The Number 23 (Unrated Infinifilm Edition)

Amazon.com

Jim Carrey as a schizophrenic murderer isn't convincing, in this melodramatic film about a man obsessed by the Number 23. Joel Schumacher (Batman Forever, St. Elmo's Fire) has unintentionally managed to make a comedy of horrors that really is quite humorous in parts. Walter Sparrow (Carrey) becomes engrossed in a homespun novel about Detective Fingerling, whose life degrades into mayhem because of his obsession with 23's esoteric numerical puzzles. Sparrow's preoccupation with the book follows his botched attempt to catch a nasty dog that bites him, leading one to believe that Sparrow's contraction of rabies might be the cause for his mental degradation. As the story progresses, Sparrow retreats further into Fingerling's world, rife with suicidal sexpots and hardboiled detective sleuthing. His wife, Agatha (Virginia Madsen), also plays Fingerling's girlfriend, sex-crazed Fabrizia, who taunts Fingerling until he stabs her. Back in reality, Walter aims to solve the unresolved crimes in the book, taking it as a murderer's diary rather than as an imagined work. The story is half-baked, though Carrey's portrayal of a mentally disturbed person is what makes The Number 23 comedic. Long, contemplative stares, and over-dramatized acting renders Sparrow a clichéd character, rather than one odd enough to engage viewers. For a better version of almost the exact plot but with a terrorist's twist, see Thr3e instead. --Trinie Dalton

Customer Reviews:

Intriguing Story.......2007-09-12

I found this to be a very intriguing and entertaining movie, and I think Jim Carrey did very well in the role, despite the fact that it was such a departure from what he normally does. Generally speaking, I think that this movie would appeal to many booklovers. I saw The Number 23 in the theater and have since gladly added it to my DVD collection.

A slow start to a boring film...(How bizarre! The letters to the title of my review add up to 23!!).......2007-09-08

Unfortunately once again the modern era of complicated movies with twisted endings delivers another disappointing film. I was really geared up for this one when I saw the trailer but this film nearly lost me at the 45 minute mark. I'm glad in a way I decided to stick it out to the end because the film does get a little more interesting from the half way mark to the end, but it's a shame we have to sit through the first 45 minutes to get there. Of course this film does appeal to a certain genre of people out there who do have a fascination with the number 23, Jim Carrey being one of them in real life from when he was a younger man. I think it's only those people who will really benefit from this film.

edge of your seat.......2007-09-06

Great movie--kind you can't miss a second of or you get lost with the plot. I thought Jim Carey did a fine job acting--I like him better to tell the truth when he is not doing comedy. A thinkers movie---but the kind that doesn't leave you hanging in the ending--it gives you an ending.

Thankfully I only rented it..........2007-09-04

Having missed this film in the theaters, I rented it hoping it would be another "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". However, what I found was quite different....a great idea for a movie that is simply poorly executed.

I wouldn't say the film is necessarily predictable, but it certainly wasn't engaging. Granted, I'm not much of a Jim Carrey fan, but to his credit, he has pulled off some great acting roles in "The Truman Show" and the aforementioned "Spotless Mind". Through most of the film, Mr. Carrey's acting was simply hollow - there was no real passion. In other parts, I felt he was over acting, perhaps to drive the plot. At no point in the film did I buy into the story, despite having such a strong cast and director, and at no point did I feel one way or the other about any of the characters....The ending felt rushed, and was somewhat unfulfilling...basically it felt as though the movie consisted of empty calories...cheese whiz for the big screen.

I'm sorry, but I wouldn't recommend this film for even a rental.

SLOW!! STUPID!! and a total waste of $4.97 at Blockbuster.......2007-09-04

The movie started off slow and stayed on a turtle's trott throughout the movie. I was not surprised when things started happening that resembled his life, nor was I surprised when it turned out to be him that wrote the book. Come on Jim Carey, stay with what you know!

Average customer rating:

Only difference is the case

Beetlejuice
Starring: Jack Angel , Alec Baldwin , Simmy Bow , Dick Cavett , and Tony Cox
Director: Tim Burton
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
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ASIN: B000P0J074
Release Date: 2007-05-15

Description

a couple of nice homebody ghosts, trying to rid their house of afamily of trendsetting human beings, is hell-bent on making theirhome unlivable -- even for the dead.

Customer Reviews:

Only difference is the case.......2007-05-10

This is not a new edition of the movie, the only difference is the case is a standard DVD case instead of the cardboard snap kind.

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (Two-Disc Special Edition)

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No oscar for Betty?
Terrifying
Old horror classic with a twist!
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Baby Jane? Who the hell is Baby Jane?

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Starring: Bette Davis , Joan Crawford , Victor Buono , Wesley Addy , and Julie Allred
Director: Robert Aldrich , and Susan F. Walker
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
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ASIN: B000EU1Q4A
Release Date: 2006-05-30

Amazon.com essential video

A cultish horror favorite, 1962's What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? will make you think twice before hungrily unveiling a covered plate of food. Bette Davis stars as Jane Hudson, a onetime child actress and singer. As an elderly woman, she wishes to revive her vaudevillian career, but she has become a grotesque caricature of her former self. Over the years as her star faded, the star of her older sister Blanche (Joan Crawford) rose, outshining the career of the has-been Baby Jane. Jane was relegated to minor roles, which she only won when Blanche demanded that she be awarded them. The film opens years after a calamitous car accident leaves Blanche in a wheelchair, with no one to care for her except the increasingly insane and sadistic Jane and their servant, Norman. Trying to punish Blanche for her years of success, Jane tortures the housebound woman, slowly trying to starve her to death, all the while attempting to recapture the fame of her youth. This dark drama also stars Victor Buono as the hefty pianist who answers Jane's ad for an accompanist, hoping to milk some money off the demented old woman. Both Buono and Davis were nominated for Oscars for their roles in this suspenseful and somewhat sick thriller that exploited well the real-life antagonism between Davis and Crawford, while at the same time rejuvenated both their careers. --Jenny Brown

Customer Reviews:

No oscar for Betty?.......2007-08-28

Well she didn't win one, and the poor thing had to sit and watch Joan accept an award (on behalf of another actor).
She was absolutely robbed, one of Hollywood's biggest mortal sins in my opinion.
BUT, at least Betty got to beat the hell out of Joan in this movie!
Which makes me feel a whole lot better, even though it wasn't real, pretending it is makes me feel like justice was served.
So suck it Joan! (though she is a great actress herself, no doubt).

