Bara 11 av 118 filmkritiker gillar inte Kristen i WTTR


Only 11 Film critics out 119 don't like Kristen's performance in Welcome To The Rileys


Kristen Stewart was cast in Welcome to the Rileys before the Twilight movies became a cultural phenomenon. (As was the case of The Runaways and also with Walter Salles' upcoming On the Road.)

She was just 18 and still without finish her participation in the filming of Welcome To The Rileys, when she had to leave the set of filming to do the promo tour for the first installment of the Twilight series. After weeks she returned for wrap up the filming but her world had been changed completely... The "Twilight Tsunami" had placed her in the middle of a big frenzy to which she certainly was not prepared psychologically.

Suddenly she was over exposed 24 hours a day, having dozen of paparazzi urging her take an angry posture, people bullying her like Perez Hilton, thousands of teenagers and also grown ups fighting over her, people from the entertainment and gossip business standardizing her without know her well or to have watched her body of work and from the Business itself, analysing all, each breath she took, each action and each word. She became a phenomenon herself! A brutal example of "over exposure"! If you put the name "Kristen Stewart" in the Google, you will have 26.600.000 results! She lost the human right of grow up as a person and an actress before became an selfconscious adult and consecrated actress at the public eyes.

People like Nathalie Portman, Annette Benning, Hilary Swank, Michelle Williams between others, in the last two THR roundtables with the actresses, said that they thank God everyday for have had time to grow up as a person and as an artist, mostly away from the public eyes! No one born perfect in any way!

You will see below that this "over exposure" certainly interfered in the analyse of some reviewers.

Rotten Tomatoes (RT) had 60 reviews, MetaCritic (MC) had 29 reviews, Movie Review Intelligence (MRI) had 29 reviews and the Movie Review Query Engine (MRQE) had 40 reviews but some reviews are represented in the two or three or four of them, so in the end, we have much less than 158 reviews but there are also a lot of reviews that neither of these sites listed. In the end, we found 118 reviews from professional film critics, included 38 so call Top Critics).

P - Positive review (97 reviews)
P/N - Mixed review or not gave opinion or is indifferent (10 reviews)
N - Negative review (11 reviews)

The first lesson that we learned about film critics reviews was: Doesn't matter how well the film was reviewed or how well it did in the box office, the review for the actor's performances is independent. So... You can't judge an actor's performance just looking the scores of the movie in sites like RT, MC, MRI or MRQE. You have to read all!

Lets start!


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Skrivet av: Jossan

Recension på Welcome To The Rileys


Welcome to the Rileys

DRAMA
Jake Scott, USA, 2010 (110 min)
BERGAKUNGEN

För det medelålders paret Doug och Lois Riley, spelade av James Gandolfini och Melissa Leo, slogs livet i spillror när deras 15-åriga dotter dog.
På en konferens, i New Orleans, träffar Doug den prostituerade flickan Mallory (Kristen Stewart). Doug beslutar sig för att försöka hjälpa henne till ett bättre liv. Samtidigt, hemma i Indianapolis, sitter den psykiskt sargade Lois och väntar på att maken skall komma hem.
Ett äktenskap i kris-scenerna mellan Gandolfini och Leo övertygar i Jake Scotts lågmält berättade film. Däremot lider filmen av stigande trovärdighetsproblem i skildringen av den märkliga vänskap som uppstår mellan Doug och Mallory.

Recenserat av Mats Johnson.


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Skrivet av:  Hanna

Recension på WTTR av HD.se

Svajande manuskonstruktion


BIO. "
Welcome to the Rileys" sänder tydliga "amerikansk independentfilm"-film signaler, även om man inte ska bedra sig: regissören Jake Scott backas upp av pappa Ridley Scott och farbror Tony på produktionssidan.

Hur som helst förstår vi snabbt, att här handlar det om vanliga människor och deras relationer, kriser och vardag.
Anslaget är lätt teatralt, berättelsen rejält tillspetsad. Två av huvudrollerna spelas av riktiga skådespelare, kända sådana, men de är ändå inte filmstjärnor som ängsligt vårdar sitt varumärke. Och deras prestationer ska läggas på filmens pluskonto.

Paret som handlingen kretsar kring, Lois och Doug Riley, spelade alltså av Melissa Leo, som var fantastisk i "Frozen river" häromåret, och James Gandolfini alias Tony Soprano. Sedan deras dotter tragiskt dog håller sorgen hela deras liv i ett järngrepp. Lois torgskräck begränsar henne till en snäv bana runt förortsvillan i New Jersey, och hon håller i sin tur Doug som i en lina runt sig.

