Reviews

"The Cell" is an exotic masterpiece, a dizzying trip into not only the vast mind of a serial killer, but also into one of a very talented director. This is conclusive evidence of what can be achieved if human beings unleash their uninhibited imaginations. This is boldness at work, pushing aside thoughts to fall into formulas and cliches and creating something truly magnificent. This is the best movie of the year to date.

I've read numerous complaints about this film, anywhere from all style and no substance to poorly cast characters and bad acting. To negatively criticize this film is to miss the point. This movie may be a landmark, a tradition where future movies will hopefully follow. "The Cell" has just opened the door to another world of imagination. So can we slam the door in its face and tell it and its director Tarsem Singh that we don't want any more? Personally, I would more than welcome another movie by Tarsem, and would love to see someone try to challenge him.

We've all heard talk about going inside the mind of a serial killer, and yes, I do agree that the "genre" is a bit overworked. The 90s were full of movies trying to depict what makes serial killers tick; some of them worked, but most failed. But "The Cell" does not blaze down the same trail, we are given a new twist, we are physically transported into the mind and presented with nothing less than a fascinating journey of the most mysterious subject matter ever studied.

I like how the movie does not bog us down with too much scientific jargon trying to explain how Jennifer Lopez actually gets to enter the brain of another. Instead, she just lies down on a laboratory table and is wrapped with what looks like really long Twizzlers and jaunted into another entity. "The Cell" wants to let you "see" what it's all about and not "how" it's all about, and I guess that's what some people don't like. True, I do like explanations with my movies, but when a movie ventures onto new ground you must let it do what it desires and simply take it in.

I noticed how the film was very dark when it showed reality, maybe to contrast the bright visuals when inside the brain of another. Nonetheless, the set design was simply astonishing. I wouldn't be surprised if this film took home a few Oscars in cinematography, best costumes, best director and the like. If it were up to me it'd at least get nominated for best picture.

I've noticed that I've kind of been repeating myself. Not because there's nothing else to say, but because I can't stress enough how fantastic I thought "The Cell" was. If you walk into the movie with a very open mind and to have it taken over with wonders and an eye-popping feast then you are assured a good time. I guess this film was just a little too much for some people, writing it off as "weird" or "crazy". I am very much into psychology and the imagination of the human mind, so it was right down my alley. Leaving the theater, I heard one audience member say "Whoever made that movie sure did a lot of good drugs." If so, I want what he was smoking.

**** (out of 4)

Supernatural thrillers have never been a strong point for Hollywood, but when it's bad on so many levels and then resorts to action cliches to end it out you've really got a mess on your hands.

My first issue is why oh why does Hollywood think that the battle of evil forces is only fought by Catholics? Is there some sort of mysticism that Catholicism portrays that's supposed to make it more believable to us? Personally, I'd like to see a spiritual warfare movie fought by one of those charismatic, snake-throwing Appalachian churches where they actually focus on using spiritual power to overcome evil. Not some nun who sees a statue of the virgin Mary crying and gets this tingley feeling about her. I want to see a force come out of a person to fight a spirit, not just see someone running around until they see a bright light that expunges all the demons from the room.

According to the Bible, God considered Mary a very holy lady (being a virgin was only part of it) and that's why she was chosen to bear the Messiah. In "Bless the Child" we have a very spiritually gifted girl born to a crackwhore. That in itself wouldn't be so incredulous if the movie attempted to explain why this girl was the chosen one. But no, we're left hanging. We're just supposed to watch this girl perform miracles because... that's just the way it is.

All the reasons listed above make this picture truly uninteresting. Sure it's easy to follow, but that can only be accredited to the shallowness of the plot. I just can't get into a girl with unexplicable powers being tossed around in a custody battle between a confused aunt and a New Age motivational speaker. Especially when his plans to use the girl for further empowerment of him and his followers are never explained either.

And then we get to the end where there's a car chase scene (bet you didn't see that one coming!) and a whole legion of police officers who let the main characters wander off by themselves with no weapons only to show up at just the right time to save the day. Please don't accuse me of spoiling anything - did you really expect anything enlightening or new? Even a good ending couldn't have saved the movie from being so bad.

While movies like "The Fallen" and "Stigmata" also had their share of problems, they at least had the guts to venture on their own and become their own movie, explaining in their own way why the spirits acted a certain way. I get the feeling "Bless the Child" wants to transcend its genre by borrowing elements from it - the worst elements.

