New York I Love You

Posted In: From Paris With Love

Julieann Impson says...

This isn't really a movie in the traditional sense, but a series of short films with a few common threads to intertwine the huge ensemble cast. With multiple directors and a slew of talent, it seems like a huge collaborative effort from actors and film makers who have a serious passion for New York. Of course, the common theme is love, and while it's about love at all stages -- with strangers, new couples, father and daughter, to the pair who's been together for 50 years, you can also see it's a love letter to the city of New York. Each director is showing you how they see the city. Surprise, intrigue, normalcy and tradition.



The city to me is a place where you constantly see, pass, interact with people, yet you never really seem to know anyone and can feel like you're in your own bubble. With everyone, yet alone. You may have random connections with complete strangers every now and then that leave an indelible mark on your soul. That is actually how I felt about this film. I'll always remember it as a true vision of New York City, because they showed me all the facets that can be found there.



While interesting and visually impressive, it wasn't thrilling and there were a few sections of it that I wanted to fast forward thru. New York, I love you, isn't a movie I'll want to revisit.Plus, unlike a few other ensemble movies(Love, Actually comes to mind), you never really get to know any of the characters besides what they're emitting at that moment. You may speculate to your heart's content, and that might excite you. But for me, I wanted to know more. Worth checking out, but keep in mind there's no real plot or story line, just a theme.

Posted on October 10, 2011

Ethel Dosreis says...

Paris Je T'aime is 100% Better.

I was waiting for romance but was just confuse.

Posted on October 11, 2011

Cathleen Coutts says...

A dozen stories. Ten filmmakers. 103 minutes. If you do the math, you will draw the same conclusion I did - that there isn't much time for a viewer to make an emotional connection with every episode presented in this all-star 2009 omnibus tribute to New York. An eclectic group of global filmmakers, some well-known, others on the verge, had to meet certain requirements to make the final cut - they were given only 24 hours to shoot, a week to edit, and the result had to reflect a strong sense of a particular NYC neighborhood. The cumulative effect makes for a moody portrait of the city through various couplings, but due to the contrivance of its structure, the film falls short in bringing a deeper emotional resonance to the themes the creators want to convey.



With a couple of key exceptions, the film appears to be more of a valentine to Lower Manhattan. Consequently, there is a fashionably edgy look to the short stories. Israeli-born French director Yvan Attal epitomizes this feeling in two episodes. The first deals with an aggressively talkative writer (an irritating Ethan Hawke) throwing a barrage of romantic and sexual overtures at a sleek Asian woman who appears to have heard it all (Maggie Q). The other is marginally better, focusing on a chance conversation outside a restaurant between a woman taking a cigarette break (an effortlessly sexy Robin Wright Penn) and a man intrigued by her emotional availability (Chris Cooper). Both have O. Henry-type twist endings that make them ultimately entertaining.



A couple of other entries feel more gimmicky by comparison. Brett Ratner's mostly comic entry features Anton Yelchin as a na

Posted on October 12, 2011

Kenia Delle says...

totally awful, nothing like the light-hearted and touching paris, je taime....

really pathetic efforts, can't believe these big names actors bought into this

Posted on October 12, 2011

Florentino Nypaver says...

I really enjoyed this movie.It was really funny.It has a great cast.There is something and someone for everybody in this movie.I would definatley suggest this movie to anybody who likes romantic comedies.

Posted on October 13, 2011

Ehtel Barbu says...

after falling in love with the cumulative masterpiece known as "Paris Je T'aime" i thought the new york version would be just as amazing....let me tell you this....i couldn't bring myself to watch the entire thing.i just didn't "get" the first few shorts.i felt disconnected watching them.not only did i not feel any sort of feeling remotely close to being described as "love"...i didn't even feel like any of the stories were unique to new york city...they could've taken place anywhere.generic.

Posted on October 13, 2011

Shayne Vitera says...

I would like to point out that the editorial review provided for this page is not valid until it can get its facts straight. That aside:



This movie was very well done, and less disjointed than its sister film "Paris, Je'taime." That is, the stories seem to flow together a little bit more seamlessly, and they are more accessible on a personal level.



If the only justification provided for the one star reviews is "boring" then I would have to suggest the logical decision and at least give it a try.

Posted on October 13, 2011

Annett Mcmeen says...

"New York, I Love You" is quite an ambitious project. It represents part of what is referred to as the "Cities of Love" series, which was started by the successful "Paris, je t'aime" (2006). Like its predecessor, "New York, I Love You" tries to capture love in all its facets, provided by the vision of several directors, resulting in a charming and touching film.



