Even Tim Allen was quite good. Maybe it helped that Rebecca Pidgeon had only a very tiny role.All in all, I'd say worth seeing now rather than waiting on a rental.
Krista, I found your review and recall reading it. This was one of the reasons why it was so high on my list to watch on it's DVD release. I agree with you that the martial arts scenes were realistically done and knowing Mamet I'm sure he did more than his share of research but here were my problems with it, I would be very interested to see what made you like it that much more than myself. mytagid = Math.floor( Math.random() * 100 );document.write("
To start with, I despised the way that Mortimer's character was introduced. One minute she is driving in the rain and the next minute she is firing the gun through the window. I know she had the history of being raped that would make her grab for the weapon so fast, but if she was that skiddish would she have done more initially than just open the door and ask her question? It just seemed like a very big jump in character for a lawyer to grab a gun and fire it in that situation.
The scene where he puts her in a headlock and has her stab him to deal with her pain was great, and the highlight of the film.
I'm a big fan of films regarding honor as well and they usually really get my blood going, but I just couldn't understand why the cop would committ sucuide and leave his wife in debt over his martial arts dojo. He just didn't seem like a completely fleshed out character to me. I know the nuances of a Mamet film led us to believe that it was not as big of a deal initially as it turned out to be once the court case was involved, but would a cop with that much honor go try to pawn a $20,000 stolen watch without having someone in the department check it out first? It just seems like the situations that the entire plot is built are were inplausible to me.
And the biggest one, why would the martial arts master give him the most covented belt in the world without speaking to him or knowing his intentions based on a fight on a entrance walkway?
It also was a more than a little conveinent to have his wife take out a $30,000 cash loan from a loan shark over a business deal discussed over dinner the first time she met Allen's wife and her associate.
Everything was there for it to be a great movie for me, but the pieces just didn't add up and Mamet's script just didn't do it for me like he usually does.
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Interested in your thoughts Krista or anyone else, definitely a polarizing film though.
P.S. I Love You - it didn't suck
P.S. I Love You - it didn't suck
P.S. I Love You - it didn't suck
i wanted to like it. just wasn't happening.
