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Dave...you're a good soldier for Sony, I hope Val gave you a good Holiday gift.

DP, I hope this doesn't annoy you too much, but I think your skill set and true interests are a lot better served by this kind of 'meta-review' (reviewing the reviewers) than in your more traditional film criticism.

That said, looking at those Variety snippets, I find I agree with most of them.

Hard to defend a few of those films.

I liked I Am Legend and Hancock, but they were far from perfect.

I Robot, Bad Boys 2, and Men in Black 2 are awful.

The Pursuit of Happyness and Hitch - One is harmless, one is toothless.

Ali, to me, was a huge misfire, not for Smith as an actor, but the film as a whole.

Still, Smith is likable and entertains, but has he ever had a film that could be described as anything better than "pretty good"?

Why are people who like Gran Torino "confused"? I liked it, because I like Clint doing the Clint persona. I see nothing confusing about that.

More to the point, are you really saying that Scott liking it somehow invalidates his taste completely? Scott's never been a big fan of overly sentimental studio films, in my recollection...so regular readers oughta know where he stands and judge accordingly.

Nice try, Anghus... but I'm calling bullshit on you.

I raved Hancock.

I was okay with Pineapple Express.

I found something to like amongst the wreckage of You Don't Mess with the Zohan.

I smacked 21 and Quantum of Solace.

I didn't bother to see Step Brothers, Vantage Point, Made of Honor, and 88 Minutes.

I paid to see The Other Boleyn Girl, The House Bunny, and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and thought the first two were painful and the last flawed.

I really liked Cadillac Records and they blew the release.

In 2007, the only good review in the entire year was for Superbad.

In 2006, of 15 films, the only positive reviews were Monster House, Talladega Nights, Casino Royale, and The Pursuit of Happyness...

Is that how I march to Sony's drum, Anghus?

Fighting words... and completely unsupportable ones at that. Sod off.

Not what I said, Luke.

Liking Gran Torino because you like to see Clint growl is your perrogative.

But, do you agree that the film is a landmark in the understanding of cultural differences? Is his a great performance on any level other than as satire on his career with a gun?

And no, Scott's opinion is not invalid because he disagrees with me... but I think it is important to offer context. I like Scott. I like fighting with Scott about movies. But the dismissive tone is excessive, as it was with Rachel.

Will's made a few bad films, but the knives seem to have been out for this one long before it was screened. The media gets tired of the same guy winning the race every time out. So they want him to crash out this time, then with their help rebuild to something bigger and better down the road. I don't know how good or bad the film is, but my guess is that it's better than the early critical opinion suggests, and worse than the cinemascore A it will get. I agree that if this was a foreign film or had a less massive star than Will in the lead, we'd probably be seeing a very different reaction from the press.

I've been saying for months, but the uncommonly high grosses for I Am Legend and Hancock (both over $200 million) were going to cause trouble for Smith when his domestic grosses returned to their usual $170-ish million range. Let's all watch and laugh as the idiots cry the downfall of Will Smith when this 'only' makes $125 million, as if Seven Pounds with any other lead actor would have topped $40 million.

David: The other day, a friend asked me what was my favorite movie of 2008. Not necessarily the best or greatest, mind you, but my favorite. Well, I haven't seen every major 2008 movie (yet, if ever), but I told her -- Hancock.

Did anyone really predict The Pursuit of Happyness grossing what it did? If anybody can make this a big hit, it's Will Smith.

I've seen all of those Sony movies you listed, David P, and the best one -- by far -- is "Step Brothers." Give it a whirl.

I wrote this in another entry, but Seven Pounds is the most predictable, obvious, watching-paint-dry movie that has ever made me cry. My issue is not with sentiment, it's with the fact that EVERYTHING is revealed in the first 30-45 minutes or so (if you choose to pay attention). The story is dependent on the structure because the linear version would be vile. I cried and I don't regret it, but it's two hours of emotional manipulation.

"It is a tear-jerker. It is emotionally and intellectually manipulative. It is sincere. And like I said... it is demanding. "

So, in other words 'Seven Pounds' is this year's '21 Grams'.

But, do you agree that the film is a landmark in the understanding of cultural differences? Is his a great performance on any level other than as satire on his career with a gun?

Landmark, no. Better at it than the likes of CRASH, yes.

I also think it's a bit more than satire. It's a celebration of the persona while also admitting a bit of culpability in the "revenge = righteousness" argument.

