Best movie of this year hands down!

Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I have never even heard of this movie before so I just watched it on DVD and here is my review.The movie is about a man named Wallace Avery(played by Colin Firth sporting an American accent) who hates his life,he decides to fake his own death by making out he went missing. So he goes under the new name Arthur Newman who is a professional golfer. Later he meets a troubled woman who goes by Mike aka Michalea(played by Into The Woods Emily Blunt)who left her schizophrenic sister and assumes her identity as her real name is Charlotte. So the two decide to go off on a road trip together,break into people's houses and of course have hot steamy sex while there at it.Overall I just watched this out of the new as like I said have never even heard of this movie as I got it today. The acting I must say was great Blunt and Firth had great chemistry together and their accents were spot on as both are British. Bottom line if you like road trip movies then check it out. But to be honest I found this one very depressing,thank god it was only on for an hour and a half if it was on for longer I would have turned it off.Out of 5 its a 2.8/5 and out of 10 its a 4/10 because of the actors for the premise its very complicated to follow and the setting is rather depressing.C-

I watched Arthur Newman simply because I found it by accident. While it's not the best film I've seen, I do believe everyone did a credible job with very little material. Colin Firth and Emily Blunt are good, doing the best they could with the somewhat underdeveloped characters. However, I feel the characters are presented as such on purpose, to make of them what we personally will.The film moves slowly, but is in no way boring. An experienced film buff would be fine with its pace and be relatively engaged in the story line as well.Arthur Newman is not for a generic audience. It requires a specific taste in films to be enjoyed for what it is - a thought-provoking story

Every now and then actors with sizable names do something in the industry known as "slumming." This is a film with a significantly smaller budget that has well-known actors. This can often give actors range and prove to the public that they are capable of handling roles in smaller movies. Sometimes such an action can pay off. Look at Greg Kinnear in Little Miss Sunshine, Matt Damon in Gerry. Such roles can pay off immensely for actors and show diversity in character acting.And other times the film itself can be completely unnecessary and a very dull slog despite actors' good intentions. So is the case with Collin Firth, who gives a fairly strong performance but can't overcome the offbeat eccentricities and the rather lame fable on the American Dream of starting ones' life over. Material like this sounds good on paper and in our heads, as we can relate this back to the ideology of the American Dream and the pursuit of happiness, but rarely is the matter very compelling on camera. This especially is the case with Fith's Arthur Newman character being very vanilla and, despite unique efforts, rather ordinary.Firth's character's birthname is Wallace Avery, but he feels he was born inhabiting someone else's life. A golf professional, but still unsatisfied with life's offerings, he takes it upon himself to change his identity to that of "Arthur Newman." Soon after this decision is made, Arthur finds a barely-conscious woman outside named Charlotte Fitzgerald (Emily Blunt), traveling under the fictional name "Michaela" or "Mike." Arthur's timely actions of taking the woman to the hospital give her back her consciousness after an apparent overdose. When she comes back, Michaela and Wallace take a liking to each other and decide to embark on an impromptu roadtrip to Indiana, where they can live the more solemn life they've always wanted.Firth and Blunt are both gifted character actors, with Firth winning an Oscar for his beautiful portrayal of King George IV on The King's Speech and Blunt coming off several great comedies last year with the directing likes of Judd Apatow and Lynn Shelton. Their chemistry and breezy dialog exchanges are the faint, weakening glue holding the film together before it crumbles. Arthur Newman's serious problem is its redundant scenes of self-discovery and disregarding ones' personal life for the benefit of having a cleaner, fresher slate. This concept hooks better as just that - a concept that comes up over drinks, dinner, or a nice long walk down the street. Not a ninety-three minute film with the profound qualities of a pamphlet.Now, nearly every idea could make a great film, depending on the way a director, writer, actor, and cinematographer choose to handle the material. I have no doubt that Arthur Newman could've been a terrific film if taken with a fresher, more intriguing direction. The one present here gives every interesting event a "been-there-done-that" quality. Consider the scene when Arthur attempts to save the life of Michaela. This scene should be gripping and terrifying, but it winds up falling completely flat thanks to the flat direction taken by Dante Ariola.Arthur Newman is a wholesome parable at least in the regard that it tells the story with convincing performances and a touch of realism. However, this does not excuse the bland writing and extraordinarily brave premise made turned more into a pedestrian-piece of fiction. Seeing Firth go slumming could definitely be a great thing in the future, but he best choose to slum in places where there is a need for more than a willing actor.Starring: Colin Firth and Emily Blunt. Directed by: Dante Ariola.

Director Dante Ariola may not have a lot of credentials as yet, but taking chances with stories such as this one written by Becky Johnston (Seven Years in Tibet, The Prince of Tides, etc), stories that dare take the unexpected path for how people are finding the human condition rather chaotic, suggests that we have a very creative artist in the making. Blessed with a quartet of fine actors in the leading roles and a small but impressive supporting cast, this film is just far enough off center to make it refreshingly refreshing.The story follows the mid-life travails of sad sack FedEx floor manager Wallace Avery (Colin Firth) who is estranged from his ex-wife and angry young son Grant (Sterling Beaumon) and spends his time with his 'lover' Mina (Anne Heche in a fine performance) who loves him despite the fact that Wallace is boring. He decides to refuse to face a life he hates, stages his own death and buys himself a new identity as Arthur Newman. However, Arthur's road trip towards a new life is interrupted by the arrival of the beautiful but fragile Mike (Emily Blunt), who is also trying to leave her past behind: her mother committed suicide, her sister is in a mental institution, and Mike has assumed her sister's name to avoid having to create a life of her own. Drawn to one another, these two damaged souls begin to connect as they break into empty homes and take on the identities of the absent owners - elderly newlyweds, a high- roller and his Russian lady, among others - all supposedly brief moments on their road trip to Terre Haute, Indiana where Arthur believes he has a job as a golf pro - the promise of a chance encounter with one strange Fred Willoughby (the gifted David Andrews). That goal is a dead end, and through this process, Arthur and Mike discover that what they love most about each other are the identities they left at home, and their real journey begins.Colin Firth and Emily Blunt are consummate actors and bring these odd characters to life: they successfully manage comedic situations but always hold closely to the sad underpinnings of their characters' tortured souls. The story is odd, being a variation of a road trip by very lonely and desperate people, but somehow it enters the head and heart and is cause for contemplation. Grady Harp