Boyhood (2014) (Paramount + Criterion Releases)

[Snicket]

I saw a few copies for sale at my FYE. $24 was the price if I remember correctly.

[JG-havkroll]

Originally Posted by Veronica Mars

Come on Amazon, you're killing me with this one.

BBY it is!

[Jowiko96]

Originally Posted by Snicket

I saw a few copies for sale at my FYE. $24 was the price if I remember correctly.

Same, but it was $26.99 on my end, so I decided to wait till Tuesday.

[Kaiju]

Finally down to $19.99... question is... is this really worth a blind buy? I have to imagine it's not worth watching more than once.

[ryanmcv]

Originally Posted by Kaiju

Finally down to $19.99... question is... is this really worth a blind buy? I have to imagine it's not worth watching more than once.

Yes, in my opinion. Saw it twice in theaters and can't wait to watch it again! Glad to see Amazon dropped the price to $19.99.

[Adam_ME]

Originally Posted by Kaiju

Finally down to $19.99... question is... is this really worth a blind buy? I have to imagine it's not worth watching more than once.

I don't know about a blind buy. I watched it this weekend and it's definitely worth seeing once, but I'm not sure how often I'll revisit the film. Especially compared to other Linklater movies like Dazed & Confused and the Before Sunrise trilogy.

Once you get past the unique production of the film, it's a fairly run of the mill coming of age story that's not even particularly well acted once you reach the later teenage years in the last hour.

[ckocher]

Originally Posted by Kaiju

Finally down to $19.99... question is... is this really worth a blind buy? I have to imagine it's not worth watching more than once.

It is hands down the best film of 2014.

[Darth Marcus]

I'll probably just Redbox this tomorrow so I can finally see it, then if it's good I'll pick it up when the Criterion Collection release comes out, whenever that is.

[SilentDawn]

Originally Posted by Darth Marcus

I'll probably just Redbox this tomorrow so I can finally see it, then if it's good I'll pick it up when the Criterion Collection release comes out, whenever that is.

You'll be waiting for awhile for that Criterion.

I'm still not sure whether to pick this up at Best Buy or to buy it off of amazon. Those pesky Best Buy stickers are a pain in the a*s.

[Darth Marcus]

Originally Posted by SilentDawn

You'll be waiting for awhile for that Criterion.

I'm still not sure whether to pick this up at Best Buy or to buy it off of amazon. Those pesky Best Buy stickers are a pain in the a*s.

I know. I'm running out of shelf space anyway, so this may help alleviate that problem until I can buy more media shelving.

And those Best Buy stickers do suck. But I typically just peel them off, then I apply a little Goo-Gone to a paper towel and wipe away the rest of the sticker residue. Then for the smearing I'll lightly wet another paper towel and rub it down to get it looking how it should.

[Leonidas King]

Originally Posted by Adam_ME

I don't know about a blind buy. I watched it this weekend and it's definitely worth seeing once, but I'm not sure how often I'll revisit the film. Especially compared to other Linklater movies like Dazed & Confused and the Before Sunrise trilogy.

Once you get past the unique production of the film, it's a fairly run of the mill coming of age story that's not even particularly well acted once you reach the later teenage years in the last hour.

You just summed up the way I felt about this film. I also agree that its not as rewatchable as Dazed and Confused or School of Rock.

[Adam_ME]

Originally Posted by Leonidas_King

You just summed up the way I felt about this film. I also agree that its not as rewatchable as Dazed and Confused or School of Rock.

I'm ashamed to say I have yet to watch School of Rock or Slacker despite owning them for years. Then again it took me forever to watch Before Sunrise and then even longer to see Before Sunset. But I loved them both and then saw Before Midnight almost immediately after it came out.

As for Boyhood, I think I would've liked the movie even less were I not from H-Town, TX and didn't have a son just a little younger than Mason Jr. is at the beginning. The wife and I have taken our son to that exact same butterfly exhibit at the science museum here. We've gone on road trips to Texas state parks. We've spent weekends in San Marcos and hill country. And of course, the scene at the Astros game where Roger Clemens was pitching brought back fond(and bittersweet) memories of the last time our baseball team was relevant.

Once that last hour kicked in and I was no longer blinded by nostalgia or similar life experiences as a father, I began to see this movie for the mundane, generic film it really was. Seriously, once you get past how it was made(which admittedly is very impressive and ballsy), there's no there there. I'm not saying it's a bad movie. But the offscreen stuff is more interesting than what wound up onscreen which doesn't lend itself to a lot of repeat viewings, especially when we're dealing with a 2 hour and 45 minute flick.

[bookcase]

Originally Posted by Adam_ME

Once you get past the unique production of the film, it's a fairly run of the mill coming of age story that's not even particularly well acted once you reach the later teenage years in the last hour.

I had a feeling the production history might come into play with the critical response, so that's the reason I intend to rent this as opposed to blind buying it. Besides, I need to severely cut down my blind buying this year. If I rent it and like it, I can wait for a price drop.

[imsounoriginal]

Originally Posted by Adam_ME

I don't know about a blind buy. I watched it this weekend and it's definitely worth seeing once, but I'm not sure how often I'll revisit the film. Especially compared to other Linklater movies like Dazed & Confused and the Before Sunrise trilogy.

Once you get past the unique production of the film, it's a fairly run of the mill coming of age story that's not even particularly well acted once you reach the later teenage years in the last hour.