* (out of 4)

When I go to see a movie like "Hollow Man" I don't go expecting a mind-blowing plot. I do go expecting to see something different, or at least something shown in a new light. It's filled with visually stimulating sight gags that I enjoyed, but it's almost like the filmmakers wanted to balance that out with the plot instead of giving it a plot to complement the special effects.

I won't say what the movie is about, we all know what it's about, and the trailers these days like to give away as much as what's possible in 30 seconds. So since we know that Kevin Bacon is a scientist that becomes invisible after being injected with some sort of magical potion I'll say that's not the problem I have. What annoys me most about books and movies is when a character goes berserk with no motive whatsoever. Yes, if I was a scientist whose Invisible Man project wasn't going quite as planned I'd be frustrated, but this movie gives it grounds to become a serial killer. How did he ever make it through medical school? Surely some of the rigorous testing would have made him burst. Or maybe he's just one of people who take a lickin' and keep on a tickin'. Whatever it is, I don't buy it.

And maybe I would be able to look over some of this if it didn't make Kevin Bacon some sort of supernatural being also. The movie never said anything about the potion making him able to withstand being torched, electrocuted while drenching wet, beat with crowbars, and falling down elevator shafts. Some scenes made me do nothing but shake my head.

I guess if a movie cannot respect my intelligence I can't recommend even seeing it for the eye candy. During the first half of the movie I could say that I was moderately entertained, but by the end it almost seemed all for naught.

*1/2 (out of 4)

Shaft is one of those movies where many parts I loved, and because of that I was disappointed that it didn't add up to more. It didn't really seem like a blaxploitation film to me, and that's OK. I'm too young to have experienced the genre first hand, but looking back on movies like The Mack, it didn't seem like I was missing much. So therefore I'm glad this movie took place in the year 2000.

What is it about Samuel L. Jackson that I love? He must write in some of his own dialogue into the script, not only for his character but for some of the others. The dialogue in this film is lively, vivid, hilarious, and above all, complex. I don't like movies where the characters say just the bare minimum to keep the plot rolling. But it seems that the dialogue is intriguing in every movie he stars in, and Shaft is no exception.

Much of it is hard-nosed. "They don't serve malt liquor here", Christian Bale tells the black man. Of course, this manner sounds like something he'd say in American Psycho. He's become one of my favorite current actors. Not much of the dialogue is sexual, "It's my duty to please the booty" is actually misleading when the trailers show it. The F-word is around every corner in this picture, keeping it from being a family movie. Lots of people get shot but it's nothing gruesome or anything any casual moviegoer has never seen before.

Now to critique the plot. There's lots of scheming in this movie, and I guess that's what happens when everyone involved is crooked in one way or another. Jeffrey Wright gives an impeccable performance as Peoples, even better than his marvelous work in Basquiat about 4 years back. Peoples is smart. When asked to bump someone off for $40,000+ worth of jewellry he turns it down. Instead he hands the customer a few kilos and tells him to sell it to his "upscale" friends, that way he can make an extraordinary profit for an indefinite amount of time. Then there's more scheming. Two cops sell out for a mere 10 grand a piece, but it comes back to haunt them. Busta Rhymes gets in on the dig too. He could've made a more interesting character, but all he's there for is to supply the dialogue with more of the F-word.

And then the movie seems to go on auto-pilot. Instead of the characters scheming until they could scheme no more (which would've made this a great movie), it seems as if the screenwriters wanted to end it all as soon as possible. One by one, supporting cast are picked off until the final confrontation ends in a chase scene. Haven't we moviegoers seen this thousands of times before? I wish Shaft would have given us a script as fresh as its dialogue. But because of this neglection, it turns out to be just a mediocre movie.

What I especially didn't like about the movie is the racial overtones. Stereotyping is galore. We've got the snobby rich white boys, the hoodlum blacks, and the druglord Hispanics. Can't the movie show us someone with at least one redeeming quality that isn't aligned with prejudice thinking? I've always thought that if I was racist I think New York City is the last place on earth I'd want to live.

All in all, it was a movie worth watching. It had all the elements to be a great flick, but it fails in some key areas. I'm praising it for its ability to show us acting and tension at its best.

**1/2 (out of 4)

Actually I think this movie may be breaking new ground. Scream was a good trilogy. The first 2 movies were basically satirizing horror movies from the past, all the characters know they're in a horror movie and the film does a good job with this, although Scream 3 was disappointing, it's almost like it became what it was mocking. So how do you do a parody of a film that was a parody? I have no idea, but I think that Scary Movie does it just about as well as it can be done.

