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Rex Reed wild about Rev Road & Benji Button

Posted by Ryan Adams On December - 17 - 2008

Never one to mince words, Rex Reed takes a moment to slam a few year-end Cuddle-Me-Elmo movies before he launches into the sort of lavish praise he only reserves for his favorite films of the year.

In a year notable mostly for its profligate tossing-around of overrated bores like Happy-Go-Lucky and pretentious, open-sewer trash like Synecdoche, New York, it comes as an act of real holiday season benevolence to bestow upon us, in rapid succession, The Reader, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Revolutionary Road. Here are three sensational movies that revive my faith in America’s greatest art form.

Unleash Hallelujahs:

An ancient crone on her hospital death bed (another astonishing performance by Cate Blanchett) draws her last breaths sifting through her memories while her daughter (Julia Ormond) reads from the diaries of an old boyfriend named Benjamin Button, who narrates the events of his life like a work of literature. The contents pour out of the pages in a tableau of breathless cinematic adventures, as the story unfolds of a remarkable man who beat the odds against time and biology.

Brilliantly directed and acted, sumptuously photographed and endlessly fascinating, Button runs nearly three hours, and I never glanced at my watch one time. Unlike the exhausting Australia, it’s an epic that sprawls but never meanders. Through the decades, it changes gears as fast as Brad Pitt changes his appearance, each period of time like a new chapter in a novel you never want to end. Trust me. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a monumental achievement—not only one of the best films of the year, but one of the greatest films ever made.

Reed’s admiration for Revolutionary Road is no less ecstatic, after the cut.

Revolutionary Road, under the detailed, sharp-eyed guidance of Sam Mendes, is a flawless, moment-to-moment autopsy of a marriage on the rocks and an indictment of the American Dream gone sour… The question posed in Richard Yates’ groundbreaking 1961 novel and in Justin Haythe’s reverently adapted screenplay is deceptively simple: Once you dig the hole, how do you get out?

…It’s a film about feelings, disappointments, desperation and hollow dreams. You go away asking unavoidable questions about relationships in a changing world, like how do you pretend to enjoy the worst kind of surface happiness without betraying the dormant joy that once lit the best of your inner self? How, in life’s detours, do you stay the best of lovers and yet be the best of friends? The unflinchingly honest Winslet-DiCaprio team illuminates with clarity and precision each mood swing of two people who start out thinking they’ll be special and wonderful until life gets in the way.

…Revolutionary Road, a title that symbolizes the downward slope of American idealism—from the grounded thinking of the 18th-century revolution to the second-rate materialism of 20th-century “progress”—is a profound, intelligent and deeply heartfelt work that raises the bar of filmmaking to exhilarating heights of greatness.

Whew. Could this be the beginning of an 11th hour critical surge? How anyone could still be talking about Best Picture prospects for the drab falsified re-enactment of Frost/Nixon over the depth and finesse of Revolutionary Road is a mystery I hope becomes moot over the next few weeks.

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16 Responses for "Rex Reed wild about Rev Road & Benji Button"

  1. lenny December 17th, 2008 at 5:38 pm 1

    of course ben button and revolutionary road were praised by rex reed….the 2 of them will be praised by critics anonymously..2 great achievements at years end..to end the dark knight talk..
    best pics

    benjamin button
    revolutionary road
    milk
    slumdog millionaire
    frost/ nixon

    winner will be either the magnificent ben button or the sneak attack slumdog…those are the 2 best choices for the academy!!!

    it is a terrific year for films

    also rans

    doubt
    the reader
    rachel getting married
    i’ve loved you so long
    the dark knight
    the wrestler
    frozen river
    vicky cristina barcelona
    appaloosa
    changeling
    gran torino
    wendy and lucy
    nothing but the truth
    the visitor

  2. Chris December 17th, 2008 at 5:42 pm 2

    I’ve seen Benjamin Button and Australia. Benjamin Button is a better film, but Australia didn’t feel as long as Benjamin Button did. And they are the same length.

  3. Paul Outlaw December 17th, 2008 at 6:00 pm 3

    Rex Reed has been gushing and raging since I was a child — man, he must be ancient — and I take his reviews with a grain of salt, even when I agree with them.

