Reviews

The movie is not bad, but personally I found it too long and drawn out at some points, and without a "hero" or a central person to root for or care about. However I was absolutely and completely impressed by the acting skills of Jennifer Lawrence. Forget "Silver Lining", it was a school play compared to her performance in this movie. She has matured and mastered the art, and if she does not get an Academy Award for this role, they are blind and unprofessional! It is only due to her and to the soundtrack that I award this movie such a high mark, because otherwise it was just alright, but not a remarkable motion picture. And since I still have to write something to get to the minimum length, bravo to Christian Bale for putting on a beer belly and the "nice" haircut.

After a great beginning, describing pretty realistically the condition of a person with a mental disorder (in this case bipolar), the movie fails completely in the last 30 minutes, where the main character suddenly gets over his obsessions and finds true love, his family wins a lot of money and his friends manage to solve their emotional and mental problems in order to celebrate the happy-ever-after couple.

Personally I felt downright cheated and insulted by the cheesy ending. But the worst part is that many viewers will really believe that it is that simple to overcome a serious psychological illness (not only bipolar, but also like anxiety, depression, burn-out, OCD etc), and hence the movie is actually doing a disservice to anyone in this condition.In order to arrive at the happy ending described in the movie (which of course I wish to anyone going through such an ordeal), a huge effort, courage, support, treatment, discipline and time is needed in real life and I am sorry to say it does not happen by taking a bit of dancing lessons and reading a letter.

Conclusion: good start, after which they throw a bucket of pink confetti over the two broken (now mended) main characters to make the audience feel good.

After seeing this movie I had to write a review about it just to recognize in some way the phenomenal performance of Michael Fassbender. He plays the role of the sex addict with a complete and utter dedication, and it really takes a lot of courage and self-esteem to play such a part. The last 30 minutes of the movie made the most impression on me, the intensity of feeling on his face, the haunted, desperate look of a sex junkie grinding away for his drug, and the pain of realizing how deep he has sunk. Personally I would have liked a little bit more of a plot, some explanations about his past and his sisters past, or a glimpse of the future, but I can understand also that this is not what the movie is about. The movie is a moment in time of someone's life...which makes it unbearably realistic and I think that is why I, as many of the audience, feel this need of having more data, of knowing why and how, of hoping that everything will turn out fine in the end.

Conclusion: Good, unbearably realistic movie with fantastic acting from Michael Fasbender.

I have not read the book, so I can't say if this is a good adaptation...

The movie is enjoyable, nice to watch, you don't see the time pass, the characters and their story unfolds and you're caught into it. The acting is very good, Christopher Waltz especially, alternating between brutality and tenderness. Robert Pattinson is very natural as a naive, kind-hearted, unexperienced young man struggling to find his path in life and follow it. I do not understand why some people criticized Reese Witherspoon, I thought she played the character of the mature married woman very well. Marlena knows the bitterness of life, and is mature enough to understand that her teenage dreams will never become reality. Jacob with his innocence, kindness, idealism and love of life touches her heart. And it's here that something is missing...I did not see real passion, this is not a love story à la "English patient" or "Asylum" between a mature woman and a young man, with all the sexual tension..instead the story plays it safe, and there are just 2-3 kisses in the darkness between her and Jacob. Actually, my impression was that Marlena in a very strange way understands and pities August, and that she feels a lot of gratitude and admiration towards this man that took care of her and made her the star of the show. She knows his demons, and she is the only one who has the power to tame them and keep him sane. Her sudden change of mind to jump off the train with Jacob, and spend the night at the hotel with him seems more like a desperate attempt to find another anchor point in her life to replace the one that she has lost, than real love. And since Jacob is (fortunately) able to fulfill all her dreams, they live together forever after in domestic bliss, surrounded by their 5 children and all the circus animals (dog, elephant etc).

A nice feel-good story. The only thing missing is the passion between the main characters. They're more like a middle-aged couple than two young people freshly-in-love.

