Winter Solstice Reviews
puffchunk
Super Reviewer
February 10, 2008
Not very exciting, but a pretty accurate depiction of what a real persons life is like. And as such there was really no plot, or climax, or ending. Still somehow it wasn't boring, so they did something right.
Red L
Super Reviewer
May 5, 2007
Story about dealing with a loss in the family and the difficulties of parents understanding teens and vice versa. There is a certain slowness or lulling rhythm to the film
Harlequin68
Super Reviewer
July 13, 2006
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[font=Century Gothic]In "Winter Solstice", not much happens.(I do not mind if a movie is slow, just as long as it is headed somewhere.) I know that in real life people are more likely to be hanging out at the local Dariy Queen than having life-changing events, but it does not make for compelling drama.[/font]
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[font=Century Gothic]All of which is a shame because the movie wastes a fine cast including Anthony LaPaglia. Michelle Monaghan and Alison Janney brighten whatever room they are in. And Ron Livingston almost steals the movie playing a history teacher.[/font]
[font=Century Gothic]In "Winter Solstice", Jim Winters(Anthony LaPaglia) is a single father who owns his own landscaping business in a small town. His eldest son, Gabe(Aaron Stanford), works in a restaurant pretty much non-stop in an effort to save up as much money as he can before leaving for Tampa to work on a boat. In the process he would leave his loving girlfriend, Stacey(Michelle Monaghan), behind. Gabe's younger brother, Pete(Mark Webber), sporting an unfashionable looking hearing aid, is on the ten-year plan in high school and is set to go to summer school. Molly Ripken(Alison Janney) is a housesitter that moves in nearby...[/font]
[font=Century Gothic][/font]
[font=Century Gothic][/font]
[font=Century Gothic]In "Winter Solstice", not much happens.(I do not mind if a movie is slow, just as long as it is headed somewhere.) I know that in real life people are more likely to be hanging out at the local Dariy Queen than having life-changing events, but it does not make for compelling drama.[/font]
[font=Century Gothic][/font]
[font=Century Gothic]All of which is a shame because the movie wastes a fine cast including Anthony LaPaglia. Michelle Monaghan and Alison Janney brighten whatever room they are in. And Ron Livingston almost steals the movie playing a history teacher.[/font]
iLeo
Super Reviewer
December 8, 2007
Very touching story about a widower and his two sons, and the struggle to have to overcome to get over the death of a wife and mother.
A great film!
Very touching story about a widower and his two sons, and the struggle to have to overcome to get over the death of a wife and mother.
califdan
July 24, 2007
This movie moves along at a realistic pace and highlights the humanistic struggles of a family who's lives were forever changed with the loss of a loved one...
robinbirdjay
March 29, 2007
Seeing LaPaglia in this movie made me want to find more of his work. There was so much tention in this family, but the dialogue never became unrealistic.
BanaticAKAHillhero
November 4, 2006
Sad, but shows how life really is, and how the loss of a person in a family can change our lifes forever.
September 24, 2012
This was a movie in which nothing happened. For all 86 minutes, we were waiting for something, anything really. Right up to the closing credits. We were even hoping that poor Gabe would be wiped out at the intersection, just so that something had happened. But no. The credits rolled. Anthony Lapaglia was uninspiring and very square in form. CJ (Alison Janney) is usually such good value, but in this movie, the highlight was the return of the trolley. Poor Alison.
Virus
May 2, 2007
This slice of family life doesn't much live up to anything. Average performances weak script and no originality.
RudolfoG
July 19, 2006
Some people hate movies which have a very fast, if existent, resolution. I would disagree. I love a movie where you are expecting something to happen, or someone to get together with someone else, or what-have-you, and instead, you get a slow fade out to black. There is really nothing more satisfying then that sort of an ending. That sounds funny, but when you think about it, it is true for several reasons. To begin, it forces you to look back and consider what you have seen to figure out where you missed the beginning of the resolution. It makes a person go back and really think about what they have just seen. Also, it allows the viewer to draw some of his own conclusions. There is almost no better way to end a film.
This was done wonderfully in Josh Sternfeld?s Winter Solstice. This is the touching and realistic look at a father and his two sons in New Jersey, still coping with the death of their mother and wife. It is the story of how the three deal with their own feelings and issues, and with each other and those surrounding the family. The father, Anthony Lapagnia (Without a Trace) buries himself in his landscaping business, he youngest son, Mark Webber, becomes dispassionate about school and the family, and the eldest son, Aaron Stanford, decides to run from it all; even his girlfriend played by Michelle Monaghan (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang). Thrown into the mix is new comer to the neighborhood, played by Allison Janney (West Wing).
While it seems like a fairly formulaic movie, it doesn?t end quite as one would guess. It incredibly well shot and directed, and the acting is phenomenal. If anything, the only real downfall was the lack of adequate screen time for the talented Janney and Monaghan. While the focus on the three men provides a very deep understanding and real look at their lives, the other actors, including Ron Livingston (Office Space) were certainly up to the task of taking on more.
