500 Days of Summer (Webb, 2009): Zooey Deschanel & Joseph Gordon-Levitt

[GenPion]

Originally Posted by Suprmallet

Overhyped. I definitely would not put it on a best of the year list, especially not next to the likes of The Hurt Locker or Moon. Heck, I enjoyed Whatever Works significantly more than this, and that was mostly a throwaway movie for Woody Allen.

Moon was overhyped IMHO. Too many weird amateurish directorial decisions. It was still a good film, don't get me wrong, but it was only great based upon the award worthy performance by Sam Rockwell.

I really want to see 500 Days of Summer and I hope that it's better than your review makes it sound.

[SkipKassidy]

I guess I would fall into the category of enjoying the "quirky indie" comedies Fox Searchlight seems to gobble up like Pringles. I've seen it three times at screenings and my enjoyment hasn't depreciated at all.

Popcorn Junkies - (500 Days of Summer)

[Giles]

I don't know ... it was cute to a point, but at times I thought the movie was too clever for it's own good, the ending though was eye-rolling IMO.

[Suprmallet]

The ending that we all saw coming a mile away, ever since he mentioned he studied to be an architect? Yeah. And when he looked at the camera I wanted to punch someone. By the time the animation popped up my friend and I were actually saying "No, no!" out loud.

[Giles]

Originally Posted by Suprmallet

The ending that we all saw coming a mile away, ever since he mentioned he studied to be an architect? Yeah. And when he looked at the camera I wanted to punch someone. By the time the animation popped up my friend and I were actually saying "No, no!" out loud.

mine was a more audible groan. I wanted to punch the folk who clapped at the ending of the movie - 'you're all sooooo gullable, GET, get out!' Prior to the movie I was in a bad mood, and for some reason this movie didn't make me feel any better - just more pissed off.

[Giles]

Originally Posted by The Bus

Yeah, it opened in more than just LA & NY but hit DC before Philly.

Giles must've sent in a lot of letters.

shhh, AMC corporate at this point just throw's away all the letter I've been sending them lately.

(but Philly gets the Manic Street Preachers and DC doesn't - goddamn it but that's normal for British bands to shaft and ignore DC )

[Suprmallet]

Originally Posted by Giles

mine was a more audible groan. I wanted to punch the folk who clapped at the ending of the movie - 'you're all sooooo gullable, GET, get out!' Prior to the movie I was in a bad mood, and for some reason this movie didn't make me feel any better - just more pissed off.

Probably because the vast majority of the movie involves us watching someone being thoroughly depressed and flushing away almost everything of worth in his life without ever lifting a finger to change his situation.

[Giles]

^ that's me in a nutshell.

[Daytripper]

Originally Posted by Giles

shhh, AMC corporate at this point just throw's away all the letter I've been sending them lately.

(but Philly gets the Manic Street Preachers and DC doesn't - goddamn it but that's normal for British bands to shaft and ignore DC )

And the Arctic Monkeys.

[Jackskeleton]

bu-but he did change his lot in life. If anything, the film did highlight how a relationship can change you. Regardless of it's because you were side swiped by the break up or if just in being in it, you've changed your perspective.

Summer changed by the end of the film in the way she viewed the whole "you'll know" sort of mentality.

Besides that, complaining that we all saw the ending coming is like complaining that you know how long the hundred year war lasted.. We know this is a break up film. If it had a romantic comedy ending I would have hated it. As for the potential of a sequel in (500) days of ___Insert season___.. meh, I could over look it.

You're missing the forest by focusing on that one tree.

[Suprmallet]

No, I had many more complaints on top of those. How about the know it all sister who speaks with wisdom far beyond her years, which now seems like an indie genre staple, or the unnecessary and downright obnoxious transition of having random characters (including the supposed "best friend" who never has more than four lines) talking directly to the camera about love in grainy black and white, or the really bad attempts at recurring dialogue...I could keep going on but it just makes me more and more annoyed.

[Giles]

Originally Posted by Daytripper

And the Arctic Monkeys.

am I THAT transparent - I have a love/hate relationship with them.

