In the Bedroom is horrible, but whadya expect?

[JonathanLB]

Oh my god, CMJ, this film was terrible! Jesus, why wasn't I given some type of fair warning what a lousy movie this was?

Two hours and ten minutes long to explain a story that could be done in about 20 minutes? I could make it into a half-hour TV show with commercials and it would be about 20 minutes of actual footage.

How will I even write a paragraph on the film's plot? It's like someone wrote the plot down on a piece of toilet paper and made a script out of it. I guess I won't spoil any of it, except that the movie basically revolved around the parents of a murdered kid. That's the first of two important things that happen in the film, the kid being killed. The rest is just, it's just not there, there is nothing there whatsoever.

My mom liked Amelie and she liked Gosford Park, don't ask me how, those films both royally sucked too. They were terrible, definitely as bad as In the Bedroom, but even she hated In the Bedroom! We talked to the two people behind us after the film and we were all making fun of it and laughing about it. That started because I said pretty loudly, "OH MY GOD THIS FILM IS A DEFINITE BEST PICTURE NOMINEE!" (and it already was nominated of course), so then the few people in the theater started laughing and the lady behind us said to the other lady she went with, "Ok next time I get to pick, haha, that movie was very disappointing." The other lady said, "Sorry about that, I really didn't think it would be like that, I made a bad choice." "I always pick better movies anyway and you know it, haha." My mom was like, "What a boring film!" It truly was the most boring movie except for Gosford Park.

Who would have imagined the two most boring films ever made in Hollywood history would arrive in the same calendar year?! Incredible!

In the Bedroom had no plot at all. I mean seriously Wing Commander was a far superior film and had a much more developed plot. At least it had some production values, but this film was just totally boring and stupid the entire way. It was not interesting, it was not thoughtful, it was not anything but a two hour plus bore.

It was way way way way way longer than it should have been and I was ready for it to end after the first 45 minutes when nothing happened after the first murder.

Wow, well I'm giving the film 1/2 star. It was very close to 0, but I am in a giving mood.

I cannot imagine a more poorly thought out film. I am not sure what is up with the Academy but they really know how to pick the worst movies in existence. Again, I have no doubt that most normal moviegoers would absolutely hate In the Bedroom.

A Beautiful Mind was not that well done IMO, but it still blows the competition away except for LOTR. I am missing Moulin Rouge, still have to see that here VERY soon before the launch of my site. I hope it's good, or at least not that bad. Jeez, I hate the Academy's selections, they're awful this year.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Your not missing anything with Moulin Rouge, believe me

[ReaperFett]

How was the acting?

[CMJ]

I totally disagree with you on this one Jon! I thought the film was excellent. It was a gripping chracter study on how tragedy affects a family. It's definitely one of the best pictures of 2001.

The acting was excellent. I guess you were mad because "nothing happened". At least thats what I got out of your review. IMHO alot of stuff happened. We really get to know the characters. I REALLY liked this film Jon....the fact that you didn't doesn't really surprise me, but saddens me. ITB is my 2nd favorite of this year's nominee's(behind ABM), but to each his own opinion.

For the record I do know people that liked this film. Everyone has different tastes, wouldn't it be boring if we all agreed. :P

[Jedieb]

I haven't seen it but CMJ's enthusiam is enough to make me look forward to seeing it. A movie that's driven by characters and a dramatic narrative, what a concept....

I loved Moulin Rouge. "THE HILLS ARE ALIVE WITH MUSIC!!!!!!!!" "Come what may....." So sad, so sad.:cry

[JonathanLB]

I am cautiously optimistic with Moulin Rouge because I think visually it looks pretty stunning, but a musical? I don't like musicals. They are really corny and musicals should be plays, not movies. I loved The Phantom of the Opera in New York when I saw it performed, though the singers/actors were not as good as on the earlier CD, I forget their names...

But I still think that Moulin Rouge surely must be the best Best Picture nominee aside from LOTR.

CMJ, NOTHING happened In the Bedroom, lol. It was a boring film all around. A character study of what happens to the parents? Why can't that be just a short story? It was boring and utterly predictable. Don't even tell me it wasn't predictable. If you didn't see both significant events (and you know what I mean by that) coming from six miles away, uhhh... well you aren't very observant, lol.

Here is what an Oscar analyst said in Entertainment Weekly and it could not be stated more accurately:

"BEST PICTURE: The Lord of the Rings. "By default, he says." "It's the only picture that has the stature of 'Oscar.' All the rest are liittle subjects about little people."

