John Q ...thumbs up!
I was such a fan of the John Q trailers and their energy so I had to see this movie. IMO the movie lives up to the trailer. Washington is at his best in this movie as a Father struggling to get his son on the Heart Transplant list.
Movies in which Hostages are taken are always difficult because the scenery doesn't change but great performances by Anne Heche, James Woods and Kimberly Elise make the story lively. If you're into special effects you won't be too impressed but if you're into great drama and decent scripts this movie will most likely hit the spot. A Beautiful Mind and John Q are the two best Dramas I have seen in 2 years. Highly recommended.
Movies in which Hostages are taken are always difficult because the scenery doesn't change but great performances by Anne Heche, James Woods and Kimberly Elise make the story lively. If you're into special effects you won't be too impressed but if you're into great drama and decent scripts this movie will most likely hit the spot. A Beautiful Mind and John Q are the two best Dramas I have seen in 2 years. Highly recommended.
Comments
<strong>Yea. It got shit reviews. It looks trite and boring and the characters look like caricatures.</strong><hr></blockquote>
That's probably because the idiots that review these movies don't know a damn. Some people were turned off by the anti- HMO stance and all but honestly have you ever looked at someone who has to face a loved one pass in front of their eyes? Caricatures they are not. Funny how A Beautiful Mind has not received the same damnation when it was equally unbelievable. Crow as a anti social John Nash and Jennifer Connelly coming onto him...that was a stretch. Everyone in the theater that I watched JohnQ saw a father that would do anything for his son. I didn't focus on problems with our Health Care system nor did I focus on the outcome because I knew the end(don't we all...Hollywood never really suprises) what I saw was a perfomance from Washinton that blew away his work in Training Day. I saw Kimberly Elise produce and effort that easily matches Jennifer Connelly's. 20 million over the weekend shows that many people were interested. If it dies quickly then perhaps fan word of mouth wasn't there but I think you see JohnQ hang in there for a few weeks. Alas the American public might prefer to watch braindead drivel like Collateral Damage so that they can disengage their brains upon entering the theater.
<a href="http://www.suntimes.com/output/ebert1/wkp-news-johnq15f.html"; target="_blank">JOHN Q / *1/2</a>
ps- hmurchison, John Nash was/is paranoid schizophrenic, not Antisocial. 2 very different things. I'm picking nits, but I'm a psychologist, so I've got to
Check out her brief scene in "The Juror", getting all sweaty and vocal while Alec Baldwin is giving her the business.
I've always dug on her, for some reason. Looks-wise, anyway.
<strong>Isnt Anne Heche a lesbian?</strong><hr></blockquote>
I don't think so, I think she's bi. And she is a bit touched in the head, as it were. I'd call her downright crazy, and that's a the technical definition we psychologists use for people like her
<strong>I would think that Roger Ebert knows a damn about movies.
<a href="http://www.suntimes.com/output/ebert1/wkp-news-johnq15f.html"; target="_blank">JOHN Q / *1/2</a></strong><hr></blockquote>
LOL that was a funny interview! But I rarely listen to Reviewers...nothing really makes them qualified to review movies IMO. Opinions vary like the wind. I think the general public does NOT think like Ebert. Everyone knows that movies generally end on an upnote(see Swordfish and Travoltas indictment of Hollywood in the opening). JohnQ to me represents what parents should be..united and unwavering in their support of their family. The real question is what would YOU do in a similar situation?
[quote]ps- hmurchison, John Nash was/is paranoid schizophrenic, not Antisocial. 2 very different things. I'm picking nits, but I'm a psychologist, so I've got to <hr></blockquote>
Actually my statement came after reading about Nash as a young child. Even his parents mentioned that he did not get along with other children and preferred to be alone. I believe he was anti social before the schizophrenia took hold.
[quote] Isnt Anne Heche a lesbian <hr></blockquote>
Some say she just used Lesbianism and Ellen DeGeneres to get notoriety. Some of it is probably true. Being a Lesbian does not destroy an actress' career. I believe she says she's hetero now.
<strong>I would think that Roger Ebert knows a damn about movies.
<a href="http://www.suntimes.com/output/ebert1/wkp-news-johnq15f.html"; target="_blank">JOHN Q / *1/2</a></strong><hr></blockquote>
Still...he did write the screenplay to "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls", right?