Allt förändras när Doug gör en utbrytning och åker på affärsresa till New Orleans. På en klubb träffar han den unga Mallory (Kristen Stewart från Twilight-filmerna), som rymt hemifrån och lever på att strippa och prostituera sig.

Trots att filmen på ett motsägelsefullt sätt högexponerar Mallorys kroppsliga företräden, är det fadershjärtat som vaknar hos Doug. Han blir mer eller mindre ett plåster på flickan, flyttar in i hennes unkna lägenhet och börjar renovera både det som rör sig och det som inte gör det. Att Mallory spjärnar emot gör honom bara ihärdigare.

Hur rörande Dougs enorma behov av att få vårda än är, så är hans beteende och hela situationen för underlig för att det ska gå att svälja.

Han verkar faktiskt lite sjuk i huvudet på ett sätt som inte bara kan komma ur sorg. Det blir inte mindre konstigt när Lois tar sig ur sin egensnickrade bur och ansluter sig.

Manuskonstruktionen är så tydlig att den gnager sönder all inlevelse. Inget blir bättre av ett symbolspråk som ställer det blodfulla New Orleans mot ett nordligt präktigt suburbia, och på ett ytterligt grumligt sätt speglar den trasiga Mallorys utåtagerande sexualitet i Lois pryda moderlighet.

Regi: Jake Scott
I rollistan: James Gandolfini, Melissa Leo, Kristen Stewart.
Längd: 1 tim, 50 min.
Röda Kvarn, Helsingborg
Betyg: 2

Recenserat av Malin Krutmeijer.



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Sydsvenskan recension - WTTR


Welcome To The Rileys

Genre: drama
Regi: Jake Scott
Skådespelare: James Gandolfini, Kristen Stewart, Melissa Leo
Land: USA
Utkom år: 2010
Betyg: 3/5

Krisande Rileys inte djärv nog


Från den kyska Bella i Twilight-serien till en storsvärande minderårig strippa och prostituerad i New Orleans är steget stort. Till det mest sevärda i Jake Scotts regidebut hör just att möta Kristen Stewart i ett helt annat rollfack. Något mångbottnat, djuppsykologiskt porträtt gör hon visserligen inte, men hennes Mallory fungerar ändå i spelet mot Gandolfinis krisande man, vars äktenskap helt gått i stå efter en tonårsdotters död. Han möter Mallory under ett industrikonvent, faderskänslorna lever upp och han bestämmer sig för att inte återvända till den känslomässigt djupfrysta hustrun (Melissa Leo). Det leder i sin tur till att hon väcks ur passiviteten. Trots ett sympatiskt, lågmält spel och en bra, trovärdig miljöskildring kvarstår intrycket av konstruktion. Det förstärks i slutet, då historien måste knytas ihop. En öppen final hade visserligen varit känslomässigt mer påfrestande för publiken. Här väljer manusförfattaren i stället en medelväg, som inte utmanar. Lite mer djärvhet krävs om man vill väcka engagemang.


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Svensk recension av Welcome to the Rileys

Den svenska hemsidan Sourze har recenserat Welcome to the Rileys efter att ha sett den på Stockholms Film Festival. Filmen har fått lite blandade recensioner i USA, dock för det mesta positiva, så det är kul att se att den går hem även i Sverige!


Welcome to the Rileys - drama utan moralpredikningar


Welcome to the Rileys är ett lågmält men starkt drama om att tappa bort och hitta varandra, att våga ta "a leap of faith" och att slänga bort allt känslomässigt skräp vi bär omkring på.
Betyg: VG
Titel: Welcome to the Rileys
Genre: Drama
Regi: Jake Scott
Manus: Ken Hixon 
Musik: Marc Streitenfeld
Medverkande: James Gandolfini, Melissa Leo, Kristen Stewart, David Jensen m.fl.
Speltid: 110 min

Ända sedan Doug (James Gandolfini) och Louis (Melissa Leo) tonårsdotter omkom i en bilolycka för åtta år sedan, har paret glidit ifrån varandra. Ett äktenskap på 30 år på väg mot sin undergång. Louis lider av panikattacker och har inte lämnat huset på åtta år. Doug, å andra sidan, klarar inte av att vara hemma. När han en dag besöker sin dotters grav och ser att Louis beställt en gravsten åt dem också, med namn och födelsedatum ingraverade, får han nog.

"Jag är inte död än" konstaterar han till Louis och beger sig till New Orleans på en affärsresa. Där träffar han 16-åriga Mallory (Kirsten Stewart), som jobbar på en lokal stripklubb. Hon väcker faderskänslor hos honom och han beslutar sig för att stanna kvar i Louisiana på obestämd tid, vilket får Louis att trotsa sina sociala fobier och även hon bege sig söderöver...