I don't claim it's the best performance of the year. But if it's Clint's last as leading man, I do think it's a great send-off.

I loved Cadillac Records. The studio should've rolled it out slowly. Or, held it until Feb-March. It's not a traditional biopice. It's a movie about a period of time where a shift in music was also being mirrored by shift in society.

The two big car chases in Bady Boys 2 are still pretty amazing. Bad Boys 2 is all about Will Smith's star power. No other movie star could've held the screen for that long in a movie put together from spare parts of other movies. That's why I'm a fam.

And Ali is a reamrkable movie that is criminally misunderstood.

The Pursuit of Happyness is a more realistic--and more powerful--version of Life is Beautiful.

Save your time and avoid Step Brotehrs....Along with Zohan and What Happens in Vegas, I thought that it was one of the worst studio films of the year...I think that 2008 will be remembered for a horrible year for comedy...

whoops I meant Step Brothers....too much "holiday" egg nog last night

I thought Step Brothers was mostly terrific. Also, I think Zohan should be singled out as the best movie ever made to feature a Palestinian terrorist as a lovable wacky sidekick (to the Israeli protagonist) so that's worthy of something.

As someone that usually avoids Sandler comedies like the plague, I absolutely adored Zohan. Truly stands with Munich as one of the best films, comedy or drama, made about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict (and arguably the most optimistic) I was shocked at how much I enjoyed it. Truly one of my ten favorite films of the year. It also helps prove my rule about Adam Sandler films - the better or more ambitious they are, the less they do at the box office. It's like his fans scurry as the stench of quality/effort.

Step Brothers should only be seen out of morbid curiosity.

And Happyness didn't exactly shoot out of the box when released. It had a respectable opening but grew on word of mouth, I expect the same to happen with Seven Pounds. Smells like $150 to me.

Look, Will Smith is an obvious target for many. I happen to really like the guy - he's a true movie star in every sense of the word and I generally enjoy his movies.

Bad Boys II was crap, Hancock was eh, and Ali was really a missed opportunity. But I think Pursuit of Happyness is a near masterpiece - I have seen the film enough times to really try to get the gist of what pissed off so many critics and sorry, I just do not see many flaws. For what it wants to accomplish, the movie is nearly perfect - the performances, photography, pacing, even the musical cues are just right without getting in your face. Only real thing I could pick out is the somewhat silly subplot with the homeless man who snags his medical device....but that's about it, it's a moving film.

I will admit that I enjoyed I, Robot, Hitch, and I Am Legend - sorry, I found them each to be strong entertainments. I still think that Will Smith has yet to do his "great" movie, but give him time - the closest he has come are Six Degrees of Separation and Pursuit of Happyness.

Not sure if Seven Pounds will be that great one, but I do have a feeling it will "underperform" for a Will Smith movie, probably do a little over $100 million. Sony really missed the boat by not giving the film a little space before the Sandler/Cruise/Pitt onslaught and should have opened it last weekend - and now, Slumdog is going semi-wide, this weekend and I have a feeling both films will hurt each other.

I think I am the only one, but I think Yes Man is really going to shock people, this weekend - I can see over $40 or $50 million easy. Carrey is overdue and just seems like the right film for the right time - people want to feel good and laugh. And watching the ads, one thing I cannot get over is that the dude is 47! Wow, he has taken care of himself - he can be pared up with Zooey Deschanel who is TWENTY years younger than him and it does not look like a creepy match at all. Gotta give some of this new generation of comedic actors credit - same with Steve Carell, who does NOT look 45. I mean, wow, when Bill Murry was just starting out in his '20's, he looked older than these guys do, now. And Steve Martin, hasn't he been gray since he was like 18?

Sorry to veer off topic, just observing how this recent crop compare with the generation that probably did their share of cocaine.

Comedy is so subjective, I'd never avoid one just because somebody said "don't bother," especially when other somebodies are saying "it's funny." Don't we all have favorite comedies that the critics and general audiences slammed?

SHAKES THE CLOWN for one. Brilliant.

Joe Versus The Volcano.

One can disagree about the way it's done, sloanish, but all movies manipulate us. The question is whether we're willing to go along with the way they do it. More than most, I bet "Seven Pounds" will polarize along those lines.

I agree with Geoff that Yes Man looks like the winner this weekend. I don't know if I am still going off of all the good will I have for Carrey over Truman Show and Sunshine but I always seem to find myself watching stuff I know will be mediocre like Lemony Snicket and Dick and Jane.