Terrifying.......2007-08-03

The story of sibling rivalry and two aging actresses. Bette Davis and Joan Crawford play two sisters who were each stars in the Golden Age of Hollywood and are now forced to live together. Bette's Jane was the bigger star in childhood and Joan's Blanche became a much bigger star as an adult. The jealousy proceeded to eat Jane up alive and she became an alcoholic. Due to an accident, Blanche is now forced to live with Jane. To say anymore would be to give away the plot, but this movie terrified me as a little kid and is still frightening today. It's a horror movie in that the horror is what jealousy can do to a person. It's also a lesson in that things are never really what they seem. The two grande dames are at their finest.

Old horror classic with a twist!.......2007-07-12

Great movie, a classic. I won't give it all away but it's about two sisters who stay together for decades, one caring for the other (but not the way a typical sister would). Baby Jane (the stage name of one of the sisters) is played by Bette Davis and the other sister is played by Joan Crawford - two great actresses! You really have to watch it, I don't want to give away spoilers to this great movie with a twist. And, like all old horror movies, there's no scary gore like in today's movies (I like horror movies, but can't stand the gore of today's films).

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?.......2007-07-02

Aldrich's campy cult classic still chills, thanks to a deliciously creepy premise which borrows from "Sunset Boulevard" in exposing the mental disintegration of a one-time star. Still, this is a more ghoulish affair, with Jane finding a variety of sinister ways to torture poor Blanche. Leads Davis and Crawford had parallel Hollywood careers, and their rivalry was famous, yet they'd never worked together before this (nor would they again!). Davis in particular is fearless as demented harridan Jane, and corpulent Victor Buono adds a revolting touch as Jane's smarmy accompanist.

Baby Jane? Who the hell is Baby Jane?.......2007-06-08

"What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" was originally billed as a horror movie, but by today's standards is more of a thriller. No one could have asked for a better star pairing. Joan Crawford plays the sympathetic 'good sister' Blanche, a faded screen starlet wheelchair bound and left tormented at the hands of her psychotic sister, Jane. Jane was once a cutesy childhood performer, groomed and dresed up like a little doll. Like Shirely Temple, her performances probably made pedophiles grin. An embittered, nasty woman who never quite grew up past being a spoiled child, Jane is eager for any audience. Bette Davis really nails the part of Jane, as viewers are given no choice but to simply HATE her character. She really steals the show. Crawford is also very good too, as viewers feel pity for her, hoping she'll make it in the end. The ending is ambiguous. An excellent movie that provides an interesting character study of child starlets, fame, sibling rivalry, and the dire for attention.

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Someone give me a match
Bug Is In Your Future
A Visceral Experience where Madness is the True Horror
Its hard to rate this movie
creepy and crawly

Bug (Special Edition)
Starring: Michael Shannon , Ashley Judd , and Jr. Harry Connick
Manufacturer: Lionsgate Home Entertainment
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ASIN: B000T5O48K
Release Date: 2007-09-25

Description

A lonely waitress with a tragic past, Agnes (Judd) rooms in a run-down motel, living in fear of her abusive, recently paroled ex-husband (Connick Jr.). But when Agnes begins a tentative romance with Peter (Shannon), an eccentric, nervous drifter, she starts to feel hopeful again - until the first bugs arrive...

Customer Reviews:

Someone give me a match.......2007-09-13

This movie blows in ways I didn't think possible as far as horror movies go it has the essentials it's just a terrible movie. By the time I got to the end of this film I had wished someone had drowned me in gasoline and lit the match.
It started out with alot of promise but strayed and went to some far away land where nothing makes sense.
I just wish I could get the time I wasted watching this turd back.
I'm not sure but it wouldn't surprise me if Linos Gate isn't behind this horrible excuse for entertainment over the last couple of years Lions Gate has been flooding the market with more garbage than a landfill.
I didn't and can't remember seeing a single bug, I get the whole it was all in his mind but how did it get in her mind I just wish I could get the memory of this lame excuse of a film out of my mind.
None of it made sense were they independantly wealthy? how did they pay the rent? where did they get all the tin foil? and what kind of doctor toots away on a crack pipe? DUMB!!! DUMB!!!
I'm Done...

Bug Is In Your Future.......2007-08-27

This is a classic film. Anyone who says otherwise, just didn't get it. What this film depicts is the decent of two individuals, both with troubled pasts, into madness - and a fairly accurate portryal of madness at that (the two main characters could easily be diagnosed with Shared Psychotic Disorder). Ashly Judd does an amazing job of buying into her mysterious new man's delusional world of bug infestation, and it only gets better as the film progresses. And the ending is classic - right up there with Requium For A Dream, in my opinion. Run, don't walk to rent or buy this film the day it comes out!

A Visceral Experience where Madness is the True Horror.......2007-08-15

**No Spoilers**
I read nothing but negative things before watching the new psychological thriller Bug--as a critic, it's hard to go see a film with neutrality and an open-mind. Bug works because of its exploration of paranoia, brainwashing and psychosis. Yes, it does start slow with long explanations and dialogue. But like small drops of rain before a thunderstorm, it becomes a visceral experience where madness--neither gore, nor CGI--is the true horror. Think of it as a Twilight Zone episode on steroids.

Story:
Agnes White (Ashley Judd) is a divorced woman who lives in a remote motel. She is lonely, depressed and always afraid of her ex Jerry (Harry Connick Jr.) who just got out of jail--he harasses her all the time. She also works as a waitress at a local bar, where she hangs out with her lesbian friend R.C (Lynn Collins). One night, they decide to hang out in her motel room and R.C brings a new friend called Peter (Michael Shannon). Agnes is attracted to him right away--his unusual personality and view of the world is something new to her. They become romantically involved--despite her ex--and share deep and painful secrets about themselves. She doesn't know that Peter is the new man who will change her views of the US government and the world.