Gandolfini personifierar den deprimerade Doug, som känner betydigt mer än han får utlopp för, och framförallt när Mallory lockar fram livslusten hos honom igen - är hans gestaltning som bäst.

Kirsten Stewart som envist förknippas med Twilight-filmerna kan betydligt mer än så, vilket hon redan visat i bland annat "Into the Wild". Scenerna mellan hennes skadeskjutna rollfigur Mallory och Gandolfinis sökande Doug är i sig en anledning att se den här filmen.

Fast vi ska inte glömma Melissa Leo. För svenska tv-tittare syntes hon senaste som John Goodmans fru i tv-serien "Treme" (även den utspelar sig i New Orleans). Louis skulle ganska lätt kunna bli en riktigt påfrestande rollfigur, ett emotionellt kontrollfreak ut i fingerspetsarna. Leo gör henne mänsklig och spelar henne med betydligt mer humor än man skulle kunna tro.

Mallory är den person som det är svårast att få grepp om, men så handlar Jake Scotts drama trots allt inte om henne, utan hon blir en bakgrund mot vilken Dougs och Louis äktenskap utspelas.

Tack och lov levererar inte Scott några moralpredikningar på slutet, det finns tillförsikt och mycket att fundera på när ridån går ner. Med andra ord, ett festivaldrama när det är som bäst.


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Skrivet av: Jossan

"Welcome to the Rileys" recension av E!Online

Kristen Stewart Shows Serious Acting:

Review in a Hurry: Sad-sack plumbing contractor Doug (James Gandolfini) has been having an affair with a waitress ever since his daughter died. But when the waitress suddenly dies too, he's off to a New Orleans convention, where he finds hooker/stripper Mallory (Kristen Stewart) and decides to play father figure. Standard enough stuff, but what makes the movie better than average are the antics of Doug's agoraphobic wife Lois (Melissa Leo) back home.
The Bigger Picture: "Kristen Stewart as a hooker, directed by the son of Ridley Scott" sounds like a Hollywood pitch any studio would buy, and it may well lure copious amounts of lustful lads into the theater. They might be disappointed (Stewart wears skimpy outfits, but that's as far as that goes), or they could come out realizing that, hey, movies with well-drawn characters who don't do much except repair personal relationships...those can be kinda cool, too.

Needless to say, director Jake Scott is no copycat of either his dad or his uncle Tony. Settings are realistic, takes are long, attention spans are rewarded...he'd better be careful, or the family might disown him. Gandolfini, playing a character from Indiana, is saddled with an unfortunate Southern accent, as occasionally happens when a director not from this country isn't up on U.S. regional nuances. But though it doesn't exactly improve as the movie goes on, it becomes more innocuous as the actor commits.

As a runaway-turned-sex-worker, Stewart gives the kind of raw performance those of us who'd practically fallen asleep during her comatose Twilight line readings forgot she was capable of. Perhaps her experience as a child actor was fraught with equivalent perils, but whatever she's tapping into here, it clearly hits her nerves, and ours.

While she and Gandolfini are the bigger-name stars here, it's the film's "B plot" that really delights. Melissa Leo's Lois, grieving in a totally different way than Doug, hasn't left the house since their daughter died, but when she must choose between her husband and her fears, a nicely wacky journey ensues. The scene where she tries to figure out the various electrical devices in a modern car is a brilliant bit of subtle physical comedy, and should ring true to anyone who's ever gone from a stick shift to a more updated vehicle without adequate preparation.

The 180—a Second Opinion: Seriously, that accent on Gandolfini—or any fake accent on Gandolfini, come to think of it—just a bad, bad idea.

Grade: B+


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Skrivet av: Hanna

Austin Film Festival recension: WTTR


Austin Film Festival 2010 Review: Welcome to the Rileys
Rating: 3/5
Writer: Ken Hixon
Director: Jake Scott
Cast: James Gandolfini, Kristen Stewart, Melissa Leo 

Sometimes, when circumstance meets opportunity at just the right time in someone's life they might be inclined to do something unexpected... crazy even. The more severe the circumstance, the more probable the action will be all the more drastic when that opportunity presents itself. Often, the act of doing the unexpected leads to adventure: your old life is postponed, situations you would have never found yourself in present themselves, and relationships you never would have formed (and maybe never should have) become profound.