  4. Chris December 17th, 2008 at 6:04 pm 4

    Rex Reed is the guy who considered Batman Begins to be the worst of all Batman films, and thought The Dark Knight was a sequel to the previous series by Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher. *shakes head*

    Anyway, he fits the stereotype of the snobby critic.

  5. Robert Hamer December 17th, 2008 at 6:44 pm 5

    Rex Reed is the worst film critic I have ever seen. Yes, even worse than Victoria Alexander.

  6. Pierre de Plume December 17th, 2008 at 7:48 pm 6

    man, he must be ancient — and I take his reviews with a grain of salt, even when I agree with them.

    Haha! Paul. I thought that too.

    Rex just rages on and on in an entertainingly perverse way. Wasn’t he an extra in Jezebel? (Kidding.)

    Call me skeptical about Revolutionary Road. Although I can get into what I understand are its themes, I’ve yet to see proof they’ve been well executed. I promise to keep an open mind.

    Thanks for the post, Ryan. You served up some quotable quotes — and got to say “ravishing praise.” But even in the middle of Rex’s gushfest over Benjamin Button, he couldn’t resist calling Australia exhausting.

  7. Ryan Adams December 17th, 2008 at 7:56 pm 7

    oh hell, did I really say “ravishing praise”? ha!
    I’m so frazzled. I guess I meant “lavish praise”
    But I can’t really say for sure what I meant.

  8. Michael December 17th, 2008 at 11:27 pm 8

    Glad to see somebody else trashing Synecdoche. Eternal Sunshine made me love Kaufman. Synecdoche made me hate him (as a writer).

    More to the point, I don’t fully understand the Benjamin Button craze. Yes, the movie is involving, and beautiful, and a technical achievement. But then…it completely flakes out, gives the title character the easy way out, and arrives at nothing. What are we supposed to take away from it?

  9. Alfredo December 18th, 2008 at 10:19 am 9

    Ryan, I see you liked very much the Benji thing. Give me the credit man hahaha :)

  10. Kato December 18th, 2008 at 12:22 pm 10

    I stopped reading here: “overrated bores like Happy-Go-Lucky”

  11. kyle December 18th, 2008 at 7:09 pm 11

    rex reed’s praise for button and road make me skeptical about button and road.

  12. Paul Outlaw December 18th, 2008 at 7:51 pm 12

    Found these Reed gems on IMDb:

    On The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974): “The most disturbing movie I have ever seen.”

    On Vanilla Sky (2001): “A good example of what self-destructive cinematic havoc can be wrought by handing over millions of dollars to movie stars to produce their own ego trips.”

    On Never Again (2001): “I don’t think the proper alternative to bad movies about teenagers trying to get laid is more bad movies about middle-aged people trying to get laid.”

    On Mulholland Drive (2001): “A load of moronic and incoherent garbage.”

    On Seabiscuit (2003): “If you don’t go away entertained, informed and sated with satisfaction, you need your pulse checked to see if you still have one.”

    On Dogville (2003): “Dogville is like climbing the Matterhorn with a cement block tied to your back.”

    On Van Helsing (2004): “This moronic abomination is not a movie. It’s just a noisy, nasty and repulsive video game/theme-park haunted-house ride designed to appeal to the offspring of warlocks and trolls.”

    On De-Lovely (2004): “It is my sad duty to tell you that it is wooden, artificial, contrived, infuriating and as phony as an invitation to bring along a tape recorder to dinner with J.D. Salinger.”

    On The Good German (2006): “The Good German is as slow as a 90-year-old with gout who has misplaced his walking stick.”

    On The Good Shepherd (2006): “In the time it takes Mr Damon’s character to find out who the spy is, you could read a book, call your mother, finish your crossword puzzle, do all of your Christmas shopping and pay the first installment on next year’s estimated income tax.”

    On A Prairie Home Companion (2006): “A Prairie Home Companion is about as charming as waking up with a dead animal in your bed.”

    On Lady in the Water (2006): “Hollywood cannot pollute the ozone with anything more idiotic, contrived, amateurish or sub-mental than Lady in the Water. This piece of pretentious, paralyzing twaddle is the latest in a series of head-scratchers by the incompetent, self-delusional M. Night Shyamalan. Lady in the Water is described by Mr Shyamalan as a ‘bedtime story’ he told to his kids. Do not even think of repeating it to yours unless you plan to turn them into runaways, orphans or worse.”