7 out of 10

I'm not a Scream hardcore fan, but they are usually solid pop-corn-fun-to-watch movies. This one however was really boring, predictable, the cast was not convincing, their plastic surgeries were blatantly obvious (Courtney Cox, I'm looking at you), the jokes were blunt, and the mistakes the "victims" made were so unbelievably stupid it was a wonder how they managed to survive so long. People started leaving the theater half way through, but I did not follow their example because of my curiosity to discover/confirm the identity of the slasher. I'm glad I didn't, because the last 20 minutes or so were the only ones worth watching. The identity of the criminal and her motivation is very realistic and her declaration "I don't need friends, I need fans" proves that Scream 4 is not a simple re-boot, but a true movie of the 2010's, where Facebook, Twitter and Youtube govern our lives and ambitions. Unfortunately it is the only re-deeming thing of this flick. Don't waste your money on it.

This is one of the most romantic episodes of LFN and one that will make the heart of any Roy Dupuis (aka Michael) fan beat a lot faster!

Finally, Michael has put his gear together (with the help of Walter and Birkoff) and attempts to deprogram Nikita. The "treatment" mingles tender moments with more intense scenes, like the one where Michael forces Nikita to take a drug by drinking it himself, then kissing her. Of course Nikita manages to make an escape, only to understands the horrible manipulations she has been subjected to by Section 1. During a very hot, yet tender sex scene with Michael she declares her love for him, but the most heart-breaking moment (of the entire series perhaps)is Michael confessing that he can't live without her. Walter and Birkoff complete a mission to cover up for Michael and there are some funny dialogs and moments to be enjoyed. Michael returns to Section as if from the completed mission, and Nikita pretends she's still under the influence of the Gelman treatment.

Overall one of the best episodes of the series, where you see the real affection and attachment between Michael and Nikita. Fans have been waiting a long time for this one, and it gives them their dose of so much desired M/N interaction.

Michael discovers Adrian is not at all amnesic, and finds out more about the Gelman process from her. After a show-down, Michael kidnaps Nikita and tries to heal her with Adrian's assistance. Unfortunately the process has left its marks upon Adrian, and she is slowly, but surely, loosing her memories. However she declares there is still hope for Nikita..

With the help of Birkoff, Michael tries to contact George to tell him the truth about Adrian, but the attempt fails. To contain the situation, Operations and Madeleine plot George's assassination. Michael anticipates their move and saves him. He does not however divulge anything about Adrian and her situation to George, since she wants her old lover to remember her as she was and not see what she has become. At the end of the episode, Adrian is completely amnesic and is put into an elegant foster home by Michael, to be kept under complete secrecy. He then returns to Section with Nikita and a truce is reached: he gives up Nikita, they give up Adrian and reinstate him in his old position. In the end sequence Michael watches full of unspoken pain as Nikita is subjected to more mind-manipulating treatments. Will he manage to save her or is everything lost?

Section 1 is looking desperately for Michael, without any success. Nikita is ordered to kill him when he will contact her. She tries it, but Michael is on his guard. He puts her to a test (sexy scene in a changing cabin of a clothes shop) and understands her true intentions.

Later, Michael manages to infiltrate Section 1, confronts Nikita (who tries again to kill him) and gets the access codes from her by knocking her out. He then accesses a high level of security, where Adrian is kept in deep freeze, and kidnaps her. She was the first subject of Gelman process, and he hopes she will help him understand how to cure Nikita. She's also his trump card against section 1, since Operations and Madeleine are afraid George will find out they lied about Adrians death. However it looks like Adrian won't be too much help to Michael, since she completely lost her memory...

Nikita's brainwashing continues and she becomes a ruthless, heartless operative. She blows up an entire embassy during a mission, killing 16 people. The tables have turned as Michael saves the children inside the embassy by starting off the fire alarm before the explosion. He confronts Nikita, who confesses that Section 1 keeps her under very close surveillance and that indeed they have done something to her. They share a brief tender moment. She then relates the whole discussion to Madeleine and Operations and we understand that she's completely under their control and only fakes her emotions for those around her to gain their trust. Of course Michael cannot be fooled that easily and finds out from Birkoff about the Gelman project. He secretly meets Gelman, who gives him the name of the first subject to this treatment, before being killed by a sniper. Michael knows now too much and Operations orders his cancellation.