Overall a very good movie. It isn?t the formulaic family drama with a twist that one would expect. I would definitely recommend renting it, although waiting for it on HBO is probably soon enough.
Winter Solstice -- :fresh:
Some people hate movies which have a very fast, if existent, resolution. I would disagree. I love a movie where you are expecting something to happen, or someone to get together with someone else, or what-have-you, and instead, you get a slow fade out to black. There is really nothing more satisfying then that sort of an ending. That sounds funny, but when you think about it, it is true for several reasons. To begin, it forces you to look back and consider what you have seen to figure out where you missed the beginning of the resolution. It makes a person go back and really think about what they have just seen. Also, it allows the viewer to draw some of his own conclusions. There is almost no better way to end a film.
This was done wonderfully in Josh Sternfeld?s Winter Solstice. This is the touching and realistic look at a father and his two sons in New Jersey, still coping with the death of their mother and wife. It is the story of how the three deal with their own feelings and issues, and with each other and those surrounding the family. The father, Anthony Lapagnia (Without a Trace) buries himself in his landscaping business, he youngest son, Mark Webber, becomes dispassionate about school and the family, and the eldest son, Aaron Stanford, decides to run from it all; even his girlfriend played by Michelle Monaghan (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang). Thrown into the mix is new comer to the neighborhood, played by Allison Janney (West Wing).
While it seems like a fairly formulaic movie, it doesn?t end quite as one would guess. It incredibly well shot and directed, and the acting is phenomenal. If anything, the only real downfall was the lack of adequate screen time for the talented Janney and Monaghan. While the focus on the three men provides a very deep understanding and real look at their lives, the other actors, including Ron Livingston (Office Space) were certainly up to the task of taking on more.
Overall a very good movie. It isn?t the formulaic family drama with a twist that one would expect. I would definitely recommend renting it, although waiting for it on HBO is probably soon enough.
filmcritic66
July 13, 2006
Nothing could be further from the reality. This film was a snooze, period. Lackluster characters (but good acting) and a dull plot left me feeling at the end of the film as though I'd just wasted two hours of my life.
Worse yet, the first copy that came from BB Online was defective, so I wound up watching good portions of it again so I could get to the end of the flick.
Not recommended.
Well, when this DVD arrived from Blockbuster, I had hoped that this might be an engaging slice-o-life film.
Nothing could be further from the reality. This film was a snooze, period. Lackluster characters (but good acting) and a dull plot left me feeling at the end of the film as though I'd just wasted two hours of my life.
Worse yet, the first copy that came from BB Online was defective, so I wound up watching good portions of it again so I could get to the end of the flick.
Not recommended.
Harlequin68
Super Reviewer
July 13, 2006
[font=Century Gothic][/font]
[font=Century Gothic][/font]
[font=Century Gothic]In "Winter Solstice", not much happens.(I do not mind if a movie is slow, just as long as it is headed somewhere.) I know that in real life people are more likely to be hanging out at the local Dariy Queen than having life-changing events, but it does not make for compelling drama.[/font]
[font=Century Gothic][/font]
[font=Century Gothic]All of which is a shame because the movie wastes a fine cast including Anthony LaPaglia. Michelle Monaghan and Alison Janney brighten whatever room they are in. And Ron Livingston almost steals the movie playing a history teacher.[/font]
[font=Century Gothic]In "Winter Solstice", Jim Winters(Anthony LaPaglia) is a single father who owns his own landscaping business in a small town. His eldest son, Gabe(Aaron Stanford), works in a restaurant pretty much non-stop in an effort to save up as much money as he can before leaving for Tampa to work on a boat. In the process he would leave his loving girlfriend, Stacey(Michelle Monaghan), behind. Gabe's younger brother, Pete(Mark Webber), sporting an unfashionable looking hearing aid, is on the ten-year plan in high school and is set to go to summer school. Molly Ripken(Alison Janney) is a housesitter that moves in nearby...[/font]
[font=Century Gothic][/font]
[font=Century Gothic][/font]
[font=Century Gothic]In "Winter Solstice", not much happens.(I do not mind if a movie is slow, just as long as it is headed somewhere.) I know that in real life people are more likely to be hanging out at the local Dariy Queen than having life-changing events, but it does not make for compelling drama.[/font]
[font=Century Gothic][/font]
[font=Century Gothic]All of which is a shame because the movie wastes a fine cast including Anthony LaPaglia. Michelle Monaghan and Alison Janney brighten whatever room they are in. And Ron Livingston almost steals the movie playing a history teacher.[/font]
SeeTheSun
May 24, 2006
[font=Tahoma]Full review to come.[/font]
jennifer's picks & pa
March 31, 2006
This film got surprisingly strong reviews, but I had difficulty making it through the entire film as it just felt so amatuerish. First, I could not relate to any of these characters. The high school scenes were textbook stale, showing nothing new. The characters, although asian, played more like spoiled high school boys, nothing signifcant about their culture or backgrounds to distinguish this group of teens at all. They were stereotypical white males, except they happened to be Asian. As for a crime drama? Not very good, despite the interesting premise. And the direction? Annoying is the best way I can describe it. The film so wants to be edgy, cool and hip, and Lin bombards us with modern music, speeded up violence, and other inneffective tools. But mostly this film is a bore because there isn't one character worth following. Bad film.
