Sorry, this movie sucks

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Okay, all of you poets and music lovers, here's my Christmas wish...a copy of the new DVD Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man.... Like many, I've been aware of Cohen for a long time, have a taste for his songs, but can't quite get the mystery of his darkness. I also have a copy of his selected poems and have ordered his new Book of Longing... Well, the intimate and philosophical interviews with him just ring with his character and truth...and his songs move me more than ever now. He testifies to what it means to be a poet (and singer song writer, Zen lay priest, etc.). And he refuses to be defined...is what he is each day. I strongly recommend it to you. I have added him to the list of "rebel poets" that I sent out because he's so darn important. The singing in this DVD only has one sung by the man; most are wonderfully interpreted by today's troubadours...chiefly Rufus Wainwright. My wife promises to buy me the new DVD, so you can save your money to get your own...or just rent it when I return it. Peace Larry Smith

HUMBLE>>>? Canadians are the most intellectual culture since The French Revolution. We're half French, which the Anglophones of Montreal must overcome with Anglo-Arrogance! There's nothing wrong with this film that a lot of egocentricity won't appreciate! Americans MAY buy the humility that says we don't aspire to FAME but Leonard is more famous than Tony the Tiger! His humility matches the Kelloggs' Rooster that says, "People like YOU like Kellogg's Corn Flakes!" Mr Cohen HAS nothing to be humble about. Everyone poses his wit! Who wouldn't?OK. All kidding aside. EVERY negative review forgets the director's timing which has Cohenesque timing and delivery! This is an impeccable first effort in a milieu that demands a mind sharpened on lyrical witticism. I find no fault with this movie. Leonard could not be more proudly represented. Every guy in the theater can sing his OWN mono-bari-tone Cohernmony. That's why WE love Leonard! WE have a voice!

I once succeeded with an attractive older woman because we shared a poetry lovers' delight in Leonard Cohen's Suzanne. A singer/composer who doesn't need U2 for background deserves a tribute by with singers who do. Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man is an entertaining tribute documentary that took place in January 2006 at the Sydney Opera House. Album genius producer Hal Willner has arranged 13 performances in the "Came So Far for Beauty" concert. Although Nick Cave and the Wainrights among others could hold their own in concert, when they successfully cover Cohen's songs in Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man, there's a slight disappointment that the basso gravel voice himself is not singing. After all, he composed the poetry and melodies, in a distinctively soulful, weary signature style that says, "I did this. Let me tell you about it." So, you can anticipate both my praise and criticism: Cohen's songs transfer remarkably well to other singers, especially Cave (Even with a Vegas attitude his Suzanne is effective) and Rufus Wainright (His oft-performed rendition of Hallelujah reveals a song that can endure even Rufus's emendations). The singers carry an experience and innocence respectively, as Cohen does. Cohen's conversations with director Lian Lunson are the most interesting parts of the documentary: his being a poet in Montreal, a hipster in New York, and a monk in a Mt. Baldy Zen monastery. All the time, however, he is cool enough to avoid revealing too much about himself, but then, that's the mystery of his songs as well. He just makes you long to know why he left his art and came back to it. He doesn't tell.When Cohen finally sings Tower of Song, I knew why he was being feted, albeit too unctuously by Bono, and why he sings his compositions better than anyone else. Because he sometimes takes up to a year on one, the care and feeling show in his weathered voice and heavily-lidded eyes. His smirk is not smug either: It mirrors a translucent soul that loves humanity in all its weaknesses, as he loves himself in all his. Deservedly.

Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man is part concert, part interview, and in-between are all these amazing musicians (Rufus Wainwright, Bono, Jarvis Cocker, etc.) waxing philosophical on the musical genius that is Cohen. I, however, learned absolutely nothing about Leonard Cohen from this pretentious and arrogant documentary.I'm not a Cohen fan, personally. I think he's one of those musicians who's worshiped by other musicians so that they can sound really cool and pompous when they say, "You don't know who Leonard Cohen is?" All the musicians talk about Cohen's music being so spiritual and transcendental, and they describe Cohen more like a messiah than a musician.We never see a full facial shot of Cohen during the interviews, always keeping a part of him secret. Cohen spends more camera time reading his poetry than talking about his life. It's as if we're not worthy of seeing and truly knowing "the great" Leonard Cohen. Or maybe he's just too great and mysterious to be understood by the simple lay people.However, I did enjoy the Rufus Wainwright rendition of "Hallelujah" with the three-part harmony. That was pretty. The rest was a highbrow bore.