A Good Year (2006)

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

The scenes where Crowe tried his hand at slapstick were horrible. For example, when he falls into the empty, dirt-filled, swimming pool, the story turned from tedious to utterly laughable and moronic. Crowe tries getting out the 15' deep pool by launching himself at the pool wall. Suddenly a beautiful but obnoxious woman comes along, throws his car keys at him and asks Crowe if he can swim. He says, "Yes, but not in a foot of cow shit!" The woman proceeds to turn on the water to fill the pool and walks away. Of course (facetious) the water worked perfectly after not being used in years, and the spray is as forceful as a firehose. Instead of moving aside, Crowe stands in the way of the jets and flails around while being pummeled by the spray. While the pool is filling, Crowe dives underwater, spitting out the "cowshit" pool water as if he's enjoying himself and at one point surfaces with tennis balls on his eyes. Did I turn it off at that point? No, stupid me! Crowe decides he's going to clean the house in 72 hours to show it to potential buyers. The only help he has, his winemaker, and an elderly, frail, gentleman with a broken foot. That's when I turned it off!

Movie Review: "A Good Year" (2006)This make-you-feel-good movie directed and produced by Ridley Scott is a very personal signature of the director, who recalls childhood memories with teenage character of Young Max, performed by at that time promising newcomer actor Freddie Highmore, known for "Finding Neverland" starring Johnny Depp; the boy, who gets raised in cultural manners by his Uncle Henry, here portrayed in a perfect-pitching performance by Albert Finney, at age 70, in manners of living-well without dying from life's obligation and constant pressure, when actor Russell Crowe takes over the stage to be London's stock-markets-pushing star broker number one Max Skinner, when his Uncle's inheritance becomes due in shape of the childhood reminiscence of a rural estate of planting grapes of French red wine.Director Ridley Scott plays his cards after the mammut-production of "Kingdom of Heaven" (2005) with switching cinematography to Philippe Le Sourd, engaging vacation-indulging, dreamy visuals of further high-end digital color corrections; promoted production designer Sonja Klaus, organizing and dressing on-location sets of splendor towards sharing a life of leisure with any spectator by finding the professionally acted, nevertheless no high-pitch meeting collaboration between Russell Crowe and actress Marion Cotillard, given face to a local character as waitress-of-no-means, when "A Good Year" runs out after a suspenseless 110-Minutes-Cut by editor Dody Dorn, where even accelerated montage scene deny the audience a fever pitch of higher illuminations in this motion picture of tragic-comedy pleasures.© 2018 Felix Alexander Dausend (Cinemajesty Entertainments LLC)

A successful stockbroker inherits a vineyard and finds there's more to life than money. I ignored this film for ten years as I thought it sounded pretty dull. I was wrong. There is plenty here to keep you entertained. Although it's by no means a riotous comedy there were plenty of times that I laughed throughout the film. Add in the French countryside, a sharp script, a charismatic Russell Crowe and the unbelievably beautiful Marion Cotillard and there's not much to dislike. This is one of those films you can just put on and enjoy without having to think too hard. It doesn't pretend to be anything it isn't. It's all fairly predictable but the cast is so good that it really doesn't matter all that much. There should be more films like this. Just put in on and enjoy the following two hours.

Ask me my favorite movie and I will not hesitate with this one. I keep coming back to this movie every time I need a little visual inspiration. It's easy to get into the chaos of day to day work and this film helps to remind me to take it a little easier in life. The older I get the more this movie makes sense. Take that time, enjoy the simple things, simple pleasures and surround yourself with the people and events you care about the most. The story line has a point, the setting is beautiful and the acting is an all-star cast that delivers. The comedy is smart and does not insult ones intelligence. This is one of the rare films out there that keeps things comfortable, positive and classy. I appreciate the film and it's creativity that continues to inspire and charm. After all, one can day dream about owning a French vineyard someday.