EXACTLY! That is the problem. They are all unimportant people doing unimportant, ordinary things. I do not go to the movies to see ordinary, which is exactly why Amelie, Monster's Ball, and In the Bedroom get awful reviews because they are awful films. Gosford Park gets a terrible review because it's utterly boring and uninteresting, but nothing important really happens there either. That movie is worse than In the Bedroom.

I'm very disappointed by this year's Best Picture nominees. The other nominations are lousy too, though, especially the screenplay category where only Memento and The Royal Tenenbaums are deserving whatsoever. Both of those are good nominations for sure, those scripts are excellent.

As for the acting in "In the Bedroom," it was obviously quite good and I especially like the husband's performance, maybe because he is actually a likable character (I wish my dad were more reasonable about his opinions on college and whatnot), but Sissy Spacek, ok whatever, yeah she is fairly good but how can I tell if there is great acting if it serves no purpose? Sure, the acting was very good, but if it doesn't serve the story and plot then it is all for nothing. Marisa Tomei is just hot, lol, it's not that she's a great actress. She is good, but mainly she's hot.

I cannot imagine In the Bedroom being more boring.

[ReaperFett]

I especially like the husband's performance
Six years ago, he went to the Oscars as an ex-steel worker stripper. Not too bad an improvement :)

[CMJ]

Yes...exactly..a character study about what happens to the parents. :P

I don't see that as a problem...people's lives are more "ordinary" than the "heightened realism" of most motion pictures. ITB showed ordinary people coping with a tragedy...in a very realistic way IMHO.

FOTR is a grand spectacle...but to me it was empty. I was caught up in the granduer...but I cared little for the characters. It left me cold.... I feel I should see it again to see if my opinion would change(I mean some films get better with more viewings and some get worse...and some stay the same ;) ) but my first opinion was less than stellar. Thats not to say I don't respect Jackson's vision or accomplishment...but it was "empty" to me, I don't know how else to describe it.

I'm assuming you're speaking of the last act of the picture(back to "Bedroom")...with what you saw a mile away. I have a question for you. Don't you see MOST endings coming a mile away(I mean I know I do)? The journey is what's fun most of the time...not the destination.

I mean...uhhh like the "Star Wars" films have endings you can see from far away(except EMPIRE), does that make them any lesser? I think not.

Reading your reviews of this(ITB) and "Monster's Ball"...both which you said had a terrible plot. Hmmmm both are studies on ow parents deal with the loss of children. I guess that means YOU can't relate and think looking introspectively about such things is meaningless and unworthy of being told.

There has been no one on the board that has stuck up for you more than me(even though...hell because we disagree alot...I appreciate seeing different sides) BUT I feel sory for you if thats the case......

[Jedieb]

I had no idea that both ITB and Monster's Ball dealt with the loss of children. That's powerful subject matter and certainly something that I don't want to watch unless it's dealt with in a serious and thoughtful manner. I really want to see these two films now, you've got me anxious to see them both CMJ, thanks.

[JonathanLB]

"The journey is what's fun most of the time...not the destination."

But the journey was not fun! There wasn't anything fun about this movie. All movies do not have to be fun to be powerful or moving or well made, but clearly In the Bedroom was not meant to be fun, it was very disturbing, naturally, and was meant to be taken seriously.

The only issue I felt it raised of value, and why it gets 1/2 star instead of 0, is that people cannot simply kill someone else and get a frickin' manslaughter charge of 5 to 15 years. That is absurd, and not justice whatsoever. I think most parents would feel the same way, *cough*, but I'm not spoiling the plot. Not like you cannot tell after the first 30 minutes, but still... For the less observant people ;)

CMJ, how come you think most critics complain that a film is too predictable and that makes it bad, but then when it comes to In the Bedroom they immediately excuse the fact that it is predictable. Either being predictable is bad, or it isn't, one of the two. Not sometimes good, sometimes bad. That's like saying it's good to have lousy dialogue sometimes, but other times it is bad, most of the time bad, hehe. That is not logical, nor would anyone who has taken a logic class or not taken a logic class agree with such a flawed theory.

I think extreme predictability is bad because you go to a movie to see what is going to happen and you want to be twisted around a few times. If you know the outcome to every movie before it begins, I think that takes a lot of the fun out of it, and I think filmmakers are realizing that more and more after some of the action films in the 1980's and early 90's WERE all very predictable, even though many were still quite good anyway.