Yes Man looks like Dick and Jane numbers to me, maybe a slightly bigger opening, and less legs. Seven Pounds will be softer Smith numbers not because of reviews or box office competition, but because it's not as straightforward a sell as, say, Pursuit of Happyness. Also, the ad campaign has not been super strong either (possibly due to lack of $$). It will open, and possibly hit $100 mill., but it does not appear to be a big Willy hit.

I'm amazed that I've seen so many reasonably positive reviews for Yes Man. It neglects the most basic tenet of comedy -- the pointing out of human frailties.

Jim Carrey decides to say yes to everything, and awesome stuff happens. No conflict. The end.

Seinfeld did this better in the episode where George does the opposite of all his usual choices.

After perusing a couple of non-spoiler reviews of Seven Pounds, I think I've still managed to figure out the big twist.

I'm going to make a prediction here and now:

I have a sneaking suspicion "Ben Button" is going to tank.

It's a horse "we're" all watching because of the hype and buzz and the Oscar horse race, but I don't think they've sold it to lay audiences, and with the grueling runtime and the allegedly cold approach, I don't think the W.O.M. is going to be there.

And Pitt isn't really a "sure thing," especially when he's made up to look like Mr. Hooper from Sesame Street in every goddamn preview.

Much as everyone's bagging on "Valkyrie," they've sold the shit out of that and it has a high curiosity factor.

I think if you polled regular date-night types from Calabassas to Cleveland, they probably don't even know what "Benjamin Button" is.

15 mil over the four-day, tops.

JOE VERSUS THE VOLCANO -- I love you Joe Leydon.

More Sony news.
I just read that Stephen Chow will no longer be directing "The Green Hornet" due to "creative differences" with Neil Moritz.
Bummer!
Guess that frees up Moritz to hire his buddy Rob (sigh; groan) Cohen.
At least Chow is still playing Kato, although I'd think that will probably make for some awkward moments on the set.
"Joe Vs. the Volcano" totally rocks. Great choice, Joe!

Gotta agree with Chris...one of my pet peeves is when people complain about movies being manipulative. Well, Kubrick was manipulative, as was Orson Welles, Hitchcock, Chaplin...etc etc. Even docs are manipulative. It just depends on if you care for the approach or not.

And Benjamin Button IS going to tank. People are not going to see that movie, just like Zodiac. Would be nice if I'm wrong, but it doesn't look like a money maker.

The "manipulative" card is the stupidest shit for criticism. Every movie ever made is manipulative, dammit.

Oh, I absolutely loved Seven Pounds. But I work in health care, so it hit me extra hard. I saw Slumdog Millionaire on the same day, and loved that as well.

I have not seen Seven Pounds, but I have to say: based on some of the hints I've picked up here and elsewhere, I'm starting to suspect the ending may echo the pay-off of Jesus of Montreal.

Well, I think we all would agree that there's manipulative, and there's manipulative. When the machinery is humming invisibly underneath you, nobody minds, but when you can see the parts and hear the machinery, it can feel insulting. So it's really just a matter of parsing the terms.

I loved "Happyness," but found "Pounds" mostly irritating.
The long, slow (slowwwwwww) tease getting to the final reveal is inordinately frustrating.
And while you'd have to be a stronger man than me not to be at least a little "moved" by the climax, I didn't shed a single tear. That's what happens when you feel like you've been jerked around too much...and for way too long.
My screening companion loved it, though; he kept describing it to me afterward as "fascinating." (Whateveh.) Of course, he's a Catholic priest so he was probably more susceptible to the film's quasi metaphysical/religioso meanderings than I was.
Still not sure how this thing is going to perform in the long run.
It's a movie you reject with extreme prejudice (Scott, Schwartzman, et al,) or passionately embrace (like my priest friend). Irregardless of it's eventual b.o. performance, it should have a very long shelf life on dvd.
Dawson's performance is easily the best thing in the movie.

Perhaps "Yes Man" and "7 Pounds" both might have worked better if they'd switched actors.
Smith could have brought some gravity to the "YM" role and been less cartoonishly broad than Carrey; and Carrey's innate recklessness may have given the edge missing from Smith's transparently messianic take on the "7P" dude.

