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St. Vincent

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St. Vincent (2014)

October. 24,2014
|
7.2
|
PG-13
| Comedy
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A young boy whose parents just divorced finds an unlikely friend and mentor in the misanthropic, bawdy, hedonistic, war veteran who lives next door.

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Reviews

KnotStronger
2014/10/24

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

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BelSports
2014/10/25

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

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Casey Duggan
2014/10/26

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

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Loui Blair
2014/10/27

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

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a_chinn
2014/10/28

A sappy and cliche filled story about a crabby old man who takes care of his quiet shy latchkey neighbor kid. Both learn life lessons from one another and both become better people for it. Oh, did I mention there's also a hooker with a heart of gold and there's also a single mother doing the best she can? Before you dismiss this formula story set-up, the grouchy old neighbor is played by Bill Murray, so that alone should be enough to make you want to give "St. Vincent" a chance. First time writer/director Theodore Melfi does deliver a story that's corny, cliched, and predictable (one medical emergency seemed particularly unnecessary, not adding anything to either character or plot), but despite the maudlin set-up and cookie cutter character tropes, the cast is incredibly strong, led by Murray as Vincent. He takes care of young Jaeden Lieberher, teaching him how to fight dirty, how to gamble, and how to get a bartender's attention, but it's Bill Murray teaching him these life lessons! So even though we've seen this tired formula a hundreds of times before, it's hilariously fun to watch with Murray playing the child-hating curmudgeon. How can you resist Bill driving around in his 1984 Chrysler Lebaron, gabling and drinking, and consorting with his Russian prostitute/girlfriend, Naomi Watts, all while taking care of a young child. As with these sorts of films (everything from "Little Miss Marker" to "Bad Santa"), Lieberher teaches Murray how to be kinder towards others and Lieberher learns how to stand up for himself. Lieberher's mom is played by Melissa McCarthy in what is surprisingly straight role, which is an inserting change of pace for the usually hilarious comedic actress and she's very good. Watts is also quite good in a primarily comedic part that could have easily slid into an annoyingly cliched character, but she elevates the material so that you genuinely care about her character. This's what the entire cast does for the film, elevating the cliches and making it worth watching. They may not be characters you'd want to actually spend time with in real-life, but they are characters you care about, are compelling to watch on-screen, and who you are rooting for. Overall, "St. Vincent" is not a great film, but the cast very nearly makes it such. Chris O'Dowd and Terrence Howard also appear in the film.

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shanikayrs
2014/10/29

This is sad man speaks directly to my sad man. That is how I like this egregious drama, what I happened to enjoy in Saturday the 13th Jan. When the melodramatic sainthood in the world of cinema failing, there are some good reasonable uprising in movies with similar theme, and out of all those title , this shit worth your sad time. Sometimes when I sit alone and watch this kind of movies, I feel the cinema is correct but of course the real world is way far far behind from what it is call human life. You see the nursing home people wanna 'Put' Sandy somewhere else if this old man fails to pay, Stupid bankers, as always and always try to survive in their pathetic protocols and trying be nice about their imprudent schmuckness , and you will see sicken hospital policies. So, see , out of the beauty of freedom and essence of love and compassion the blunt rudeness of , I would say mostly greed created living system breaking the wonderful norm of humanity. To the most of world Daka is a hooker but to Mr Vin , she is the 'Lady of night' and this bold man showing his deep seated empathy to this lady by frankly apprenticing the honesty of the way she make living. And in return Daka play a role more than just a hooker. I will say ,that would be the true satisfaction of doing business. As an armature reviewer am quite blind to see weakness in a movie if I truly fell in love with it . so, yes and I am blind to find a flaw in here. From the script writer (may be the person we always forget to give the credit) , director and all staring doing everything sharp and flawless, and of course our Bill Murray, the man lost in translation :) reasoning his excellence in Hollywood once again as Vin.Why we need art, If it is for creating better world, then we need this kind of art, we need more human watching this kind of art. We need not to white wash ugly governance and corporation as the way of life, an it's stars as the Saints. We need people to be true to them and stand for it and to be real saint to their their very own way.Of course Mr Vin, even I don't understand why people say ' I am sorry for your loss'Loving this !!!