For instance, you may know the goods guys are going to win, but what if there is a twist while that happens still, some revelation that changes your opinion of a villain, or makes you wonder about his motives, or whatever.

I will not ruin Resident Evil, but this won't ruin anything what I'll say. Ok, you have a team of people, perhaps 10 to 12 of them, and you know that they are not all going to make it out of this movie, this hidden laboratory alive. Some of them will die. But who? Just because they are a major star doesn't mean they won't die, look at Gladiator, or look at Braveheart. How about the ending of Joy Ride? Jeepers Creepers? Neither were predictable in the slightest. I couldn't see them coming.

In fact, given that Jeepers Creepers, I thought, was going to be another stupid teen horror film, I assumed it would end perfectly happy with all going well, and I was wrong. I was also wrong about it being stupid, I thought it was very good (unlike a few people here).

Recently, let's see, I could guess the ending of We Were Soldiers clearly, but it was still fairly good (not that good) because of the battles. The ending of All About the Benjamins was very predictable, but the movie was so, blah, mediocre and below average actually that I just didn't care one way or another.

In the case of The Count of Monte Cristo, you still don't know exactly how it'll end, but you know that essentially for that film to work, all must go exactly according to plan and the beauty of the movie is how well executed those plans really are. So the beauty is in the journey, as you say, which is the same as Ocean's 11. That film is very predictable in that you know eventually they are going to succeed here and getting all of this money, BUT there are plot twists along the way, fairly substantianal ones, that keep you intrigued, otherwise you'd fall asleep of boredom because you simply know exactly what'll happen and there is no doubt.

The Game, another unpredictable movie, and that fact made it one of my top 10 favorite films of all time, including the SW movies in that top ten list.

As for your question, I am pondering it. I really do not think ordinary lives and ordinary situations are fit for film, to be honest. I cannot think of too many good movies that are ordinary. In fact, I believe Hollywood and the movies are all about the EXTRAordinary, whatever happens that is WORTHY of a film, and I don't believe ordinary, everyday, every week occurrences warrant movies unless they are exceptionally different.

I also don't think any film that is not epic ever deserves an Oscar, which is why Shakespeare in Love has nothing on Saving Private Ryan, or why American Beauty shouldn't have won best picture regardless of how good it was because it has no epic scale, no great ambition. It's not a Ben-Hur, a Gone With the Wind, a Gladiator, a Braveheart, a Lord of the Rings, or even a Titanic. It's not a Star Wars.

I don't know what you are talking about with LOTR, that makes no sense at all, does In the Bedroom make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? Jeez, you need to describe objectively what the film lacks or go back and see it again so you can describe it, otherwise I cannot take your opinion seriously. At least I can point to exactly what I didn't like in each film I see, and if I cannot, then I have to re-evaluate my rating or re-evaluate the film, one of the two.

Now, a film doesn't need to be epic to be great, but I tend to think that is what the Oscars are all about, awarding the best picture of the year, which IS usually something epic, the best picture trophy.

I think great movies can be made of ordinary people doing extraordinary things, like Remember the Titans. Not extraordinary people really, they are a lot like any other team, but what they did in overcoming adversity was extraordinary, and that warrants a movie.

Even A Beautiful Mind was deserving of a movie because it is the story of a fairly amazing guy overcoming adversity and still doing something with his life. I did feel the film was poorly made, though, and as with other critics (a few of them at least), I felt the love story was tacky and poorly developed, aside from the fact it was wrong. If they had done it right, I would have felt better about it because the truth always makes more sense than if you take the truth and then totally twist an aspect of it; it just doesn't come out right. No, my problem with that film was the directing and execution, not the concept.

But you are right, I don't feel that either Monster's Ball or In the Bedroom deserved a movie and I don't think the subject matter they dealt with deserved a movie either unless it could be given a more interesting, more appealing edge. Simply a kid getting killed and his parents dealing with that doesn't warrant a movie. A kid getting killed and his parents doing something amazing in changing the law or in setting up a special support group or maybe a charity or perhaps a legal fund, something like that could have potential. It has important and weight, but the story as it stood in the film lacked any merit or interest. I didn't ultimately care about anything that happened in the film, first of all because I know it's just a movie, and second of all because it never drew me in whatsoever.