I thought the trailers to John Q. were disgusting...Denzel can do much better than this. John Q. is one of them
"I need money for...":
a. My next directorial movie (Duvall)
b. House in Malibu (Washington)
c. Kid's college or rehab ((Director)
d. Wedding (Heche)
e. Get outta debt (Liotta)
for these actors...boring.
[ 02-19-2002: Message edited by: Artman @_@ ]</p>
<strong>
Still...he did write the screenplay to "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls", right?
I thought the trailers to John Q. were disgusting...Denzel can do much better than this. John Q. is one of them
"I need money for...":
a. My next directorial movie (Duvall)
b. House in Malibu (Washington)
c. Kid's college or rehab ((Director)
d. Wedding (Heche)
e. Get outta debt (Liotta)
for these actors...boring.
[ 02-19-2002: Message edited by: Artman @_@ ]</strong><hr></blockquote>
Artman,
To only look at this as an issue of money is to be myopic. Nick Cassavetes the Director has a 14 Daughter named Sasha that has needed a Heart Transplant for two years. In her particular case she has such a rare blood type among other things that precludes just using any donors heart. This story of course mimics his own but the frustration that a parent feels when their child is ailing is nothing to be trivialized. I feel like sooooo many people are ranting and raving about the wrong things...sure the movie bashes HMO/PPO inequities...but that's not the prevailing theme. That theme, I believe, is a Father and Mother trying to do what they can to keep their children alone. Tell me what character you'd rather have as a friend in real life John Q or Alonzo Harris(Washingtons Training Day character)?
An aside...
Heard about the prisoner on Death Row who needed a heart transplant and got it?
Reason was that his execution was coming up and he couldn't be executed because of his illness. Can't execute sick prisoners. So they got him a heart so that he could meet the execution date...healthy. <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/02/04/ethics.matters/index.html"; target="_blank">True story</a>.
I'll admit that shows how whacked the system is and hope it'll all change.
I saw the trailers. Also saw a "behind the scenes" plug on Sundance or IFC...made my judgement on that. And I'll see it on HBO next year.
<strong>Hey...sorry, didn't know that... But actors, directors and producers do this.
An aside...
Heard about the prisoner on Death Row who needed a heart transplant and got it?
Reason was that his execution was coming up and he couldn't be executed because of his illness. Can't execute sick prisoners. So they got him a heart so that he could meet the execution date...healthy. <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/02/04/ethics.matters/index.html"; target="_blank">True story</a>.
I'll admit that shows how whacked the system is and hope it'll all change.
I saw the trailers. Also saw a "behind the scenes" plug on Sundance or IFC...made my judgement on that. And I'll see it on HBO next year.</strong><hr></blockquote>
What a pathetic waste of a heart. I would roll over in my grave if I knew my heart was given to a Felon on Deathrow.
[quote]<strong>
Actually my statement came after reading about Nash as a young child. Even his parents mentioned that he did not get along with other children and preferred to be alone. I believe he was anti social before the schizophrenia took hold.
</strong><hr></blockquote>
Not that anyone here really cares, but that's actually a prodromal symptom of schizophrenia. Social isolation is often associated with it because these people are just odd from the beginning in some cases. They're a little different than everyone else. It may also be that he was somewhat schziod (preferring being alone to socializing with others). Either way, he was not antisocial. Asocial would be more accurate. Again, I know no one really cares, but...
<strong>hmurchison said:
Not that anyone here really cares, but that's actually a prodromal symptom of schizophrenia. Social isolation is often associated with it because these people are just odd from the beginning in some cases. They're a little different than everyone else. It may also be that he was somewhat schziod (preferring being alone to socializing with others). Either way, he was not antisocial. Asocial would be more accurate. Again, I know no one really cares, but...
Torifile,
I care. Thank you for pointing that out. Psychology is an amazing field...honestly we probably have only scratched the surface.
<strong>The movie is just a left wing commercial for a big government solution to health care. In fact, just about any movie that comes out of leftywood today has a left leaning message that implies government and democrats are good and private businesses, Republicans, and guns are all bad.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Mark,
Try not to Politicize your life, don't let it color your perceptions of everything. I felt the propaganda as well but I chose to ignore it and rather focus on what a loving family would/could/should do in a situation like that. I believe the slant against HMO's will cause a minor backlash in many people. Whatever problems exists are most likely fixable.