jlorah

This movie features an interesting and captivating plot about a girl's struggles and successes in a life forced upon her. The plot was very similar in nature to "Dangerous Beauty," a story about a 16th century Venetian courtesan. Both movies feature a girl thrust upon a life she would not choose, but which she manages to make her own none the less. Of the two, Memoirs of a Geisha is certainly more sparse and a bit more serious, perhaps a reflection of a different society. Memoirs of a Geisha introduces several characters as our hero grows up, some of which are developed better than others. In addition, some scenes tied into the overall plot better than others, some of which seemed almost irrelevant. Overall, I found the movie to be very enjoyable and interesting - extremely well done and pleasant, but a bit disjointed at times.

This movie was just good enough for me to finish (and not turn off halfway through). On the positive side, it had all the elements that one would expect (and possibly enjoy) in any romantic comedy. In addition, Helen Hunt did a spectacular job in a quite average role with her acting basically providing the highlight of the movie. However, the film lacked good characterization and character believability. Clifford is forced to choose between the dumb blonde but beautiful Amanda, and the perfectly balanced and pleasant Clare. As it becomes overwhelmingly obvious that Amanda is just a complete flake, it becomes less believable that Clifford has truly failed to realize this fact and that he will continue to adore her without acknowledging her flaws. In addition, Amanda's character is so over the top, one wonders if she is anything more than a stereotype, even in the eyes of the author. And if so, how are we expected to believe that Clifford will time and again return to her? I was additionally disappointed with the setting - an anonymous Caribbean resort that could have been beautiful, but instead struck me as simply washed out. There are many superior romantic comedies you could watch, with the same basic plot, but better acting, settings, and characterization. I would recommend skipping this one, unless you are a huge Helen Hunt fan, an unashamed chick flick aficionado, or just simply don't care about good quality characterization.

I enjoyed this movie for what it was - a simple story about family. I found that it offered nothing unique it terms of plot, acting, etc. The on-again-off-again relationship between Ivan and his wife was unconvincing to me. I could not understand their motivations each time that they changed their opinion of each other, making the characters a little less believable. Also, I was expecting the movie to be funny - which it was not. Other than that, I enjoyed watching it for the nice sense of a strong family (even if it's a bit contrived) and how they handle adversity. I would not watch this film again, nor would I go out of my way to see it. However, if you have nothing better to do, and you just want to sit down, not think a whole lot, and be mildly entertained, then this is the movie for you.