my thoughts on 'Domino' and 'Winter Solstice'

[tiedye]

I just started a job last night at the local Movie Gallery. $10/h AND I can have three free movies out at any given time. Last night I took home Domino and Winter Solstice.

I actually wasn't disappointed with Domino. That's not really saying much though, since I didn't expect much out of it in the first place. Although the cast, for the most part, was great - I'm a huge Mickey Rourke fan - I found that the dialogue really hindered the potential for great roles. It was filled with cheap, empty lines that seemed to be attempting inspired thoughts of renegade wisdom, and poorly written (and delivered, I must say) 'badass' lines that gave me the impression this was written by nothing more than an ambitious highschool student.

Mad props for the Tom Waits cameo, and the presence of a few of his songs on the soundtrack. I do have to say, however, that it was visually pleasing. Aside from Keira Knightly playing a goregous short-haired vagabond with a punk attitude, it was shot quite well. A few times I did watch a scene over again to fully take in creative angles and lighting effects just to try and figure out if it was digital or actually great directing.

My final verdict: 5/10 . . . great directing, poor screenplay


Winter Solstice was merely an impulse selection, as a backup plan in case Domino was unbearable. I've been making my film selections as of late by watching for film festival labels and anything resembling intelligent entertainment. This movie turned out to be fantastic. In spite of the often lengthy dialogue, the characters seemed very realistic to me. In all honesty, I found myself relating to the entire family in many ways.

Anthony LaPaglia plays a widowed father of two sons, played by Aaron Stanford and Mark Webber. His wife died in a car accident 5 years prior to the setting, and essentially the movie portrays their struggle to cope with it, even after so much time. It deals with the eldest son's decision to move, which is something I (and most likely many of you) have had to deal with. Also, it deals with the younger son's (somewhat tame, in my opinion) self-destructive behaviour, issues with school, and dealing with his brother's decision to move to Tampa Bay. The issues dealt with in this film, even moreso than the characters and dialogue, are what's actually so realistic about this film.

The soundtrack to the movie falls into a bit of an indie cliche, comprising entirely of acoustic guitar pieces. However, they are talented works and I feel that they do add to the laid-back, small-town vibe in a very complimenting way. They seemed almost like instrumental Jack Johnson or Ben Harper pieces.

My final verdict: 7/10 . . . great writing/directing on Josh Sternfeld's part. Props to Anthony LaPaglia on his acting - very believable.

[Silverwinged]

why the fuck did you start another domino thread?
there is already TWO.


JESUS CHRIST NABS...


I mean TIEDYE.

[tiedye]

. . . because I had more than one movie to review.

[Silverwinged]

[hardstylin]

If you fuck up again silverwinged will kill you.

you ve been warned

[tiedye]

I'm willing to take that risk.

[cubed]

I'm seriously going to start requesting royalties on the whole "JESUS CHRIST NABS!!!" thing.

[mikey]

^^^

no doubt.