Reviews

I've had the advantage of watching Mindhunters several times now since it has been on cable for a few weeks. To my infinite surprise, it is a pretty good small serial killing film. The strengths include the gory nature of the killings and the setting, which adds to the suspense. It's also nicely paced, which helps you avoid becoming embroiled in the to-be-expected plot holes. The weakness is that there are too many gratuitous characters who exist only to be killed off, and that these characters are too broadly drawn.

This film also has a Southern accent done by a British actor (Jonny Lee Miller), and the accent isn't done well at all. It's jarring and I must wonder if there was some other way to explain his presence so that we could be spared the Kentucky Fried Limey routine.

Have you ever heard the saying that people "telegraph their intentions?" Well in this movie, the characters' actions do more than telegraph future plans -- they show up at your house drunk and buffet you about the head. This could be forgiven if the setting had been used better, or if the characters were more charismatic or nuanced. Embeth Davidtz's character is not mysterious, just wooden, and Kenneth Branagh doesn't succeed in conveying the brash charm his character probably was written to have.

The bottom line: obvious plot, one-note performances, unlikeable characters, and grotesque "Southern" accents employed by British actors.

I passed on this film in the theater, but have since seen it several times on cable. It is very well-paced and there are no unnecessary scenes. Unlike many of the other people who said there was no chemistry between Damon and Potente, I think the two of them worked because they were able to keep the focus on the plot.

The Paris setting is great and they used it to full advantage. It wasn't merely the "careening down narrow city streets" stuff; it included some truly French settings such as Bourne's apartment building, which was fabulous (watch, it will turn out that this was filmed in Pittsburgh).

It was nice to see Clive Owen in a small but pivotal role as an assassin tracking Bourne. I was at a bit of a loss about Julia Stiles' role as an operative in Paris. She looked like she would be more at home playing high school field hockey. Her casting seemed thrown in to have more eye candy in the film.

I liked this film a fair amount and would have liked it more if the main character had been a little bit more consistent in her actions at the end of the film. Before that, though, I thought there was good chemistry between the two leads, and both of them were very likeable. Nick Chinlund was very good as a romantic lead -- I don't think he normally plays such roles, but maybe people will look twice at him now. The lead actress seemed like someone you could know. Word to the wise: This is definitely a chick flick, -- not that there's anything wrong with that.

This film was supposed to be a film noir, except that the character development of everyone except for Tom Berenger's character was flimsy. As a result, it's hard to buy the plot twists. The characters needed more development -- most noir characters are one-note, but those notes have to be played clearly. If the, say, gruff but sympathetic boss doesn't come across as sympathetic, you care less if he is killed. (Note: this is a random example, not from the film.) On a side note, the lighting (or cinematography) of this film was awful, making all of the actors look terrible. In particular, Lori Heuring, who has an asymmetrical face, was shot from an angle that made her appear in some light to have a harelip and in others to make her look like she was slightly sneering (the actress herself is extremely pretty in other films, so I think I'm right to blame the camera work). Anyway, that's a small quibble with an otherwise bad film.

Despite the solid performance of Penelope Ann Miller, this movie was an awkward mess. The lead character's American accent was ridiculous and he never seemed comfortable as a result. There was no chemistry between the two actors and I'm still not sure what Ann-Margaret was doing there.

This show was originally very clunky and obvious, with Mariska Hargitay's character setting up to be extremely annoying (an emotional woman whose tragic past made her a bad bet for working in the sex crimes unit). However, the show has tightened up considerably since then and her character is very believable and definitely the star of the show. CHris Meloni, incredibly charismatic as Keller in Oz, is constrained by the limits of his character, a straitlaced family man whose responses are fueled by his own family situation. I know in L&O shows, the plotlines are the stars, but it seems like Meloni's role could be re-written to give him a bit more of an edge or sense of humor. Ice-T and Richard Belzer are great character acters, as is the guy who plays Kragen. The psychiatrist is very believable, too, if a bit tooooo "I'm OK, you're OK."

This film was incredibly tedious and although Val Kilmer looked the part, overall the piece failed to capture the incredible charisma Jim Morrison had. Meg Ryan, a lesser-known actress at the time, was the wrong fit as the woman who captured the heart of one of the most lusted-after rock idols. By the end I wanted to throw my shoe at the screen.