marypooh

A tense beginning is a preview to what is one of Pollack's best films in years. Three Days of the Condor and The Slender Thread are two of his best and like those, this one (mostly) delivers. Being able to film within the UN building was a real coup and helped to bring this film up a notch or two. Nicole Kidman was great and whilst I enjoyed watching Sean Penn in an understated performance, I personally think he was miscast. The storyline, location shooting (U.N. building in particular), music and the performances of the two main stars held my attention throughout most of the film. I had major problems though with the ending of the film. There were some big gaps in credibility with the last half hour of the film in the way some scenes unfolded. Up until that point I thought the film was really good and had some tense moments, especially the bus scene. It was as if the scriptwriters decided to inject a little 'Hollywood' in to the ending and it failed in context with the rest of the 'tight' script. If for no other reason though, this film is worth seeing for Pollack's direction and the small acting part he had in it. I will always part with my hard earned money for any film he directs. Add two of the best actors out there today in Kidman and Penn, and the film is worth the price of admission.

I wanted to see a film where I would not have to use my brain too much and this was the perfect vehicle. The relationship between the two "bad guys" was interesting to watch and Ben Chaplin, as the good guy, is easy on the eyes. As for Sandra Bullock, well it was not her best film by far. The plot was pretty average with a little twist at the end but overall I thought the film was just okay. Am I the only one to have noticed a major error in the disposal of the body? The film was about two young men who thought they were "one step ahead" of the police in the forensics department and yet - major spoiler here - when the two men carry the body out of the house and put it in the car, Ryan Gosling's character is not wearing gloves! His fingerprints would have been on the plastic and yet no one in the film picked up on this. I know most films nowadays stretch creditability but this was ridiculous. No one in the police department thought to fingerprint the plastic that the body was wrapped in! I guess you could be forgiven for the slip up by the lads but there again, one of them was a supposed expert when it came to forensics. Did he not notice that his accomplice was not wearing gloves? Tacky.

The only thing I found really disturbing about this movie was the relationship between the two boys and how one seemed to control the other. As we all know, unfortunately, life does imitate art imitating life and this type of scenario happening in "real life" is very believable and frightening.

Saw a "sneak" last night and thoroughly enjoyed this film. There are some very stupid and gross scenes but all in all the film is very funny and moves at a speed reminiscent to "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World". Apart from Rowan Atkinson's character(over the top as usual) and John Cleese's annoying character being small gripes, the film is overall worth seeing for the belly laughs contained therein. Don't want to give any spoilers but the film does not end in a predictable fashion (nice change) and although some of the scenes were cliched and outrageous, I don't think you will be disappointed. Given the fact that movies are getting more and more expensive to see, I would, in good conscience recommend this film. If you are feeling blue or depressed or just want a good laugh, go see this movie. Laughter is a great tonic and this movie is just what the doctor ordered.

I finally got to see the movie (TNT repeat on 7/3) as I missed it back in January due to never seeing an episode of the show before. Finally started watching it in mid April (season four) and quickly became hooked. Am now watching season one courtesy of TNT and enjoying it a lot.

The film was very good and I liked the beginning summary for people who have never watched the series before and it gave a nice overview of the show. As with any highly popular show (e.g. X Files) the producers, writers, etc. have to keep fans' interest stoked so although the film did answer some questions it fanned the flames to new ones in their place. I do not feel that qualified to give a legitimate rating on the show as I still have seasons 2, 3 and the beginning of 4 to watch. I eagerly await the next film and will continue to look forward to watching the show unfold, especially as there were a few characters in the film that I have not come across yet in the series.

I just wanted to say that in my humble opinion the film did deliver, and deliver well. Great acting by all the principle characters although I thought Miss Parker was not as nasty in the film as she is in the series and this trait of hers is what makes her character fun to watch in the series. She had some good lines in the film but in the series the rapport between her and Broots is wonderful to watch and I would have liked to see more of this interplay between them in the film. Oh and one more thing - that haircut!!!! Good grief - it gives new meaning to the phrase "a bad hair day" and Michael T. Weiss's barber should be hung drawn and quartered. I hope in the next film his hair looks more like it did in season four; even how it looks in season one is preferable to how it looked in this movie. Uugh.

I liked this film a lot more than I expected and in truth, if I did not have a freebie ticket (sneak preview), it would not have been on my list of movies to see. Having said that though, I will definitely see it again.

It should be taken for what it is - a fun movie, very tongue-in-cheek and with a nice mixture of "old" and "new". If you are expecting typical Hollywood fare (explosions, sex, thousands of bullets aimed at the good guy and not one connects!) then this movie is not for you. A tad too long at 2hrs. 15mins. - some scenes were not necessary in my opinion and definitely could have been left out without taking away from the storyline. The main characters are fun to watch and the audiences' rooting power is finely, and firmly, laid out from the onset even though the film is one of obvious (hellooooo, this is no "Memento") predictability. I was not sure if I would like the modern soundtrack against the backdrop of a film set in medieval times but it worked surprisingly well and I for one loved it and the choices made. My favorite scene is the dancing one set to an old David Bowie hit. A simplistic tale, funny dialogue, great characters and a mixture of drama and romance (and a hilarious product placement scene), make this a movie worth seeing by young and old alike. The music of yesteryear was a real treat for this movie buff too. Go with an open mind and don't expect too much - that way you will be pleasantly surprised like I was.

Full of wonderful character studies, this Australian film had me laughing throughout and I left the cinema fully satisfied. In order to fully appreciate it though, I think you would have to share the same sort of humor as the British and Australians (very similiar) otherwise it will be lost on you. The only thing that I found slightly distracting was the soundtrack which was intrusive at times and out of place in some scenes. Sam Neill gives a very wonderful, understated performance and all the other characters are a joy to watch. I fully recommend this film to ex pats. (Australian and British in particular) and those out there that enjoy anything "colonial and eccentric".

The makers of the film missed a great opportunity to make a social comment on the media and people's absurd fixation with it. The two "bad guys" were so over the top that their crimes/filming of them became ludicrous and a bad joke. I think if their performances had been less understated the premise of the movie would have been more disturbing and thought provoking. As it was this viewer could not take them seriously and in essence their performance ruined the film for me. I liked the idea of De Niro and Burns acting together and thought they had good chemistry between them. Not enough scenes of them together though and this was another disappointment. Overall, enjoyable film but it could have been so much better and a lost chance to show how dangerous and insidious today's media can be. "Network" worked much better.