[MINI-REVIEW] Love & Mercy

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Paul Dano/John Cusack play Brian Wilson. The Cusack parts are a little heavy handed, with Giamatti and his dad portraying too blatantly "evil" characters, BUT: Other than that, so good that even my Beach Boys-hating wife enjoyed it.

It's a movie not as good as Amadeus, about a musician better than Mozart.

Three and a half (***1/2) stars.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

Wasn't Paul Dano in that one thing you like, hmmm?

Was he better in this or in that?

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He was in There Will Be Blood, yes.

He was great in both, but in L&M, he carries his scenes, so I'd give this performance the nod.

It helps when you're not trying to keep up with Daniel-Day-Hyphen-Slash-Lewis.

[Guest]

It's a movie not as good as Amadeus, about a musician better than Mozart.

Surely you're not saying that Brian Wilson is/was better than Mozart, right?

[Flack]

Fat Boys w/the Beach Boys doing Wipeout.

[youtube][/youtube]

Round one goes to Brian Wilson.

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It's a movie not as good as Amadeus, about a musician better than Mozart.

Surely you're not saying that Brian Wilson is/was better than Mozart, right?

Yes, Guest. That is what I am saying.

[Tdarcos]

It's a movie not as good as Amadeus, about a musician better than Mozart.

Surely you're not saying that Brian Wilson is/was better than Mozart, right?

He is if you like that genre of music better than the genre Mozart worked on.

Also, when Mozart, Beethoven, etc. worked, there wasn't a lot of other entertainment out there. There was no means available to save performances for replay, not even the player piano. Every performance was live. And there wasn't that much out there as most works of art required a patron to sponsor the artist in order for it to be created. Creating music on spec was probably a direct rout to starvation.

In the 20th Century, there are a lot more distractions and more competition for the audience's attention. To be really successful, now, requires a lot more ability to catch the public's attention.

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It's a movie not as good as Amadeus, about a musician better than Mozart.

Surely you're not saying that Brian Wilson is/was better than Mozart, right?

He is if you like that genre of music better than the genre Mozart worked on.

Mozart took what was already going on and did it really, really well. Brian Wilson came up with shit nobody had thought of, and just happened to also make terribly catchy, poignant tunes at the same time.

So regardless of which one you like more, certainly everyone can agree that Brian Wilson kicks Mozart's skinny white ass.

In the 20th Century, there are a lot more distractions and more competition for the audience's attention. To be really successful, now, requires a lot more ability to catch the public's attention.

Okay that had nothing to do with anything, but that's fine.

[Tdarcos]

So regardless of which one you like more, certainly everyone can agree that Brian Wilson kicks Mozart's skinny white ass.

I think that's what I said in the next paragraph.

In the 20th Century, there are a lot more distractions and more competition for the audience's attention. To be really successful, now, requires a lot more ability to catch the public's attention.

Okay that had nothing to do with anything, but that's fine.

I'm saying it was easier to be successful in the time of Beethoven and Mozart. There was less material available. In the 1960s you had to be really good to get noticed because the competition is a lot stiffer.

I just thought of something. The 1980s brings a new meaning to the first two verses of "All summer long."

"Sitting in my car outside your house /
Remember when you spilled Coke all over your blouse?"