It's nearly impossible to write a review on this flick. None of the dialogue or plot is original, and everyone pretty much knows what it's going to be about. So basically the movie has one and only one task: to make us laugh. And that it did. I really wish I had watched the Scream trilogy before going to this so it would be fresh in my mind, but most of the gags seemed familiar to me.

I could steal all the movie's best lines and write them here, but I don't want to spoil it any more than the trailers already did. I believe the theater would've been in an uproar had we not seen The Matrix ripoff 20 times already. There's 2 scenes near the end that are intercut and take up about 10 minutes. For these 10 minutes I laughed harder than watching any other movie for the same time that I can think of in quite some while. It includes a sex scene which features goggles, a hedgetrimmer, funny dialogue ("Say my name, Bobby!"), and an orgasm that must've felt awfully good or hurt like the dickens (so to speak), I'm not sure. All this completed with a scene where the killer, after getting high from an aquariam bong slashes folks during a freestyle session.

Many parts of the movie are almost too funny for itself. Some scenes are so hilarious that you're still laughing halfway through the next scene and you miss some of the dialogue (Sample: "You ruined Schindler's List!"). Some of this is pure gross-out humor, but it's fresh. Case in point: Mrs. Man, the Omar Epps Bathroom Scene, and the Carmen Elecktra breast stab. The Blair Witch remake was done so perfectly you wonder if they cut and pasted the actual film and put it into their own reel.

I must end this review sometime, so I'll just say that it delivers the goods. It's humorous to know that Dimension Films produced this movie, which also produced the Scream series, I believe. They must've had some clout as apparently the MPAA didn't see fit to rate this movie a deserving NC-17. What disturbs me is that I could hear kids behind me saying "Daddy, is this supposed to be Scream?" What kind of sicko would take their 7 year old to see this? Oh well, I sure enjoyed it.

*** (out of 4)

Some actors never sink with the ship. Fine actors such as Denzel Washington and James Woods have had their share of bad movies, but somehow they manage to rise above the mediocrity of the film. Mel Gibson has been a good actor as long as I can remember, but what I appreciate about him most is that he isn't satisfied with being good, as we can see improvements film by film. Here is a man that is dedicated to his job.

Now this is not to say that The Patriot is a sunken vessel. It is a well-cast, well-directed picture with focus and a duel energy. Not only are these characters fighting because their families are gone, but if they don't fight now they may lose their country. Many compare this movie to Braveheart, and that is justified. It's basically a retread: Mel Gibson's family is murdered so he starts his own militia to seek revenge, etc. It was better than Braveheart in that you felt the characters were more driven with their rage in The Patriot, they had more of a reason to be out for blood. Worse in the sense that The Patriot's romance scenes bordered on cheesy and some of the dialogue from it left something to be desired.

All in all it is a recommendable film. It seems accurate enough to be shown in a school history class. There was no sex and no language to speak of, although the violence might be what sends the junior high kid home with a permission slip to be signed by his parent or guardian. Those who trash the movie are missing the point, I think. It's not so much about a bloody war movie as it is a story about a man who knows he can't justify his actions and sins, but knows no other way to go about it.

*** (out of 4)

Mission to Mars has so many cliches in it, you wonder how the writers could even get credit for this. Now that doesn't mean that this movie is an absolute mess, it's just that it brought so many other, better, movies to mind.

I'm not going to list all of the cliches in the movie, instead I'd like to list some of the good points. There were some very intriguing moments in this movie, some very creative. I liked the scene where a ration of Dr. Pepper saves the lives of all on board (they'd better be glad they didn't drink Sprite or some other light-colored beverage, else they'd have been history). And how the leaky gas tank freezes in the atmosphere, floats behind the rockets and the ignition causes a chunk of the ship to blow off. It didn't seem like enough gas to do that much damage, but I'm guessing rocket fuel is pretty highly concentrated stuff.

There was a awesome yet disturbing scene that must've slipped by the MPAA board seeing that this movie was only rated PG. When the crew first lands on Mars and some "thing" in a whirlwind-sandstorm-like fashion sucks up all but one, we see one of the crew members spinning around violently in mid-air until he bursts into pieces. Pretty graphic.

