Review of Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011) by Aaronbartuska — 16 Jan 2015

This is my least favorite movie of all time, no question. Let's get this out of the way: the 9/11 subplot of this movie is a cash grab. The movie's main plot would've been exactly the same if all 9/11 elements were wiped out of it, minus the fact that it probably wouldn't have been a tearjerker (it wasn't one for me, but I can imagine it was for many other viewers).

Now that that's said and done, I was looking forward to Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close because it was the second film adaptation of author Jonathan Safran Foer's work, which I usually love. Also, with a cast that included Hanks, Bullock, Sydow, and Goodman, I was practically sold.

Not to mention the Best Picture nomination almost ensured that I was going to like this movie. The supporting actors were good, but all of their performances were smothered and subverted by Horn's annoying and almost unwatchable performance.

If the character was written as a bratty kid then Horn may just be the greatest actor in the world. Even if that is the case, an unenjoyable lead character usually leads to an unenjoyable movie. That is the case with this one.

I'll give it this: the oxymoron part was pretty cool, even if it only took up about a minute of this overly long film. And, oh god, the tambourine.