Reviews

As a film debut by Alice Cox the cinematography, soundtrack & score and editing are very well done. The character studies are also thought-provoking and insightful. If this is any indication of future work by Cox we have something to look forward to.

this movie was a cross between 'poltergeist' and 'the sixth sense'. the plot wasn't too original; boy communicates with ghost, and then so does dad after hypnosis. dad goes crazy trying to figure out what he's experiencing. the tense moments kept me on the edge of my seat, yet everything was more or less predictable and unimaginative. Rating = 4.5

I saw this movie as a sneak preview. I expected very much given all the great reviews I heard (one such reviewer was Jack Valenti of the MPAA). I'm a huge fan of Kevin Spacey and Thomas Newman (composer), and while the acting, directing and production elements of the movie are pretty solid, the script in my opinion needs a lot of work.

Some of the lines just made me cringe. Not in the way that they affected me deeply; rather I thought they were both cheesy and out of place. Kevin Spacey does a great job at covering up the script problems with his part and he fits the role really well (although I must say it wasn't one I was thrilled to see him in). Helen Hunt and Haley Joel Osment both give great performances.

There are two notable musical interludes that I felt were not necessary. One of them I think was sung by none other than Jon Bon Jovi himself, but I could be wrong. The other was a female singer I did not recognize. These songs didn't clash with the theme of the movie, but I think film score rather than song would have been more appropriate, especially since Thomas Newman did such incredible musical work with the climactic moments in 'American Beauty'.

Someone else's review mentioned that when the name 'Jon Bon Jovi' appeared on the screen, everyone in the theater laughed. The same thing happened when I saw it. I laughed too, with good reason. His role should have been re-cast to a more competent actor.

The finale came as a surprise, and I think was a brave choice. Sure it was emotional overall, but in a cheap Hollywood sort of way. Nothing that stuck with me in the way that American Beauty did.

Overall, I give the movie 4 stars out of 10. The plot is contrived, idealistic, and a bit far-fetched. The decent acting makes up for the script problems, plot holes and shoddy, unrealistic character developments.

What an amazingly unfunny piece of garbage. I respect Rattner's other works & I think he's done a pretty decent job with Rush Hour... but this is awful. I realize every director starts somewhere, but this is ridiculous! This short film had no plot, no underlying message, and it went nowhere. He even tried to imitate Kubrick in one "scene" which did NOT have the effect he intended. The one good thing about this "movie" is that it showed me that even I, a 'nobody', could be a director. And maybe even get a girl like Rebecca Gayheart. Don't bother with this one; it's not a very accurate portrayal of Rattner's work. At least so far...

Ed Norton is an incredible actor. I've seen five movies with him, and he's played a dramatically different role in each of them. And EVERY one of them has blown me away. This time he plays a convincing skin-head neo-nazi, as well as a convincing ex-neo-nazi, trying to prevent his younger brother from following in his footsteps. Every minute of this movie kept my complete attention (and believe me, I have a short span of it).