Click here for the review of We Bought a Zoo

SPOILERS must be tagged with the "SPOILER" tag!

Shit! Really should have stuck my guns as far as my guess for this wrong. Honestly though, I'm glad that I was wrong because, like you James, I also admire Cameron Crowe and I'm happy that he was able to bounce back from Elizabethtown. This won't be too high on my list of must-sees but I'm sure I'll check it out at some point.

This was what disappointed me the most with We Bought A Zoo. That blend of edge and sentimentality present in Crowe's best works is absent here; his newest is substantially the latter and very little of the former. As a family-oriented crowd pleaser, it works just fine. But as a Cameron Crowe film, his first in six years, I expected something more memorable. It's good to have him back, but hopefully his future projects will bring more to the table.

... should read edgy "irreverence," not "irrelevance." At least I think that's what James was going for

I appreciate people who read the reviews carefully enough to catch these mistakes. Thanks.

I gotta tell ya, I was looking forward to seeing this.. til I read the review and watched the trailer... now... i can wait for cable...

I always wondered your feelings on these type of "corrections." No one wants this to turn into a mistake-finding war, but before coming to the thread I did notice that the word "founder" in the last paragraph should be, I believe, "flounder."

"founder" (v) - to fill with water and sink.

I used the word I intended to use. That being said, "flounder" would also work in this context.

Can't wait to see this. I have loved every one of Cameron Crowe's movies and yes, that includes the critically maligned Elizabethtown. As far as I'm concerned, he has yet to disappoint and this doesn't look like it'll change that.

Founder works much better.

I absolutely fell in love with this movie! Another home run for Cameron Crowe IMO! I came out of this movie feeling the same way I came out of Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire and Elizabethtown: like a million bucks! It makes feel great! About life and about love and everything. I know that sounds corny, and if this movie is too sappy for some people, I'd understand that. But I found the movie the movie to be profoundly moving! I don't think any other movie I've seen this year has touched me the same way this did. And boy, did this movie end on a perfect note.




3.5 stars for me though there were times when it was bordering on being 4. But I'm sticking to 3.5. It's still my second favorite movie of the year so far, behind War Horse.

I just got back from it, and I agree for the most part... though I didn't love it as much as you did. As with "Elizabethtown," there are definite problems: I felt the film gets off to a rough start and doesn't start to work until about halfway through. Also, the Angus MacFadyen character often feels as though he belongs in another movie. Patrick Fugit also has virtually nothing to do; apparently, seeing that his leading man from "Almost Famous" had fallen on hard times, Crowe decided to give him a higher-profiled gig. This is definitely lesser Crowe, but, like "Elizabethtown," it at least comes from an honest place (unlike "Vanilla Sky," for which I still think he was totally the wrong choice as director... and possibly screenwriter as well ).

I've been a huge Cameron Crowe fan for many years and (I realize I'm in a minority here) I actually liked "Elizabethtown." Far from his best work, to be sure, but I thought it received unfairly negative reviews.

I was wondering, James, if you've ever considered doing a video review for Singles. This is one of my favorite Crowe films and, unfortunately, seems to be his most overlooked, underappreciated movie. It's also the only Crowe film you've never reviewed.

I actually did review the movie, but the review was never published. It was one of those one-paragraph reviews I wrote during 1992 that never made it past my company's internal bbs. I gave it ***; I assume the rating would still hold up today although I haven't seen it in 20 years.