Half Nelson





I would like to run a full review on the main site but I'm still formulating my thoughts. I will tell you this

People say great films aren't made anymore. They're seeing the wrong films.

Like a punch to the gut, the raw emotions of Half Nelson will leave you doubled over and out of breath. Films featuring inner city school students and idyllic teachers are a dime a dozen, hell I've seen several this year alone. But Half Nelson is much more that that. Cautionary yarn about drug use, the pitfalls of Generation Y, New York race and class struggles. We the viewers are even given a bird's eye view (perhaps) of pedophilia's beginning stages. This film is anything but predictable and straightforward.

Half Nelson is not only one of the best films of 2006, but it's the truest depiction of my generation ever to hit movie screens.

A+

The closest place playing it near me is Oakland, I wonder if it's worth the trip to go see it

how many minutes/hours?

Wont take very long, 20min?

of course go.

A

Ryan Gosling was amazing in his role. I hope he gets some attention during awards season.

Lean on Me by way of Garden State?

Gaaaaack!

Gosling is becoming one of this generations finest young actors. With Half Nelson, Slaughter Rule, Beliver, Notebook, and Remember the Titans he's the real deal.

Pretty powerful small indie film that gets some great performances from the two leads (Gosling and Shareeka Epps), Epps really is a find, she shines in the film and never really feels outacted by Gosling in their scenes together. It really is an unconventional and ambitious film.

Grade - B+

Here's a copy of my review from over in the Foreign and Independent Film sub-forum:



Half Nelson: Down for the Count!

Here's another one of those earnestly "true" tales that revels/writhes in the sordid details of the negative side of "life's dialectic", which therefore strongly reminded me of The Squid and the Whale, another movie that underwhelmed me with it's dishonest honesty. Yeah, yeah -- it's exactly how it happened, I'm sure - but what does that tell us about what really happened?

The soundtrack by Broken Social Scene is way heavy and way disjointed, just like the movie.

It's a mess. The director, I'm sure hopes that he fooled us with his vérité style, but unfortunately he's wrong and we're not...

2 out of 5.

Ive been waiting for this for ages but have no idea when it comes out here.

If you really want to see it, and if it does make it to where you are, don't dawdle, it closed real quick in my town...

Solid indie film carried by a terrific performance from Ryan Gosling. I now understand where that random MPA nomination for Best Actor came from.

Zingaling, did you get a random early shipment of DVDs or something? Because I noticed your comment about watching Departed 3 times this week, and you've seen this, and both don't come out till Tuesday...

I don't know how random it really was, he got an Oscar nomination too.

Anyway, this comes out Tuesday. I must watch it.

The man is hitting the Warez I'd guess.

Oh, I forgot he got an Oscar nomination. I guess that was random for me, too, I never heard of this film until he got nominated and da torri forced me to check this out.



I just got a job at Blockbuster this past week and we get to rent new releases a week early. Heh.

Oh, and um.. B+. I think you'll definitely like it, Libs.

One of the truly great films of '06.

Is it a commentary on the failure of white liberal idealism? Is it about coming to terms with life not panning out the way we planned, and passing our hopes and dreams onto the next generation? Whatever you want it to be about, I can't see someone between the ages of 20 and 30 years old not being absolutely rocked to the core by this film.

That, and Gosling is magnificent. If there is any justice in this world, he will be on that stage on the 25th.

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...and I can't see someone over 30 not being underwhelmed by it's triteness.

Yeah, this is kinda my favorite movie of '06.

I don't think the movie's restricted to those between 20 and 30, though. While it's definitely a movie for the "new generation," as loyal pointed out, it raises questions that every generation thinks about...

Gosling needs to star in more movies. There's no better actor under-thirty working today.

The Notebook

The Notebook and The Believer. Gosling is the real deal! Cant wait for Half Nelson!

Don't forget Stay, which nobody saw but in which he was fantastic.

I loved Stay :up:

And this comes from Netflix tomorrow or Wed :up: :up:

Wow, wow, wow. Half Nelson's mind-blowing. Equal parts biting and moving. Ryan Gosling is superlative, as is the entire ensemble cast. This and Letters from Iwo Jima are 2006's best movies. A+.