Contentar Best movie of this year hands down!

Teringer An Exercise In Nonsense

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Matho The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Rodrigo Amaro In "Winter Solstice" the Winter family doesn't know how to deal with the loss of the only woman in the house: the wife and mother of two brothers. Anthony LaPaglia is Jim, a widower dealing with some constant changes of his two teenage sons (played by Aaron Stanford and Mark Webber). One of them wants to move to another town because he thinks his life in going nowhere and he wants to find a sense of direction in the world, even if that means leave his girlfriend (Michelle Monaghan) behind. The other one is a self-destructive character whose prior objective is none, attending classes in the high school but not doing much, getting negative grades. In a place where nothing changes, nothing is answered and some situations are infatuating a glow of kindness appears in the form of Molly (Allison Janney) a new neighbor taking care of a house around the Winter family and we as audience are desperately hoping that she and Jim be involved soon. In one of the most awkward and funny moments of the film Jim throws the mattress and pillows of the brothers in the garden forcing them to sleep outside of the house just because they didn't attend in Molly's house for a dinner. He did that by angry, he didn't want to be alone with another woman, after 5 years without knowing another one except his deceased wife.This is another example of the so-called Independent Film book of rules (if there is one actually). Pick some good actors; deliver to them the shortest lines possible to talk on screen; make sure that the soundtrack of your film is an morose acoustic guitar; go film in a small town; and throw lots and lots of slow pace moments without answers, thousands of questions and no ending; and then you got a movie. Good one? Unfortunately no. I've seen a lot of similar films lately and they can only do one thing: make me bored!Despite the efforts of the ensemble casting this movie doesn't inspired me in anything, and it only showed that real life is boring, pointless, with some aggressive moments and no reason at all. In some points the movie worked brilliantly in showing the lack of communication between people, in other moments it was just deplorable, e.g. the moment where Molly wants to return something she borrowed from Jim and the son played by Mark Webber keeps looking strangely at her, not asking questions at her; she's very polite and he and his friend are too much in the defensive. Normal teenagers behave like that? Well, maybe. But that moment was too forced. The atmosphere of boredom is present in all moments except when Allison Janney is in scene but sadly her character doesn't appear too much. And the excessive focus on the teenage characters rather than the adults makes this film a little bit pointless and diminished considering that the pain that LaPaglia's character suffered is more important to the story than the teens grieve. The Winters family doesn't deal with the loss in family. There's no dealing with neighbors and teachers and the girlfriend. I mean that's what happens in real life. People just don't talk and everything is invisible to the eyes of those around who suffer of something. In movies just like literature characters can't use "masks", they need to show his reality to the audience, explain just a little why this is happening to them and why they act of that particular way. Everything was a mystery in Josh Sternfeld's film, nothing moves, people fight but they don't share their love, hopes and fears with no one even with its audience. And that's a problem in terms of screenplay. "Ordinary People" might be more melodramatic and more depressive than this film but at least it goes to somewhere, and we got some answers, and a possible solution. If you're looking for some answers to your life after experiencing something similar it's gonna be just like the Nazi soup in "Seinfeld": "No Soup For You!" 5/10

dtshidle This is one of the most boring movies I have ever seen. I only continued watching it because I was sure it would get to the point. It never did. Its pace is glacial with no apparent redeeming qualities. This is the first review I have written and if it keeps one person from enduring what I did, then I will know my life was not wasted.This is still one of the most boring movies I have ever seen. I only continued watching it because I was sure it would get to the point. It never did. Its pace is glacial with no apparent redeeming qualities. This is the first review I have written and if it keeps one person from enduring what I did, then I will know my life was not wasted.

pc95 Dialogue in this movie very good. It's perceptive, emotional, and somber. Each of the lead characters in the movie are dealing with some sort of emotional stress, and it manifests itself in what is said and actions or non-actions pretty realistically. The romance created was very well handled too...nothing really over-the-top, but rather the pain and anguish the Dad is experiencing from the present and past emphasized. We know it will take time, and so the movie does a great job of inferring to us what will happen. Would've liked to have seen perhaps a little more development with the younger brother, but that's minor. On the whole the movie only runs about 90 min, and its pacing is deliberate, thoughtful, and slow, but its nonetheless a good movie and drama.

radudca I think everyone should see this movie, it is an example of a inexperienced director who dangerously gambled on a script he authored, without consideration for the character differences in personalities and how these differences reflect their emotions. The minimalist direction throughout provided no pacing, no emotional highlights to carry this film along and provide us--the viewer-- with a needed satisfaction that all good movies deliver. There is an excellent story here and it was not developed to the fullest.What contribution Sundance provided besides financial, we the viewer will probably never know. They could have stepped in and provided excellent development ideas. The beginning 10 to 20 scenes could have given us insight into the mother who was the heart and soul of these men's lives. It never happened and the first part of this film suffered because of it. The cinematography was excellent but used mid range scenes almost exclusively, thereby avoiding closeups of the actors and the needed emotional development you can achieve with the more intimate closeup techniques. What contribution to the development of this film Anthony La Paglia provided as the executive producer and experienced actor remains a mystery. A great rewrite of the screenplay in the beginning scenes could have provided a needed lift and more dollars at the box office. I realize the minimalist aficionados will love this film, that is their privilege and no one will change their minds. Still this is a film that could have been a classic.