The stories, as its name implies, take place in New York City, of which we see some of its scenery, but it could have really taken place anywhere else. They feel like universal stories and each one embodies the particular vision of its director, which included Yvan Attal, Allen Hughes, Shunji Awai, Wen Jiang, Mira Nair, Joshua Marston, Brett Ratner, Natalie Portman (her directorial debut), Shekhar Kapur, Fatih Akin, and Randall Balsmeyer. Kapur's segment was originally slated to be directed by Anthony Minghella, who passed away just before the filming began. Two segments, directed by Scarlett Johansson and Andrey Zvyagintsev, were not included in the final version of the film, but are added as extras on the Blu-ray release.



Mixing ten to eleven stories in one movie means that each one has to be short in time, and that is precisely what we get in "New York, I Love You." There is a story about a Jewish lady that is getting married to a Jewish man, but is attracted to the man of Indian descent (he is also to her) who sold her the nuptial ring. This is my favorite segment of the film. There is also the story about a thief that unknowingly steals from the girlfriend of another thief, just to gain her affection. Then, there is a segment about a pick-up artist that meets his match. Another favorite is the one in which a pharmacist convinces a young man to take his daughter to the prom. Unbeknown to the young man, the girl happens to be handicapped. Although each story is different, some of them are somewhat connected with the same characters, but most of them are not. However, continuity is not really an important factor here. It's all about different kinds of love in the big city.



"New York, I Love You" has an impressive cast - old and new Hollywood -- that includes Natalie Portman, Andy Carcia, Bradley Cooper, James Caan, Ethan Hawke, Julie Christie, Hayden Christensen, Orlando Bloom, Christina Ricci, Robin Wright Penn, Chris Cooper, Rachel Bilson, Eli Wallach, Cloris Leachman, John Hurt, and many more. The music and the cinematography are also impressive, and really enhance the stories. Can't wait to see the next installment of this very interesting series. The BLU-RAY includes interviews with director, Brett Ratner, Mira Nair, Yvan Attal, Josh Marston, and Shunji Iwai; the two additional segments not included in the film; and the theatrical trailer. (France/USA, 2009, color, 103 min plus additional materials). Reviewed January 31, 2010. Vivendi Entertainment. Reviewed on January 31, 2010 by Eric Gonzalez exclusively for [...].

Posted on October 14, 2011

Gwyneth Mcquiller says...

This film is a pastiche of several short films about love in its various incarnations in NYC. If this premise sounds familiar that's because it's produced by the same people as Paris, Je T'Aime. New York, I Love You has more A-List clout (James Caan, Orlando Bloom, Shia LeBouf, Christina Ricci, Ethan Hawk, Natalie Portman, Andy Garcia, Bradley Cooper, and many more) and the short films interweave much more fluidly than its Parisian predecessor. It's a magical movie experience with a lot of humor, a lot of heart, and a slight wisp of sadness thrown in for good measure (no such thing as love without sorrow to some degree). Bottom line is you don't have to love New York in order to love this film--but it doesn't hurt.

Posted on October 16, 2011

Inga Tuy says...

One of the advantages or disadvantages of being my friend (depending on who you ask and after which film) is that I will undoubtedly make you watch a movie you might not ordinarily have chosen for yourself. Usually this works out well and we can uncover a little gem or perhaps an ambitious picture that doesn't quite hit the mark but is noteworthy nonetheless. Rarely, however, do I have to apologize. Unfortunately, that's precisely and instinctually what I did when the credits rolled on "New York, I Love You." I turned to my friend and said "I'm sorry." What seemed like a can't miss proposition--talented directors, top notch cast, a charming template in "Paris, je t'aime"--became one of the most disappointingly painful experiences of my movie year. Where "Paris" had romance and charm amidst its highbrow artiness--"New York" just has self-conscious pretensions.



Constructed, just like "Paris," in vignettes by varying directors--"New York" never succeeded in bringing a unifying sense to these disparate stories. Some were baffling, some out-of-place, some seemingly without point. The one thing they all had in common was an air of stifling self-importance. The complete lack of playfulness, humor and absurdity (or color, this is a very white New York) really does a disservice to a city of great vitality. But based on these maudlin tales, I wouldn't be offering this DVD up for sale at the tourism bureau. I have a feeling that those who love this movie will think that everyone else has missed the point--perhaps aren't sophisticated enough. But having been called a film snob, seen almost everything in existence, taught graduate studies in film--I can assure you that I didn't miss this film's "point." I missed its heart and soul.



Oddly enough, the segment that sticks out like a sore thumb is Brett Ratner's (the film's most commercial an oddest choice of director) piece. Why? It is the only segment with humor and an actual through-line plot. So out of place, but at least it works with a little actual feeling in its slight story. Other than that, I enjoyed exactly one other moment when international star Maggie Q avoids an attempted pick-up. "New York, I Love You" really is put together by talented people--I have other films by some of the directors in my DVD collection. I wished they had attempted something less "significant" and more real. With Shia LaBeouf, Natalie Portman, Bradley Cooper, James Caan and the wonderful Julie Christie--even these draws couldn't bring me back to "New York" again. KGHarris, 9/10.

Posted on October 16, 2011