Review:
The movie is based on play by Tracy Letts and directed by William Friedkin (The Exorcist). Bug is not about little roaches or a giant praying mantis. The movie has a deeper meaning than that. It deals with the human psyche, conspiracy theories and power to persuade people. This is where the horror comes from. The beginning might be slow for some fans of the genre--there are long conversations and some character development--but then the action begins once the paranoia penetrates their minds. The small motel room becomes a self-contain universe where madness reigns.

Other good attributes of the film is the acting. Judd and Shannon did an excellent job, especially towards the end of the film, where they commit strange and terrible things to each other and others. Some scenes are very disturbing.

Despite its excellent highlights, Bug has some silly moments. The love scene is probably one of the worst I have ever seen--it's not sexy at all and has this weird "bug" view. Some of the nudity is unnecessary. Also the logic is not the best thing here. I couldn't understand why Agnes was so easily convinced by Peter. Why did she follow him so blindly? Perhaps his personality and strange philosophy are the ingredients.

The Verdict:
Bug is one of the best horror movies we've reviewed this year. It has great moments of psychosis, paranoia and crude violence. It drags for the first act, but it picks up to an explosive finale that will please most of the fans of the genre.

Its hard to rate this movie.......2007-08-08

My girlfriend said that it was a mess of a movie, not much making sense and basically a car crash with some interesting moments. Myself, i liked the movie more because i enjoy strange, weird , and not your average summer blockbuster(which are for the most part disappointing). Its up to yourself to give this movie a try, for nothing else its a different ride.

creepy and crawly.......2007-08-06

Great eerie terror flick, that will have you glued.Ignore bad reviews,these people trash bodycount movies for unoriginality and then trash a good original movie like this when they finally get it!

Average customer rating:

Christian Bale = AMAZING.
A modern take on Poe's Tell-Tale Heart!
The Machinist
amazing psychological thriller
Have to admit, I didnt' like it at first...

The Machinist
Starring: Christian Bale , Jennifer Jason Leigh , Aitana Sánchez-Gijón , John Sharian , and Michael Ironside
Director: Brad Anderson (II)
Manufacturer: Paramount
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ASIN: B0007Y08QA
Release Date: 2005-06-07

Amazon.com

As a bleak and chilling mood piece, The Machinist gets under your skin and stays there. Christian Bale threw himself into the title role with such devotion that he shed an alarming 63 pounds to play Trevor Reznik (talk about "starving artist"!), a factory worker who hasn't slept in a year. He's haunted by some mysterious occurrence that turned him into a paranoid husk, sleepwalking a fine line between harsh reality and nightmare fantasy--a state of mind that leaves him looking disturbingly gaunt and skeletal in appearance. (It's no exaggeration to say that Bale resembles a Holocaust survivor from vintage Nazi-camp liberation newsreels.) In a cinematic territory far removed from his 1998 romantic comedy Next Stop Wonderland, director Brad Anderson orchestrates a grimy, nocturnal world of washed-out blues and grays, as Trevor struggles to assemble the clues of his psychological conundrum. With a friendly hooker (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and airport waitress (Aitana Sánchez-Gijón) as his only stable links to sanity, Trevor reaches critical mass and seems ready to implode just as The Machinist reveals its secrets. For those who don't mind a trip to hell with a theremin-laced soundtrack, The Machinist seems primed for long-term status as a cult thriller on the edge. --Jeff Shannon

Description

THE MACHINIST is the story of Trevor Reznik, a machinist who hasn't slept in over a year. Working in a machine shop, Trevor faces the usual occupational hazards, yet his extreme fatigue only makes them worse, causing him to accidentally cut off a co-worker's hand. What Trevor suffers from clearly isn't a typical case of insomnia…

Customer Reviews:

Christian Bale = AMAZING........2007-08-31

The man is just so extremely talented, and not to mention good-looking! This movie really makes you think. EXCELLENT. Highly recommended!

A modern take on Poe's Tell-Tale Heart!.......2007-08-18

There are other movies out there that deal with trauma and its psychological components, such as Jacob's ladder, and this is a different take on a similar subject. The first scene of the movie makes no sense until the end of the movie, but everything finally does come together.

Faced with a terrible event, Trevor develops into an hallucinatory, pathetic character in trying to deal with his guilt. He starts off as a pleasant, intelligent guy, and his steady girl is also a likable, sympathetic person. But when he steps out with a waitress and her son, we begin to see that something is wrong. His weight issues, where he is 130 and losing day by day is also a flag that something has to be wrong.

He manufactures people and occurrences that at first seem real, but he finally realizes that they are anything but real.

Christian Bale gives an excellent performance in this movie and at its conclusion I found that I could feel for him in his torment. It is a difficult movie to watch at times, but one does take away from it the complexities of the human mind, and the power of the unconscious, or the soul, over the human mind. It is a modern day take on Poe's Tell-Tale Heart.

The Machinist.......2007-07-25

Anderson's eerie psychological thriller is an intelligent study of guilt and repression featuring a disturbing lead performance by Bale. Talk about dedication: the actor dropped a shocking 63 pounds to immerse himself in the role of Reznik, a "living skeleton." It is hard to see the hulking star of "American Psycho" so gaunt and sickeningly starved, but it serves the character's sympathetic, soul-annihilating psychosis. Leigh and Sanchez-Gijon provide excellent support, as does Mr. Clean look-alike John Sharian, playing a demonic, scarily deformed factory worker who may or may not be a phantasm. Filmed in metallic blues and grays for added effect, "The Machinist" is a paranoid, memorably creepy puzzler.

amazing psychological thriller.......2007-07-25

This movie shows a man breaking down as the guilt of what he has done eats away at his sanity, leaving him to feel isolated from a world he sees is out to get him.

Have to admit, I didnt' like it at first..........2007-06-14

After watching it a few times, I can appreciate what they were trying to do with this film. If you can, watch it when you're really, really, really tired.