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Brent Brent
2014/10/30

I feel as though this movie was an incredible waste of my time full of dull drama, unnecessarily sappy cheese and a topic that's been done before over and over ... A cranky curmudgeon is touched by the friendship of a child. Bill Murray inexplicably plays a New Yorker with a thick Boston accent. He has a gambling addiction, drinks too much and treats people in a generally dismissive and curmudgeonly way. Murray does a good job with the character but we've seen it so many times before ... It could basically have been an impression of Nicholson in As Good As It Gets.The writing is what really kills the film. Beyond the trite acts of bringing a child to a horse track or the bar, it's so sickly sweet in terms of incorporating every bit of adult/kid sappy shtick. The boy gets in a fight with some boys, which is witnessed by Murray, so Murray teaches him to fight (while hitting a heavy bag with a drink in his hand) Hokey. The kid gets picked on in a Dodge ball game and ends up punching the bully in the nose and knocking him out. Incredibly hokey. THEN the kid makes friends with the bully and discovers underneath is a nice, insecure friend. Hokey to the tenth power.Murray's wife has Altzeimers disease and doesn't recognize him so he dresses up as a Doctor in order to visit her at the fancy nursing home. Yet the evil nursing home is going to kick her out so he has to raise money to allow her to stay so he goes to the track and loses. And this is where things get horrible from a writing standpoint.Murray has a stroke at the very moment the bookies come to beat him up. Apparently he has a major stroke which paralyzes the left side of his body. But it's okay because in only a week or two's time he fully recovers. Not sure if Wes Anderson bothered to do any research on strokes but this is so far from the length of recovery time. I'm sure a year or more's recovery wouldn't work with the script but the whole thing is so dumb. Right down to the part where they pack the left side of Murray's mouth with cotton balls so it appears he cannot speak. Again, not at all what happens when someone has a stroke. Research?Finally, in the last 20 ish minutes of the film we inexplicably learn that in the couple weeks Murray was fully recovering from his major stroke, his healthy looking wife died. And Melissa McCarthy's ex was suing her for custody of the boy Murray was looking after. And hired a private investigator to take photos of Murray and the boy at the track, the bar, and the boy with Murray's Russian girlfriend or whatever she is ... Who is a hooker/stripper (of course).The end breaks all records for campy shtick as the boy goes to a Catholic school and they are required to pick a human Saint that they know. Of course the boy picks Murray who at the last minute decides to skip the track and walk into the auditorium JUST as the boy is starting his presentation. Through an epic PowerPoint presentation (this is a 7 year old boy who somehow puts the presentation together using photos of Murray's life which are oddly of an actor playing a young Bill Murray, it seems) We learn that Murray was a hero in Vietnam who saved members of his platoon and actually was a decent human being until he turned into an old cranky person. Cut to a CU up Murray with tears in his eyes. Then his Russian girlfriend has her baby.So over the top, poorly written, everything works out in the end and it's predictable, campy and just not at all funny. I don't even know if I'd call this a drama. I'd call it a waste of time or a screen writing mess.

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alexanderstephencraig
2014/10/31

Simply put, it was a great film. The acting was incredible. I personally think that anyone who can do comedy well, is fantastic in drama. Comedy is much harder to tap into and act out than drama, in my opinion. So being that two of the main cast are known as comedians, is a good sign. The film 360 degrees was great. It was more than expected and more real than I would have though. Melissa McCarthy did very well as did the rest of the cast. Bill Murry was different than any other film I've seen him in but he kept it very real and emotional. Naomi Watts, unsurprisingly did amazing. Is that such a surprise though? Her character was a loud, bold, straight-forward hooker who definitely was needed. Without her the film would have been so much different. As well as the acting in the film, the story was great and very well written. It has more context than I thought it would have and it went places I didn't predict which was all the more better. I would watch this film again 100 percent. The acting by itself holds up the film but it doesn't need to as it delivers on every other aspect. It was a very fun yet emotional film. Definitely give it a watch!

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