    On The Prestige (2006): “The Prestige is the biggest pile of incomprehensible gibberish to hit the screen since M. Night Shyamalan’s Lady in the Water.”

    On The Fountain (2006): “I don’t care what a movie is about, but I have one rule that never changes: It has to make sense. This hopeless head trip doesn’t make one lick of sense, and it doesn’t seem to be about much of anything at all.”

    On Spider-Man 3 (2007): “Bloated and stupid, this movie is so bad you can’t even review it. Over-produced, over-publicized, over-designed, over-computerised and just plain over the moon, it’s so preposterously overwrought there’s no entry point for criticism. You just stare at it, as you might a great big exploding pile of cow manure.”

    On Youth Without Youth (2007): “You know a movie is doomed when the only star in it is Tim Roth. You know it’s pretentious when the ads print the logo backward and upside down. Not one word of this bilge makes one lick of sense, and it is two hours and six minutes long. The only way to survive Youth Without Youth is dead drunk. The least Mr Coppola could do is provide free Cabernet Sauvignon from his own vineyards. One bottle going in, another bottle staggering out.”

    On Speed Racer (2008): Speed Racer makes you want to never see a movie again as long as you live.

    On Marlon Brando: “Most of the time he sounds like he has a mouth full of wet toilet paper.”

    On Barbra Streisand: “To know her is not necessarily to love her.”

  13. kyle December 18th, 2008 at 8:24 pm 13

    if only i was a total moron like mr. reed, i would take the world of film criticism by storm!

  14. blizzards14 December 19th, 2008 at 5:48 am 14

    I think I like Mr. Reed.

  15. Christopher Kohler January 5th, 2009 at 3:15 pm 15

    Revolutionary Road is Brilliant.
    Winslet and DiCaprio Deserve top awards.
    Mendes strokes are as heavy and nuanced as a van Gogh.
    An intense, gripping drama with unforgetable performances.
    Brava!

  16. eb January 13th, 2009 at 12:33 am 16

    My film professor Stu Beach once said, “I’m not sure that Rex Reed knows what a good movie is!”

    Reed: “You know a movie is doomed when the only star in it is Tim Roth.” What the hell is that supposed to mean?

    If you like Reed’s negative reviews, check out Ebert’s…


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  • Contender Tracker

    Best Picture
    Up in the Air
    Nine
    The Hurt Locker
    An Education
    Precious: Based on the Novel
    Push by Sapphire

    A Serious Man
    Inglourious Basterds
    Up

    Julie & Julia
    Star Trek
    District 9
    Bright Star
    Where the Wild Things Are
    A Single Man

    Best Actor
    Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
    Colin Firth, A Single Man
    George Clooney, Up in the Air
    Matt Damon, The Informant!
    Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
    Viggo Mortensen, The Road
    Ben Foster, The Messenger
    Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man
    Michael Sheen, The Damned United

    Best Actress
    Gabby Sidibe, Precious
    Carey Mulligan, An Education
    Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
    Abbie Cornish, Bright Star
    Helen Mirren, The Last Station
    Michelle Monaghan, Trucker

    Best Supporting Actor
    Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
    Alfred Molina, An Education
    Stanley Tucci, Julie & Julia
    Peter Sarsgaard, An Education
    Robert Duvall, Crazy Heart
    Peter Capaldi, In the Loop
    Zach Galifianakis, The Hangover
    Anthony Mackie, The Hurt Locker
    Brian Geraghty, The Hurt Locker

    Best Supporting Actress
    Mo'Nique,Precious
    Anna Kendrick,Up in the Air
    Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart
    Julianne Moore, A Single Man
    Melanie Laurent, Inglourious Basterds
    Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
    Samantha Morton, The Messenger
    Emma Thompson, An Education
    Cara Seymour, An Education

    Best Director
    Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
    Lee Daniels, Precious
    Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
    Lone Scherfig, An Education
    Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
    Joel and Ethan Coen, A Serious Man
    Neill Blomkamp, District 9
    Spike Jonze, Where the Wild Things Are
    Tom Ford, A Single Man
    Jane Campion, Bright Star

