As Good As It Gets

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

I don't think this film is a 10/10 best picture academy award winning movie, I do think it's a good movie that deserves praise for what it does right, but I think best picture is giving it a little too much than it deserves. The cast does a wonderful job with their performances. Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Brendan Fraser, Michael Pena, ludicrous, Ryan Philippe, Thandie Newton, and Matt Dillon all give very deep powerful performances. Acting is what this film really gets right, it's the best thing about the movie in my opinion. This is one of those movies where it takes many different kinds of characters from completely different backgrounds and intertwines their story lines and it asks the audience to ask some pretty serious questions about heavy issues that face our society and country. The script is well written and there are only a few parts in the middle of the movie where I felt like it dragged a bit. The acting really is what keeps the audience watching, the performances are just so well done and raw. There are some scenes that really do touch you in that special way and that's good because it's meant to stir feelings. There are a couple of African American male characters at the beginning and the one played by ludicrous is talking about racial profiling and discrimination and then they do something that is completely stupid and self destructive and truthfully embarrassing for the African American community. So that kinda ticked me off, and then you have a white rich couple who lets just say aren't the nicest people ever, even though you do come to sympathize with the woman (Sandra Bullock). And you have other characters that face Islamaphobia, racial stereotyping, and family issues. The movie for the most part does a good job with dealing with these tough issues. I wanted the film to be a little more shaking and remarkable than it was. It was shaking in a lot of ways, but I personally just don't feel like this one was best picture material. Maybe a nominee, but not a winner. 7/10.

Oh boy. As a feminist accidentally born with testicles, I can tell you, there's nothing I look forward to more than a film reminding me how privileged white males like myself are the scum of the Earth. I generally use movies like this as a sort of intellectual self-flogging to make up for the thousands of years of oppression my people have caused the entire world. This one, however, didn't amount to much more than a sappy, manipulative Disneyesque take on the state of racism in the United States.We know we're in trouble early on when Sandra Bullock's privileged character warns her liberal husband to be worried about two African-American gentlemen on the street and she turns out to be correct. It's like the film is shooting itself in its foot from the get-go. Afircan-Americans should NEVER be portrayed in a negative light on film or in television. They've suffered enough. Later, we meet an atrociously disgusting white police officer in the character of Matt Dillon. He molests an innocent African-American woman (as one suspects white police officers are apt to do on a regular basis) and then, as though the film wants to make some clever statement about irony, the same racist cop saves the same poor, innocent African-American woman from a burning car. The director plays games like this with the audience throughout the picture. It's like he's learned the very worst lessons Spielberg has to offer. Set the audience up, smack them sideways in a manner the filmmaker no doubt considers "clever." It's not. The whole movie reminded me of the patronizing scene in Schindler's List when Liam Neeson notices white flakes in the air. The audience thinks, "Snow! Christmastime! Yeah!" and then he walks a few blocks and we see it is actually ashes from burning Jews. Crash is nothing but an endless series of episodes like this. It looks like it was written by a freshmen cultural studies major who hasn't had enough Liberal Arts training to learn how to make his art subtle and, thus, more meaningful. Avoid this at all costs. For a great movie to feed your white guilt, I recommend "The Brother from Another Planet."

I think this may be one of the most overrated movies ever made, but I understand why it won an Oscar. The LA location and the heavy melodramatic discussion on race makes it perfect for the judges of the Oscars. One scene has Ludicrous giving a speech about how African Americans are viewed as violent, lazy and cheap. He complains about a white woman avoiding them out of fear. He then proceeds to car jack that same woman. This is one of the many examples of what a convoluted mess this movie is. Almost every actor plays a caricature. Racism is a real problem in this country, but this movie does nothing to seriously analyze it.

............................................................from Pasto,Colombia...Via: L.A. CA., CALI, COLOMBIA and ORLANDO, FL After seeing CRASH for the first time, in September, 2005, I said " WOW!...Why haven't I found out about this movie before?" (Well, maybe it's because it was released in the U.S. just a week before going to Colombia on vacation, on May 14, 2005.) This is the kind of film that you often dream about seeing, but are really lucky if just one of its caliber is released in a year! Scenes from the Movie seem to have kept swirling around in my brain for weeks! Below, I'm going to explain why: CRASH impacts not so much for its action as, perhaps, its title might imply, nor fantastic scenes utilizing dazzling "CGI" effects, but by the undeniable quality and human warmth of the story it tells. Time and again, CRASH shows us people, whom, at first, seem so easy to decipher, so black and white, and then, in a matter of seconds, disorients us with a chilling dose of unadulterated, hard reality: People are not at all one-dimensional, like in the comics. We are flesh and blood, replete with clandestine simmering passions, occult emotional scars, irrational internal conflict, and oftentimes victims of relentless, implacable, merciless fate! In stark contrast to its title, CRASH impacts for the subtlety that it displays from beginning to end. Boasting a truly majestic cast, CRASH is directed, orchestrated and integrated with inspiration by Paul Haggis, who also demonstrates here his creative genius in the capacity of writer, producer and composer. There is absolutely none of the "formula", which so infects almost all Hollywood films, in this independent Lions Gate Films production.CRASH takes place in my hometown of Los Angeles, which serves, in this case, as a microcosm representative of the entire United States. (Which is really not all that far removed from reality.) That there have been films in the past that have focused on racism or racial prejudice is undeniable. The vast majority of these pontificate on racism as the worst of evils, in a repetitive manner, without any real in-depth perspective. In addition, they almost always focus on one particular ethnic group. (Prejudice against blacks, Jews, Mexicans, etc.) More often than not, in these films the oppressed are all saints and the oppressors are all demons! There is a certain disconnect with reality. In contrast, there is multiracial interaction in CRASH. Whites with blacks, blacks with Asians, Orientals with Latinos, Asians with whites, Arabs with whites, blacks with Latinos, etc.In its notes about the production, IMDb lists a figure of just 6.5 million as the total cost of production. Absolutely amazing, considering that within the cast there are several actors who probably typically charge 5 to 10 million to perform in just one movie! Sandra Bullock (GRAVITY), Don Cheadle (Ocean 's Twelve, Hotel Rwanda), Matt Dillon (Something About Mary), Brendan Fraser (The Mummy, George of the Jungle) and Ryan Philippe (Cruel Intentions), all in roles that are in stark contrast to the type of role that made them famous, and each portrays a resonating, multi-faceted character who is very credible. CRASH makes it easy to identify with many of its characters, regardless of race, ethnicity or country of origin.There are no sex scenes or graphic violence in CRASH, but as there are many issues that are aimed at adults, consequently, it doesn't seem that CRASH would be of much interest to those under 12 years of age. Of over 100,000 movies on IMDb, CRASH is ranked at Number 334 and rated a 7.9!...ENJOY/DISFRUTELA! Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome!