Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

[Impact]

Review, Discuss and Have Fun!

[baumer]

I don't get the movie. I don't get the point of it. There was no point, except that it was a boy who found it hard dealing with the death of his dad. All the rest of it was just smoke filled coffee house crap. Every character in here was pointless. They did nothing to further the story and they frankly had no business being in the film. The kid is one of the most annoying characters in any movie, ever. I can't decide which film is worse, this or NYE.0/10

[Ezen Baklattan]

I knew you would give it a bad grade, but a 0?! Ouch.Not that I wanted to see it or anything, but still.

[baumer]

Why would you assume I'd give it a bad grade. I thought maybe I'd like it. But it is truly one of the most pointless films I've ever seen. The secondary characters and the mission in the film is so astonishingly bad that it's a real puzzle to me as to who read this and thought it would be a good movie.

[Ezen Baklattan]

I don't know, I remember you posting that it didn't look good. It just seemed to me that you wouldn't like it for some reason.

[Travod]

I'm sorry I liked the kid in the trailer, HE IS SO ANNOYING OH MY GOD. He's mean and hurtful to literally everyone. To his mom he says "I wish it was you" as in he wishes she died in the towers and not his dad. I would have punched him hard. The story about the key is interesting but in the end nothing happens with it. Viola Davis was AWESOME even though she was in it for like 10 minutes total. And the silent guy. And honestly Sandra Bullock. And Tom Hanks. The kid.... OsKar. He gives you every reason to hate him. He's scared of trains and all other transportation so he walks everywhere - from Manhattan to Brooklyn many times. And he's scared of loud noises and old people and just about everything else.However much that may make it sound bad when it ended I was like, "Wow that was awesome." Definitely deserves better reviews. The crowd here was pretty young, lots of older teenagers and young adults. Lots of clapping at the end.********Oh yea he's also scared of swings. SWINGS.****************He also goes on many rampages, breaking glass and other objects in the kitchen. And he hits his mom one time to wake her up but there's a distinct slap. But I love his relationship with the door guy - they hate each other. The guy's like "There's an elevator, stupid." and he's like "It's broken retard." There are tons of these convos with him and they are hilarious.

[Gopher]

Seeing Thomas Horn give his acceptance speech at the CCAs was enough for me. I don't think I could take two hours of that.

[baumer]

Seeing Thomas Horn give his acceptance speech at the CCAs was enough for me. I don't think I could take two hours of that.

This is one film I'm almost positive you and I would agree on. It's about the most sanctimonious yet pointless film I've ever seen!

[jmovies]

After seeing this film I can say that you never cast Jeopardy kids in films... NEVER!

[baumer]

In the end, the key means nothing. So the film means nothing. It's just an excuse so you can see people falling out of the WTC.

[Noctis]

I saw two clips of the boy on YouTube...oh my God, he is absolutely appalling. He's so fucking annoying it's actually slightly shocking.

[baumer]

I don't even know if it's the kids fault. The director (gag) is just known for getting putrid performances out of people.

[Travod]

-spits-

[acsc1312]

I'm happy to welcome the first positive review to this thread! I went in expecting much less than when I first saw the trailer because of all the negativity associated with it. I was pleasantly surprised. Thomas Horn is actually tolerable with the exception of a few parts. Bullock and Hanks are adequate for their (small) parts. Davis is a treat, and Van Sydow is truly a shining moment imo. Direction is strong, SCORE IS FANTASTIC. So sad Desplat didn't get a nom for this. Go in with an open mind, and you might be surprised.A-

[TheMovieman]

Eh, kind of mixed on this. I did think the kid was annoying and obnoxious, though the turning point for me wasn't him telling his mom he wishes it was her but instead when he lies saying there were no messages and then it just got worse when he actually went to the local electronics store and manages to buy the exact same machine and take the other one. THEN, later when he and his mom start to connect, she states the thing she misses the most was hearing his voice. Does the kid fess up and at least play the first couple of messages? No? WHY THE FUCK NOT? At the very least he could've given her the option!

I also had a problem with Tom Hanks. I know it's a small part but everything about his performance, and his relationship with his son, came across as completely contrived. The shoulder shrug, the oxymoron battle, etc. That said, with the same screenwriter (adapting the novel) and director, I can't imagine any other actor making it better.

As for Max von Sydow, so he got an Oscar nomination because he didn't speak? Is that the criteria now or was it the year for silent film? If so, I sure as hell wish the kid didn't speak and instead spoke only with cards. Anyway, Sydow I suppose was fine but I hardly found it to be anything special.

Oh, and Sandra Bullock... I think I was more annoyed with the character rather than her performance. So she spends the movie absent and when she is on screen, depressed. Ok, fair enough. But then the twist (of sorts) was that she knew what Oskar was up to and went on the journey as well (either ahead of him or just behind). So, was her over depressed mood just for show and if so, why? Also, she admitted that she waited up for him to get home hoping nothing had happened to him. Great parenting, there. Sure, he needed to work through some things but oh, I don't know, perhaps he could've worked through it in therapy rather than going into a city that, apparently in this movie, at its worst only have mean people who yell. No pedophiles. No child murderers. Nothing to worry about...

Then there's the plot itself. Yeah, it seems to have no point because of the key but that was the MacGuffin, a device to further other goals, which here was for Oskar to get out into the world more and meet new people. But even on that front it makes for a vastly uninteresting movie even if the kid wasn't annoying...

All that said, I don't know, there were moments, brief as they might've been, that were good. I liked Jeffrey Wright's brief appearance and kind of wish the movie was about him and the relationship with his father rather than the kid and his. That one big scene between the two was probably the best of the movie but sadly, too little, far too late.

**¼/*****, (C-, 4.4/10, 1.75/4)

[Webslinger]

Yikes. Lots and lots of hate here. My thoughts from Filmgasm:

Given a number of factors (including the subject matter, the fact that the action set in 2002/3 is seen through the eyes of a child, and the idiosyncrasies in the style in which the novel is written), Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close was never going to be an easy novel to adapt for the screen. What screenwriter Eric Roth and director Stephen Daldry have brought to the screen is a film that, like its inspiration, is not without its share of flaws, yet succeeds in striking an emotional chord. As with the novel, I think a viewer's appreciation for the film is likely to live or die on their impression of the protagonist, Oskar Schell, and the major factor working in the film's favor in this regard is the performance from Thomas Horn. Horn is believable, heartbreaking, and handles the work with remarkable ease for a young actor in his first major performance. The character is decidedly off-putting at times in the film, but the decision seems like one that the filmmakers make deliberately, so I was able to overlook it for the most part. Oskar's behavior is sometimes frustrating, but it did not get frustrating enough for me that I stopped rooting for him altogether. The film is primarily Horn's, but the small performances from the name actors playing the adult roles are affecting for the most part. Although Max von Sydow scored a surprise Oscar nomination for an impressive mute performance, I think the real standout in the supporting cast is Tom Hanks, who glows in his limited screen time and successfully forges a convincing father-son bond with Horn that clearly illustrates the close relationship between the characters prior to the father's death. The film does overstay its welcome a bit (although it is much tighter than the novel), as it drags during the second act and takes a little long to reach a point of catharsis in the third act; but ultimately, I found myself moved. I don't think it's one of the best movies of 2011 (as the Academy has surprisingly deemed it to be), but it is a good one that works because of how well its players behind and (especially) in front of the camera are able to sell it.

B

[Noctis]

Insanely annoying, overly-sentimental, and features the most astoundingly insensitive lead character of all time (backed up by a terrible performance). This might rank as one of the worst Best Picture nomination of the past few decades. The only time it was decent was when the kid snapped at the bell-man and whenever the grandmother and Sandra Bullock were on screen. But this film obviously centers around the kid, in which it falls flat on its face the vast majority of the time.

D

I almost gave this an F because of the lead character. I can't remember hating a character more than him in a long time.

Edited April 2, 2012 by Noctis

[CoolioD1]

So the lead kid is an annoying douchebag and a crappy actor, the plot doesn't really go anywhere and basically every scene is just RIDICULOUSLY sappy. But I didn't totally hate it - Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Jeffrey Wright, Max Von Sydow and Viola Davis were all really good!!C-

[narniadis]

B

[mattmav45]

Emotionally manipulative and downright boring are the words that come to mind about this film. I don't really feel like saying anything else.

C-