I've seen the '39, '92 and another TV series of Wuthering Heights. Each has it's qualities and flaws.

When I watched the 2009 version for the first time, I was very pleasantly surprised that it was a very modern take on the situation between the characters. Heathcliff and Cathy were childhood sweethearts, with all that it entails, sex too. The relationship between Hetahcliff and Isabella Linton is also well pictured, even though the idea that Heathcliff tried to love Isabella (as he says) is really not at all in the book, nor characteristic of Heathcliff. Cathy is a very modern woman, who marries a man for his money and the comfort that it brings (at least that's the message I got, I never saw Cathy's love for Edgar), but loves and above all, desires, the rough, tough and wild bad boy Heathcliff. Actyually, Heathcliff is the one here that won't sleep with her later on, because she's married and she has slept with Edgar, thus betraying him.

In the end, the story depicted becomes much too modern for my taste...it's going too far away from the book. Everything is too simple and superficial, the story is about a woman that made a bad choice and married the wrong man, and dies of heartbreak because of this, leaving the 2 guys to mourn for her. Heathcliff is upset of her betrayal and punishes her in his way, while also taking revenge on those that wronged him, but his character is a lamb compared to the devil Heathcliff is in the book. Cathy is also very different from the book, where she was strong, almost a tyrant with Heathcliff and Edgar, feared and loved. Here she's a teenage girl who doesn't know exactly what to do, is prone to her emotions, and at the mercy of Heathcliff and his whims.

The series itself is not bad at all, acting, scenery, directing, and music are very good...but it's not a faithful adaptation of Wuthering Heights, more of a a "based on" thing. It's a "what if" kind of story (what if Heathcliff was in fact not that bad? what if Cathy was not that strong?). Kind of a good fan fiction... So, interesting to watch, probably won't be liked by the fans of the book.

You know, the true "Unforgiven" here is me. Because I'll never forgive this movie for disappointing me so badly. Actually, completely disappointed is not even beginning to express what I feel. I mean, I watched this movie because: - it's Clint Eastwood..enough said! - it's ranked among the top 100 movies on IMDb - it got like 4 Oscars

So there I was all excited to see it and prepared for a fantastic movie, with great acting and a deep message to think about...boy, was this a let down! seriously, maybe I watched the wrong movie or something, it's so so so so bad. And what makes it worst is the fact that it has gotten such high praise, awards and reviews! UN-BELIEVABLE!

Hands down worst Clint Eastwood movie (and I truly admire him as a director and an actor,it's so frustrating so see how bad this is when you like the director!)! The plot is full of inconsistencies, as other reviewers mentioned before (he can't ride - how did he go to town?? on foot? for miles and miles?how did he go visit his friend?; he leaves his kids behind all alone - hello, it's the wild west, you don't let kids alone even in our day and age), but the main problem is that it does not have any message at all. He was a bad man, he reformed for his wife, then when she's gone and things go bad on his farm, he returns to his old ways. What does that mean? That he actually never changed? That sometimes there are plausible reasons for killing someone? That he does not have a choice, because he's forced by the situation?

Shoot me if you want, but I did not like it one bit, it's not a true western, and it's not a psychological movie either. The only scenes I liked was that cowboy trying to give Delilah the pony, and Munny in delirium afraid of dying. Oh, and "The Duck of death" was funny. The rest is....just unforgivably bad!

It's difficult to describe the feelings I had when watching this movie..I'm not sure if this movie is intended for all types of audiences, I think some people will be bored or dislike the plot altogether.