My mom, who has two kids obviously (obvious in that of course she at least has a kid, lol), still didn't like it whatsoever, so you cannot just say, "Well you cannot understand until you have kids." No that is not true. That's no more true than saying I cannot understand how horrible war is without being there. I thought SPR did a great job of portraying that, even though I only gave the film 3 stars, it was emotionally pretty gripping.

Even Monster's Ball was superb at the beginning in showing what it's like for a guy on death row. That was well done, and at that point in the film I was enthralled and I was hooked, but then they lost me soon after through the useless sex scenes, the boring plot, boring characters (caricatures, actually, as one guy said in Entertainment Weekly), etc.

Hey, I deal with a problem that many people have, which is to say that I face the difficult decision of how college fits into my life and pleasing the parents but also remaining true to myself. Does my life recently deserve a movie because of that? No. I am not doing anything extraordinary right now (what I am doing I consider impressive, but thousands of other people do the same thing and I'm no different than them, except that I am, right now, less successful, haha). I do not warrant a film.

Now take my life and change a lot of details and make it a bit more impressive and less ordinary, add a few plot twists, write a great script, and maybe you have a story. But the point is, just because something is "real" or because something "happens all of the time" doesn't mean it deserves a movie. In fact, the more real, the more often it happens, the less chance it deserves a movie. Apollo 13 was real, but it seemed SO UNREAL that it made a great movie. Who could have imagined that so much would go wrong, yet the crew would survive anyway? That truly is stunning, it was a real life story that warranted a movie, like Thirteen Days, an important part in not just the history of our country but also in the history of the world (can you say nuclear winter? Hehe).

At least if you are going to make a movie where not a huge deal happens, like the Royal Tenenbaums, you can at least bother to write a wonderful screenplay with weird/quirky characters who you cannot help but watch and laugh with/at and enjoy. That is the Royal Tenenbaums. Even without a huge plot, the character-driven film works wonderfully and is quite enjoyable, I thought.

I didn't find anything remarkable about the scripts for In the Bedroom or Monster's Ball and neither film was at all impressive.

CMJ, I respect your opinions because you are one of the most informed moviegoers on the planet Earth here, haha, not just because your opinions are different from mine. But I do not need anyone to stick up for me; my opinions are informed and I have seen the films and can defend my own viewpoints. We are talking about movies, and that being said, I can feel however I want about whatever movie I want and the great thing is, that is valid!

Just as valid as you liking something like Amelie or like In the Bedroom, both of which bored me to tears, but at least I gave them a shot. That's all a moviegoer can do. I cannot guarantee I will like a film like Amelie any more than I can guarantee I will hate a film like Resident Evil. Put Resident Evil side-to-side with a film like that and IMO it blows it away, but of course a critic would grow red in the face with anger at a statement like that, for whatever reason. I mean, hehe, it's pretty obvious to me which had higher production values (and the one with the bigger budget was, uh, pretty obvious), but whatever.

[CMJ]

Jon...I thought there were a few twists an turns in ITB. Thats my opinion but one I could find critics that agree with me(much like you did with the EW critics). The great things about films is you can argue about them, even if both sides end up frustrated. ;)

Oh and no..."Bedroom" did not make me feel warm and fuzzy..but it did make me examine things. It was not "fun"..you're right, but I meant my "Fun journey" statement not in exactly a literal way...more in a being swept up in a story way. You don't have to have fun to be taken in by a film.

Anyways, much like you, I don't care if other people like a movie or not...as long as I know how I feel about it..thats all that matters. :)

[Shawn]

Originally posted by JonathanLB
I am cautiously optimistic with Moulin Rouge because I think visually it looks pretty stunning, but a musical? I don't like musicals. Exactly my thoughts. But hey - I loved A Nightmare Before Christmas, and I loved Moulin Rouge.

The thing is, people seem to either love it, or hate it. It took me a while to finish watching it, as I only saw it in 20 minute segments when I had the chance, but I really did enjoy it quite a bit. I'm a sucker for a good love story, and this one was about as good as it gets. It has, without a doubt, some of the best acting I've seen in a while. Nicole Kidman should definitely get a "Best Actress" award for this movie.