But some scenes just carry on too long. When the crew abandons ship and tries to land on a vacant craft Tim Robbins overshoots himself and goes flying off towards the Mars atmosphere. Then there's a long laborious scene where the female character wants to risk her life and put the others' safety in danger by going after him. But of course Tim Robbins gives one of those "forget about me, save yourself" speeches that carries the scene on for seemingly 10 minutes. One thing I noticed is all these people are amazingly calm during terrorizing situations. I don't know about you, but I think I'd be screaming if there were meteorites whizzing by my head, the atmospheric pressure in the cabin got too low, or if the door behind me in a potentially dangerous alien-infested chamber closed suddenly, but no, these astronauts keep talking in the same monotone voice.

Many movies came to mind while watching this: Event Horizon, Sphere, 2001, and the far superior Contact. If you want a movie that shows how extraterrestrial life wants to communicate with us without some corny alien wrapped in orange aluminum foil at the end, watch Contact, one of my favorite movies of all time.

**1/2 (out of 4)

Wise is the best word I can come up with to explain this movie. I don't believe there have been any movies made about the Persian Gulf war. It was a pretty dull war, not many casualties (at least not Americans) or a lot of combat that would make good footage.

So instead of making this movie about the war, it takes place shortly afterwards. The plot is very simple, a few soldiers find a "treasure map" stuck in the anal cavity of an Iraqi prisoner and decide to go on an unauthorized mission to find the booty, so to speak. But, wisely, the movie is not about an Arabian gold rush, it's about characters and events that happen to these characters along their journey.

I like how the reporters are scrambling at the last minute trying to get a story, trying to cover as much as possible in order to portray a "real war". Clooney is assigned as a personal escort for one reporter, but ditches her to find the gold, taking whatever soldiers are at hand to join him. At first, I was a little disappointed to see him play a higher-ranking officer, since I think he's at his best playing a crook or a worker at the bottom of a totem pole. But here he's very convincing, his way of speaking demands attention without having to bark orders.

I like the quirky editing and special effects. A fiasco breaks out during a ceasefire when an Iraqi soldier shoots a mother. Of course this starts a domino effect and everyone starts shooting. You hear the gun pop and the zoom of the bullet as it takes literally seconds to hit its fleshly target. And there's a scene where an American soldier is shot and we see the wound as if we were on the inside of his body. His lungs are collapsing and bile is leaking into his chest cavity via the bullet hole, and then some sort of valve or cathedar is inserted through his ribcage to alleviate the air pressure.

The humor that appears during this warfare is almost M*A*S*H-like. The war is not funny, but when funny things happen you just have to laugh. And it's the talent of the writing and direction that makes this work. If a bad job was done, this film could've easily been in bad taste.

If I had any complaints about the film it'd be that I wish it was longer. There weren't any plot holes or loose ends that need to be tied, but I got the feeling that I was cut short and didn't experience the fullness of what it should have been. Many war movies are 3 hours long or longer, if this movie could've filled up 45 additional minutes of entertainment it could've been close to a masterpiece.

I've been wanting to see this film since it first came out. What took me so long to get around to that, I don't know, but I'm glad I gathered myself to experience the occasion. First and foremost, Ed Norton has reassured me that he is probably the best male actor of his generation. It's a stunning performance, it's almost like a floating camera followed a real skinhead through life and in prison and we get to see how he acts.

I was glad to find out that this wasn't a movie like Higher Learning where the students had all sorts of racial tendencies for no apparent reason at all, and were so extreme about it. I mean, come on, have you EVER seen a college campus like that? But not American History X, the story is always intriguing. What's best about it is how it shows how there is a false sense of security in numbers. Many of the blacks and whites think they'll be all right hanging together as long as they don't get killed, but little do they know that their lifestyle is progressively leading them to destruction every day they band together in hate.

But what kept this movie from being the greatest of its genre are some of its forced moments. A few come to mind right away. One is when the skinheads plan a party for him the day he gets out of prison. He tells a select few that he has changed and he wants out. This leads to a scuffle with one of the members and results in Seth (the fat guy) to pull a gun on Ed Norton. Ed's girlfriend, who was elated to see him and was in love with him before he was locked up just yells "Do it! Shoot him, Seth!" without really knowing what was going on. The other is the whole idea of how Derek (Ed Norton) got to be a skinhead in the first place. He is very happy to be under the teaching of a black principal at his high school, but when his dad puts doubt in his mind by siting affirmative-action at his job we don't really get to see how it festers into full-blown racism. Somehow I don't believe that most white kids whose father was killed by blacks in a non-racially motivated way would tattoo a swastika on their chest and start a white revolt.

