The beauty of Alexander Payne's work here is that you end up truly caring about all four leads--something that is sadly lacking from most character-driven films. Because they feel like real people rather than caricatures, Payne and Jim Taylor (his...
- 17.September.2010
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- by: travtufts
- travtufts rated this movie
 0/10
The beauty of Alexander Payne's work here is that you end up truly caring about all four leads--something that is sadly lacking from most character-driven films. Because they feel like real people rather than caricatures, Payne and Jim Taylor (his co-screenwriter) are able to get away with wonderful dialogue that would otherwise seem terribly cliché. At one point in the film there is an exquisite pair of soliloquies exchanged between Miles and Maya in which they use their feelings about wine as metaphors to reveal themselves to one another in a dramatic manner. It's a scene that could have easily been tawdry and laughable, but is instead a beautiful example of what is so great about this film.
The movie's pace seems to stutter a bit, and at times it feels like the plot has briefly lost its way, but it only shows how well Payne knows his subject. The film's peaks and lulls expertly mimic those of its protagonist as he scours the California countryside in search of his next glass of wine--a quest that leads to excitable evenings, drunken nights, and groggy mornings. Giamatti and Madsen both deserve Oscar nominations for their work in this film, but Payne deserves recognition for finding the right actors and fueling them to drive the plot without letting his camera get in the way.
- 17.September.2010
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- by: travtufts
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Rather than a love story or a movie about wine, Sideways is most of all the best movie I have seen about real friendship in a very long time. While Tom Churh's Jack is a despicable guy, I can understand why Giamatti's Miles is a friend to him. As...
- 30.June.2010
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- by: Rodney Wollam
- Rodney Wollam rated this movie0/10
Rather than a love story or a movie about wine, Sideways is most of all the best movie I have seen about real friendship in a very long time. While Tom Churh's Jack is a despicable guy, I can understand why Giamatti's Miles is a friend to him. As someone similarly depressed, it's hard to find friends who are loyal and one thing I can say for Jack is he is a loyal friend. 4 Stars.
- 30.June.2010
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- by: Rodney Wollam
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Too away from entertaining
Paul Giamatti is a brilliant actor and however pointless the story, arguably, might have been, he saved the movie. It nevertheless is well shot, has a steady pace and does not pretend to be what it is not: an amazing movie.
- 11.January.2010
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- by: Asif
- Asif rated this movie6/10Okay
Too away from entertaining
Paul Giamatti is a brilliant actor and however pointless the story, arguably, might have been, he saved the movie. It nevertheless is well shot, has a steady pace and does not pretend to be what it is not: an amazing movie.
- 11.January.2010
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- by: Asif
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At the end of this movie my only question is how it could be labeled a comedy. I didn't really laugh once. Yeah, there were a few clever lines here or there, but no real comedy if you get waht I mean. So if you're looking for a laugh out loud fun...
- 31.October.2009
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- by: Genuma
- Genuma rated this movie4/10Disappointing
At the end of this movie my only question is how it could be labeled a comedy. I didn't really laugh once. Yeah, there were a few clever lines here or there, but no real comedy if you get waht I mean. So if you're looking for a laugh out loud fun movie this isn't it. If you want a buddy drama movie about two rapidly aging men then try this out. Now don't get me wrong I love Paul Giamatti, great, talented actor. He was excellent in this as were mostly everyone. Thomas Haden Church though not so much. He plays a totalyy bland character who is only in the movie to cause the events that can even keep the movie moving a little. Sideways drags on and should have cut quite a few scenes. Overall I was dissapointed by this movie. Giamatti's character is frankly a dick and Church is a douchebag. Mildly entertaining but you're probably going to end up with a bigger headache then drinking all the wine in this movie would give you.
- 31.October.2009
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- by: Genuma
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On the surface, the story is relatively simple: two middle-aged men go on a trip through the vineyards of California before one of them gets married. A simple, road trip buddy flick. But in reality, things are much more complicated. The two men,...
- 09.October.2009
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- by: Ethan Clapham
- Ethan Clapham rated this movie7/10Good
On the surface, the story is relatively simple: two middle-aged men go on a trip through the vineyards of California before one of them gets married. A simple, road trip buddy flick. But in reality, things are much more complicated. The two men, Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church, were college roommates. Since then, Giamtti's character has matured in some ways, while Church's character is still a big kid. Giamatti wants a week spent touring vineyards and wineries and playing golf. Church, on the other hand, wants to get laid one last time before getting married the following weekend.
What you end up with are two very competing views on life, and two men trying to come to grips with who they are. Both men have severe character flaws (don't we all?) that they struggle with during the trip. These flaws come out in the worst ways over the course of the week, and Sideways culminates with both men finding some sense of closure with respect to individual issues.