As some reviewers have already mentioned, the movie is not objective. In it, communists and Russians are described as invaders and oppressors...but the viewer has to understand that just as Germans are depicted as cruel Nazis in all the WWII movies about concentration camps, like "Schindels list" or "Sophies choice", here the Russians are seen as the cruel invaders by the inhabitants of a small Romanian village in the aftermath of WWII. One has not to forget that this is a story set in a specific time and place.

I can't describe to you how funny this movie is at points, the dialog and word games are brilliant and reflect the whole genius of Horatiu Malaele. You find yourself rooting for the characters and going through the motions with them, through good and bad. I can't honestly say that the movie is a masterpiece, neither plot nor acting isn't Oscar material...but then, since seeing it, which was about 8 months ago, I can't keep it out of my head because it made a really strong impression on me. I don't exactly understand why or how, but there is something deeply human, tragic and beautiful in it that just won't be denied. A friend asked me which movie had made an impression on me lately, and I was myself surprised when I did not answer "Black Swan" but "Silent Wedding". Not to diss "Black Swan", which I thought indeed Oscar worthy...but I guess this really says something about this movie.

Well, I would say this is a movie for a weekday evening, when you come home from work and just want to relax on your couch and watch some movie that's not completely crap, but also not too good so you don't have to concentrate too much and rewind if you lost 5 minutes going to the kitchen.

It's enjoyable, fast paced, there's action, and you like the main character Lisa. You wish that she'll escape the terrible situation she's in, you understand her fears. But then at some point it all takes a pretty unrealistic turn as Lisa becomes this Wonderwoman that stabs a guy with a pen (I would never know with such precision where to jam that pen!), gets out of an airport crammed with security and cameras without any problems, steals a car, drives a guy over, and beats the hell out of the crazy guy with the knife. When I saw her grab that hockey stick I was thinking "Uh, Jack, you better get outta there cause you're in big trouble, you have no idea what's coming". I mean, she stabs him with her high heeled shoe?? Oh yeah, cause that's what we women usually do when we're attacked! And where the hell was the police all the time they were chasing around the house? Or the neighbors? And why did Jack not kill her father then and there, but just knocked him out cold so he could snap out of it later and shoot him?? And the whole business with the guys on the fishing boat that had a big box with a rocket launcher in it hidden somewhere in the water and hooked to the fishing rods? I mean, the security team had been surveying them all the time, and then when they grabbed that box the security guys just happened to be looking away? Were they on their lunch break or something? so yeah, looking back, pretty far fetched and totally unrealistic at various points, but had a few laughs and a nice evening.

As much as I would like to say that I enjoyed the movie, because it's got very beautiful landscapes and marvelous shots and the great Johnny Depp and it's pretty deep in meaning...well, I can't, I really really can't. I was bored to death and hoping it would end soon. The ending was beautiful, but getting to it was at times excruciating to watch. Yes, it's about the journey of a man towards death, or he may even be dead already,and it's about the "other" side after death and also about how everything in this universe is connected, even in death, man and nature and trees and rivers and the sea and so on...but you don't need 2 hours to deliver this message...I got at times the impression everyone on set had taken LSD and they were shooting their hallucinations on tape in black and white.

Well, anyway, it's not enough for me, sorry.

At the beginning you think this is a movie about the world of ballet...I mean,the title is "Swan lake", it's about ballerinas who toil and struggle to be discovered, to be stars, to be perfect. But then you watch on, and you can't stop, and at the end of it you realize that there is so much more about this movie. Whoever has watched the ballet Swan Lake will know that it is not THAT difficult to be the white swan and the black swan...no, it's not really THAT the key point of the movie, it's actually about accepting your dark side, your deepest darkest desires and fantasies and finding a balance with your normal, "good" side. Because this dark side is also a part of you, who cannot be denied or suppressed, and without which you are incomplete. And a person, especially an artist, cannot achieve greatness if he is only half a person. This is the powerful and somehow scary message of the movie. Scary, because it means to accept loosing control sometimes, which can be quite frightening if you're a control freak and a perfectionist (like Nina is). This is why "the only person standing in your way, is yourself". I'm sure Freud would have been in raptures over this movie!