Average customer rating:

Lots Of Star Power In This Louisiana Gothic Melodrama
over the top camp
A HAIR RAISING SHOCKER
What A Twisted Tale Of Life-Long Deception!
Great entertainment

Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte
Starring: Bette Davis , Olivia de Havilland , Joseph Cotten , Agnes Moorehead , and Cecil Kellaway
Director: Robert Aldrich
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
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ASIN: B0009NZ2MO
Release Date: 2005-08-09

Amazon.com

Poor Charlotte Hollis. She's been shunned by the community for decades, ever since the fateful night in 1927 when her lover was hacked apart with an axe. Her antebellum southern mansion is slated for the bulldozer, as it stands in the way of highway construction. Charlotte's only hope lies in her cousin Miriam (Olivia de Havilland), coming down from up north to help settle things. Miriam, however, has other designs. Together with her boyfriend Drew (Joseph Cotten), she embarks on a scheme to systematically drive Charlotte out of her mind (not a great leap) and get her mitts on the family fortune. From there, things only get more complicated. Charlotte puts the "gothic" in southern gothic, as a great showcase for completely bizarre, overwrought, and out-of-control performances from all involved. Agnes Moorehead plays Charlotte's loyal, disheveled housekeeper to the hilt, with an odd inflection that calls to mind Amos and Andy more than southern gentility. As the drunken, conniving Dr. Drew, Cotten's accent is indeterminate at times, and seems to come and go. As great as the supporting players are, though, the crown goes to Bette Davis as the shrieking Charlotte, a portrait of isolation and decay stuck in a world of tragic delusions inside her crumbling mansion. De Havilland is a close second as the scheming Miriam; the scene where she slaps the holy snot out of a hysterical Charlotte is itself worth the price of admission. Mary Astor (in her last role) and Cecil Kellaway (as a kindly Lloyd's of London adjuster) put in the only performances with any restraint, acting as counterweights for the rest of the cast. Besides, you'll never get another chance to see Joseph Cotten playing the harpsichord and singing, or caked in mud and lily pads! With Robert Aldrich's claustrophobic direction, Charlotte is as Southern as a field of kudzu, and as subdued as a train wreck. --Jerry Renshaw

Description

This is the tale of a wealthy southern spinster Charlotte Hollis (Bette Davis) who lives with her eccentric maid (Agnes Moorehead) in a decaying southern mansion, shunned by the townsfolk after the mysterious axe-murder of her late lover. When her jealous cousin (Olivia de Havilland) and her cousin's wily husband (Cotton) arrive for a visit, the two conspire to drive Charlotte insane and have her commited so the two can sell off her estate and pocket the proceeds.

Customer Reviews:

Lots Of Star Power In This Louisiana Gothic Melodrama.......2007-08-20

I first saw HUSH HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE on television years ago when the local television stations still played a weekday afternoon movie interrupted by many commercials and "dialing for dollars." I was probably in my early teens then and remember being fascinated by the morbid drama and the haunting theme song has always been stored somewhere in my memory. I recently enjoyed re-watching the film and was happy to see it has held up as a gothic suspense film with some horror elements.

In a prelude we see handsome young Bruce Dern playing a married Lothario being told to break off his relationship with Charlotte by her father, played by Victor Bueno, who was actually still in his twenties when he filmed this role. Bruce Dern's character is murdered in a gruesome manner by an unseen attacker and we see Charlotte emerge in the midst of a party her father is giving looking bewildered and covered in blood.

Flash forward thirty-seven years and Charlotte, now played by Bette Davis, is an eccentric older woman living in her decaying Louisiana mansion, left to her by her now deceased father, that is about the be destroyed for highway construction. We learn Charlotte was the chief suspect in the long ago murder but her father was able to shield her from prosecution with his money and a hasty trip to Europe. Charlotte is looked after by Velma, a loyal servant and quite a character played by an excellent Agnes Moorehead (Endora of Bewitched fame). An old friend and the family doctor, Drew (played by Joseph Cotton) also takes a protective interest in Charlotte and her money. Charlotte's sweet voiced cousin Miriam (played perfectly by Olivia de Havilland) arrives to help the increasingly deranged woman make the transition out of her lifelong home which is about to be destroyed. Strange, spooky happenings begin to escalate and the viewer is left unsure of whether the supernatural, Charlotte's delusions or something more concrete are the cause. Meanwhile an insurance investigator from England who has always been fascinated by the case arrives while another major player in the mystery nears death and may be ready to reveal what she knows. All is satisfactorily explained by the end but not after several twists and some deaths occur.

Bette Davis is fine as the tortured Charlotte since the role calls for her brand of unsubtle performance. Olivia de Havilland (one of the four leads in GONE WITH THE WIND) is even better as the calm and competent Miriam who may have a secret or two of her own. And Agnes Moorehead does perhaps the best acting in her role of Velma the servant who knows and sees all. The soundtrack of the film is excellent and the black and white cinematography enhances the mood and atmosphere of the story. Well worth watching by anyone who enjoys a murder mystery with a touch of horror movie conventions.

over the top camp.......2007-08-07

If you want to have some fun watching two old broad icons from the golden age of Hollywood, this movie is for you. Bette Davis and Olivia DeHavilland chew the scenery with no holds barred and the result is over the top camp. The story line, with Bette living a life of guilt over the death of her married lover, can be confusing at times but the performances are worth watching. Agnes Moorehead, an actress who never got her due, is a riot as Velma, the housekeeper loyal to Bette. Certainly not a Bette Davis classic like The Letter or Dark Victory, but a good watch all the same.

A HAIR RAISING SHOCKER.......2007-06-09

THIS SUPERB FILM STARS BETTE DAVIS AS CHARLOTTE HOLLIS WHO HAS BEEN CLOSETED IN HER MANSION SINCE THE GRISLY MURDER OF HER MARRIED LOVER MANY YEARS EARLIER. FINE SUPPORT COMES FROM OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND AS HER COUSIN MIRIAM AND JOSEPH COTTEN AS DOCTOR DREW BAYLESS. THIS THRILLER WILL HAVE YOU ON THE EDGE OF YOUR SEAT AND SPECIAL MENTION MUST BE MADE OF CHARLOTTE'S LOYAL SERVANT OSCAR NOMINEE AGNES MOOREHEAD - I DON'T THINK EVEN THIS FINE ACTRESS HAS DONE ANYTHING BETTER. FINE REMASTERING FROM THE 1964 PRINT ADDS TO ONE'S PLEASURE SO DON'T MISS THIS REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENT.

What A Twisted Tale Of Life-Long Deception!.......2007-05-26

Davis and DeHavilland are truly at their best in this shocking thriller, set in the bayou country of Louisiana. The setting, the family dynamics, and the un-expected twists and turns in the story will keep your attention riveted to the screen. I enthusiastically recommend this movie to all lovers of Hollywood classics...

