Against the Current (2009)

That was an excellent one.

I'll tell you why so serious

As Good As It Gets

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

I love everything about this film. Dempsey's Pub is a special place - sadly closed down. The Hudson River and valley are special as well. The movie portrays them all understatedly and beautifully along with sorrow, loss, grieving, the sad truth of getting less mature the older you get, juvenile friendship, fun low key adventure and tons of great scenery. It was hard to find for a while but is currently on Showtime Anywhere.

I'd say other have covered the ground in reviewing this movie quite nicely, so I'm not going to reaffirm the quiet and rather dark magic you can expect to find hereBut I do have one complaint that doesn't reflect on any aspect of the movie aside from some rather inaccurate editing. Let me say I've lived in Poughkeepsie and its environs most all my life. (Poughkeepsie, NY is located 75 north of NYC and 75 south of the Troy Dam where this swim begins.) So, here's the problem: The Hudson IS beautiful, no doubt and it does have tides, but it heads north to south; therefore you're not in Troy in one scene and Hyde Park at 80 miles south the next; you're not in Yonkers about 25 miles north of NYC in one scene and next at the Rondout Light at Kingston about 95 miles north of NYC. (There were many, many such examples throughout the film, and these are not necessarily as the movie might have ordered them.)So, why do that when all the showing the River in its natural ordering would have no affect on the story line and show off this River as it truly is and most likely most, if not all, reflect the actual filming order. Why? Sorry, just found it annoying having spent 8 years as a limnologist researching the River from Troy to the G. Washington Bridge at NYC.

i watched this movie start to finish - as i do with 99.9% of all movies i choose to see. this movie has a lot going for it and a lot going to ruin it.the characters - paul, katie, and jeff come across as spoiled trust fund kids that have nothing to do but "deal with their emotions"! paul is totally unbelievable as the grief stricken widower (or whatever he is). paul is just shallow and myopic and completely unconvincing from start to finish. katie adds nothing to the story. and jeff comes across as the only level headed character but drops that element mid story. pathetic! but the cinematography along the hudson river is beautiful and spellbinding. if the 'actors' could be deleted this movie it would be a 10 star flick.if you want to see some beautiful scenes of the hudson river valley this is a great choice. and the soundtrack is wonderful. but all spoiled by a pointless story and bad acting and numb dialog.

This is probably one of the most insightful films I've watched ever.It acknowledges that emotional pain can sometimes be more debilitating than physical pain. I hope people who watch are able to grasp the honesty and the realness of the characters. Although Mary Tyler Moore's character was a little over the top. The acting was sublime and the music was beautiful. This may not be a film for the incurable optimist but then again depending on how you interpret it, it may be. One of it's most beautiful features is its portrayal of friendship, real friendship. The writer, actors and directors displayed enormous empathy for a difficult topic. This is a not a film for the feint hearted or anyone incapable of deep reflection.