When Doug Riley (James Gandolfini) and Mallory (Kristen Stewart) meet at a seedy strip club just off the French Quarter, Doug has just embarked on the cathartic adventure on which Welcome to the Rileys is based, but Mallory just sees him as another mark. After Doug escapes to the champagne room, narrowly avoiding a group of generic businessmen from the convention he's supposed to be attending, he rejects the persistent Mallory who just wants to turn a trick and go back to the stage. She thinks he's a cop (and I would too, really) and storms out, only to have a chance encounter again with the troubled Mr. Riley at a local diner. Their friendship is fast-forming albeit somewhat peculiar given their differences, but the unlikeliness of these two meeting has an underlying sweetness found in the instant recognition of two damaged souls that have just found one another on an otherwise lonely night.

For most of us, the adventure would have ended there. But Doug Riley and his wife Lois (Melissa Leo) are living with a dark tragedy in their hearts – a tragedy that thankfully most of us will never have to endure. Their fifteen year-old daughter Emily was killed in a severe car crash... and the two understandably haven't been the same since. Doug is having an affair when we first meet him, and Lois glides around their house like she's part wife, part ghost. At first glance, their relationship seems perfectly normal given the fact that they've been married thirty years, but we slowly learn that the Rileys are suffering, and suffering deeply at that.


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IndiWire - Recension på Welcome to the Rileys


Better than "Twilight": Kristen Stewart in "Welcome to the Rileys"
by Eric Kohn

Kristen Stewart's status as the mopey face of gothic teenage angst in the "Twilight" franchise has easily overpowered the other achievements of her brief career. At age twenty, she has appeared in a number of thematically advanced character studies ("Adventureland" among them), suggesting the antithesis to the murky innuendo and hackneyed drama of the big screen vampire craze. More often than not, the "Twilight" movies downgrade Stewart's talent from credible understatement to a plastic vision of post-adolescent frustration. In "Welcome to the Rileys," the second feature from music video director Jake Scott, Stewart delivers the legitimate version of that archetype with a role that rejects commercial standards: She plays a 16-year-old stripper.

In "Rileys," Stewart's baby-faced appearance is a storytelling device. The disconnect between her adult sensuality and childish looks elicits the sympathies of Doug (James Gandolfini), a depressed business man equally reeling from the death of his daughter in an automobile accident eight years earlier and the more recent passing of his mistress. On a business trip to New Orleans, Doug encounters Mallory (Stewart) in a strip club and follows her into a back room to avoid getting noticed by his peers. Mallory makes a few under-the-table advances toward Doug that reveal her true profession. Like anyone perturbed by the juvenile sexual prowess of the characters in "Twilight," Mallory's potential client recoils at the advancements of an underage girl in her skivvies.

Despite his emotional hang-ups, Doug's latent parenting skills suddenly kick in, providing an excuse to escape his stale marriage to the similarly glum Lois (Melissa Leo). In short order, he crashes at Mallory's deteriorating apartment, pays her daily rent and aims to reform her life. The mission is simultaneously heartwarming and creepy.

Growing increasingly fixated on rectifying Mallory's smutty existence, Doug's true motive involves his attempt to create a ghostly alternative version of his own broken family life. "I feel like I landed on Mars," he says after a few days of his new arrangement, and the setting does have an otherworldly quality compared to the suburban home he left behind.

Needless to say, this isn't just the Kristen Stewart show. A full 180-degrees from Tony Soproano territory, Gandolfini expresses an even greater fragility than the teen his character strives to protect. His face, a frozen scowl, expresses everything his words never can. An early scene finds Doug strolling through the cemetery, drifting from the tombstones of acquaintances and family and unexpectedly coming upon his own name, prematurely placed by his wife. With a subtle shrug, Gandolfini enunciates the movie's ongoing meditation on grief and morality.

Still, Ken Hixon's screenplay gives Stewart the raunchy spotlight. Here, the boundaries of Stewart's onscreen capabilities face the ultimate test. Her explicit one-liners sometimes ruin the narrative spell, dragging the story down to "Showgirls"-level campiness. "God, did somebody open a can of tuna?" she chuckles after yanking a dollar bill out of her crotch while Doug drives her home from turning tricks. Seeing his disdain, she responds, "I bet your balls smell like apple fritters, right?" Stewart can get angry and aggressive, but the moment she goes lewd, something seems fishy—and it's not the money. These weaker outbursts are counteracted by the believably jaded Mallory rolling her eyes at Doug's paternal support rather than lifting her skirt.

In contrast to her exuberance, "Rileys" sports a contained, somber mood epitomized by Leo's character. When Lois follows Doug's trail and discovers his newfound mission, she immediately comprehends the problem. "That is not our child," she says. So begins the next stage of his unorthodox therapy, in which he reemerges from his fantasy and figures out how to get along with the family that remains alive. The trajectory may sound unoriginal and slight, and it certainly fits that description on paper. But the leisurely pace and assured performances add a welcome layer of naturalism when they could have easily deteriorated into sentimental mush.