Great entertainment.......2007-02-12

The story behind the conception of "Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte" is well documented, so the question is: without being another Bette Davis/Joan Crawford battlefest, does it match up to the runaway success of "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane"? My opinion is that it ranks as a good movie, but falls into the shadow of it's predecessor.

The plot follows Davis as Charlotte, an eccentric recluse who has been shunned by the townsfolk ever since her married lover was found brutally murdered at a party when she was a young girl. Branded as the killer, Charlotte has grown into a bitter and lonely old woman, who is finally forced to come out of her isolation when the county wants to knock down her house to build a new road. The main part of the film begins as Charlotte's cousin Miriam arrives in an attempt to talk some sense into her, and all the skeletons of the past come to light again.

The film is built around it's two central stars, Bette Davis and Olivia de Haviland (who plays Miriam). The two could scarcely be more different. Davis plays Charlotte as wide-eyed, shrill and in a constant state of nervous terror, while de Havilland delivers a performance of sleek velvety calm. The film hinges on the relationship between these two women, and out of the two of them, it is Miriam rather then Charlotte who suggests a character with much more going on beneath the surface, thanks to de Havilland's glacial cool. Davis is brittle and exhausting nearly all the time, and although she was one of the greatest Hollywood stars of her time, some more subtelty would have greatly enhanced the character of Charlotte in places. However, for the most part she is terrific, in fact her performance gets better and better as the film progresses, culminating in a very moving conclusion. De Havilland also does a great job, speaking in silky soft tones for the most part, but capable of erupting into surprisingly venomous anger as more of her true character comes to light. As is usual with a well known film like this, the twists and surprise revelations are already well known, but what impressed me was the the way the various strands were worked into the film, and how effectively some of the twists were then later built up into new twists! It must have been very effective for first time audiences in 1964, and for anyone who has not seen it even today.

The film looks great. Beautifully shot in black and white, it makes great use of selective lighting and deep shadows, more often than not inside the grand but rotting mansion that Charlotte lives in. There are also some great lines in the script, most often spoken by Davis, which make the proceedings border on high camp some of the time, but for the most part it is a quality product. What detracts from the enjoyment are some very lazy post dubbing in several places (where you can see that the actors are either mouthing something different or not speaking at all!), and the opening prologue set at a party supposedly in 1927, which has no attempt at period detail at all as most of the party goers are dressed in contemporary 1960's oufits (one girl even has a beehive hairdo!). This lack of care by director Robert Aldrich is more in line with one of William Castle's schlocky (but enthusiastic) efforts, rather than a major studio production like "Charlotte" was supposed to be.

I haven't really got that many bones to pick though, as the film delivers solid entertainment for most of it's 2hour running time. It IS a little long, but the constantly unravelling plot together with the performances from it's stars (not forgetting to mention the hilarious turn by Agnes Moorhead as the tousled maid) keep you hooked all the way through. Although some of the early parts are a bit of a screech-fest, it definitely improves as reaches the end, in fact Davis' performance in the last half hour becomes quite touching (barring her cross-eyed freak out on the stairs), and the ending scene especially shows that the film has a real heart.

Average customer rating:

Come in for a Spell ...
Overall it's good.
Witchy Good Movie
The Craft Rules
5of5 for good reasons

The Craft (Special Edition)
Starring: Robin Tunney , Fairuza Balk , Neve Campbell , Rachel True , and Skeet Ulrich
Director: Andrew Fleming
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00004W4UD
Release Date: 2000-09-12

Amazon.com

If Buffy the Vampire Slayer represents the lighter side of high school as a macabre experience, here's a movie that asks the burning question, "What happens when angst-ridden teenagers develop supernatural powers?" More to the point, how do four outcast teenaged witches handle their ability to cast wicked spells on the taunting classmates who've nicknamed them "The Bitches of Eastwick"? The answer, of course, is "don't get mad, get even." That's about all there is to this terminally silly movie, which makes up for its ludicrous plot by letting its young female cast have a field day as they indulge their dark fantasies. Fairuza Balk is enjoyable as the most wicked of the witches, and is therefore the focus of the film's most dazzling special effects. But it's Neve Campbell from television's Party of Five who made this film a modest box-office hit, just before she became her generation's fright-movie favorite in Scream and its popular sequel. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Come in for a Spell ..........2007-06-13

This movie was alright, it's one of those USA network type movies that you watch on a Sunday afternoon when there's nothing else on but football, and of course, it's for women and girls. Pre Buffy and Charmed, this rose a year or two before. It's an old story, updated with Generation X / goth rocker imagry for the 90s.

Earth, Air, Fire and Water, the four elements, come together at a Catholic school in southern California. Sarah has moved from the north to start over, makes some new friends at her new school, and all seems well. Soon the three new friends reveil that they are witches, looking for the fourth to complete their coven circle, and they believe Sarah is the match. Sure enough, the four come together and create just that.

This movie is about the abuse of power. Neve Campbell wishes that her scars would be removed when all medical treatments have failed, and, like magic, they vanish and she gets hot. Another wishes that the mean girl would get what's coming to her. And, sure enough, after a spell, the evil blonde popular girl (why are the mean girls always blonde in the movies and real life?) is knocked down a few pegs when her hair starts falling out. And the head witch, Fairuza Baulk, wants all the powers of the universe. And gets it. They become as vain and self centered as the ones they were looking to get even with, fall off their pillars, and eat some humble pie.

It's not an original story by any means, it's just dressed up with special effects to make it witchy and supernatural. Just some light entertainment, have fun with it.

Overall it's good........2007-05-13

Came fast, and in good condition. I haven't seen it since i was young so i bought it. Good movies about witches or witchcraft are hard to come buy. It's set for a more young adult to teen audience.

Witchy Good Movie.......2007-01-14

I think every young woman in Generation X has seen "The Craft." Sarah moves to Los Angeles from San Francisco and meets three friends who teach her about the world of witchcraft. In a story somewhat similar to "Mean Girls," her three new friends end up turning on her. Mean witches can be bitches. Sarah discovers that her mother was a powerful white witch and that she has the gift of witchcraft herself. While this is a lite horror movie, it has a good message of not messing with black magic.

