HottWwjdIam
There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.
Philippa
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
Isbel
A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
Antonius Block
Set the controls for your suspension of disbelief to max before watching this one folks. You'll also have to forgive it for its schmaltz and melodrama along the way. On the other hand, there are some nice moments, and the movie's treatment of death, loss, searching for answers when there are none, community, rebuilding, and understanding is touching. Director Stephen Daldry is wise in exercising restraint about the horrors of 9/11, and Thomas Horn and Tom Hanks turn in strong performances. Do fathers like the one Hanks plays actually exist? Perhaps not, but the balance shown with bad fathers in the film may strike a chord with anyone who has conflicting feelings about family members. I loved seeing Max von Sydow at age 82 in his supporting role, and that alone made it worth seeing for me. On the whole, your emotions will either be stirred or you'll find yourself cynical, and I suppose I experienced a bit of both and ended up in the middle. It is surprising to me that the film was nominated for Best Picture. Its heart was in the right place but it just wasn't subtle enough in its execution to recommend without reservations.
James
Just as it took British Director Paul Greengrass to address the issue of the September 11th flight that was brought down by its passengers in Pennsylvania in his 2006 film "United 93", so here it is left to Britain's Stephen Daldry to try to make some sense of the unbelievable tragedy and loss that the destruction of the Twin Towers denoted (for people all over the world). That was always going to be a tough one, and all the more so when whimsy and near-fantasy occasionally seem to mingle in with the biggest of all real-life stories, in which any form of good news is at an absolute premium.Doubtless many will feel that Daldry has not done the job properly, given the immense sensitivity of the issue, but that cannot be my view. "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" is actually a masterpiece that puts this reviewer strongly in mind of the very best work of Polish Director Krzysztof Kieslowski, with huge meaning imbued in an eclectic mix of one-off, chance-based mega-events and the ostensibly-uninspiring and uninteresting minutiae of everyday life. Here is a film of more than 2 hours that twists and turns, goes fast and slow, shifts emotions, seems to be becoming too light-hearted and then switches to deadly serious, and perhaps even taunts its viewers to reach for the "off" button more than once as it peaks into its most way-out moments.My strong advice is not to do that.Of course, Daldry had some help here, in the unlikely and amazingly appealing form of "Jeopardy"-winning schoolkid (and non-actor) Thomas Horn, who appears aged around 14 and has not the slightest difficulty in upstaging veteran co-stars Tom Hanks (playing the father marooned on the 106th floor of one of the WTC Towers), Sandra Bullock (playing the widowed mother) and Max Von Sydow (playing the father's father, traumatised into muteness by his earlier-life experiences). It is a remarkable performance as a bright, intense, over-sensitive, troubled boy with mental-health issues even prior to 9/11, whose dad bonds with him and attempts to draw him out with search-games that offer an intriguing (and actually quite authentic-looking) mix of fantasy and science. The early scenes with father and boy together will invoke something special in any actual (or would-be) father of sons who takes the trouble to watch.Given that the New York background also allows for wartime Germany side-stories, as well as the tales of countless others putting a brave face on misery and loss, the September 11th events are - miraculously as it may seem - put in some kind of wider context in this movie. New York stars here as no-nonsense, but also eccentric and diverse, tough, with a wry sense of humour - the place that draws and has drawn refugees, sufferers and exiles for centuries. All of that is present, and much more besides, but the message is of victory over sadness and gloom, of people learning to own their sadness and shedding their selfish concerns to help somebody else. The city of individualists somehow came together on 9/11, and the characters in this film do the same in response to events following on from that tragedy-cum-outrage. Ironic that brutality and suffering are needed to bridge what would otherwise be unbridgeable gaps, yet amazing and beautiful that that can be so. At moments, this movie trumpets to the skies the true wonder that is man's humanity - rather than inhumanity - to man.This is then a simultaneously warm and weird offering that steps beyond any obvious background of description, yet offers something new and fresh and supremely meaningful.Genuinely what movies should be about.
TheBlueHairedLawyer
To be fair, I do think that most of the actors did a good job, and that the general plot of this film as well as its camera work, it was all done very well. But the main character, that annoying as hell little boy, he got on my last nerve and his behaviour (which by the way has been chalked up to autism in the film, because I suppose all autistic children must be little monsters who bother people and slap their parents and curse and swear) got on my last nerve every time. I loved the scenes with the various people who he meets on his journey through New York, from a friendly drag queen to a woman going through a messy breakup with her husband, but we hardly get much more than a glimpse into all their lives because the film is so focused on this self-indulgent, bratty and rude little snot of a child who whines repeatedly in narration about what a huge toll 9/11 took on his own life, but who is too focused on himself to see what the disaster did to his mother or to anyone else who lost loved ones when it happened. I think that the doorman (only a minor character) and the grandfather were both certainly some of the most interesting in the story, bringing some comic relief to various scenes, and later on profound sadness in the grandfather's case. 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close' is in many ways akin to the 2015 film 'The Rainbow Kid' with its journey of quirky characters met along the way, except that in the case of the latter, the main character was actually likable. I mean this boy in here is so pretentious and nasty and self-centered that it almost had me thinking he'd make a good villain! I felt horrible for his mother and kept wishing under my breath that she'd lock him out of the apartment during one of his little day trips just to teach him a lesson in respect.
zkonedog
If you go to the cinema looking for pulse-pounding action and over-the-top antics, "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" can be crossed off your "to watch" list. However, if you are entranced by emotions, adventure, and character development, this film will likely suck you in and not let go until the credits roll.For a basic plot summary, "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" begins by showing the extraordinary loving relationship between Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn) and his father Thomas (Tom Hanks). When Thomas is killed during the 9/11 attacks in New York City, little Oskar is devastated. In trying to re-connect with the presence of his father, Oskar finds a strange key in his father's closet and sets out on a quest to find out its meaning. Along the way, Oskar meets up with an older gentleman (played by Max von Sydow) who helps him along.The remarkable aspect of this film is how it sets up such an emotional bond between father and son in a matter of minutes. When Thomas is killed, you will feel a crushing sense of loss and as such root even harder for young Oskar to see through his epic quest. Even when the primary narrative may wane from time to time, the young boy's incredible love for his father will be what keeps you on the edge of your seat.The characters are also very well-acted in this movie. Horn carries the film in practically every scene, while Hanks is well, Hanks for the short time he is on screen. Sydow picks up a key role roughly half way through the movie, while Sandra Bullock ("Mom" Schell) plays the grieving widower with great passion.This is a very down-to-earth film, as well. Nothing is over-the-top or overly dramatic. Without giving away any spoilers, I can say that the ending of the film may not initially gratify you, but once pondered upon will reveal itself as the right kind of conclusion for such a real-world effort.Overall, "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" is likely to, at the very least, find you rooting on young Oskar Schell as step by step he gets closer to re-discovering his father. The experience will make you both think and feel long after the lights come up.