Natalie Portman is brilliant, superb, natural and terrifying...if she doesn't win an Oscar for this then all those guys in Hollywood are idiots! She plays so well that you sometimes forget this is a movie, you have the impression this is like a documentary of a ballerina's life. Her frigidity, her stress, her fear of failure, of letting everyone down, her struggle to keep her dark side under lock and key like a beast, are perfectly authentic. Not to mention her relationship to her mother, the typical parent living through its child, putting thus a heavy burden on its shoulders.

A brilliant movie, but I have the impression that it needs a certain type of audience. Some people will take it perhaps only as a horror movie or some Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde variation...which is a pity because the movie is a small jewel of human psychology.

PS incidentally, I watched the ballet Swan lake a few weeks before seeing this movie...strangely, I had the impression that the prince was doing everything perfectly, but that he was superficial and lacked the "feeling" of his character..however, the dark wizard had such a magnetism about him and such a powerful presence on stage I was actually glad that at the end he defeated the prince!! Maybe the ballet dancer playing the Prince should watch this movie...

This movie totally changed my opinion about Kristen Stewart...whom I know from the Twilight saga movies and The Messengers. In the aforementioned movies I was not very impressed by her acting (Twilight raised perhaps a bit above the rest), even downright disappointed and completely angered by the constant confused look and gaping mouth (please please try to shut your mouth, you look like some handicapped child, or like you have so big teeth you can't close it more than that, it's not at all SEXY!). But here she's brilliant, without overdoing it, and her vulnerability is almost palpable. The movie is well directed, I loved all the little details of high school life (like "Gym should be illegal" or "My English teacher has no face" or career day "Are you a giver, a taker or a carer?"- I'm thankful I didn't have that when I was in school, putting you in a box like that, "Brave new world" isn't far away), the only stumbling point for me is that it is perhaps too long, drawing out on Melinda's feelings and inability to speak about what happened to her. And no one seems to care about her sudden and complete change, her mother is too busy, her father is too shy, her friends are mad at her but do not question why she did it...this was something I could not comprehend, because her best friend (they were best friends for 9 years) NEVER even asked her WHY she called the police, she just assumed it was out of spite or something. Or maybe they didn't show the scene? Maybe she asked Melinda and as usual Melinda didn't say a word? On the other hand, I know that people never give attention to those around them that are silent...if you don't speak up, people just ignore you and trample all over you (like that stupid new girl does with Melinda). Still there should be a few people that care about you and notice your change and that should try to make you spit it out. Maybe it's a good message to everyone to try and help those around you and not immediately treat them as freaks and ignore them. Sometimes it's very difficult to speak up...and the ability to just listen to people is becoming a unique gift. People don't have time to listen, they prefer to advise you to seek "professional help". Really good movie, with a strong message! Bravo Kristen! I won't judge you based on Twilight movies anymore.

There is not much action going on in this movie or a complicated plot...it's basically about a couple loosing their child in an accident and how each one of them is coping with this loss. I have to say the situation is brilliantly described, absolutely real, balancing between denial, pain, love, hurt, anger , bitterness, tenderness and all the rest. It sure gives you a lot to think about. I have not lost a child, but I think watching this movie I can only begin to understand what it means. I also think that you could relate to this movie if you lost someone dear, not necessarily a child. How do you go on? How do you bare the pain? How does life go on?

The acting is fantastic, and I especially appreciated Becca's mother, who is not an intellectual person or highly educated, but can put into words so well how the pain feels like and how it transforms in time. Of course Nicole Kidman plays very well, but somehow I found that it's not HER acting that matters, it's the entire movie and atmosphere and the interactions between the different characters that is important.

I have to admit that I cried a lot during the movie, it's sad, but also teaches you a lot.