The Craft Rules.......2007-01-11

The craft is a new classic for me, it was cool when I watch in high school and now my little sister (too little to get interested at the time) is hardcore fan, so I bought it for her a b-day present, she loves it, it a great movie, full of fun and special effects (some of them not very good) and special features, you will definitely wont regret to add this to your collection.

5of5 for good reasons.......2006-11-13

I gave it 5 stars for several reasons. Real Wiccans that view this usually down it. But I have read interviews to why there are inaccuracies in it. If they actually performed the ritual correctly, it could have been devastating. So, with technical help from the Golden Dawn, it was "modified" for safety. Fairuza Balk is a Wiccan herself. I call her Ru for short.... She has captured hearts everywhere in this movie. It has lead many people to the teachings of Wicca, unfotunately in a fantasy way. I wsh they had posted a notice before or after the movie that teh Witchcraft used was modified from the real teachings to protect the actors and actresses from harming themselves or others.
I would love to see Ru do another Witchcraft movie in which she can be a part of the direction. This movie is an instant classic and will never fade away. I wish they would make a sequal.

Average customer rating:

The Sort Of Movie You Feel Silly For Watching But Keep Watching Closely All The Same
Provocative with tinges of dark humor
oh my
morally bankrupt
A bit predictable and lacks certain payoffs

Mini's First Time
Starring: Alec Baldwin , and Nikki Reed
Manufacturer: Hbo Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000HC2LJE
Release Date: 2006-10-24

Amazon.com

A nymphet with a grudge is usually a promising combination for a thriller, and Mini's First Time lays on the Lolita complex in the capable person of Thirteen star Nikki Reed. Having been a bad girl at a tender age in that one, Reed plays a slightly older but even more dangerous teen in Mini, as the lethal daughter of a wannabe Hollywood actress (Carrie-Anne Moss) who never was. Joining the ranks of professional escorts while still in high school, Mini has an unsavory "meet cute" with her future partner in crime: answering a call at a hotel, she sleeps with her surprised stepfather (Alec Baldwin). Pretty soon the odd couple is cooking up ways of getting the mother out of the picture--first by psychological war, then by, well, more extreme measures. Director Nick Guthe tries to draw out the Hollywood satire as well as the modern-noir elements, but the tone is too glib for the mix to sit well, and there isn't quite enough happening on either front for the movie to gain real traction. However, this HBO-produced picture does present a handful of delicious performances, led by Baldwin's marvelous portrait of a self-disgusted middle-aged man who might actually have fallen in love... the poor sap. Moss is a revelation in a comic role (she does an expert drunk act) and Jeff Goldblum contributes his uniquely discursive muttering to a few scenes. Luke Wilson plays a police detective so droll and laid-back he seems to have wandered in from a Wes Anderson film, or possibly an old episode of Columbo. --Robert Horton

Description

Alec Baldwin is Martin, the wealthy, clueless stepfather of Mini (played by Nikki Reed). She's clever and has a healthy libido. And she's on a mission to stir up as much trouble as she can before her high school graduation. It's pretty clear where Mini got her conniving streak from-her mom (Carrie-Anne Moss) who spends more time partying than with her husband. Diana quickly becomes the third wheel when Martin and Mini's relationship escalates. A series of disturbing events at their posh modern house finally prompts the arrival of John (Luke Wilson) as a nosey detective on the case. Jeff Goldblum delivers another shot of star quality playing the cheesy TV show host who lives next door. Part Heather and part Lolita, Mini's a girl to watch out for in this delightfully warped comedy.

Customer Reviews:

The Sort Of Movie You Feel Silly For Watching But Keep Watching Closely All The Same.......2007-09-07

Yep, my title sums it up. This flashy flick had a movie of the week quality that suited its waaaay over the top far-fetched storyline about a spoiled teenaged LA call girl who, though already rich and pampered, does whom it takes to get what she wants. Starring just about every celebrity in Hollywood, or at least giving the feeling that it did (we're talking Nikki Reed, Carrie-Anne Moss, Luke Wilson, Jeff Goldblum, Alec Baldwin, Nana Visitor and more) this campy tale of a scheming, hot-blooded nymphette's plot to get rid of her unstable never-was mother, an aging actress wanna-be, and hook up with her momentarily more useful stepfather, played by Alec Baldwin, comes off like Nabokov writing for a trashy tabloid. A little bit funny, always slightly ridiculous, and just a tad suspenseful, this is a perfect example of why B-movies can sometimes be so much fun. Okay, admittedly Mini's First Time isn't Oscar material but it kept me watching, and chances are you too will stick around to see how it comes out!

Provocative with tinges of dark humor.......2007-07-04

Alec Baldwin delivers an above average performance in this movie, but that isn't what lifts this movie out of the doldrums...its Nikki Reed's amazing performance as a sexually voracious teenager who is amoral to the point of being homicidal. Nikki Reed plays a high school senior by day, and a call girl by night, which is a profession purely picked by choice, as she isn't exactly desperate for money. Her family life though leaves much to be desired, as her mother [Carrie Anne Moss] is a high-strung, drug and alcohol addled woman, who can't really figure out what's going on around her. It doesn't take too long before Mini gets her stepfather [Alec Baldwin] as a client, and the plot gets steamier and more convoluted from that point...I wouldn't say its compelling, but it merits a watch, if only for Baldwin's and Reed's performances.

oh my .......2007-03-13

this movie was good and showed how one girl mini got want she wanted which was to destroy other's lives and had pleasure in doing so. i think that the movie was great and nikki reed did a great good on being a convicing little twisted girl loved the movie!

morally bankrupt.......2007-01-11

This movie promotes betrayal, murder, unbridled lust, and sexual abuse of minors. It has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. It ought to be illegal. Alec Baldwin hates the United States and this is part of his effort to finish undermining what's left of our society. There are natural consequences for enjoying the pleasures that you know are wrong. Watch "Emma" with Kate Beckinsale instead. You'll be glad you did.