Satisfyingly moving if not particularly groundbreaking, "Rileys" was one of two Stewart vehicles at Sundance this year. The other, a loud, messy Joan Jett biopic called "The Runaways," implied Stewart had lost the capacity for serious dramatic roles. "Rileys" counteracted that presumption, proving that the actress does her best work when toning it down, not turning it up.


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Skrivet av: Jossan

WTTR recension av The Film Stage


Welcome to the Rileys isn't as creepy or as smaltzy as it could have been. The script, if handled inappropriately or in a blunt manner could have led to a horrendous Hallmark movie. But due to subdued and patient direction from Jake Scott and a trio of terrific performances, Welcome to the Rileys is a film filled with well-earned heart. 

Doug (James Gandolfini) and Lois Riley's (Melissa Leo) marriage is falling apart. After the death of their teenage daughter, their marriage has grown colder and colder. Both are isolated in their own saddened worlds. Doug is having an affair, while Lois lives a trapped life never leaving their Atlanta home. After the death of Doug's mistress, who's the only bright spot of his already isolated life, he gets the opportunity to go on a business trip to New Orleans. This setting being a perfect representation of the three central characters – where he'll get to make another world for himself when he meets the teenage stripper (and prostitute) Mallory (Kristen Stewart). 

The relationship that's formed between Doug and Mallory could have been creepy or a sign of major delusions from Doug, but it's handled with a surprising amount of warmth and understanding. It's obvious that he sees his lost daughter in Mallory and it's not played as if he's trying to replace her, but rather getting a taste of something he once had and cherished: being a father. Mallory represents the perfect (and subconscious) scapegoat for Doug. With his mistress now gone, which also wasn't done in a sleazy fashion, he ended up being pulled back to Lois. With Mallory, he once again tries to leave the reality that includes Lois and his dead daughter.

Not too long after a steady relationship between Doug and Mallory is made, Lois shows up. Lois comes out of an urge to rekindle their relationship and to indulge in a spontaneous act to feel alive again. Once there, the affection Doug and Lois once had for each other reappears. Mallory both makes them feel like parents again. While the bond that Lois forms with Mallory does feel a bit rushed at first, it's understandable why she would grow so fond. It's not as well developed as Doug and Mallory's relationship but overall, it's still believable.

Gandolfini and Leo are perfect when it comes to Doug and Mallory. Gandolfini brings back that sweetness and vulnerability he showcased in Where the Wild Things Are, making Doug into one of the most empathetic characters of the year. It's heartbreaking when you see Doug in a moment of sadness. The same goes for Leo, who carries a somber tone with her throughout most of the film. They're both tragic figures that have a similarly tragic girl bring a sense of hope to their lives. Mallory is similar to Doug and Mallory, but her emotions are more furious and uncontrollable. Stewart holds her own with Gandolfini and Leo once again proving when she's outside of the Twilight universe, she's capable of so much more.

Despite its bleaker moments, Scott has made a film about hope and the ending is only further proof. The wrap-up may feel a bit like a perfectly tied bow, but Scott makes sure to remind us that even though their lives will most likely go on happily, there will still be moments of pain. Welcome to the Rileys is a film about the tragedies and joys of life, and an excellent one at that.

8.5 out of 10

Welcome to the Rileys opens in theaters on October 29th.


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En till WTTR recension


Kristin [Kristen] Stewart is continuing on her crusade to try and distance herself from the Twilight series, and establish herself as a serious actress. Last year she did it with Adventureland, and this year, she had a couple more serious films at Sundance. In one, she plays Joan Jett, and in it has a lesbian love scene with Dakota Fanning. In the other, Welcome to the Rileys, she plays a 16 year old, runaway, making ends meet in New Orleans as a part-time exotic dancer, and part-prostitute. Okay, we get it Kristin, you’re a serious actress. Fortunately, she has some great company in Rileys that makes her look pretty good.

This film comes from director Jake Scott. Scott has done some TV stuff, but most notably, he’s directed music videos for Radiohead, Tori Amos, REM, and The Cranberries. The story is written by Ken Hixon, who hasn’t written anything since the 2002 De Niro film, City by the Sea. When summarized, the story sounds awfully cliched. James Gandolfini plays Doug Riley, a successful business owner who’s married to a literal shut-in played by Melissa Leo. She hasn’t left the house since her daughter died in a car wreck four years ago. In an attempt at a normal relationship, Doug starts sleeping with a diner waitress, who dies at the beginning of the movie. 

During a business trip to New Orleans, Doug comes across Mallory (Stewart), who looks quite a bit like his deceased daughter, and clearly needs help. He moves in with her. He takes the energies formerly focused on his affair, and redirects it on her. This prompts the shut-in mother to drive down to the Big Easy, where she ends up moving in with the two, and they become a makeshift family, teaching each other to heal.

