New York, I
Love You
is a collection of short films that
pertain to romance in the city of
New York. It’s made up of 11 short
films starring a variety of talent
from everyone to Shia Labeouf to
Natalie Portman. The films
themselves are all very well made;
direction and filmography isn’t the
problem with any of these stories.
The problems start with the concept
and really end with a few of the
short films being weak links.
The concept is
both good and bad. Eleven short
films that each tell a different
story in different places of the
city. It’s a concept that was done
by the producer of the film with
Paris. It’s good because it’s a
noble concept. It’s very artistic.
But it’s bad because there’s no ebb
and flow to the movement of the
film. It’s just thrown together in a
jumble with a few transition
attempts and a visual rundown at the
end of the film. The movement of the
film is terrible.
The acting in
New York, I
Love You
is its strength. Natalie Portman,
Shia Labeouf, Bradley Cooper,
Orlando Bloom, Ethan Hawke, Natalie
Portman, and James Caan headline a
tremendous collection of talent.
Some of the pairings for the short
stories are less desirable but most
of the time at least one if not two
stars are on the screen carrying
these stories all the time.
New York, I
Love You
isn’t impressive but it’s likable.
Yes, it could have been a lot
better. But when eight of eleven of
the stories told are fun to watch
and only a few are terrible you get
past that. It’s a bit like an album.
Not every track is going to be good
but if the majority tracks are okay
and a few tracks are great then
you’ve got a good album. That’s what
New York, I
Love You
translates into. Good enough to
listen through once but after that
you’ll only watch one or two of the
short films.
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