I'm giving it only an 8/10 because in 2 points I'm not so convinced: 1. Howie being faithful to his wife...just doesn't seem realistic somehow. I'm not saying now every man will definitely cheat his wife in such a circumstance, but I'm sure the percentage of faithful husbands in such a situation has to be in the range of 1 to 10%..and they can very well cheat their wives loving them. 2.The acting of the kid that run their child over...I was expecting a much more scarred and remorseful person..he sees Becca crying her heart out, but he goes to prom and enjoys himself! Not convincing at all.

Definitely worth watching, this is Oscar material!

I will repeat what other reviewers have said about this movie before me: if you expect action,horror,gore and sex in the type of Blade or Underworld, don't watch it, because you will be disappointed.

This is an "art" movie, directed by a Japanese director, which means that there is little dialog, the plot is very simple, on the limit of boring to some viewers, and that the movie will try to convey to you the feelings of the main characters through a unique filming technique,the lightning, the camera angles and the general atmosphere of the movie. From this point of view this movie is a small masterpiece, describing to perfection the never ending sadness and pain of an immortal and indestructible creature. I have never understood so well a vampire character, nor felt so deeply for one as in this movie. Interview with a vampire came really close, but it lacked the superb atmosphere of Tale of a vampire. What does one have to live for if one has lost the most precious thing in one's life? And how excruciating is it to know that you are condemned to live on, forever, with this pain. It is what Alex, the vampire, is feeling, and the acting from Julian Sands is superb. Suzanne Hamilton is Anne, a woman who has also lost someone dear, and a very complex character to my eyes. Although she barely speaks, you understand that she is brave, lonely, kind, understanding, warm, balancing between despair and hope. The destinies of Anne and Alex cross each other due to the mysterious character Edgar, a reference to the poet and writer Edgar Allan Poe. The movie reflects a lot the sad and tragic atmosphere of his poems, as Anne's and Alex's fate begin to unfold. Fantastic vampire movie!

p.s. *major spoiler alert!!!* for those who do not understand why that little girl falls from the sky with a sword in her, it's Edgar's doing to incriminate Alex and force him to kill the witnesses. Edgar has a sword, remember? Also, it looks to me as if Edgar is responsible for the death of Anna's fiancé too since he's at the scene of the car accident in the very first scene. He planned it all to bring these 2 together and have his revenge on Alex.

This movie looks to me like some type of experiment. Something like "Let's see what we could do with the Phantom of the Opera story to shock people a bit and make it different". Because it's totally different from any other Phantom of the Opera take.

First, the phantom is not deformed, he's an abandoned child raised up by...rats in the catacombs of the Opera. If I remember correctly (there has been a while since I've read the book by Gaston Leroux) there is a weird character in the book that has the power to command the rats and is always walking around in those catacombs surrounded by rats, and the Phantom was avoiding him and letting him be (yeah, looks like all weirdos of Paris retreat under the Opera, I know). So here there's a mesh-up of this character and the Phantom: the guy is raised by rats, is able to command them, has telepatic powers (where did that come from?? no idea), loves music and plays the orgue. How he learned to talk, play the orgue, or got his things down there in the caverns we don't know. He's not at all deformed, looks more like a rock star (weird looking wig, by the way, but it's supposed to make him look sexy...), so you also ask yourself why he likes staying in those catacombs when he could be living quite normally above ground. Perhaps his weird childhood left its marks upon him and he's not adapted to live differently. In fact he's a pretty sick pervert, bites the tongue out of a woman's mouth, is killing people left, right and center, and almost masturbates in front of his rats(!). Well he does kill a child molester on the other hand...

Christine is in this movie no Saint Mary, she's always almost fainting with desire when she sees the Phantom, and she can't decide if she loves him or not. One time she's offering herself to him like a slut, then she's all rebellious and shouts at him, telling him how much she hates him. It's the typical Italian love story this! Then later when the Phantom returns from his killing spree she shouts at him a bit more, he rapes her but she likes it, then she runs away into the arms of Raoul and tells him not to let her go.