"Well, I think we all would agree that there's manipulative, and there's manipulative. When the machinery is humming invisibly underneath you, nobody minds, but when you can see the parts and hear the machinery, it can feel insulting. So it's really just a matter of parsing the terms."

I'm lost in your metaphor, but I guess that's because I'm not easily insulted. The only way I'm insulted while watching a film is if it's a comedy, but it's not funny. A drama, with not a lot of drama.

There are proper ways to watching specific films, and just because people don't like it doesn't mean they gave the film a real chance or understood its purpose.

I just wanted to add that the reason I don't think it was particularly manipulative is that the film never makes you believe that what the character is doing is what everyone should do in the same circumstances. Not everyone would've been on board with the decisions made, and the movie shows that aspect as well.

I'd go even farther on that, Brack, to say the movie depicts him as seriously messed-up. I interviewed Smith and he used the word "twisted" to describe what his character does, which seems about right.

Brack, the point I was trying to make was this:
A movie can be thought of as a machine designed to elicit emotions in the viewer. In most cases (the non-Brechtian) the goal is to smoothly conceal the workings of said machinery in order to make sure the audience doesn't become aware of how they're being manipulated. In most cases, when that happens, the audience becomes aware of what's going on around them and becomes resentful. For example, Paul Haggis's Crash (sorry Crash fans). That was a movie that had no shortage of drama, but everytime something big happened - when a character pulls out a gun in a scene involving a little kid, or when one of the movie's many coincidences popped up - the lack of artfulness of the whole underlying design was made apparent to me and, as a result, my suspension of emotional disbelief was shattered.

That's the thing about Seven Pounds, it's the complete opposite of Crash in that sense. I don't want to spoil it if you haven't seen it, but it's not really about coincidences, but the complete lack of coincidences.

While I'm heartily amused by, and can totally understand, some of the critical vitriol being tossed at SEVEN POUNDS, I gotta say, it suckered me in.

What it reminded me of most in its protracted pacing and aching earnestness was one of those rare, unironic, overindulgent, love-or-hate star-worshipping epics like "Meet Joe Black" or "Vanilla Sky." Both of which I liked, by the way.

I had fun trying to figure it out, and enjoyed the leisurely (some would say agonizing) slow pace and especially the Smith-Dawson interplay; She's one of my favorites anyway, but I think she's pretty great in this and probably deserves some Oscar hype.

No spoilers, but I gotta say, the twist is definitely either "buy it and get choked up" or "throw an aresenal of tomatoes at the screen." I mostly bought it, but they REALLY push their luck with that icky final scene, which you'll just have to see for yourself.

MINOR SPOILER:

And Smith's aquarium pet sure figures in oddly.

Though he's a lucky man, getting to clean Rosario's printing press... if you catch my drift.

I think it was a fantastic flick...okay,,its not a action flick, or a shootem up flick, nor is it a gorey one. what it is is a sensitive, emotional, romantic, soul searching film that tries to convey a message to its audience. what I got from it was..
1. the title "seven pounds" was symbolic of the seven lives, if you know what i mean. when I was younger I remember the saying that was said after you just survived some major emotional episode in your life and would say, "man, I feel like 100 pounds has just been lifted off my shoulders!"
2. I think the author wants us viewers to stand in the other guys shoes...instead of the victims..this film kind of reminded me of Adam Sandlers flick "Stand By Me", and how easy it is for people to forget what a survivor feels like after a terrible tragedy, most of us think, wow!! your the luckiest person in the world! but it dont always work that way folks, ever hear of Survivors Guilt? this poor guy not only is dealing with it...he has the bonus of knowing he caused it!
I applaud this movie...maybe I'm just a hopeless romantic...or I'm just too damn empathetic..but I'm one of those people who always tries to look at both sides...only see the movie if you are into deep, romantic and soul searching flicks is my opinion....

Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009. I saw this movie today with my daughter who is 20yrs old. I got it and so did she. This movie was about love, love lost and love regained. We as movie goers make this so much harder than it has to be - this movie was about loving others more than our selves. And it's also about holding on to life when you feel the rug has been pulled up under us, meaning life didn't give you what we felt we deserved. But this movie made me understand that we don't always have control, sometimes experiences are predestine. We have to do what we can, and let God and the universe take us where we need to be. "Seven Pounds" was an eye opener for me. We love, we suffer, and we have to learn from our mistakes and move on. Don't let the life glitches take you away from living an authentic life, let them navigate you to being a better you. Don't give up!

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