[CMJ]

By the way Jedieb...I'm glad my praise about those two films has made you more likely to se them It means alot when people care about your opinions. :)

[JonathanLB]

That's ironic. I sure hope that people who read my new review site care about my opinions, haha, or at least read them! ;)

I'll let you know when it is up... Just a few days now! I am excited. I had to bring in a second graphical designer to complete the job, so it cost me a bit extra. $1,900 project in all, but it'll be well worthwhile I think. I'm looking forward to being able to show it to you guys, even if you don't agree with some of my reviews, hehe :)

Yeah you are right, Shawn, I did like A Nightmare Before Christmas a lot, that's a good point. I had forgotten about that movie, which I gave four stars.

I am not into love stories whatsoever, though. I really don't know how I will feel about Moulin Rouge but I suppose I will probably think it is just mediocre. I don't know yet though, I have to give it a chance first before I can tell, hehe. My dad hated it. My mom and sister loved it. But... I tend to think my dad and I have more similar opinions when it comes to a film like that.

Then again, he is the one who drug me to see Mulholland Drive even after my mom had already seen it with him and said it blew chunks. I agree with the critic who called it the worst film of the year (2001). He's right, it was terrible crap. But that was another subject, hehe. I cannot forgive him for making me see that lousy nonsense, hehe, j/k.

It's weird that this year I have basically seen every nominated film in the main categories. I guess I missed "Iris" and there are a few others I missed too.

I've not seen Moulin Rouge, but I can tell you right now I think The Others is a lot better movie regardless. I know what they are both about and there is no way Moulin Rouge is better than The Others. I think it should have gotten Nicole Kidman another Oscar nomination, or one in place of Rouge, whatever, but she was great in that film, which was also great. Speaking of which... I wonder when that is on DVD, I don't remember seeing it out.

[Jedieb]

To those that haven't seen MR I would advise you to not give up on the movie early on. I found the 30-45 minutes were non traditional to say the least. Your bombarded with images, costumes, characters, sound effects, and music. Eventually the story forces the film to follow a more traditional narrative and the film is better for it, IMO. I enjoy a decent love story every once in awhile and this one is quite poignant. Ewan is downright amazing. His voice was much better than I expected. He and Kidman looked as if they relished making this movie. Another bonus for me was picking out the different songs that made up all of the medley. Growing up with a lot of that music helped make the film more enjoyable for me. A younger viewer, or someone who just didn't like many of those songs, may not enjoy the songs at all. For me, hearing everyone from Queen to Elton John was a blast.

[Shawn]

Jedieb: I have to agree. I love the David Bowie song from the soundtrack, and the rest of it is solid stuff. Songs that I normally don't like at all sounded good when performed during the movie (I loved "Like a Virgin"! That was great!).
Speaking of which... I wonder when that is on DVD5/14, I believe. It's already in our DB at Blockbuster. Also, I'm not sure, but I think Harry Potter comes out on the same day.

[Dutchy]

I completely agree with CMJ on In the Bedroom. I also really liked it. I knew nothing about it in advance and thought it was a well acted, gripping and compelling drama.

Jonathan, this is just another proof that you just don't care for character study kinda dramas.

[Dutchy]

I was very impressed with Tom Wilkinson's performance, more than Spacek's or Tomei's, actually.

They made excellent choices for Best Actor this year I must say (even though I haven't seen I am Sam, but the preview already impressed me, Penn-wise). The more I think of it, the more I think Wilkinson derserves the award best. I really felt his grief, anger and frustration.

But again, they all deserve it, each in their own way.

[JonathanLB]

"I was very impressed with Tom Wilkinson's performance, more than Spacek's or Tomei's, actually."

I agree with this statement for sure. I thought he did a wonderful job. Spacek got a lot of credit for her part and yeah she is fine, but I was more impressed with him really.

I do like good movies of any sort Dutchy, I just didn't find this one appealing.

[ReaperFett]

Saw a program today saying Wilkinson is a good bet for the Oscar now, because of Crowe's tantrum

[Dutchy]

Originally posted by JonathanLB
"I was very impressed with Tom Wilkinson's performance, more than Spacek's or Tomei's, actually."

I agree with this statement for sure. I thought he did a wonderful job. Spacek got a lot of credit for her part and yeah she is fine, but I was more impressed with him really.

Exactly. Even though they made an excellent selection for Best Actor, I hope Wilkinson wins tonight.


I do like good movies of any sort Dutchy, I just didn't find this one appealing.

I just can't imagine that if you like drama that you trash In the Bedroom the way you did.

I still have to come across your first positive review of this sort of movie.