[Suprmallet]

Brian's review of the film echoes my sentiments pretty well: http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/37921...ays-of-summer/

[dhmac]

Originally Posted by Suprmallet

Brian's review of the film echoes my sentiments pretty well: http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/37921...ays-of-summer/

I prefer Jason Bailey's review instead.

And besides Annie Hall and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 500 Days of Summer also reminds me a lot of "Chilly Scenes of Winter" (aka "Head Over Heels"), a good but overlooked film made back in 1979.
.

[printerati]

Originally Posted by Suprmallet

Probably because the vast majority of the movie involves us watching someone being thoroughly depressed and flushing away almost everything of worth in his life without ever lifting a finger to change his situation.

Agreed. He really was a Nancy.

The film is not without its laughs and charms, but it just didn't resonate with me. I think I am too old for it (34).

[movielib]

Originally Posted by printerati

The film is not without its laughs and charms, but it just didn't resonate with me. I think I am too old for it (34).

Funny thing, age. I'm not too old for it (62).

[printerati]

Originally Posted by movielib

Funny thing, age. I'm not too old for it (62).

In that case, I am not old enough to no longer be disillusioned with how disillusioned I was in my 20's.

[Tracer Bullet]

Originally Posted by The Bus

It doesn't capture 20-something angst the way Garden State does and it's not as good of a mix of hilarity and heartfelt sentiment like Knocked Up but it's pretty damn good. If you need to appease your significant other by seeing a "girl movie", make it this one. You'll enjoy it.

Weird. I hated Knocked Up but loved this movie. Thought it was leagues better.

I'll just chalk that up to not being able to identify with pregnancy in any way.

[FantasticVSDoom]

I dont know, I hated the previews and was not going to see it, but the wife wanted to so I did... And wow, I really loved it. Surprised actually, but really enjoyed it. Not enough to surpass The Hurt Locker for my fav of the year so far, but in the top ten!

[tronmaster]

I saw the first preview of 500 Days of Summer and thought it was going to be a good quirky movie. I was able to finally see it at the Kahala theaters here in Honolulu.

All I can say is the movie is pretty good. I'm not sure how many romantic comedies there are that is from the point of view of the guy. I could relate to Tom and only seeing the good and forgetting about the bad, plus skipping around the days gave it some stability, in which scenes maybe related to each other no matter how many days apart it had occurred.

The soundtrack was awesome too, iTunes has bonus tracks of both Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel's karaoke performance. I probably get the cd version from Amazon though.

Good movie, one of my favorites for 2009.

[rkndkn]

Hey, I saw it at Kahala, too.

I liked the movie a lot. Joseph Gordon-Levitt picks some pretty good projects, and he and Zooey were really cute together. While the movie has its whimsical moments, ultimately, it ended up like LIFE (except the final scene). Life is painful and bittersweet and there's usually no explanation for the ways of the heart.

[Jackskeleton]

Why do you say life doesn't end that way?

Spoiler:

Him meeting autumn is pretty much the same way he met summer. Only this time he had the balls to ask the girl who has a similar interest(love for buildings/architecture/ and the same park he sits at) as he does.

[Suprmallet]

I think it was

Spoiler:

The fact that the moment he accepted he wasn't going to be with Summer, he met someone else, named Autumn, and she's perfect for him.

I mean, come on.

[Jackskeleton]

See, now you guys are just pulling shit out of your ass. They broke up on day 290 of 500 days...

It may have been in a montage, but it took a long as time for him to get over Summer and it is a pretty realistic representation of how long one takes to get over someone else.. and the idea is that he isn't really over his ex till he meets someone new.. or at least is able to think of meeting someone new.

And to be fair, he did think that Summer was perfect for him simply because she liked the same Smiths song as he did.. so maybe, just maybe this new relationship is just as limited in time as the one with Summer. There was a DAY 1 clock put up. So who says they lived happily ever after?

[Suprmallet]

I know when they broke up. But he didn't accept things until roughly around that point. I'm not pulling shit out of my ass.

And it really didn't feel like the movie was leaving things ambiguous when not only does the clock turn back to 1, but a giant shining sun comes out, as if to say, "Nothing to worry about, it all ends happily, the sun is shining and the birds are singing!"