Aloha (Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams)

[jan_tran]

Originally Posted by Doombear

I wonder if the Blu-ray release date will keep getting pushed ahead indefinitely with a promised better recut of the movie?

This was already delayed five months (it was supposed to come out last December with a possible Oscar push) to give Crowe more time in the editing room; there's simply nothing here worth salvaging....

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by jan_tran

This was already delayed five months (it was supposed to come out last December with a possible Oscar push) to give Crowe more time in the editing room; there's simply nothing here worth salvaging....

Then say aloha to Aloha

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by Darth Anakin

Then say aloha to Aloha

So... are you saying hello to Aloha or goodbye?

[BuckNaked2k]

So this is the reason behind my Vanilla Sky Blu-ray getting delayed and delayed and delayed again. BuckNaked2k is NTP.

[Doctor Jack]

This always looked like a let moviegoers pay for some movie stars to take a Hawaiin vacation. Like a lot of Adam Sandler movies.

[Jobla]

I absolutely adored WE BOUGHT A ZOO, so I'm sorry to read such bad reviews for Crowe's latest.

[eiknarf]

Originally Posted by Jobla

I absolutely adored WE BOUGHT A ZOO, so I'm sorry to read such bad reviews for Crowe's latest.

Well, there were a bunch of other writers involved with 'We Bought a Zoo', so he doesn't get all the raves, nor does he get all the negative, accompanied with, 'We Bought a Zoo'

[Holmes]

Cameron Crowe wrote and directed two of my favorite films, Almost Famous and Vanilla Sky, so I always champion him, but Aloha is easily the worst picture of his career to date: disjointed, at times very preposterous, and clearly unsure of itself at its core. The storyline, before it grows more and more contrived and convoluted, involves a disgraced military contractor (Bradley Cooper) returning to Hawaii at the behest of an enigmatic billionaire (Bill Murray). He meets, argues, and flirts with an overeager pilot (Emma Stone) while also circling an old flame (Rachel McAdams) with a strong-and-silent husband (John Krasinski). Within Aloha lies a simple, sweet, and modestly pensive romantic comedy, and it comes to the fore now and then, aided by an A-list cast as photogenic as the island where the action unfolds. No one delivers a revelatory performance here, but no one is awful, either. Put another way, everyone tries with a smile, but they must contend with a screenplay at once overcrowded and thinly developed. Every character has an artificial quality. There is the strong sense none of them could have existed before the film began, and they will not live on afterward. They are overdetermined constructs and symbols. Cooper and Stone begin to generate a certain tantalizing energy, but their characters are harshly pushed together. She repeatedly points out when he is cynical. He declares he prefers to "lone wolf" his way through life. The film stops only a hair short of flashing the words "SHE WILL REDEEM HIM AND SOFTEN HIS STONY HEART" on the screen at the outset; as a result, it is hard to be moved when the inevitable comes. The film's shortcomings as a romance, however, are overshadowed by an idiotic, naive, and out-of-left-field subplot involving, I swear, the militarization of space. Alas, to describe this dumbfounding diversion further would require spoiling the third act.

C

[Show spoiler]Bradley Cooper blows up a nuclear-equipped satellite by overwhelming it with pings of David Bowie songs and movie-quote soundbites.

*slowly bangs head on table, weeping*

Other observations:

1. The editor of the trailer did a wonderful job misrepresenting Bill Murray's character. Who knew he would turn out to be playing an ultra-wealthy megalomaniac trying to send his personal nuclear arsenal into space? I am still skeptical a couple hours after seeing the damn film. Does this subplot seriously exist?

2. The last scene almost moved me despite its extreme absurdity: through, it seems, sheer osmosis, she realizes the family friend she met a few days ago is her father, embraces him for five seconds, and then returns to her dance lesson. WTF? But nicely acted by the girl and Cooper.

[eiknarf]

