Enough Already

Rating: Null/10 (2 June 1999)

OK OK OK. I have seen this good movie as well as Shakespeare in Love. I think this year's Oscars were on target. I think SIL was better than SPR. Yes I was totally blown away by the opening scene. The end was powerful as well. The middle was boring.
The difference between the two movies is in the writing and acting. SIL is a very witty movie well acted. SPR relies on technical wizardry to bring out the emotions. Don't get me wrong, the wizardry works in this movie, and boy does it work. The writing in SPR just wasn't there. The "bonding" was extremely forced. And the one thing that trivializes the emotional impact is the sentimental ending. I could not believe the fact that I was being told how to feel at the end of the movie. Did we need the scene in the cemetery just to tell us that we should feel for this man? We already do.
While I agree with SIL winning best picture, I also agree with Steven Spielberg's Directorial Oscar. This man used the technilogical tools of filmmaking to give SPR the impact that it does.
I plan on buying both movies when they come out on DVD. SPR will sound awesome on my home theater.
If I had to rate both movies, I would say SPR is an 8 out of 10 versus SIL a 9 out of 10.