Yes, it’s about as cliched as you get. Fortunately, there are some fantastic parts of the film. Leo’s performance is outrageously good. Usually stuck in heavy-handed crime dramas (Homicide, Frozen River), she was free to showcase her perfect comedic timing. I’m not being overly superlative to say that she was the best part of the show.

Next comes Stewart, whom I love to hate. I’m not sure why. But this is the first film that I’ve seen her in where I felt like she wasn’t playing herself. She really made an impression and if this is the sort of stuff we can expect out of her, I’ll soon be a fan.

Then there was Gandolfini, who can’t do a southern accent to save his live. The script had fun making him a puritanical sort, which made his speech to Mallory about not using the f-word just SO hilarious since we all know him as Tony Soprano. Yes, the irony is that in-your-face. This is certainly standard Sundance fare, especially considering the ending, which is the same as several festival films this year. However, after a slow start, it picks up quite nicely. It’s definitely above average, and is both charmingly funny, and will tug at your heartstrings.

Score:
7.5/10

Pros:
Great supporting performances
Plenty of authentic laughs

Cons:
Somewhat conventional
The script is weak at parts

Welcome to the Rileys will received a limited release in North American October 29th, 2010


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Skrivet av: Jossan

Recension på Welcome to the Rileys


Welcome To The Rileys: Kristen Stewart Into Baring Not Biting Flesh

One of the most emotionally eloquent moments in Tyler Perry's For Colored Girls, is when a grieving mother who's lost her children cries out in despair, 'God didn't save my babies.' To which another character replies, 'Then save some other women's babies.' This key episode in excavating human hope when there's not much around, more than makes its point but never follows through. Welcome To The Rileys on the other hand, assumes the burden of that mission in the extreme, and however unlikely. James Gandolfini drops his tough guy Sopranos persona and gets in touch with his sensitive side in Welcome To The Rileys as Doug, a suburban Indiana plumber running a successful equipment business. He's also trying to move on with his life as best he can after the death of his only child, while keeping looming midlife crisis at bay. Unlike Doug's withdrawn, chronically depressed wife Lois (Melissa Leo) who still fusses over their departed daughter's room as if she's still around, and has even made the couple's reservations so to speak, much to his dismay, at the local cemetery for internment next to their child's grave.

Doug's frustrating, seemingly borderline terminal existence gets turned around during a plumber's convention down in New Orleans one night, when he heads off to a low end strip bar to drink away painful memories. But he's cornered instead by sexually aggressive combo stripper/lap dancer and underage incidental hooker Mallory (Kristen Stewart) and spurns her relentless flirty advances.

When Doug runs into Mallory the next day by chance, he's soon moving into her life as father figure to a surrogate daughter as substitute for the one he's lost whether she likes it or not, and she mostly doesn't. And after Lois' wayward spouse announces he's not returning home anytime soon, she somehow overcomes her self-imposed physical isolation from the world. And impulsively heads off to join him in a quite thankless and most unwelcome parenting endeavor, targeting a fiercely resistant Mallory.

Welcome To The Rileys is the feature film debut of Ridley Scott offspring, Jake. And with Jake Scott's embrace of psychologically driven, muted dramatic momentum over action, he's evidently not a chip off the old block.

But while the pacing often sags, Stewart and her radical transition along with impressively expanding range from Twilight's moping teen to abrasive, profoundly damaged rude womanchild, effectively picks up the slack. As she settles into a sleazy routine that seems just as relaxed hanging around infatuated vampires, as glued to stripper poles and pasties. Though a testosterone stifled Gandolfini appears somewhat less comfortable in his own extreme switchup from wise guy to relative wimp, and assigned here to deferring to Stewart as the no-nonsense sassy chick in charge.

Samuel Goldwyn Films
Rated R
2 1/2 stars


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En "Welcome to the Rileys" recension av Rotten Tomatoes



Welcome to the Rileys
, to its credit, doesn't conform to narrative expectations. It's a drama, but a drama on the edge of utter destruction. Kristen Stewart is Allison ... or Mallory, depending on the scene (trust me, this makes sense). She's an exotic dancer in New Orleans, she meets James Gandolfini (who is on a business trip), and we're off from there. 

James Gandolfini (as Doug Riley) is a damaged man. His wife, played by Melissa Leo, is a damaged woman. And of course Kristen Stewart's Allison is not exactly emotionally stable. As such, the interplay between the relationships involved is fraught with peril. It makes for an engaging, if tense, viewing experience.

