Full Reviews : 50/50

[Stewball]

Not in the D/B yet.
The role isn't quite as challenging for Joseph G-L as some of his recent stuff has been, but nobody could have done this better. The 50/50 refers to his chances of surviving (or dieing) from cancer which he has just been diagnosed with. The movie handles it well with a good balance of drama and humor, much of which comes from Set Rogan in one of his best roles. And Anna Kendrick is cute, stunning and adept all at the same time. To sum it up, it could have been titled, 50/50: Or How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Big C. OK, it isn't an exact fit, but.......Go see it.

[ShogunRua]

Not in the D/B yet.
The role isn't quite as challenging for Joseph G-L as some of his recent stuff has been

Joseph Gordon Levitt's recent stuff has been challenging? Really? I've only seen him in "Inception" and "500 Days of Summer" recently, but his roles in each had barely anything to them. They were simple and straightforward. And I can't imagine something like "GI Joe" would be any different.

[Stewball]

GI Joe? WTF, That was 2008, and I didn't see it. Maybe I should. This year he did Hesher as well as this, neither of which you've seen, and no matter how much you disliked 500 Days, its received very high critical acclaim in several major mags including Rolling Stone as well as Rotten Tomatoes, and the audiences for R/T and IMDb, for both the movie and his performance, for which he received a GG nomination as well. Inception was an action film in which I'd have hated to see James Franco play the part as was originally planned, and it was a very demanding role athletically. Christopher Nolan obviously was impressed which is high praise in my book.

[Pickpocket]

GI Joe came out after 500

[Stewball]

Uh, well, ya got me. Musta misread it in amonst all the neg reviews I dug up outta the trash can. Guess that knocks the good shit right outta there. Good job.

[ShogunRua]

GI Joe? WTF, That was 2008, and I didn't see it. Maybe I should. This year he did Hesher as well as this, neither of which you've seen, and no matter how much you disliked 500 Days, its received very high critical acclaim in several major mags including Rolling Stone as well as Rotten Tomatoes,

The populist argument ("a bunch of nameless, scumbag critics told me I should like something, hence I will!") is bad enough, but it's incredible coming from you, considering how often you take critics to task for being biased and worthless. (Which they are)

Be consistent. Either ignore the bleating of critics like I do, or embrace them as Gospel like frederic_g does. But don't use them as an argument for one movie while simultaneously dismissing them for another one.

Besides, the fact that "500 Days" was a mediocre flick has nothing to do with what I wrote above. I was specifically talking about Levitt's role; he did it very competently and well, sure, but it was a simple one.

"Naive, generally likable young nerd" is a role that at least a hundred different male actors can do very well. No "complexity" involved.

Inception was an action film in which I'd have hated to see James Franco play the part as was originally planned, and it was a very demanding role athletically. Christopher Nolan obviously was impressed which is high praise in my book.

Dude, all the roles in Inception were incredibly simple, since all the characters were cartoon cut-outs; merely a set-up for the action. (And I loved the film)

You might as well praise a role in Avatar for being complex.

As for the role being demanding athletically, not only did they have stunt doubles, but if Levitt's tiny, frail body can handle it, I doubt that it would be hard for any number of Hollywood actors, many of whom are former college athletes.

[Stewball]

"I've never seen an actor rise to a role quite that way". "Every single shot in the film except for one is him"--Christopher Nolan.

[tef]

The populist argument ("a bunch of nameless, scumbag critics told me I should like something, hence I will!") is bad enough, but it's incredible coming from you, considering how often you take critics to task for being biased and worthless. (Which they are)

It's not really a populist argument as it doesn't involve the general populace. It's more of an elitist/education-centric/etc. argument.

[Stewball]

Jeez, I only brought the critics up because normally, rom-coms (which is the pigeon hole most of them put it in,) are red meat for critics. So something that forced them off the dime like that (in addition to my pathetic, pedestrian plebeian effort) might at the very least encourage a second look at the movie instead of the knee jerk redux it got.

"I've never seen an actor rise to a role quite that way". "Every single shot in the film except for one is him"--Christopher Nolan.

Just thought that deserved reiteration. Looks like nobody saw it.

[jacobb1313]

Jeez, I only brought the critics up because normally, rom-coms (which is the pigeon hole most of them put it in,) are red meat for critics. So something that forced them off the dime like that (in addition to my pathetic, pedestrian plebeian effort) might at the very least encourage a second look at the movie instead of the knee jerk redux it got..

For some inexplicible reason I haven't seen 500 yet, but it's been on my radar and I'm happy to see your (marginally?) positive review. Romcoms are underrated.

"I've never seen an actor rise to a role quite that way". "Every single shot in the film except for one is him"--Christopher Nolan.

Just thought that deserved reiteration. Looks like nobody saw it.

I saw it. He could have been a background prop, but you remember him in the role, and that's the point of the thing.

And for the record, JGL was the BEST thing about G.I.Joe. Wanna talk about rising to a role? It was written for a stick figure but I would rewatch that trash just for his performance, which is somewhere between Max Von Sydow in Flash Gordon and Raul Julia in Street Fighter for the "greatest acting for a schlock villain" category.