Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Turfseer Puzzle is based on Argentine director Natalia Smirnoff's film Rompecabezas (2010). It stars Kelly Macdonald (of "Boardwalk Empire" fame) as Agnes, a Catholic housewife living in a suburb of Bridgeport, CT. She's married to Louie (David Denman) and they have two 20ish sons, Ziggy and Gabe. Agnes is a confirmed Luddite, eschewing the use of a cell phone except for emergencies. If you can buy it, after getting a jigsaw puzzle for her birthday, and rediscovering a childhood interest in such games, she takes a train to New York City for the first time, to purchase some additional jigsaw puzzles. She could have saved herself a trip by ordering from Amazon but it never occurs to her to ask any of her friends or family members how to make a purchase online. The trip to New York City is the convenient way in which Agnes suddenly is thrust out of her hum-drum existence and reaches an existential crisis in the form of a new relationship (we'll get to that in a minute). Puzzle lacks a solid antagonist so it's Agnes' internal demons that create the conflict and propel the plot forward. What's she's up against on the family front is wholly generic and predictable in nature. All we find out about Louie are the standard melodramatic tropes: he's an auto mechanic who hates his job and demands that Agnes conform to the role of subservient wife. When he learns that she's entered a jigsaw puzzle competition, his boorish, inappropriate reaction highlights his lack of likability as a character. The same goes for the sons: Ziggy hates working for his father and would rather go to culinary school; Gabe wants to postpone college and trek in Tibet with his vegan girlfriend. All the angst permeates the family and creates a team of confirmed sad sacks (note that humor is significantly absent from the narrative). In other words, it's hard to care for characters who dislike themselves so much. Agnes at least strives for something different. Still it's hard to believe that a sheltered heavily religious (Catholic) housewife (as they depict her here) would seek out a jigsaw puzzle partner and go over to his house without first meeting him on the outside. The relationship between Robert (played by Indian actor Irrfan Khan) and Agnes provides the narrative with the hook that saves the story from complete mediocrity. Yes, what goes on between Robert and Agnes is at least slightly interesting compared to the dull machinations back in Bridgeport. Nonetheless, Robert turns out to be a sketchy character at best. We find out that he made a lot of money after patenting and marketing an invention (the details are not provided). He also likes to watch disasters on the TV news. That's about it. Where is he from? What does he do besides jigsaw puzzles? No clue! Equally disappointing is how director Marc Turtletaub fails to illuminate how the jigsaw competition works (it's merely a vehicle for Robert and Agnes' interactions). Granted, a jigsaw puzzle competition isn't exactly the basis for thrilling action sequences. Nonetheless, it's an important part of the plot, which seems to have been glanced over too conveniently. What happens with the relationship between Robert and Agnes? This perhaps is the only thread here that keeps your interest. Why a woman like Agnes (given her prior life experience) would want to have an affair with (the mostly unknown) Robert, is a valid question. Even if you don't buy it, at least she goes back to the husband at film's end. Kelly Macdonald's performance keeps the film afloat until it sinks under its own weight of predictability. In the end Turtletaub's portrait of a provincial, working class family is stereotypical-what was needed were characters wholly more complex than proffered here.

kilinkis The story is sweet and encouraging. It does a good job telling the stage where the protagonist, Agnes, is going through. A kind of boring life, dedicated to her family and religion, and she finally finds something she loves doing and that she's really good at. Great performance by the talented Kelly Macdonald.Her husband character was a strong archetype and that hurt my rating to this movie. He was not supportive to his wife and kids, he thinks cooking is a women thing, he is even a little violent, he likes fishing and wears t-shirts with the American flag. No wonder you won't like his character and automatically side for Agnes (Kelly Macdonald).Recommended and probably deserves a little better rating than it has.

torrascotia I managed to attend the European premier of this at the opening night gala of the Edinburgh Film Festival. In the past some of the movies chosen to open the Edinburgh festival have been poor quality and chosen due to their links with Scotland. However in this case they managed to pick a movie which may just be one of the best on show this year. The story is about a mother of two who seems more of less content with her family life but on her birthday is presented with a jigsaw puzzle. Her life is so predictable she knows what her husband will say before he does. Completing this puzzle seems to give her a sense of achievement which she doesn't seem to be able to find anywhere else in her life. This sets her off on a mission to find more puzzles to complete and opens up a new life for her...possibly. The tone of the movie is somewhat offbeat, quite a few times there were members of the audience laughing at what seemed inappropriate times. You also have to suspend your disbelief for the story to work. It takes a while before you notice the movie is set in the present day. The main character is somewhat strange as well, its unclear if her quirky behaviour is supposed to be due to a sheltered life or something like Aspergers/OCD. The reason I think its like an old fashioned fairy tale, up to a point is there is a handsome rich stranger who comes into her life via her interest in puzzles, who has the potential to whisk her away from a life of domestic drudgery. Its very much a story told from a female perspective at the expense of her husbands' there is more a little bit of selfishness in the main character which to me makes her less sympathetic. Its an interesting film and worth the watch although how you respond will largely be down to whether you find this a movie about someone who is blinkered and selfish or someone escaping from a humdrum life of family responsibility. You decide.

eloiserosas See Rompecabezas, a charming Argentine version of this story. great acting! It will be interesting to see this one, looking forward to it, Kelly MacDonald is such a good actress.