The movie seemed to start off holding some promise, but after seeing the interrogation room scene, I had only one hope - that Ethan Hawkes character (Costa) was NOT the bad-guy; otherwise the whole movie would be trite. Turns out my hopes were going to be dashed. This is a prime example of how not to construct a thriller plot. When you start piling on the improbable events, eventually the spell of the film becomes broken and you are left just waiting for it to be over. I could drive a semi through the plot holes in this one. One of the worst offending elements of this film would have to be one of the most basic - Motivation. What is the purpose for the character to return to Montreal? The movie implies that the character kills people, and assumes their lives for several years, before moving on. Obviously, he hasn't been found out about yet - why try to set up Keifer Sutherlands character as the fall-guy? What if the special investigator had been a guy? What if Costa hadn't been left alone with the other inspector? What if Costa had been stopped before crashing the car on the bridge, with the corpse next to him with the fatal stomach wound? The only way his character could have succeeded to that point would have been if he could somehow predict the unpredictable, and that is why this film is so bad. The only thrills and chills here are trying to guess what idiotic event will be tacked on meaninglessly next - the end result was NEVER in question. If you want to see a film of this type done right, see Seven. I wouldn't waste your time on this one - here is two hours of my life I won't get back.
Reviews
3 Reviews
Se7en
(1995)
Sheer Brilliance
9 April 2002
Warning: Spoilers
Warning: Here may be spoilers...
Due to its dark nature, I can only watch this every year or so, but this is easily one of my favorite movies of all time. While the base premise seems to be your typical Hollywood thriller stock, the heinous nature of the crimes and outstanding character portrayals by Freeman, Pitt, and Spacey make this a cut above all others. Never mind the stunning climax.
Special mention to Brad Pitt for successfully arguing that his character would shoot John Doe during the climax - those who have seen the DVD know that the original script called for Freemans' character to do the shooting (since he was retiring anyway). This would have destroyed the film.
The heavy, rainy, gloomy setting, the sharp direction, and the movies attention to detail raised the bar for the thriller genre. I cannot praise this film enough.
Due to its dark nature, I can only watch this every year or so, but this is easily one of my favorite movies of all time. While the base premise seems to be your typical Hollywood thriller stock, the heinous nature of the crimes and outstanding character portrayals by Freeman, Pitt, and Spacey make this a cut above all others. Never mind the stunning climax.
Special mention to Brad Pitt for successfully arguing that his character would shoot John Doe during the climax - those who have seen the DVD know that the original script called for Freemans' character to do the shooting (since he was retiring anyway). This would have destroyed the film.
The heavy, rainy, gloomy setting, the sharp direction, and the movies attention to detail raised the bar for the thriller genre. I cannot praise this film enough.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
(2001)
Waste of time
8 April 2002
Since good SF has such a difficult time making it to the big screen, I had hopes that this would help pull the genre out from the schlock of pseudo-sci-fi (such as 'Event Horizon', 'Armageddon', 'Pitch Black', or any Star Wars or Star Trek flick). What Spielberg/Kubrick managed to create was the largest pile of feces this side of 'They Live'. The main premise (already explored - and explored well - in 'Blade Runner') quickly gives way to a hokey mish-mash of the afore-mentioned Blade Runner, Mad Max, and Pinocchio that moves at a lethargic pace, and pummels the viewer repeatedly with the moralistic principles of a five-year-old through the use of 2-Dimensional, unsympathetic, and unlikeable characters. On top of that, we are subjected to weird technological limitations. Is it too much to ask for some science with my fiction? Unbelievable settings, incongruous character behaviour, and weak scientific foundation make this one of the worst movies ever. I actually hated this more than 'Armageddon', and that is saying a lot. This gets a big, fat 1 out of 10. BOMB.
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