ALL THE KING'S MEN

[TylerDurden182]

Surprised there isn't a thread on this yet.

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j150/Durden_182/all_the_kings_men.jpg

Plot Summary: Based on the Robert Penn Warren novel. The life of populist Southerner Willie Stark, a political creature loosely based on Governor Huey Long of Louisiana.

Director: Steven Zaillian

Starring: Sean Penn, Jude Law, Anthony Hopkins, Kate Winslet, Mark Ruffalo, Patricia Clarkson, James Gandolfini

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j150/Durden_182/01-40.jpg

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j150/Durden_182/02-28.jpg

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j150/Durden_182/03-19.jpg

Thoughts?

[JackassFan]

It looks good. I'll definitely be seeing it.

[Lazy Boy]

It's getting terrible reviews, and it looks like one of those sure-fire things that, when released, turn out to be duds.

Sean Penn looks to be in full overacting, scenery-chewing mode, which fits with the character, but for all intents and purposes, I'll stick with the Robert Rossen version.

[JackassFan]

Originally posted by Lazy Boy
It's getting terrible reviews, and it looks like one of those sure-fire things that, when released, turn out to be duds.

Sean Penn looks to be in full overacting, scenery-chewing mode, which fits with the character, but for all intents and purposes, I'll stick with the Robert Rossen version.
Mabye not as good as I thought, eh? :(

[MadsenOMC]

Sadly it is supposed to be a mess. Hardly surprising since it was delayed for nearly a full year. I think one of the main problems is hiring a director with little experience to tackle an ambitious project like this. Steven Zaillian is a good writer, but I have little faith in his skills behind the camera. With a huge, talented cast like this one, I think a more experienced director would have been a better way to go.

[TylerDurden182]

Kind of torn on this one. The acting is great, as is the writing, but something felt like it was missing.

7/10

[bigred760]

Even before I heard and read the reviews for this thing, which were horrible, I had little interest in the movie. It didn't seem like there was much in it that was worth seeing. I don't go see movies because of the actors in it, so that reason was out. And the story didn't interest me at all.

Now after reading all the bad reviews for it, I don't think I want to see this thing on DVD.

[Monotreme]

Despite the reviews, I'm still planning on seeing this when it comes out over here, if only as a fan of Winslet, Penn and Clarkson.

[Brando @$$ Fat]

Half of the reviews seem to cite the script as the problem...which makes little sense. I mean, it's based on a Best-Picture winning film which was based on a literary classic. I think this is just another example of critics choosing random films to gang up on.

[Monotreme]

Originally posted by Brando @$$ Fat
Half of the reviews seem to cite the script as the problem...which makes little sense. I mean, it's based on a Best-Picture winning film which was based on a literary classic. I think this is just another example of critics choosing random films to gang up on.
Agreed. I will simply never understand critics. On some films they are willing to dismiss a few "minor flaws" and still give them positive reviews; on other films they choose to nitpick every the hell out of every tiny little detail. Over the past few years I have really come to loose what little faith I had in critics, and have preferred more and more to judge films by myself. For example, last year Memoirs of a Geisha was absolutely trashed by critics, when I thought that it was actually pretty good. Flawed, no doubt - but not nearly the disaster it was made out to be.

[Bourne101]

As soon as I heard the title and actors I knew it would be a borefest. And by the reaction of critics, that is exactly what it is. Definitly waiting until DVD.

[Badbird]

I am so glad this is finally out so I don't have to sit through those excruciating trailers anymore.

This looks boring as sin. Typical Oscar bait. I'm sorry, but I just hate everything about Depression era films. I hate the look. I hate the feel. I hate it all.

All the Kings Men, Cinderella Man, Seabiscuit, etc. Everything's brown and I don't want to deal with it.

[Brando @$$ Fat]

Not everything can be Equilibrium or Clerks II, some movies are made to get the viewer to *gasp* think for a change.

[DaMovieMan]

Ive been anticipating this movie for a while, and got pretty pissed when i heard it was delayed from last year, and when i finally saw it I wasn't amazed, and mildly impressed.

The Good:
The script is the best thing about this movie, i dont know what those critics are on about. Unpredictable, original dialogue, the meat mostly belongs to Sean Penn's Willie Stark for obvious reasons (i.e. he has the spot-light even though he is not the main character) but other characters had very good scenes and should have been used more (ex: Anthony Hopkins' Judge Irwin).
Another good thing is the acting, but this mainly belongs to two people already mentioned, that is Sean Penn and Anthony Hopkins. Some who are tired of the exagerrated Penn intensity won't be happy with his turn, but personally I love the man's acting and range and he is in full form here as always. Hopkins has a secondary role but he's just a legend now, it's amazing just to sit back and watch him steal those scenes.
Finally, the direction has to be at least mentioned here, although it belongs under another category, but there were some specific scenes that were really done well (camerawork and editing wise).
The scene with the Spanish girl in the skates is one of my favorite, and the finale is really done well (although it fails in other aspects, look below).

