Meet Joe Black

It just wrapped up—you guys could have caught it on ABC.

The movie caught me completely off guard. Honestly? It’s one of the best things I’ve ever seen. It sits right up there with The Shawshank Redemption. There’s this massive buildup of emotion throughout the story that just explodes into a total firework show by the end. A stunning piece of cinema. A perfect ten/ten out of ten!!

So, I finally got around to watching this (even though it’s been sitting on my hard drive for like a year and a half), and honestly? I'm still kind of processing how I feel about it...

It kicked off pretty strong... really engaging... and I was totally leaning in, trying to get lost in the story. But after about an hour, things felt like they started to drag a bit, and the momentum just kind of fizzled out for me...

But man, that final third? It was so heavy on the emotion that you could have stripped away every single line of dialogue and the movie would still hit just as hard.
The whole thing slowly gets under your skin, and that ending was nothing short of incredible...

And don't even get me started on that song at the end—it absolutely wrecked me. I’m genuinely stuck on whether I love it or if it just left me feeling hollow...

I think this is one of those movies that actually demands your full attention, and you probably need to sit through it a few times to truly wrap your head around everything. I highly doubt anyone would want to put in that much mental effort, though, since it takes some real work to fully digest it...

But hey, whatever... I’m just glad I finally sat down and watched it.

I honestly can't stand movies where the actors are way too good-looking—it’s such a distraction that I can't even focus on what's actually happening in the plot. 😁 That’s exactly why I never have a strong opinion on any movie I've watched starring Brad Pitt. The guy just doesn't seem capable of looking anything less than flawless, even when he's frozen solid and covered in ice in Seven years in Tibet...

Honestly, the movie was such a drag and felt way too stretched out, so I ended up turning it off after just the first hour...
The only redeeming quality for me was Anthony Hopkins, but Brad Pitt with that blonde hair was just super irritating, and he really doesn't work for me when he plays those confused characters. He’s way better playing someone actually cool, like in Ocean's 11, Ocean's 12, Seven, Mr. Smith, or Fight Club...
Plus, the female lead was just way too saccharine for my taste...

Such a pleasant little movie.

It was really nice to be reminded...

Honestly, I wasn't really feeling this movie at all

The beginning was actually decent enough
Like, death just shows up out of nowhere—boom!
And honestly, Brad Pitt totally nails that role where he's just this super confused guy—I think he did a great job with it.

But man, that ending? It was absolutely nauseating..

I mean, nobody actually realizes that Joe is Death and that he's there specifically for Bill, yet everyone is just sobbing and saying their goodbyes to him.. give me a break... please don't tell me I'm supposed to guess—it's not like they actually sensed he was about to kick the bucket...🙄

And then you get to the end where that guy whose body Joe/Death took recovers, and then there's that one moment where he gets hit by a car and dies, only to suddenly find himself in a tuxedo on some lawn at a party... and my first thought is, "Okay, let me go flirt with some hot girl nearby." And boom, they fall in love instantly (well, they already fell in love back at the cafe) and they just act completely normal, like absolutely nothing insane just happened..
Aha, sure thing..🙄

And the woman, good grief.. if she had actually followed them.. it's like it never even crossed her mind (if she actually sensed her dad was dying—because that final scene where she's wailing and dancing with her dad felt less like "I'm crying because my boyfriend left" and more like "I'm crying because these are our last moments together with Dad") to just leave Joe right where he is and go check on her old man.... nope, she's got a new boyfriend to deal with instead...😵
Then, to top it all off, she tells the guy at the end, "I wish you could have met my father"—seriously, lady!!.. your dad is dead.. go find his body.. call the paramedics-- DO SOMETHING. Or is she going to spend more time showing off to the guests with her new beau (who, by the way, just undergoes a total makeover in clothes and setting and carries on like nothing ever happened)

And the scenes are just so incredibly dragged out.. they'll have the two of them staring at each other, and the camera will linger on one for 15 seconds, then the other for 20, then back to the first, then the second.. seriously, JUST GET ON WITH IT ALREADY

I've definitely seen better and "more emotional" movies than this.

To quote my friend Zdenko: "There simply needs to be a three-hour movie starring Brad Pitt specifically for women."

Dennis Torres said:I wasn't really feeling this movie at all.

Well, you’re definitely in the minority there!

Sure, you can pick apart the flaws if you really want to, but most people aren't looking for reasons to complain—they just settle into the story, which is honestly solid enough to make you forget the hiccups.

