“I loved it. Joaquin Pheonix was great!”
“Well done, well acted, but why?”
“While the movie convinced me to stay away from love at all costs, I did think the story, acting and direction were very powerful. The cinematography rocked and the film did an amazing job at capturing an authentic New York/Brighton Beach.”
“I’m not sure what was slower, the pace of the film or Leonard. The story goes nowhere and it’s hard to believe the ‘stock’ characters. I loved Isabella Rossellini.”
“I really enjoyed it. Loved that it wasn’t a silly stereotypical Jewish family. It was a complex, real, interesting family. Great acting.”
“Great casting, but predictable.”
“Set in the Christmas/holiday season Joachin is in a way, an updated Jewish George Bailey who dreams of leaving the stuffy home town and traveling the world but eventually ends up with the local girl and the family business. Happily ever after? That’s left for us to decide.
“Excellent cinematography. Excellent Pheonix, he lifts what is a pedestrian story into a place that touches one’s feelings and heart.”
“How you can assemble a cast of this caliber and up with a film this bad is mind-boggling. I couldn’t really care about any of these people. What happened to his carry-on which he never retrieves from outside the apartment house?”
“Great seeing a film made on location in NYC.”
“Beautiful film. Very moving and for a mature audience.”
“The hand-held camera made me nuts, but not as bad as it did in ‘RACHEL GETTING MARRIED’.”
“Joaquin at his best. Great ‘flavor’.”
“God bless Isabella Rossellini.”
“A very successful dark romance. I was grabbed from the beginning by the excellent performances and the look of the film. Wonderful how much of the cinematic detail enforced the ambivalence of Leonard and the ambiguity of the story.”
“A most delightful film, completely authentic! I suffered agony through the film because of Leonard’s slow timing. At the end, though, I felt he was getting away with murder by having everything fall into place by just transferring the ring from one lover to the other.”
“Very well done.”
“Again a great guest and with a great movie! Thank you!”
“If you can’t love the one you want, love the one you’re with!”