The Bad
The directing, apart from a couple of scenes, wasn't all that great, and with a cast like this, with material like this and with a subject like this, it could of been done 20X better under more experienced hands (someone like Clint Eastwood).
The accents in general did not work with many of the actors, to the point where i couldnt understand what they were saying (James Gandolfini) while with others it just sounded bad and wrong (Jude Law)

The Ugly
Jude Law (Jack Burden) did not work well in this film at all, and sadly he was the main character. Together with the main subject matter (Willie Stark's rise to governor), other plots like the love-story and the father-son story all concerned Jude Law. On top of all that, he was narrating and the only thing where the script is flawed is the over-use of narration. With Jude Law's bad attempt at a Southern accent and his stoic-like boring preformance he really damaged this film.
The under-use of a lot of characters: under-developed characters that seemed 10X more interesting than Jack Burden (funnily enough his name is quite ironic to me, he is a burden through-out the whole film) for example Mark Ruffalo's Adam and, again, Hopkins' Irwin. But the list doesn't stop with the males, Kate Winslet is hardly in the movie at all, and all of the action concerning her that would of created a more complex character, happen off-screen. Patricia Clarkson comes in and out, providing mostly the comedy (which is the tragedy) along with Gandolfini's Duffy, as the wroned wife of the governor.
The ending needs to be mentioned. Apart from spectacular camera and color effect, it was a mess. Came to fast, involved a lot of the characters that were underdeveloped and then the twist just seemed slapped on as a final "you didn't see that coming!" which im sure half of the people in the cinema with me didn't get. Bah.

------------------------------====------------------------------------

6/10 , barely above average because of Penn's colorful performance, the script and Hopkins' mere presence.

DMM

[ilovemovies]

Originally posted by Badbird

All the Kings Men, Cinderella Man, Seabiscuit, etc. Everything's brown and I don't want to deal with it.


Those are all wonderful movies IMO. Especially Cinderella Man.


I liked this movie a lot. I was never bored. The movie looks great. Accents aside, the acting is uniformly fine.

Actually, I thought the best performance in the movie was given by Jude Law. I thought he was exceptional. Sean Penn gave a solid but not great performance. It's a decent performance but I never felt like Penn really truly engulfed himself into the character. Still, it's probably the most energetic performance I've seen since Robert Duvall's amazing performance in 1997's The Apostle. Anthony Hopkins, despite having limited screen time, still is able to make an impression. He's wonderful and some of the best scenes in the movie involve his character. James Gandolfini and Patricia Clarkson are fine but wasted. Finally, Kate Winslet and Mark Ruffalo are terrific and play an important part on how the movie ends.

It's not quite the masterpiece I'd hope it to be. And I actually wish the movie was as great as the last 30 minutes, which are especially gripping and powerful. But Steve Zaillian, who has already made one terrific movie (Searching for Bobby Fischer) and one decent (A Civil Action) can still add yet another fine film to his resume. And I will eagerly await any movie he has coming out in the future.

7/10

[Badbird]

Originally posted by Brando @$$ Fat
Not everything can be Equilibrium or Clerks II, some movies are made to get the viewer to *gasp* think for a change.

...did I just get served?

[dreamcurls]

Yeah, movie doesn't look like anything special. I would wait for DVD.

[Brando @$$ Fat]

Originally posted by Badbird
...did I just get served?

No, I wasn't being 100% serious. Besides, even though it's probably not as bad as critics are saying it is a 14% Rotten Tomatoes review has to mean something. Come on, I mean didn't Little Man get the same rating?

[Tyler_Durden_208]

The worst thing about this movie is that Sean Penn could learn a little bit about subtlety from Al Pacino. What the hell is up with Penn flailing his arms around like a maniac while he's sitting there having a quiet conversation with Jude Law? It just bothers me when the main character doesn't even seem like he can control his body at all. Anyway, aside from that, I had to wonder just truly where all the talent in this film went. I know the director worked with Spielberg on Schlindler's List, shouldn't he have learned something? I was even dissapointed with my usual point in the storm of Anthony Hopkins.
The only thing worse than a mediocre movie, is a mediocre movie that has enough talent to be a great one.
5/10

[DaMovieMan]

Originally posted by Tyler_Durden_208
[BThe worst thing about this movie is that Sean Penn could learn a little bit about subtlety from Al Pacino. What the hell is up with Penn flailing his arms around like a maniac while he's sitting there having a quiet conversation with Jude Law?
5/10 [/B]

I think the real Willie Stark was that eccentric. Probably one of the reasons Penn got the role.


DMM

[Tyler_Durden_208]

Originally posted by DaMovieMan
I think the real Willie Stark was that eccentric. Probably one of the reasons Penn got the role.


DMM
While that does make me slightly rethink it, I still believe it should've been toned down slightly in the quieter scenes so it didn't draw laughter from me and several other audience members.

[DaMovieMan]

Originally posted by Tyler_Durden_208
While that does make me slightly rethink it, I still believe it should've been toned down slightly in the quieter scenes so it didn't draw laughter from me and several other audience members.

I know what you mean, heehee, he seemed down-right drunk in some scenes...


DMM

[Brando @$$ Fat]

Originally posted by DaMovieMan
I think the real Willie Stark was that eccentric. Probably one of the reasons Penn got the role.


DMM

Wait, I thought it was based on Huey Long....