Jack Goes Boating

A strange and nice movie. Hoffman does a good job, not much to complain about.

Hoffman proves a competent director. He knows how to portray his characters' traits in a convincing way and he has the enviable ability to pour much sugar and melodrama on us without slipping. His film is quietly quirky, sometimes underplayed and, like P.S.H. the actor, all in all just plain likeable.

Hoffman proves himself a completely capable director, taking a stage play and infusing it with a fantastic cinematic quality to accompany its bittersweet story.

I appreciated this, even if it felt tonally off in the last act. There is such a sharp contrast relationally between these two couples that the climactic scene doesn't quite come off. Each story has merits of its own, and I can appreciate that each of the characters is robust. Amy Ryan is the secret weapon here, though PSH is great as always. It's hard to not think about his personal end as this film concludes, which adds a distinct layer of sadness to what should be a more buoyant conclusion.

The acting here is what makes this film worth talking about. I though the opening had enough quirky moments but that tended to disappear about halfway through. Then the story seemed to end right at the climax. So, story-wise, this felt a little below average, but the core four cast made me want to care about the characters.

Philip Seymour, I love you R.I.P.

I seem to be going with the majority opinion on this one, in that I really enjoyed the first two acts, which I thought were kind of lovely and sweet with great acting (what a wonderful cast) and compelling dialogue and characters, and then the third act goes a bit over the top and melodramatic in its confrontations and denouements and just feels tonally weird and out of place. Hoffman does a decent job, but he doesn't have the chops to pull off that ending without it feeling strange & unpleasant

This is an interesting film with four main characters that all have some quirks. The script is really good and unpredictable. Philip Seymour Hoffman does a great job at both directing and acting in this film. I highly recommend this movie.

Hoffman shows ample generosity toward his powerful co-stars and rewards viewers patient enough to let this startlingly modest and minimal episode play itself out, presenting isolation as a symptom of a kind of performance anxiety we experience in everyday life.

A compellingly odd tone is struck by this low-key, lo-fi romantic drama. Philip Seymour Hoffman's performance is characteristically outstanding, and he does a great job in the director's chair, too. He will be so thoroughly missed.

An unremarkable, but decent directing debut for Philip Seymour Hoffman. The whole romance between Hoffman and Ryan was awkward, which I suppose set itself apart from other romances. And at least everything wasn't happy and golden, they actually had to go through some things that might happen in real life. Hoffman's performance was decent, but not his best, and in fact I felt he was outshined by John Ortiz's performance.

Philip Seymour Hoffman is awkward as fuck. In fact everyone in this movie is awkward as fuck. He seems like a child, getting taught everything to him. He seems to overcome this somewhat in the end. Nothing really happens though. It's a slow, quirky, independent style film. It's a nice debut by Hoffman (although it's not like it's his first time working in the industry, he's learned from the best). Hope he keeps on directing in the future.

Hoffman has a long way too go, but he did manage to create a pleasant atmosphere, and I'm a sucker for all these small feel-good debuts made by well-known actors.

"It's not easy to adapt a stage play to the screen and make it seem like something other than canned theater, a problem directors have dealt with throughout the history of cinema." - Andrew Schenker

28 octubre 2011 - Narració simple i personatges insulsos. Només en salvo alguna imatge. Esperava molt de Hoffman. La seva interpretació és minuciosa encara que el personatge i el guió siguin fluixos.

"Hoffman's actorly sensibility allows the film's best moments, expressed in gestures and non-verbal signifiers...."

A sweet romance, but its tone and characters are too flat and its direction too amateurish for it to have much of an impact.

A quiet, understated, and unsensational romance, setting itself apart from typical Hollywood fare. It can't accurately be described as a rom-com, but the main characters are so awkward and sweet that it inevitably becomes a bit funny. The charm is balanced with moments of bittersweet sentiment, as the movie never loses sight of the pragmatism in the two contrasting relationships, one blooming and another on the verge of ending.

Great directorial debut by Hoffman? Not quite. But it's charming enough.

#11#, story, (reviews), (dir Hoffman), PS Hoffman!

Good.

Script wasn't very much to work with, but Hoffman shouldn't abandon his acting career for directing any time soon. This film is formulaic relationship dramedy and the only thing that makes it unique is the age of its characters and target audience. Sometimes it gets dull, sometimes it's funny or sad, but there is nothing really good about it.

If anything, I am now confident that Hoffman can direct. I would LOVE to see him direct an original, that would be something incredible. Overall, Jack Goes Boating wasn't anything special - but damn if there weren't some absolutely great moments spread throughout. One thing Hoffman was able to do is develop a unique group of characters and, together with solid performances from the actors, make them all completely believable. I look forward to another PSH directing effort.

Holy tragic hero, Batman. A noble effort by PSH, although sadly, not cinematic enough. Granted, it was based on a play, and while the scenes were taught, and the characters compelling, I can only listen to so much well-written dialogue before I long to see some action.

Very slow with some good acting but overall not a fantastic film.