The characters are deep and real. Giamatti gives his usual, an amazing performance that really should have garnered him an Oscar nomination, at the very least. Church and the two supporting ladies, Viginia Madsen and Sandra Oh, were likewise impressive. Sideways was perfectly cast. I can't picture any other actors making these roles feel as believable as this cast did. As deep as the characters felt, the script still managed to flesh them out in incredible detail. By the end of the movie, I felt like I knew both men better than I know many of my friends. I think everyone has a bit of both of these characters in them, even though we might do our best to deny and suppress this fact.
Sideways is both delightfully charming and tragically depressing, all at once.
- 09.October.2009
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- by: Ethan Clapham
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The film is well acted, has good dialogue, and is competently photographed. The film, however, is a character piece, and therein lies the problem: Neither of the two main characters are sympathetic or even interesting. There is a neurotically...
- 08.October.2009
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- by: DukeofOmnium
- DukeofOmnium rated this movie0/10
The film is well acted, has good dialogue, and is competently photographed. The film, however, is a character piece, and therein lies the problem: Neither of the two main characters are sympathetic or even interesting. There is a neurotically depressed wannabe writer who is a wine snob, and a has-been actor who is a shallow philanderer. Other than a throwaway line about being roommates as college freshmen, I can't see any reason for these two to be friends. They don't develop the chemistry you would expect a buddy picture to have (not even superficial macho male bonding). Sandra Oh and Virginia Madsen's characters have much more appeal, but the film centers on the men. The film's pacing is awful. There might have been a more interesting film here if it had been better edited. There isn't much sense of time or place in the film, even with the title cards ("Monday", "Tuesday", etc). The really strange thing is, for a movie in which wine is such a strong plot point, you never a see a character getting drunk or even tipsy. Must be that magical non-alcoholic wine.
- 08.October.2009
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- by: DukeofOmnium
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My wife and I hated this movie with a passion. We found it to be extremely boring and dull. The actors' acting was horrible. We never managed to understand the plot. We believe in monogamy both before and after marriage, so him wanting to have a...
- 22.May.2009
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- by: Dawson Allen
- Dawson Allen rated this movie2/10Bad
My wife and I hated this movie with a passion. We found it to be extremely boring and dull. The actors' acting was horrible. We never managed to understand the plot. We believe in monogamy both before and after marriage, so him wanting to have a final fling before saying "I Do" was just like us watching him "cheat" on his mate to be. UGH@!
- 22.May.2009
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- by: Dawson Allen
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Academy Award??? Not that this ever means anything anyway, but that hype over this movie is shocking. I found it banal, depressing and dull. Sideways left me feeling as if I was watching it with a huge hangover.....Not good.
- 23.March.2009
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- by: slipknotnyc
- slipknotnyc rated this movie2/10Bad
Academy Award??? Not that this ever means anything anyway, but that hype over this movie is shocking. I found it banal, depressing and dull. Sideways left me feeling as if I was watching it with a huge hangover.....Not good.
- 23.March.2009
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- by: slipknotnyc
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There has been a lot of hype around Sideways, especially after it got an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay and being nominated in other categories including Best Picture. I thought the movie as a whole was good, but many parts of the movie were...
- 23.March.2009
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- by: Jason
- Jason rated this movie
 8/10Great
There has been a lot of hype around Sideways, especially after it got an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay and being nominated in other categories including Best Picture. I thought the movie as a whole was good, but many parts of the movie were great. Sideways is about two friends, Jack (Thomas Haden Church) and Miles (Paul Giamatti) that take a trip into the California wine country to celebrate Jack's last week of bachelorhood. Miles, a wine connoisseur, intends on it being an innocent trip while enjoying the taste of great wine, but Jack has more carnal ideas and tries to get Miles to join in his plans.
What most impressed me in this film, was the depth and development of the characters and the juxtaposition of Miles and Jack. Church and Giamatti do excellent jobs portraying and executing their characters. There is also a hefty amount of realism in this movie that has a lot to do with disappointment, which I thought was done well without depressing the heck out the audience. I also have to note that there was a really cool camera effect done in a scene where Miles is very drunk and calls his ex-wife. The camera kept going in and out of focus and switching different angles at random. It sounds easy and simple, but I've never seen it done that well and effective. So, why did I not rate this higher? This movie didn't ever capture me, like most Oscar-caliber films do. In fact, when the movie was over, I didn't have much to say about it and was wondering what the movie was really all about.
- 23.March.2009
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- by: Jason
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Payne continues his winning streak! Sideways is a great film, but possibly the lesser of his works. While it does successfully explore the relationship of grown male friends (actually an under-explored relationship in film, aside from buddy flicks,...
- 20.March.2009
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- by: sethdellinger
- sethdellinger rated this movie0/10
Payne continues his winning streak! Sideways is a great film, but possibly the lesser of his works. While it does successfully explore the relationship of grown male friends (actually an under-explored relationship in film, aside from buddy flicks, which are wholly unexporable), which is a unique and fresh territory for Payne. However, that means it also has limitations. The film is far from flat, and it IS probing, but in Payne's canon, it falls short of the inter-personal epic we have becaome accustomed to. All told, a fantastic, completely fulfilling film.
- 20.March.2009
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- by: sethdellinger
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