A bit predictable and lacks certain payoffs.......2006-12-22

An enjoyable film that has a fantastic start and premise. While the supporting cast gave solid to good performances, the plot is a bit predictable. There is no real twist as a payoff at the end either, everything was pretty much laid out a mile away. It would have been more fun it they put in some real twists. Some of the initial interactions between Martin (Alec Baldwin) and Mini (Nikki Reed) almost reminded me of the interactions between Michael Caine and Michelle Johnson in "Blame it on Rio" - a middle-aged man feeling torn by his guilt and love (or lust?) for having a forbidden affair with a much younger woman. However, the film soon changed tone and degenerated into a predictably flat cat and mouse game with an uninspired detective played by Luke Wilson (who coincidentally gave a very flat performance).

There are enough good performances peppered throughout the film, but not enough to carry it all the way. Carrie Ann Moss gave a fantastic performance as a convincing one note crazy drunk mother while Jeff Goldblum basically played himself, which is not necessarily a bad performance either as you can tell he enjoyed himself. Baldwin gave convincing performance as the torn rich middle-aged stepfather, who was unwillingly being turned into a partner-in-crime because of his guilt and love for his stepdaughter. Mini was almost fun to watch as she schemes and manipulates everybody around her but it was a bit too easy to be believed. Reed turned in a solid performance and you cannot get your eyes off her. The film tries a bit too hard to make Mini an over-the-top sex kitten and femme fatale, but the fact that Reed was underage when this film was shot makes that rather unconvincing. It would have been nice to actually see some of Mini's bedroom antics to complete her persona. Instead we just got hints and teases for a film that takes on some very adult relationship themes with little payoff. Overall, an enjoyable first time effort for writer-director Nick Guthe that was too tame and complacent for its topic, content and story. Good for rent.

Average customer rating:

DISTURBING PSYCHO-THRILLER.....

Antibodies (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Starring: Norman Reedus , Christian von Aster , André Hennicke , Waltraud Witte , and Konstantin Graudus
Director: Christian Alvart
Manufacturer: Dark Sky Films
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000QFCDCW
Release Date: 2007-08-28

Amazon.com

Pedophilia, serial murder, Catholic guilt, big-time Biblical imagery: director Christian Alvart bites on some serious issues in Antibodies, but for the most part it's not more than he can chew. Produced in 2005, the German film opens with a riveting sequence in which Gabriel Engel (Andre Hennicke), who has raped, killed, and mutilated more than a dozen young boys, is finally captured by the police. Enter Michael Martens (Wotan Wilke Mohring), a part-time policeman (and full-time farmer) in Herzbach, a small country town where a crime with an M.O. similar to Engel's has taken place (in investigating the incident, the rigid and humorless Martens has so alienated his fellow townsfolk that his own father-in-law shoots his dog). Marten comes to the city to interview the bad guy, whereupon a relationship heavily reminiscent of the Hannibal Lecter-Clarice Starling pas de deux in The Silence of the Lambs evolves; Engel, a stereotypical lunatic who dismisses Jack the Ripper and Charles Manson as wusses, will talk only to the guileless country cop (who undergoes some fairly radical changes as he succumbs to the lurid temptations of big city life). But are the killer's denials of responsibility for this latest atrocity true? Could Martens' own son, the trouble-prone Christan (Hauke Diekamp), be the actual perp? To find the answer, viewers are obliged to wade through some pretty heavy-handed scenes (a symbolic re-enactment of the Biblical tale of Abraham and Isaac is fairly ludicrous). But Antibodies is also filled with gorgeous and creative cinematography and stylish use of lighting, art direction, and set design, all of which help make the film eminently watchable. This two-disc special edition includes a "making of" documentary, deleted scenes, outtakes, and other bonus features. --Sam Graham

Customer Reviews:

DISTURBING PSYCHO-THRILLER............2007-08-31

This taut German made thriller starts out with a heart-pounding bang then kind've settles down into a war of mind games between an urban serial killer of children and a very disturbed rural cop. Not as gory as the beginning, "Antibodies" is still graphic and disturbing due to the dialogue and descriptions of the crimes and just enough visuals to clue you in that the killings were horrendous. There's also some fairly graphic sex and nudity. The killer really does a psychological number on the cop by apparently convincing him that evil is contagious and leading him into psychological traps that have frustrating and sometimes violent resolutions. The cop lives on a farm and has an unhappy marriage and two kids, one of whom is a 13 year old boy showing signs of "evil starting small". Or is he just a troubled soul like his dad? The acting is first rate and the photography is beautiful juxtaposing simple country life with big city coldness. Lags in places but overall engrossing and not for the squeamish. There are some scenes that I found too unpleasant involving animals so animal lovers beware. But for lovers of graphic psycho crime thrillers, "Antibodies" is an intriguing story to experience. Disc two is a "making of..." feature and other related extras. The print is excellent. Not a bad package for the price. Dark Sky has done a good job here.

Average customer rating:

YOU STOLE MY STORY.
Uninspired performance from Johnny
Insane People Shouldn't Write Reviews!!/Let Me
(CAUTION - PARANOID PSYCHOSIS & MENTAL ILLNESS STEREOTYPE & STIGMA SPOILERS)
"I'm Sure Eventually that her Death will become a Mystery even to me"

Secret Window
Starring: Johnny Depp , John Turturro , Maria Bello , Timothy Hutton , and Charles S. Dutton
Director: David Koepp
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
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ASIN: B0002234LS
Release Date: 2004-06-22

Amazon.com

Johnny Depp gets high off another acting challenge in this tricky adaptation of a Stephen King yarn. Although the mood is too sinister to allow for the mischief of his Pirates of the Caribbean turn, Depp still manages to embroider his role here with plenty of quirky business. He plays a writer, depressed and nearly divorced, who's stuck in an isolated cabin (shades of The Shining) when a stranger (John Turturro) arrives, accusing him of plagiarism. Writer-director David Koepp (Stir of Echoes) does his best to make the rickety material compelling--he gets the maximum out of the cabin set, for instance--but the problems inherent in the King story eventually win out. The climactic scenes are particularly unpleasant, especially in contrast to the cleverness of Depp's performance. A Philip Glass score adds class, but this one ultimately feels like a disappointment. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

YOU STOLE MY STORY........2007-06-27

This movie was on television a few months ago. My daughter who is 15 years old, watched the movie also. She loves Johnny Depp, so I got the movie for her. It's funny, and psychological to me. Poor Mort, his mind was so messed up he couldn't tell reality from fiction. The DVD also has features about the story. It explains certain scenes about the movie also deleted scenes. I really liked the man Mort made up Mr. Shooter. The beginning of the movie" You stole my story" I recommend this movie to any person who likes Johnny Depp.