On the acting front, Stewart is a live wire throughout the near two-hour running time presented here. She comes off like a rabid dog, completely unpredictable; it's easy to see why directors see so much potential in her work. She's great here. Gandolfini is also excellent, he continues to pick tremendous scripts (his work in In the Loop was also exceptional). 

The intriguing part about Welcome to the Rileys is the innovation level of the story itself. It's not about New Orleans, it's not about strippers, it's not about any one thing in particular, though the broad themes of personal responsibility, grief, and trust are certainly broached. Each scene involves heavy doses of dialogue, but heavy doses of silence and body language, too. It's a patient and deliberate effort out of director Jake Scott and it portends well for his career. Mr. Scott clearly has a deft touch, something that will serve him well should he choose to continue in the genre of indie/dramatic work. 

My only knock on Welcome to the Rileys? It's probably too subtle a work to really stick with viewers. The dialogue and settings are so natural that they don't lodge in your memory for long afterward. But you could do far worse. See it for Stewart's electric performance, Galdolfini's papa bear strength, or to scout an up-and-coming director in Jake Scott. If it makes it to a theater near you, give Welcome to the Rileys a few hours of your life. We'll meet back here to discuss.

Grade: B


Skrivet av: Hanna

Kristen Stewart stjäl showen i The Runaways


Film of the Week: Twilight star shows she can do gothic and gritty as Joan Jett

Music director Floria Sigismondi's first feature The Runaways is an exuberant and entertaining look at the creation of the trailblazing 1970s all-girl rock band of the same name.

Despite being born long after The Runaways split up, the film should still appeal to one of its key audiences - teenage girls - not least because of the casting of the Twilight stars Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning.

Stewart and Fanning play guitarist Joan Jett and lead singer Cherie Currie respectively. A scene in which the two young actresses kiss has already boosted the film's promotional campaign.

The Runaways focuses on Currie - the film is loosely based on her 1989 memoir, Neon Angel: The Cherie Currie Story - as the vulnerable, jailbait junkie teen whose downfall forms the central thread of the story. But it is Stewart, as the kohl-eyed Jett, who steals the show - proving that she can do sullen and gothic without coming across as bland. Until now Stewart was best-known for playing Twilight's troubled teenager Bella. But her breakout performance in The Runaways has been widely praised and hailed as a shrewd choice. Serious and self-confident, the role of Jett should ensure that Stewart is no longer typecast as a pale, insipid virgin.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING:

AO Scott, the New York Times: "Ms Stewart, watchful and unassuming, gives the movie its spine and soul. Cherie may dazzle and appall you, but Joan is the one you root for, and the one rock 'n' roll fans of every gender and generation will identify with."

Dennis Harvey, Variety: "Though sometimes her usual neurotic tics distract, Twilight's Stewart is a good fit for the tough but good-natured Jett, who carried on as frontwoman after Currie left, then launched a far more successful solo career."

Betsy Sharkey, the Los Angeles Times: "The good news is that Stewart is absolutely spot on as Jett... Fanning, unfortunately, is absolutely wrong as Cherie. Fifteen when the film was being shot, in a bustier and fishnets and heavy makeup, she looks like an innocent lured off Hollywood Boulevard for child porn, not the growling sex machine that - at least on stage - Currie was."

Tom Huddlestone, Time Out: "Perhaps owing to Sigismondi's lack of long-form experience, it never comes together. Isolated scenes look stunning but The Runaways never establishes a consistent mood, hopping from rebellious exuberance to doom-laden music industry critique." (3/5 stars)

Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter: "The film steers pretty clear of the more salacious side to the Runaways' reality. It doesn't linger long on the two teens' sexuality, expressed with both sexes and with each other. Instead, Sigismondi rushes back onstage for another performance or plays Runaways music over the film's many montages."


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Metro Frankrike recenserar The Runaways & WTTR


The Twilight Saga's heroine embodies deeper characters in The Runaways and Welcome to the Rileys.

Before playing Twilight's Bella, Kristen Stewart was seen in Sean Penn's Into the Wild.
Since then, vampires came along. Even if Stewart didn't make the trip to Deauville, two of her films are there to testify that she has found the "wild"! First, by embodying Joan Jett in 'The Runaways', Floria Sigismondi's first movie.
Guitar in hand and with black eyes, she formed a fierce and ultrasexy duo Dakota Fanning, contributing greatly to the joyful energy of this really rock'n'roll movie that has an explosive soundtrack.

Radical change with Welcome to the Rileys, film of redemption signed Jake Scott. Kristen plays Mallory, a stripper-prostitute-runaway 17 years old girl.
As convincing as ever, Kristen swears and smokes like a sailor; with her messed up mascara and torn fishnet stockings, we wouldn't expect that she would still look good in old jeans and t-shirt. Not only is there a life after Twilight for her, but best is yet to come for the 20 years old actress.'


