Reviews

I went into this movie very hopeful with the average 7/10 rating that the IMDb website boasted.

From the beginning, the movie had a whimsical, Disney-like feel to it, not the brooding feeling that you'd expect from a horror movie.

The background music played throughout giving it an almost narnia-like quality, but the plot and storyline were old and flat.

There was nothing new about this story. Nothing.

Perhaps if they had created more of an atmosphere of terror, rather than clichéd scary and comedy, it could have worked.

About 10 people (no exaggeration) walked out of the theater before the movie was over. A waste of $10 and two hours of my life that I will never get back.

Having seen and liked the first film, I was very much anticipating Paranormal Activity 2.

People who had seen it had rated it even better than the first and that really got my attention. Rarely is a sequel viewed as better than the original.

I was not disappointed. In fact, as a jaded horror-flick lover I really didn't think I would be scared and boy was I wrong. The feelings, the terror and the believability of the film stayed with me long after the film was over.

In my life, I have experienced paranormal events. Not to the extreme of the film, but weird things nonetheless. The characters in the film were ones that could have been anybody's brother, wife, son, daughter. It hit close to home. Maybe too close.

I've seen my fair share of chick-flicks and I enjoy them, but not this one. I was very disappointed at Jennifer Aniston's performance as she just seemed like, well, Rachel on friends. Can't she play any other roles? The acting was terrible, the writing was terrible and the plot was worse.

Where do I start? The scenes were clichéd and predictable. The scene where a parrot, a tropical bird, was released into the wild in Seattle, Washington really took the cake though.

Oh wait, I guess the scene where the same tropical bird was hanging in a cage in someone's kitchen above their counter was worse.

Who keeps birds in their kitchen where they prepare food? I digress...

With all of the Ocsar buzz, and a cover that looked like other epic classics such as the English Patient, I decided to rent this movie. I really wish that I hadn't as it was the worst movie I have seen in many years.

Character and plot development are awful and you are not given enough of the main characters' relationships to believe the totality of the story. The movie also jumps around and is very, very confusing. The scenes that were chosen for the film do nothing for the movie, resulting in an unfocused piece of cinema.

Way too much time is spent on pointless war scenes and the story is entirely clichéd.

I wouldn't watch this again if someone paid me.

Kirsten is cute, but its predictable and not all that exciting. The fact that it was in England was one of the only things that I liked about it. I love a good accent! Even the tennis stuff is okay, but it just didn't give away anything new, it was just a really long drawn out something that was less than convincing. Cutesy only gets you so far, you know? Could it be that the reason is that I am not a tennis fan? I don't think so. Just a lack of urgency. or something. If you have seen the preview, you have pretty much seen the movie. I was disappointed but I'll get over it. Sometimes a movie is just a fill in the spaces sort of thing for a Friday night.

I saw this film on opening night and was dazzled by its dizzying array of colors, fabrics and gorgeous costumes. The plot, however,was hard to follow. You really had to have a pre-conceived notion of the characters and storyline to follow the movie from start to finish and understand the details and relationships.

Reese, as usual, pulled the performance off with a perfect english accent, emotional honesty and a transparent quality that perfected the believablity of her character.

The piecing together of the film as a whole must have been where things went a bit wrong, as the result was a choppy movie, but wonderful story.

This movie, if nothing else reiterated racial stereotypes, even if the film's desired outcome was to move beyond them. A few examples:

-Queen Latifah's character showing up and dissappointing Steve Martin because she is black.

-Queen Latifah's character is a convict. This reiterates the stereotype that black people are criminals.

-County club elites gawking at a black woman-- for crying out loud it's 2003 not 1953!

-Queen Latifah's chatacter having to dress as a housekeeper to appease Steve Martin's character's client.

The movie was not funny and was actually quite sad. I am ashamed that 35 plus years after civil rights that we as a culture really aren't that far along. Come on, why couldn't we have a black family that had to accept a white person for a change?

Two thumbs down!

I am so disappointed. Katie does an okay job but she can't pull the weight of the entire movie on her own. Plot is fragmented and vague, pace is confusing and slow. Crazy boy main character is illusive and fails to contribute to the overall message of the so called movie. Benjamin Bratt is fluffy and dopey.

Don't rent this. It would be a waste of $4.

A friend called and offered me a free ticket to a film she didn't know much about. What she did know was it was somehow related to Thanksgiving and Katie Holmes was supposedly in it. It sounded pretty good so I decided to give Pieces of April a whirl. Director Peter Hedges was there to introduce the sneak preview of this film, clearly his acomplishment of the decade. He was quite proud of the flegdling film. As I later found out, he had every reason to be.

What I didn't know, is that this short, independent art film packed a lot of cinematic punch. From the beginning of the movie when we see a raw turkey clumsily flopped into the sink at the beginning of the infamous day of thanks, we are quickly initiated into this extremely raw film that deals poigniantly with issues that effect all of us...family estrangement, sickness, race, jealously, anger, forgiveness and ultimately the unspoken and international language of love and friendship.

I am hoping this film gets Oscar attention. Its right up there with American Beauty as far as I am concerned.