Still, I am recommending the film for its captivating qualities and the acting performances of not only Norton, but everyone else in the film. The style is great, color to show the present and black and white (which is probably symbolic in some sort of way) to show the past. This film is definitely one of the better race relations movies I've seen.

*** (out of 4)

Why people on this message board are comparing this movie to Cruel Intentions, Scream, and even Pulp Fiction for crying out loud, is beyond me. This picture is much more along the lines of The Usual Suspects and Snake Eyes. Not as far as the plot goes, but concerning the excellent, intriguing storyline with a horrible ending.

Sometimes I just wish movies were bad all the way through, that way you wouldn't be expecting much of anything for the finale. But movies like Gossip might be the worst kind of movie. This film has absolutely impeccable acting, with the performance of Edward James Olmos as the no B.S. cop coming first to mind. Eric Bogosian's role is the only questionable one, his class is more like a Jerry Springer show than a learning environment.

Next to the acting, the film's best trait is its high style (almost too much style, how many college students can afford to live in a pad like that?). Coupled with a tightly-wound storyline everything seems promising. But then somebody pushes the self-destruct button and everything explodes into utter nonsense. I should've known something like that was going to happen while I was watching it, otherwise I'm sure I would've heard many praises prior to seeing it.

** (out of 4)

This movie was not without faults (the one that first comes to mind is the thumb-out, thumb-in error), but none of them are worth recommending for anyone to see who can stomach a lot of violence. The plot is far from original, a betrayed warrior's wife and children are murdered by the new Roman emperor and he goes through hell and highwater to meet him in the obligatory fight scene climax.

The characters in this movie are good enough, but they are always so sad. I think Russell Crowe only smiles once, but then again, his life is in shambles. Joaquin Phoenix (who should be praised just for taking a role whose character's name is Commodus) suffers from some sort of twisted form of the Oedipus Complex. All of the supporting cast do a good job of filling their roles even though they're basically invisible. Just throw-in characters to feed the plot between Commodus and Maximus. And I'm not sure everyone's accents are consistent with how they actually spoke back then, considering the era.

What the picture lacks most, though, is special effects. A movie like this should strive to serve up eye-candy, but instead it looks like second-rate computer graphics. I was expecting a glorious view of ancient Rome, but instead the colisseum looks drab, almost like someone snapped a photo of a video game using high speed film. Even the scenes that show flashbacks and past emotions look... easy, for lack of a better word.

But I must praise this film for its engrossing qualities. Any movie over 2.5 hours in length is subject to get boring, or at least experience a lull somewhere during the middle. But not Gladiator. The character development is sufficient and it makes us care about the characters and what happens to them. The battle scenes are passable, and the director wisely uses choppy editing techniques to disguise the sword fighting abilities of Russell Crowe and others. Usually that's not a good sign, but the point here is to see and feel the intensity and vengeance that Maximus fights with, and it works.

So based on what I wrote in the last paragraph I'm recommending this film. It is by no means transcends its genre and probably will not be considered a classic, but it does well as a stand-alone movie, and it is entertaining.

*** (out of 4)

Something lures me to ridiculous movies even though most of them turn out to be bad movies. Not this one. John Malkovich also starred in another ridiculous movie called ConAir. What makes these movies work is that they KNOW they are ridiculous and do little to deny it, and that's the key.

Now that doesn't give filmmakers the liberty to go willy-nilly (to quote the Free I-net guy) with senseless, mind-numbing drivel. But it does grant them imagination and the opportunity to go where other movies have never gone before (to quote whoever said that).

I like how even though the Cusack character must have some kind of sick mind to perform sexual maneuvers with puppets in front of little girls, we still get to see things from his point of view, and he is as flabbergasted as we are. Take, for instance, when he accepts a job that is located on the 7 1/2 floor. How on earth do you get there? You hit the emergency stop button shortly after you go past the 7th floor and then pry open the door with a crowbar, of course.

It turns out to be disasterous to John Malkovich that a puppeteer of all people is the one to find a portal to his brain. But that's where all the fun starts, and the film never stops giving you surprises and twists. I've seen some movies that are funny and smart, but this may be the first one that's funny and brilliant.

I only wish that Cameron Diaz had put one of her pets down the chute, that would've really put the filmmakers imaginations on overtime.