[b]Elizabethtown[/b], written and directed by Cameron Crowe, is another horrible mess. Orlando Bloom stars as Drew Baylor, a shoe designer who makes a huge mistake, forcing the recall of his design and costing his company milions of dollars. Having lost his job, Drew is set to commit suicide when his phone rings. His father had died, and Drew is asked by his mother (Susan Sarandon) to travel to Kentucky, where his father was visiting family, to retrieve the body. On the plane he meets Clare (Kirsten Dunst), an optimistic flight attendant who tries to cheer Drew up. Once in Elizabethtown, Drew meets his father's eccentric family and is torn on whether to respect their wishes for his father's burial there, or his mother's wishes that he be cremated and brought back home. Clare also reappears.
[i]Elizabethtown [/i]never really knows what it wants to be. A family drama? A romance? Crowe tries to force the two together without much success. The family drama wallows in silliness, it's rarely effective or moving, and the romance between Drew and Clare cannot be fully developed due to all of the distractions. I thought the Clare character had quite a bit of potential, and Kirsten Dunst is likable in this film, but Orlando Bloom wasn't a strong enough lead to make this mess work. A huge disappointment.
[b]Winter Solstice,[/b] directed by Josh Sternfeld, is another film that has received fairly positive reviews from most RT viewers. It's a family drama set in a small town. Jim (anthony LaPaglia) is a widower trying to raise his two teenage sons Gabe and Pete (Aaron Stanford and Mark Webber). Pete is unmotivated while Gabe is ready to leave the small town. Meanwhile Jim becomes interested in new neighbor Molly (Allison Janney).
[i]Winter Solstice [/i]feels like a made-for-television movie. It's an incredibly bland film with no standout performances. There isn't much character development, and seemingly little purpose to the film. I wasn't impressed.
[b]Better Luck Tomorrow[/b], directed Justin Lin, is the story of a group of upper middle class Asian teens who are succesful academically and have a bright future ahead of them. However they get bored with life in suburbia and begin committing crimes. At first minor, they escalate as the group of friends become notorious, ultimately leading to a violent conclusion.
This film got surprisingly strong reviews, but I had difficulty making it through the entire film as it just felt so amatuerish. First, I could not relate to any of these characters. The high school scenes were textbook stale, showing nothing new. The characters, although asian, played more like spoiled high school boys, nothing signifcant about their culture or backgrounds to distinguish this group of teens at all. They were stereotypical white males, except they happened to be Asian. As for a crime drama? Not very good, despite the interesting premise. And the direction? Annoying is the best way I can describe it. The film so wants to be edgy, cool and hip, and Lin bombards us with modern music, speeded up violence, and other inneffective tools. But mostly this film is a bore because there isn't one character worth following. Bad film.
[b]Elizabethtown[/b], written and directed by Cameron Crowe, is another horrible mess. Orlando Bloom stars as Drew Baylor, a shoe designer who makes a huge mistake, forcing the recall of his design and costing his company milions of dollars. Having lost his job, Drew is set to commit suicide when his phone rings. His father had died, and Drew is asked by his mother (Susan Sarandon) to travel to Kentucky, where his father was visiting family, to retrieve the body. On the plane he meets Clare (Kirsten Dunst), an optimistic flight attendant who tries to cheer Drew up. Once in Elizabethtown, Drew meets his father's eccentric family and is torn on whether to respect their wishes for his father's burial there, or his mother's wishes that he be cremated and brought back home. Clare also reappears.
[i]Elizabethtown [/i]never really knows what it wants to be. A family drama? A romance? Crowe tries to force the two together without much success. The family drama wallows in silliness, it's rarely effective or moving, and the romance between Drew and Clare cannot be fully developed due to all of the distractions. I thought the Clare character had quite a bit of potential, and Kirsten Dunst is likable in this film, but Orlando Bloom wasn't a strong enough lead to make this mess work. A huge disappointment.
[b]Winter Solstice,[/b] directed by Josh Sternfeld, is another film that has received fairly positive reviews from most RT viewers. It's a family drama set in a small town. Jim (anthony LaPaglia) is a widower trying to raise his two teenage sons Gabe and Pete (Aaron Stanford and Mark Webber). Pete is unmotivated while Gabe is ready to leave the small town. Meanwhile Jim becomes interested in new neighbor Molly (Allison Janney).
[i]Winter Solstice [/i]feels like a made-for-television movie. It's an incredibly bland film with no standout performances. There isn't much character development, and seemingly little purpose to the film. I wasn't impressed.
andalusia
January 27, 2006
A real entry to come.
[b]B-[/b]
A little... empty.
A real entry to come.
[b]B-[/b]
