Review of A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006) by Roger S — 26 Oct 2009

It's been difficult to top a movie I consider a masterpiece, 'A Requiem For A Dream', but in regards to total emotion, drama, and relatability, this movie brought to me, personally, the same emotional feel as 'Requiem' did...I wasn't expecting much, and that was quite the gift...

Other notable movies I relate to that have been some of my faves are 'Welcome to the Dollhouse', 'Kids', 'Once Were Warriors', 'May' and 'Towelhead' to name a few, because of their ambiguous seriousness that a person like myself can relate to; and though these movies are excellent, I still had a strong tie to 'Requiem'...

For some strange reason, this movie surface so much on emotions, entrapment, fear and love to the point that it was quite the roller-coaster ride for me to watch: I'm glad I watched it alone...I'm certain because much of the movie forced me to reflect on really delicate parts of my life - some of them current - that I realized this is what a GOOD movie does: it bring you in...

Robert Downey Jr. gave one of his finest, if not his finest, performances ever, and both Shia LaBeouf and Channing Tatum surprised me: I knew 'Chan' has decent acting skills (as evident in 'Stop Loss'), but he still surprised me with his range...On the other hand, I have yet to see Shia in a movie where he actually gets to act, and it was a treat to see him do an amazingly awesome job here...Rosario Dawson is at her finest, as usual for her supporting role and the entire cast (both adult characters and their kid counterparts), were amazing...Dianne Weist gave a powerful performance as well; she is always amazing...

Again, this movie hit home for me in more ways than one; I agree with many of the previous posts that this move was largely overlooked - that's the norm for most great movies though, but to think that there was nothing in regards to 'Oscar' for this movie is surprising, especially considering some of the awards it did end up winning...As with 'Requiem', this is a movie I won't soon forget, and the type of movie I love that often gets overlooked...