The cast definitely helps carry the weight, too. Everything feels super intentional—just look at how perfectly the supporting roles are distributed. It's clearly been thought out.

If I were judging this strictly on paper, I wouldn't have given it a dime, but in reality? It totally caught me off guard in the best way possible.

And can we talk about Claire Forlani? Now, she might be a little too slender for my taste—I’ve always preferred women with more curves—but man, she looks absolutely killer in those elegant dresses.

There's this long movie
there's an incredibly long movie
and then there's Meet Joe Black

Arthur Anderson49 said:On paper, I wouldn't give this movie a single cent, but honestly, it actually caught me off guard in the best way possible.

Well, personally, even in real life, I wouldn't drop five bucks on this one..

I just couldn't get sucked into the story at all... total zero on the emotion scale for me..
It felt like just a massive pile of old tropes and a million cliché setups I've seen a thousand times before..
And don't even get me started on how they constantly try to force the audience into tears by playing "What a Wonderful World"...ugh.

Like, I remember sobbing my eyes out watching Amélie, for instance.
I don't know, man, it just didn't click for me. Even having the legendary Brad Pitt in it couldn't save the flick or make it worth pushing through to the end. I mean, I've seen him in much better roles too... though hey, he is over 40 now!

Honestly, this movie is just incredible. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve sat through it, and man, every single time I rewatch it, I’m just blown away by how good it actually is. I mean, sure, the pacing is definitely slow—it takes its sweet time getting where it's going—but I guess if you give it a chance, it’s totally worth the watch...

The film is passable, though it fails to leave a lasting impression.

David Price5 said:quoting my buddy Zdenko here: ''there seriously needs to be a three-hour movie for women starring Brad Pitt''...

So neither you nor your pal Zdenko are exactly best friends with basic math, huh? 🙂
Not a single woman who's weighed in so far actually liked the movie—and that includes me. 😉

This flick is really only hitting the mark for guys.

Morgan Myers73 said:... I mean, yeah, the pacing is definitely slow...

...but only if you're measuring time in marijuana years—and if you count staying perfectly still as a form of movement...

☕

The movie is actually pretty solid... and honestly, Brad Pitt's girl in it is even better... 😁

Arthur Anderson49 said:On paper, I wouldn't give this movie a dime.

Gloria costs $4.00, and that includes the novel.

What an absolute snooze-fest of a movie.

The two leads spend basically the entire runtime just staring at each other while hugging.
They’re positioned right on the edge of the lawn,
and he barely does any of the heavy lifting,
but she definitely carries his weight for him.
I mean, she’s constantly weeping,
constantly squinting those little mousey eyes of hers,
giving him this soft, wide-eyed puppy look whenever she isn't squinting.
Add in a slight twitch of his beard,
and you've got pure, unadulterated pathos.

Look, I don't necessarily agree with all the hate this movie's getting, though I can definitely see where people are coming from...

For the first hour, I was honestly sitting there thinking, "WTF am I even watching???"

But then it clicked. I realized this is one of those films that actually works if you just give it a fair shake and go in wanting to enjoy it...
Truth be told—it’s a bit of a grind... but there’s some kind of magic to it. After three hours, I found myself totally glued to the screen right through the credits.

(Btw: does anyone know the name of that song playing at the end...)

I've been digging around online and on Soulseek, but no luck so far...
If anyone has it, could you shoot it over to me via email? It's only about 5 MB, so it shouldn't be a hassle.

The song is "Over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful World" by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (🙄)

I’m not exactly a fan of Brad Pitt...
but I absolutely loved this movie from the very first time I saw it.

silentpuma9 said:While I don't agree with half the negative takes on this movie, I certainly get where they're coming from...

For the first hour, I was sitting there thinking, "WTF am I even watching?"

But then it hit me—this film works for anyone willing to actually give it a fair shot and *want* to enjoy it...
Truth be told—it's a grind... but there's a certain magic to it; after three hours, I found myself glued to the screen right through the credits.

(Btw: does anyone know that song playing at the end?)

I scoured the web and Soulseek, but nothing...
If someone knows it, could you just email it to me? It's only 5 MB, shouldn't be a problem.

The song is: "Over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful World" by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (🙄 )

Look, that specific track is what the orchestra plays at the party when they celebrate Bill's birthday. Just a collection of classic covers.

If you were actually looking for the melody—the actual theme that pops up in almost every scene—check out the soundtrack by Thomas Newman. The track is called Whisper of a thrill. Great stuff!