If you think of love in terms of boundaries and boxes, this is not the movie for you.

I enjoyed this movie though at the beginning I must say that I thought to myself..."What the hell?" Taking the advice of another user's comment, I held tight and opened my mind to the message of the movie. Stunning performances make Secretary a movie that you won't forget. The message left with me was one that I did not anticipate absorbing: pain like love is a force that unites.

This movie rocked. It wasn't as good as the first, but it followed well. The only reason that it wasn't received well is that A) It isn't new material and B) A bunch of cynical gen-xers voted on it.

Elle stays true to herself, is determined and is a great role model for young women. The movie is loaded with messages about tolerance, teamwork, optimism and honesty; all things American.

Go Elle, you get things done.

While Goldie and Susan are both talented, accomplished actors, this movie was lacking. It had a great story to tell, but felt more like an hour long sitcom rather than a movie. The "You must fully accept your past in order to fully embrace your present" idea was introduced and waved around a bit, but not enough to really make an impact. Very ordinary movie.

The Lisbon sisters will live on forever in the memory of the neighborhood boys who narrate this tragically beautiful story. The beauty of this movie is that while the Lisbon sisters were beautiful and interesting, they were also very ordinary. The narration, music and style of the film are very unique as well as effective. For those of us with Catholic backgrounds, this movie also speaks to the old school Catholic mentality of solemnity, guilt and suffering.

Kirsten Dunst is fabulous in her role as Lux Lisbon, the oldest of the four sisters. Kathleen Turner and her husband, played by James Woods, portray detached parents who treat parenthood as if it were a cold, mechanical project. This leaves little room for tenderness or a saving connection with their children, resulting in a failure to emotionally thrive.

This film was excellent. It succeeded in being scary without being bloody or stupid and had a wonderfully complex plot and narrative that was interesting, intriguing and threw you off when you least suspected it. The "not knowing" and fear factors poked at all of our fears of the unknown. One of the most wonderful things about this film was the title. When you watch this complex movie, you'll see that the title is an interesting image/concept and completes the reason for the film. I am a horror film buff and I give this 8/10.

I watched this movie as a kid and loved it. Later in college I watched it again, and to my amazement, still loved it. The actors do a great and convincing job especially Bette Davis and the two daughters. if you want to watch a scary film that has a great plot and a story so complex that each time you watch it you notice new things, this is for you.

While I love this film, and have seen it a dozen times at least, the maturing of my mind since the first time I saw it as a teen in 1991, have made me take a second look at this stunningly acted film about love, friendship, devotion and racial issues in a multiple decade look at women's roles in society.

Anyone who went to college where I did would see that Idgy from her childhood is the sterotypical Lesbian. She does not like to wear dresses and prefers a man's dress even as a youngster. As she ages, and as Ruth befriends her, she is tantalized by a kiss Ruth gives her on the cheek at the swimming hole and so devastated by Ruth's wedding that she does not even attend but instead drives hours to Valdosta, Georgia to look on hurtfully from the woods at Ruth carried in her new home in her wedding dress.

As the film progresses and Ruth is rescued from her abusive relationship the two start a cafe called Whistle Stop Cafe in Whistle Stop, Alabama. If one watches carefully they'll see that the two live together in a house near the cafe. In one poignant moment, the two women are talking over coffee late at night in the cafe when Ruth says that she feels bad that Idgy may feel she needs to stay and care for Ruth and Buddy Threadgoode Jr. (Buddy is Ruth's son but has Idgy's last name?!) Ruth says that if it weren't for she and Buddy, Idgy may "settle down" Idgy dramatically replies "I am as settled as I am ever going to be" and "I don't want you to move out" The clincher was the image they showed shortly after that scene of Ruth in a feminine dress and Idgy in shorts and a shirt and tie, holding each other and smiling. Idgy never married or dated and Ruth never remarried.

Everyone must come to their own conclusion but mine is two women in the 1930's who enjoy a healthy, loving lesbian relationship with the disguise of business partners in a time and place when different anything race, religion or creed, was just not tolerated or accepted.

When I first walked out of the theatre I was dazed, love stuck and full of awe for at least 24 hours. The content of the film, the cinematography and the impeccable acting won me over immediately. The movie touches on so many things we endure through the human experience: love, betrayal, war, death, separation, memory and finally, loyalty. After watching it many times I am still impressed with the incredible story this movie so brilliantly tells.

Although this movie had all the right elements: a great cast and a potentially great plot, it was a giant flop. No build up, no screen chemistry. I wasn't sitting on the edge of my seat when I invariably could have been!

Poor acting, poor directing, terrible script with tasteless cliches about overweight people. Gwyneth Paltrow acted as if she was thinking about what she'd do that evening rather than her role. Jack Black was good but this role was not suited for him. By far the worst movie I have seen in a very long time.

A superb cast provides a wonderful story about family, hardship, romance, friendship, marriage, and the trials of life. Debra Winger, Shirley MacLaine and Jack Nicholson provide a dazzling performance that is both heartwarming and heartwrenching.