100% true, particularly the main kid's acting, although that's also mainly because the character has absolutely no personality and is the most passive protagonist I've seen in a movie recently. But the acting from Arquette and especially Hawke is phenomenal; really rooting for them to get some Academy recognition. I think the gimmick of filming over 12 years is playing a bigger part in the hype than the quality of the (hugely overlong) movie itself.

[Adam_ME]

Originally Posted by imsounoriginal

100% true, particularly the main kid's acting, although that's also mainly because the character has absolutely no personality and is the most passive protagonist I've seen in a movie recently. But the acting from Arquette and especially Hawke is phenomenal; really rooting for them to get some Academy recognition. I think the gimmick of filming over 12 years is playing a bigger part in the hype than the quality of the (hugely overlong) movie itself.

Hawke was really good. Although he was also better in the early parts when Coltrane and Linklater's daughter were giving him more to work with. Arquette did a solid job. I thought she was undercut by the script though with the way it jumped around so much. Her relationship with her 3rd husband for example was badly underdeveloped or outright ignored at times.

And one other thing. Coltrane and Linklater's daughter looked pretty convincing as siblings. What they did not look like were two kids who could be the biological offspring of Hawke and Arquette. I accept that actors playing family members in movies and TV shows rarely resemble each other. But casting two actors with brown skin as the kids of pasty white adults is more than a little distracting.

[Slyth66]

I guess I'm a little biased towards this film since I am almost the same age as Mason (2 years older) so most of the nostalgia elements really hit home with me, and my mom loved it because she could relate a lot with the mother in the film.

However, I think I'll wait until the Criterion release mainly because when I looked at a DVD copy of the film that was out at FYE, there really didn't seem to be a focus at all on behind-the-scenes features. For a film that took this long to make, I'm sure there is probably hours of footage somewhere, and the thought that they probably chose not to include it because of the inevitable Criterion release makes me want to avoid this copy.

Plus, waiting a year or two (maybe more) then revisiting the film would make it feel fresh again.

Still think it's the best film of 2014.

[jlk5844]

Originally Posted by Slyth66

I guess I'm a little biased towards this film since I am almost the same age as Mason (2 years older) so most of the nostalgia elements really hit home with me, and my mom loved it because she could relate a lot with the mother in the film.

However, I think I'll wait until the Criterion release mainly because when I looked at a DVD copy of the film that was out at FYE, there really didn't seem to be a focus at all on behind-the-scenes features. For a film that took this long to make, I'm sure there is probably hours of footage somewhere, and the thought that they probably chose not to include it because of the inevitable Criterion release makes me want to avoid this copy.

Plus, waiting a year or two (maybe more) then revisiting the film would make it feel fresh again.

Still think it's the best film of 2014.

I'm 22 days older than Ellar Coltrane, so I hear ya. I loved all of the references to music and popular culture and such.

As for waiting for the Criterion, I'm not sure. If it was coming in a year, I would, but seeing as that probably won't happen, I'm not sure I can wait that long. May have to scoop up the Paramount edition when the price drops and upgrade later.

[Todd Tomorrow]

Originally Posted by Adam_ME

I thought she was undercut by the script though with the way it jumped around so much. Her relationship with her 3rd husband for example was badly underdeveloped or outright ignored at times.

By the time we get to Arquette's 3rd husband we got the idea that she isn't very lucky in choosing men, so I didn't need to see that played out again. In fact I liked that the film didn't feel the need to explain why one year later he's just gone. We know why, he was another alcoholic and this time round at least she got out sooner.

Originally Posted by Adam_ME

And one other thing. Coltrane and Linklater's daughter looked pretty convincing as siblings. What they did not look like were two kids who could be the biological offspring of Hawke and Arquette. I accept that actors playing family members in movies and TV shows rarely resemble each other. But casting two actors with brown skin as the kids of pasty white adults is more than a little distracting.

That's a bit nitpickiny. I would imagine it's pretty difficult to find actors who will commit themselves for that length of time for little money and who can act, so I have no quibbles with the kids not looking like the parents much. The acting was good enough hat they convinced me as a family.

[Visco.]

I'm planning on trying to get this at walmart tonight if anyone knows if they'll have it in store?

[imsounoriginal]

Originally Posted by Adam_ME

Hawke was really good. Although he was also better in the early parts when Coltrane and Linklater's daughter were giving him more to work with. Arquette did a solid job. I thought she was undercut by the script though with the way it jumped around so much. Her relationship with her 3rd husband for example was badly underdeveloped or outright ignored at times.

And one other thing. Coltrane and Linklater's daughter looked pretty convincing as siblings. What they did not look like were two kids who could be the biological offspring of Hawke and Arquette. I accept that actors playing family members in movies and TV shows rarely resemble each other. But casting two actors with brown skin as the kids of pasty white adults is more than a little distracting.

Interesting comment, I thought it was the exact opposite in terms of the kids. Especially Coltrane, who was really stiff and kinda aloof towards the beginning but finally began developing some sort of personality and actually began crafting verbal responses to things by the time he got to high school. To me the best scenes of the film were him camping with Hawke and then spending time with him around graduation time. I almost wish the movie focused on the father/son dynamic.

You're right about Arquette, but frankly the movie was already way too long so shortening some of her "I pick terrible men" moments was a smart move. As for the kids not looking like the parents, I honestly thought Coltrane kinda passed reasonably well as a Hawke/Arquette child as he got older and grew out the goatee a bit.