Uninspired performance from Johnny.......2007-04-09

I was really disappointed in this movie, as Johnny Depp seems to sleepwalk through the entire role, and shows none of his previous greatness from other roles. And the two tone hair? Not a good look.

My dad has all of Stephen King book's but the last couple he has read, he has either struggled to get into, or found it was too similar to previous novels. I've read a couple, but watching this, I discovered every Stephen King stereotype/cliche is included. The loner eccentric writer, by himself in the middle of nowhere, the strange man - just everything about this film.

There's also a very unexpected twist, which not only ruins what was already a mess before the twist hits, but comes so abruptly, that you have to actually pause the film and work out what on earth is going on. The 'twist' has become the most overused solutions in Hollywood in thrillers etc of the past few years, and they're getting worse, and more predictable each time. For me, the twist completely ruined this film. Other reviewers disagree.

Maria Bello, the fabulous bar owner from Coyote Ugly, is seriously underused, and underdeveloped as a character, that it's a waste of time in even having her in the movie.

Major disappointment. See some of Johnny's earlier films for his best work. And if you want to see something really off the wall, watch Benny & Joon.

And on that note: "Rah! Rah! Rah!"

Quite.

And there was absolutely nothing 'thrilling' about it.

Insane People Shouldn't Write Reviews!!/Let Me.......2007-02-28

Okay that other guy who reviewed this is insane as H.

This movie is awesome. Johnny Depp gives a brilliant performance as author Mort Rainey. If you read the book then you know the story and hopefully you also know that movies won't ever be completely the same as the book. So don't be mad at the movie just get used to it.

(CAUTION - PARANOID PSYCHOSIS & MENTAL ILLNESS STEREOTYPE & STIGMA SPOILERS).......2007-02-23

This is an awesome awesome movie. I say that because it is one of the best renditions Hollywood has ever done of a person suffering from "psychotic depression." Johnny Depp (who is effected by it) lets the viewer watch this illness evolve in a slow journey down into the dark pit of insanity. The audience experiences this pure psychosis in a fashion that is authentic to the T.

The movie ingeniously shows this form of stress-induced-insanity which is so brilliantly triggered by (1) finding your wife in bed with her boyfriend, (2) the impending divorce, (3) Depp having to move out of his house and into a summer house on a lake, and (4) the inevitable financial stress on this lead character. I mean, oh my god, he must be running about 500 stress points! That's enough to trigger a psychotic attack on anyone who is predisposed to psychotic mental illness (paranoid schizophrenia, psychotic bipolar, psychotic depression, post-partum psychosis - about 8 million US people).

This is exactly the type of stress that triggered me to go into an almost identical type of psychotic episode a number of years ago while an army officer assigned to Germany. For me, the stressors were very similar to the movie - move to Europe, new platoon leader, financial difficulties, relationship stress, new language to speak, etc.

Psychosis means delusions and the movie very realistically showed the onset of the "persecutorial delusion" (where you think someone is coming to get you) by showing Turturro coming to get Johnny. And then the formation of the potentially more serious "grandiose delusion" where you think that others (real people) are conspiring against you. This is where some psychotic people will actually lash out at others, and by so doing, if they harm them, they become criminally insane. Of the 8 million of us who have this type of psychotic illness, about 50,000 of us will do this. We'll read about the next one in the newspapers next week. Almost all of these will be done by people who did not know they had a psychotic illness, were not previously diagnosed and were not medicated. And this is exactly Depp's situation in the film (I have psychotic bipolar and must take lithium for mania, and Zyprexa for psychosis daily).

Psychosis also means hallucinations. And Turturro has this part by playing an "imaginary paranoid hallucination antagonist." This is really an ingenious Hollywood technique because it helps others in our society understand psychosis by showing a visual hallucination. I believe the technique was first used in "Beautiful Mind." This phenomenon, coupled with the delusions, is what makes paranoid psychosis a horrifying experience.

The movie shows this paranoid delusional psychosis very well and Depp actually lashes out at a number of people in his psychotic episode. For me, I got these same types of delusions and similar hallucinations in Germany but never lashed out at others - therefore I got an honorable discharge as a captain, after getting out of the stressful situation and the psychosis dissipated.

I liked the above parts of the movie very well for its authenticity - it was good. However what I didn't like about the movie is that it went way over board in the number of homicides. This just adds to the mental illness stereotype and the stigma. And so more people won't go in and get help when they should be getting help and medication. It took me 23 years before I got help. Why? Because of the stigma and fear. Maybe if society didn't have this stigma, we wouldn't have these types of terrible tragedies like in this movie. My heart goes out to anyone who has been impacted by this.

Society has available the medicine and counseling which is needed to eliminate this type of tragedy. Maybe if they educated the masses in a smart way we could eliminate it. But instead we "monsterize" this illness by this type of movie.

"I'm Sure Eventually that her Death will become a Mystery even to me".......2007-02-22

Hey. Johnny Depp can act. He basically carries this movie on his back to the promised land of 4/5 star movies. Thats not to say that the other actors are bad, they are all good, no one stands out as a total [...] job that says he/she is only in it for the money. A few points on the movie:

First of all this is a horror movie and I was surprised that I was on the edge of my seat. This is why I contend that PG-13 movies can be just as scary as R rated movies. The atmosphere is great and I was, like I said, on the edge of my seat. The biggest thing that helps this movie is the Unknown. Most R rated movies show you the monster/pysho/math teacher/maniac and take away the element of the unknown(Of course I'm not saying that R rated Horror movies are not scary, I'm just saying that PG-13 movies can be scary too). In this movie you know the villain is [...] character but you still feel like there is more to it than that and of course there is.

Secondly, this movie also has some good parts in the middle of it. With a lot of these movies with a big twist at the end the middle can get boring and pointless because the ending is really all that matters. But Johnny Depp once again comes to the rescue and gives us some good humour which adds to rewatchability.

And finally the ending is, in my opinion, great. I loved the direction, I loved the acting, yea the story did get a bit uninvolving, but this is still a very good movie which all should see....

DVD:

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