**** (out of 4)

A movie like Big Momma's House isn't supposed to have an intriguing plot, I guess. You go to the movie because a) you like Martin Lawrence, b) you want big laughs, or c) a combination of the two. Martin Lawrence is pretty much what you expect - funny and deserving of the accolades he gets. Many would look down at a role like this, but when you think about it, how many actors could play someone opposite their sex and 50 years older? Normally I don't like it when movies make their stars unrecognizable under all the make-up, but here it's necessary.

The problem is that the movie tries to be sick and sweet, a combination that I don't think has ever worked. At the beginning we witness a nude, grossly overweight, 80+ year old grandmother with a bad case of the Hershey squirts. Through the end we see Nia Long bonding with her grandma and then Martin in a very genuine way.

Still, as I stated earlier, you go to see comedy. Grandma in the kitchen, with a gun, testifying in church, at karate class, etc., this is all funny because of the talent behind Martin Lawrence. Definitely wait til this comes out on video, then when you want big laughs on a Friday nite, go rent Big Momma's House.

**1/2 (out of 4)

Living in Michigan, I know all too well how much people just love their cars. And besides "Eleanor", the Shelby Mustang, there's just no focus on them. Instead we get character shots, one-liners, and other things we didn't really have in mind when we shelled out 8 bucks to see it. And the movie is far from "action-packed" like the trailers would have you to believe, there's really only one chase scene to speak of and that's near the end.

Movies like this should be based on the subject matter and the action that results from it, but when you're dealt a cast of Nick Cage, Robert Duvall, and Angelina Jolie, (all talented actors) I guess you feel obliged to put the ball in their court. The movie does this, and by doing so it distracts itself by focusing on the whole cast of characters (which would put a laundry list to shame) and their dialogue. Gone in 60 Seconds does its best to supply every character with witty lines throughout the movie instead of showing us nice cars and how to steal them within 60 seconds. In fact, it never showed me at all how to steal a car, another aspect of which I was hoping to be enlightened.

** (out of 4)

The makers of The Mummy could've easily made it into a horror film, but with the success (or lack thereof) of recent creature features they wisely created an action-adventure comedy.

To be blunt, The Mummy was very fun to watch. Nothing in it was plausible yet every moment was enjoyable. It's great to see a movie that knows it's ridiculous because it lets you hop on for the ride without having to think. Now I love movies that make you think, but The Mummy has one goal in mind: to entertain. And it succeeds.

Although not as great, The Mummy is much in line with the Indiana Jones series. And with a sequel due out next year, it looks to be blazing down the same trail.

*** (out of 4)

Usual Suspects? That's probably the last movie I would relate to this, especially since Usual Suspects was a horrible movie and The Spanish Prisoner is a good one. I've never seen any other David Mamet film, but now I definitely would like to see his others. I challenge any other director to make a thriller with no disturbing violence, gratuitous sex scenes, or filthy language and still come up with a thoroughly entertaining film. Far-fetched? At some points, yes, but don't most thrillers have to teeter on the brink of unrealism in order to entertain us?

I see that many people on this message board have commented on how stupid the main character is. But tell me, haven't you ever got caught up in the environment and/or people around you that somehow hindered your usual judgement? He is a very smart man who made a costly mistake, and I like it because it shows how really human we are, and that is not unrealistic at all.

Let's just say that it might be the worst movie I've ever seen. On the front of the box of the movie it says something about it resembling Reservoir Dogs. I fell for it hook, line, and sinker. This is just a warning message to anyone who might read this. It's not even worth renting when you want something to laugh at.

Uh, what was Jamie Lee Curtis thinking when she accepted this role? She is quite an actress, I can't believe she stooped to this level. Act as she can, she sure as hell didn't save the movie. Also, this is the 7th Halloween--don't they know how to make them GOOD yet? I don't know how many times the music volume increased just to give a false alarm, it almost numbed me to the real surprises. I could say more, but this movie isn't even worth dwelling on, so I'm outty.

Whether you love it or hate it, The Game definitely will not bore you. By far the most engrossing movie I've ever watched. I saw this on the big screen and throughout most of this masterpiece I kept asking myself, "where is this movie going?" For 128 spirited minutes The Game takes your mind and twists it ruthlessly, contorting it in any way it so desires. Michael Douglas is the perfect actor for this role, he played it flawlessly. I love this movie, it's definitely one of my personal favorites.