BROTHERS

The Girl...

This movie was good. It had a balance of great and terrible moments, so it ended up just as a good movie.

The terrible part? Definitely the soundtrack. The beginning song sounds like it was taken straight from the intro of an 80s horror film - all guitar and up-beat keyboard. Another instance where the music co-ordinator failed this movie was at the end. To show the duality between two important scenes, taking place in Afghanistan and then in Sam's (Tobey Maguire) front yard, they threw in a few notes from a Middle-eastern song at the climax... Very unnecessary. It was a strong scene from the actors, but when that song came in, it totally pulls you out of the moment. It definitely made me cringe.

The great parts were Tobey and Jake. They were both very strong in this movie, especially Tobey. It surprised me, but I'm not a huge fan of his. On the other hand, I'm a huge fan of Jake's, and although this wasn't nearly his best performance or his strongest, it was solid. Plus, he is damn sexy. Natalie Portman could have showed more soul in this movie, but I'm beginning to think she doesn't have one, so I guess she tried her best and definitely didn't let the audience down in the last moments with her acting skills. Still, Tobey took the stage, even losing so much weight, the change in his body was dramatic.

Girl's Rating: Worth renting, but make sure you don't pay any late fees.

The Guy...

I agree with Girl that the music in this movie was very misplaced. I would probably give this movie higher praises if someone else would have scored it.

This movie is a remake of a Danish movie and for the first time in a long while I've actually missed the original. Without seeing it, though, I have an inkling that it has to be better. The Danish are famous for how dark they can get in their movies. Sure, this movie goes there but it feels like it backs up when it gets a little bit too heavy.

Like Girl said, Tobey steals the stage, and even as a straight man I have to agree that Jake is a juicy piece of ass (writing this to annoy Girl). But, and I do say but, there was someone that even upstaged Tobey in this film. No, it was not Natalie Portman. It was Bailee Madison who played the oldest daughter, Isabelle Cahill. She had moments in the movie where she really got to me. So if anyone is getting nominated for this movie, it should be her.

Other things I enjoyed: All the bits that took place in the middle east were really great. It made you stomach everything that was happening on the homefront between Jake and Natalie, because you knew that you would get some thrilling scenes thrown your way with the scarier and skinnier Tobey.

Guy's Rating: Well worth watching but not something you need to waste a centimeter on your DVD shelf with.