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En recension av Welcome To The Rileys

Här är en recension på Welcome To The Rileys av Thomas Caldwell för Melbourne Film Festivalen.



I went to see Welcome to the Rileys mainly because of James Gandolfini and he certainly gives a fine performance as a man who is still coming to terms with the death of his teenage daughter. He befriends and takes is upon himself to look after an underage stripper played by Kristen Stewart, in a role even grittier than the one she played in The Runaways. When Melissa Leo’s character enters the narrative more substantially, the film gets even more interesting as it explores the situation of a middle-class America couple wanting to ‘save’ an underprivileged teenager. Welcome to the Rileys has some similarities to The Blind Side, as both films explore a similar scenario, but Welcome to the Rileys is more complex, less conservative, less offensive and an overall far superior film.

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Recension på The Runaways

The Runaways roared onto the punk-rock scene in 1975, led by Joan Jett and featuring Cherie Currie, Lita Ford and Sandy West.

Twenty-five years later, the band gets the biopic treatment with the aptly titled "The Runaways" (now available on Blu-ray and DVD). Currie's memoir "Neon Angel" is the basis for this look at the all-girl rock band from its ramshackle beginnings and meteoric rise to its eventual demise.

The ladies grew up in the spotlight as they dealt not only with the pitfalls of fame, but also with manager Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon), who pushed them further then some of them may have been willing to go.

Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll are all present and accounted for here.

However, the film's driving forces are Dakota Fanning as Currie and Kristen Stewart as Jett. Both transcend expectations by delivering turns that are as strong and driven as the women they're portraying. Fanning continues to show her range as she matures, reminding us she's not a kid anymore. Stewart, meanwhile, gives the best performance of her career to date, fully embodying the rock pioneer.

"The Runaways" was criminally overlooked during its theatrical run.




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Recension av The Runaways



The Runaways
har ju gått upp på bio i USA (i Sverige måste vi tyvärr vänta till någon gång i augusti). Här kommer ett utdrag från en recension av filmen:

In a scene that deserves its own exhibit in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Infamy, he has the band play on while they're pelted with trash and dog excrement to prepare for their first gig. It's unorthodox, but also useful preparation for the road, Sigismondi implies.

It's a mystery how the intense and flamboyant Shannon ("Revolutionary Road") continues to fly under the radar.

The same cannot be said for Kristen Stewart or Dakota Fanning. The "New Moon" stars are the right age (19 and 16 respectively), but more importantly they seem of the right time. They suck on cigarettes, party all night, and there's not a paparazzo in sight.

Proving she's more than just a wan face, Stewart gets Jett's peculiar toughness. She's like John Garfield in a hot red jumpsuit. When the band begins to splinter and Joan starts smashing furniture around the studio, it's not about ego or bravado, it's just the frustration of someone who loves what she does and sees it slipping away from her.


Läs hela recensionen här.

The Runaways recension #1



Tydligen var det en visning av The Runaways i New York igår kväll. En reporter på Vanity Fair såg filmen och har skrivit en recension om TR. Bra ord om Kristen. Härligt! Ett utdrag kommer här nedanför. Läs hela recensionen här.

Aggressive, raw, and amped up on frenetic—and sexual—hunched-punk intensity, Stewart’s Jett smokes, snorts, and struts with abandon, her energy centered strategically in her pelvis. (I can’t wait to see what the Twi-hards make of this!) A favorite scene—and there were many—takes place in the bathroom where Jett gives a blasé “lesson” to one of her band mates about how to pleasure oneself with a shower head while visualizing Farrah Fawcett. This is a woman who revels in her well-earned bad reputation. “I want what he’s wearing,” she says, and she is never disappointed.

Welcome to the Rileys recension #1



Daemonsmovies.com har en recension av Welcome to the Rileys. Bara bra saker som sägs om Kristen. Läs hela recensionen här.

Ett utkast:
WELCOME TO THE RILEYS is a film that I really loved at this year's Sundance. It is directed by Jake Scott and stars James Gandolfini, Kristen Stewart, and Melissa Leo. Welcome to the Rileys follows the story of Doug Riley, a married man, who while taking a business trip in New Orleans, starts an unlikely friendship with an underage stripper, Mallory (Kristen Stewart). He tells his wife, Lois (Melissa Leo) that he won't come home for a while and she decides to take a trip to New Orleans to reclaim her marriage. Now this might seem like an ok story, but add on top of that the fact Doug and Lois lost their teenage daughter, that Lois hasn't left the house ever since, and the fact that Mallory reminds Doug of his daughter, and you have Welcome to the Rileys.
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