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Walk The Line

SFG75

SFG75

Well-Known Member
I saw this one over my stay-at-home-snow break.:D I agree that Reese Witherspoon's portrayal of June Carter Cash was excellent. Joaquin Phoenix did a good job as well. I was never much of a Johnny Cash fan, but this movie held my attention all throughout the film. I in particular, loved the Folsom prison concert scene with the scared warden.

Official site

A cornucopia of reviews regarding the film.

Anyone else like or dislike this one?:cool:
 
I was a fan of Johnny Cash but was not overjoyed with the movie. On the other hand my wife loved the movie. Reese is a pretty good actress and I enjoy her in most films. I would have liked seeing a little more of the good side of Johnny Cash in the movie. The Folsom Prison scenes were very good, I agree.
 
I should probably analyze my reluctance to watch this film. As a fan of Johnny and June, I'm torn between desire to see the film and a great dread. I know that friends and family members have given mixed reviews. We may rent it eventually, but I'm in no hurry.
 
abecedarian said:
I should probably analyze my reluctance to watch this film. As a fan of Johnny and June, I'm torn between desire to see the film and a great dread. I know that friends and family members have given mixed reviews. We may rent it eventually, but I'm in no hurry.
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It is available for rent now. my wife wants to watch it again.
 
muggle said:
It is available for rent now. my wife wants to watch it again.
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I know, I think I'm afraid I'll start missing Johnny and June and get weepy..it's not like they were personal friends or anything, but they had that connection with the masses that made them FEEL like extended family..
 
We saw it and I would agree with most of the reviews I read going in. Great performances, but a bit slow in places. I thought they really did justice to his story. I would definitely say see it if for nothing more than the music.

I agree - the Folsom prison scene was great.
 
I saw this the other night. It was so boring! Really one of the weakest structured movies I’ve seen in a while. (Good Night, and Good Luck is far superior in every way, for instance.)

Okay, the actors did well with what they were given, but there was nothing compelling about the way Cash’s story was told. So standard, so predictable. What little artful narrative there was seemed to be copped straight from Eastwood’s movie Bird.

I’m a Cash fan from way back. My dad was listening to Johnny in the 60s. He was a fascinating guy, full of contradictions and human foibles. Saw him live twice. He was a behemoth in person, not some extra from 90210. This movie just sugared him up, watered him down, and turned his life story into something worthy of Disney.
 
novella said:
I saw this the other night. It was so boring! Really one of the weakest structured movies I’ve seen in a while. (Good Night, and Good Luck is far superior in every way, for instance.)

Okay, the actors did well with what they were given, but there was nothing compelling about the way Cash’s story was told. So standard, so predictable. What little artful narrative there was seemed to be copped straight from Eastwood’s movie Bird.

I’m a Cash fan from way back. My dad was listening to Johnny in the 60s. He was a fascinating guy, full of contradictions and human foibles. Saw him live twice. He was a behemoth in person, not some extra from 90210. This movie just sugared him up, watered him down, and turned his life story into something worthy of Disney.
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I agree with you, I felt like it was just your standard bio movie, especially the ones about musicians that seem so generic, insert rock star >here<. I had high hopes too based on the actors, the hype and of course Johnny.
 
If a person is looking for fiction they may be better off going to see the DaVinci Code. Walk The Line had very good acting and stayed pretty close to Cash's life up to a point. I enjoyed watching the gang from Memphis and it was pretty true to actuality. Jerry Lee was true to form. Reese got the Academy Award for her acting and deserved it. As stated by several people, the Folsom Prison scenes were probably worht the price of admission alone.

I strongly recommend that you rent the movie ABC. You will enjoy it.
 
muggle said:
If a person is looking for fiction they may be better off going to see the DaVinci Code. Walk .
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I'm not looking for fiction, muggle. There are many ways to tell a true story. I think this particular movie told the life of a complex, thunderously powerful man in sugary sweet parables, which did him, IMO, a disservice.

It reminded me of one of those awful Robert Redford movies with the sun glinting off his goddamn teeth and the wind ruffling his fluffy blond hair. Where was the darkness? Where was the man behind Sunday Morning Coming Down?
 
abecedarian said:
Maybe I will, but nobody'd better laugh when I reach for the Kleenex:rolleyes:
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I didn't cry for this movie, I usually am a weeper but there were no tear jerking moments :)
 
Ronny said:
I didn't cry for this movie, I usually am a weeper but there were no tear jerking moments :)
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It isn't that, its pure grief over the fact that J and J aren't around anymore..they seemed like extended family members to some of us. I got to see them in concert once and grew up reading about them in country music mags. One of our local djs was close friend of theirs (Johnny Western) and he still tells stories about them on the air. They weren't just voices from the radio..
 
I liked Johnny Western. I am listening to clips from his box set as I post. Good western singer. Gee whillikers, his 3 CD box set costs $89. I will have to get our library to buy it. :)
 
I don't know if it played out like some VH-1 "behind the music" series- you know, music star struggles, music star breaks out and shines, music star falls, and the career is being rebuilt or has been successfully rebuilt. It appeared as if he was tormented by his inner demons of addiction and dysfunctional relationships whether or not he was famous or "made it." In that regard, the film does deserve some credit. Reese Witherspoon was defintiely "in character" as I was totally fooled. There were no traces of the actress who played "legally blonde.":rolleyes:
 
SFG75 said:
I don't know if it played out like some VH-1 "behind the music" series- you know, music star struggles, music star breaks out and shines, music star falls, and the career is being rebuilt or has been successfully rebuilt. It appeared as if he was tormented by his inner demons of addiction and dysfunctional relationships whether or not he was famous or "made it." In that regard, the film does deserve some credit. Reese Witherspoon was defintiely "in character" as I was totally fooled. There were no traces of the actress who played "legally blonde.":rolleyes:
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You are correct SFG75, and that is why she received the Academy Award for best actress. BTW, lets not forget Phoenix, he was nominated for best actor.
 
I loved the movie too and, yes, I did have to reach for the kleenex! I thought the acting by Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon was superb, and as someone else said earlier, there definitely was no trace of 'Legally Blonde'!

What a horrible man his father was - I could have quite easily slapped him (or worse!). Definitely no parent-of-the-year award for him.
 
Musicians

I haven't seen it yet, but I was impressed by teasers and trailers of it and by the fact that both actors sing, actually sing and do a great job.
I heard they are going to make a film about sinatra, it's a real fashion, making movies about musicians. think about Ray, the film about Ray Charles, I loved it and the actor in the leading role deserved his Oscar
and a film about Janice Joplyn is on the way, starring Pink!! :)
 
I just don't get the point. Why have actors play Johnny Cash, Frank Sinatra or Janis Joplin? There is plenty of film and TV footage of the real persons. Why would anyone want to watch a more-or-less good imitation when you can see the original?
 
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