Reviews from That Guy Named David:

Sideways (B)

I think that every year since The English Patient won for Best Picture, the so-called critics have singled out one independent film a year and universally proclaimed it as the greatest thing since sliced bread. This year, it appears that Sideways has taken that label from the critics and run with it to numerous Oscar and Golden Globe nominations. Based upon everything I have read and heard, I had really high expectations coming into this movie. As viewers of this site know, I am generally a big fan of the type of movie that Sideways is marketed to be. However, for whatever reason, this movie did not really connect with me. I thought that Paul Giamatti was absolutely perfect in his role as the down-and-out writer/wine connoisseur who, to a fault, values friendship and loyalty to his friend above all else (it's a crime that he is not nominated for Best Actor). But the story seemed fragmented, and I could never really get into the flow of the movie. I recognized the fine performances by Giamatti, Church, and Madsen and think that they will deserve whatever awards they win; however, it was almost as if they were performing in a vacuum without enough of a plot to keep me from thinking about anything other than the fact that they were good acting performances.

Troy (C)

I already saw Gladiator.