    Best Original Screenplay
    Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker
    Joel and Ethan Coen, A Serious Man
    Jane Campion, Bright Star
    Quentin Tarantino,Inglourious Basterds
    Michael Haneke,White Ribbon
    Bob Peterson, Pete Docter,Up
    Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber, 500 Days of Summer

    Best Adapted Screenplay
    Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air
    Nick Hornby, An Education
    Spike Jonze, Dave Eggars, Where the Wild Things Are
    Peter Morgan, The Damned United
    Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
    Scott Burns, The Informant!
    Tom Ford, A Single Man

    Best Editing

    Chris Innis, Bob Murawski, The Hurt Locker
    Sally Menke, Inglourious Basterds
    Dana E. Glauberman,, Up in the Air
    Joel and Ethan Coen,, A Serious Man

    Best Cinematography
    Greig Fraser,Bright Star
    Robert Richardson,Inglourious Basterds
    Roger Deakins, A Serious Man
    Christian Berger, White Ribbon
    Bruno Delbonnel,Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
    Barry Ackroyd, The Hurt Locker

    Best Art Direction

    Where the Wild Things Are
    Julie & Julia
    Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
    Bright Star
    Inglourious Basterds
    White Ribbon
    District 9
    A Serious Man

    Best Sound Mixing

    Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
    District 9
    Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
    The Hurt Locker
    Star Trek

    Best Sound Editing

    District 9
    Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
    Star Trek
    Up

    Best Costume Design
    Janet Patterson, Bright Star
    Jany Temime,Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
    Anna B. Sheppard,Inglourious Basterds
    Mary Zophre, A Serious Man
    Colleen Atwood, Public Enemies
    Consolata Boyle,Cheri

    Best Original Score
    Carter Burwell, Karen O,Where the Wild Things Are
    Carter Burwell,A Serious Man
    Michael Giacchino,Up
    Alexandre Desplat, Cheri
    Elliot Goldenthal, Public Enemies

    Best Foreign Language Film (submissions)

    Letters from Father Jacob, Finland
    White Wedding, South Africa
    A Prophet, France
    Dawson, Isla 10, Chile
    Nobody to Watch Over Me, Japan
    Prince of Tears, Hong Kong
    No puedo vivir sin ti, Taiwan
    Kelin, Kazakhstan
    Mother, Korea
    The White Ribbon, Germany
    Silent Army, The Netherlands


    Best Documentary Feature

    The Beaches of Agnes
    Burma VJ
    The Cove
    Every Little Step
    Facing Ali
    Food, Inc.
    Garbage Dreams
    Living in Emergency
    The Most Dangerous Man in America
    Mugabe and the White African
    Sergio
    Soundtrack for a Revolution
    Under Our Skin
    Valentino
    Which Way Home


    Best Animated Feature
    Up
    The Princess and the Frog
    Coraline
    The Fantastic Mr. Fox
    A Christmas Carol
    Mary and Max
    Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
    Ponyo


    Best Visual Effects
    Star Trek
    District 9
    A Christmas Carol
    Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
    Transformers


    Best Makeup

    Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
    District 9

    Best Song

    Best Live Action Short

    Best Animated Short

    Best Documentary Short

    China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
    The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
    The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
    Lt. Watada
    Music by Prudence
    Rabbit a la Berlin
    Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait of Maurice Sendak
    Woman Rebel

  • Ampas Breakdown

    Actors-1,222
    Producers-462
    Executives-436
    Sound-411
    Writers-388
    Art Directors-373
    Directors-375
    Public Relations-370
    Members at Large-254
    Shorts/Feature Ani-335
    Visual Effects-272
    Music-233
    Editors-227
    Cinematographers-197
    Documentary-145
    Makeup-115
    Total Voting Members -approx 6,000
  • Tuesday, December 1, 2009: Official Screen Credits forms due

    Monday, December 28, 2009: Nominations ballots mailed

    Saturday, January 23, 2010: Nominations polls close 5 p.m. PT

    Tuesday, February 2, 2010: Nominations announced 5:30 a.m. PT, Samuel Goldwyn Theater

    Wednesday, February 10, 2010: Final ballots mailed

    Monday, February 15, 2010: Nominees Luncheon

    Saturday, February 20, 2010: Scientific and Technical Achievement Awards presentation

    Tuesday, March 2, 2010: Final polls close 5 p.m. PT

    Sunday, March 7, 2010: 82nd Annual Academy Awards presentation