Originally Posted by Holmes

Cameron Crowe wrote and directed two of my favorite films, Almost Famous and Vanilla Sky, so I always champion him, but Aloha is easily the worst picture of his career to date: disjointed, at times very preposterous, and clearly unsure of itself at its core. The storyline, before it grows more and more contrived and convoluted, involves a disgraced military contractor (Bradley Cooper) returning to Hawaii at the behest of an enigmatic billionaire (Bill Murray). He meets, argues, and flirts with an overeager pilot (Emma Stone) while also circling an old flame (Rachel McAdams) with a strong-and-silent husband (John Krasinski). Within Aloha lies a simple, sweet, and modestly pensive romantic comedy, and it comes to the fore now and then, aided by an A-list cast as photogenic as the island where the action unfolds. No one delivers a revelatory performance here, but no one is awful, either. Put another way, everyone tries with a smile, but they must contend with a screenplay at once overcrowded and thinly developed. Every character has an artificial quality. There is the strong sense none of them could have existed before the film began, and they will not live on afterward. They are overdetermined constructs and symbols. Cooper and Stone begin to generate a certain tantalizing energy, but their characters are harshly pushed together. She repeatedly points out when he is cynical. He declares he prefers to "lone wolf" his way through life. The film stops only a hair short of flashing the words "SHE WILL REDEEM HIM AND SOFTEN HIS STONY HEART" on the screen at the outset; as a result, it is hard to be moved when the inevitable comes. The film's shortcomings as a romance, however, are overshadowed by an idiotic, naive, and out-of-left-field subplot involving, I swear, the militarization of space. Alas, to describe this dumbfounding diversion further would require spoiling the third act.

C

[Show spoiler]Bradley Cooper blows up a nuclear-equipped satellite by overwhelming it with pings of David Bowie songs and movie-quote soundbites.

*slowly bangs head on table, weeping*

Other observations:

1. The editor of the trailer did a wonderful job misrepresenting Bill Murray's character. Who knew he would turn out to be playing an ultra-wealthy megalomaniac trying to send his personal nuclear arsenal into space? I am still skeptical a couple hours after seeing the damn film. Does this subplot seriously exist?

2. The last scene almost moved me despite its extreme absurdity: through, it seems, sheer osmosis, she realizes the family friend she met a few days ago is her father, embraces him for five seconds, and then returns to her dance lesson. WTF? But nicely acted by the girl and Cooper.

Thanks for this.
Wow! Interesting, but does seem like an odd film for Crowe.

I know before it came out, and before the poor reviews poured in, the gripe I heard was that it was "white washed", like all the previous "Hawaii" based films (The Descendants, Pearl Harbor, Blue Crush...), using mostly white people in a movie about and set in Hawaii. Is that true, and, does it matter if it is?

Seinfeld, the tv show, took place in NYC. And from watching it you'd think Manhattan was nothing but white people. Yet, despite this, it was still a great, funny show.

[Dubstar]

McAdams is the only one given any decent lines of dialogue - the rest... oh my god... Stone is grating as hell.

[schan1269]

So...Forgetting Sarah Marshall is better than this?

[Dubstar]

Originally Posted by schan1269

So...Forgetting Sarah Marshall is better than this?

yes, yes it is.

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by schan1269

So...Forgetting Sarah Marshall is better than this?

Originally Posted by Dubstar

yes, yes it is.

To be fair, Forgetting Sarah Marshall is probably the best comedy ever to be set in Hawaii.

[schan1269]

Originally Posted by Darth Anakin

To be fair, Forgetting Sarah Marshall is probably the best comedy ever to be set in Hawaii.

To be fair...I knew this movie was in trouble when an American woman was given the role of a woman with the last name Ng.

Not like this is 1950 Hollywood anymore...

[Dubstar]

Originally Posted by schan1269

To be fair...I knew this movie was in trouble when an American woman was given the role of a woman with the last name Ng.

Not like this is 1950 Hollywood anymore...

that's part of the controversy - a part-Asian, Hawaiian character Crowe and his casting director epic failed in this respect.

[jscoggins]

Originally Posted by Dubstar

that's part of the controversy - a part-Asian, Hawaiian character Crowe and his casting director epic failed in this respect.

[schan1269]

Originally Posted by Dubstar

that's part of the controversy - a part-Asian, Hawaiian character Crowe and his casting director epic failed in this respect.

Yes I know this. Not like there aren't any Asian-American combat pilots.

I haven't even heard...is Ng pronounced correctly?(isn't "ing")

[jscoggins]

Originally Posted by schan1269

I haven't even heard...is Ng pronounced correctly?(isn't "ing")

Ng is a very nasal word. Basically, the letter "n" is stuck in your nose. There's no "i" or "e" sound at all.

[schan1269]

Originally Posted by jscoggins

Ng is a very nasal word. Basically, the letter "n" is stuck in your nose. There's no "i" or "e" sound at all.

I know how it is supposed to be. Dated a woman with the last name Nguyen in high school.

I was asking if they pronounce it correctly in the movie...

When my brother was stationed in Okinawa, his "servants" name was Kato.

[jscoggins]

Originally Posted by schan1269

I know how it is supposed to be. Dated a woman with the last name Nguyen in high school.

I was asking if they pronounce it correctly in the movie...

Ah, okay.