Then there's a weird guy in the movie and his friend, a midget. These two weirdos like to hunt rats, and invent a steam motored vacuum cleaner machine with which they drive around in the caverns and kill the rats of the Phantom. That was so hilarious I almost chocked on my popcorn! Of course they're such bad drivers they hit a rock and the midget gets his head cut off. His friend then finds the Phantoms layer and watches the hot action going on between Christine and the Phantom. When he finally manages to get to the surface, he tweets to everyone the truth, that Christine is the Phantom's whore, which makes the Phantom become Batman, swoop on the stage and save her.

And here the plot becomes so laughable I thought I was gonna burst: Raoul appears and shoots the Phantom in one of the most ridiculous scenes ever, Christine suddenly realizes how much she loves the freak and cries like a baby while the Phantom is all like "Life goes on, dear girl". Then it all comes down, gore and slashing at the Phantom while Christine is in the boat with Raoul, screaming her brains out and crying, instead of jumping in the water to get to him (maybe she doesn't know how to swim?)

So a movie where I had a few good laughs, have been shocked a few times by the gore and some other stuff (Christine is the director's daughter, and she has some sex scenes in the movie with daddy-o filming, pretty creepy, but OK, artists are not to be judged like other people) and I'm not sure if I like the Phantom, but find him attractive nonetheless. If you want a movie completely different from the usual Phantom of the Opera, watch it, but be warned that it's an experiment.

Definitely the best Pride and Prejudice adaptation is the BBC series with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. That wonderful series just ruined all other P&P movies for me:). So I think that doing a movie after the huge success the BBC series had is a very courageous thing to do and pretty risky too.

So in spite of the good acting from Keira Knightley, of the original approach of the character of Mr. Collins (he's a real cheeky pervert!), Mrs. Bennet (first time you see that this woman is indeed a loving mother, who worries over the fate and future of her 5 daughters) and Harriet (she's an old maid and a burden to her family, so for her marrying Mr. Collins is a blessing and an escape), of the little symbols and details (the 5 virgins living in a house surrounded by a river, like a castle or convent), the absolutely superb British landscapes and the sometimes perfect filming technique (I love how he shows the different windows of the house and we can see what each one is doing), there's still something missing...and I guess it's due to 2 things: first, the chemistry between Darcy and Elizabeth is not so obvious at times, mainly due to the actor playing Darcy (forgot his name); second, Keira is playing Elizabeth as such a powerful personality that poor Darcy just gets crushed under it and gives you the impression he's just Prince Charming waiting to come in and swoop the princess. The conflict is all in Keira, none in Darcy, which is so sad since Darcy is one of the most beloved romantic characters in literature, alongside Heathcliff, Rhett Butler and Romeo.

It's a really good movie, but personally I feel that it does not manage to surpass the brilliancy of the BBC series and the amazing on screen chemistry between Colin and Jennifer. Colin especially had such looks sometimes that you got the shivers down your spine and knots in your stomach. Didn't feel much of that here except perhaps the Pavilion scene...

Well, since I'm into Twilight and all that, I thought, "Let's see what Kristen has done before Twilight Bella". I guess I did not choose one of her best films, it's even likely she would like this film erased forever, because it's boring, badly done, and the acting is absolutely terrible. Did she perfect the staring and mouth breathing and gasping in this movie? Cause that's basically all she does, I'm sorry to say. The plot is really thin, the usual haunted house (wife and kids murdered by the father) and scary, weird stuff going on.

Don't loose your time with this, there are plenty of more useful things to do with it! Walk your dog, call a friend, take a bubble bath, read a good book, it's 1 billion times better.

This movie shows how you can make a film on the lowest budget possible, with only one or two scene sets and 12 good actors. Basically the whole movie takes place in one room where a jury of 12 men discuss their verdict for a young man suspected of killing his father. Reading the lines above you might think this is a boring movie, but the plot unfolds, as only one man of the jury is not convinced that the boy is guilty and slowly begins to convince the other members of the jury of his doubt. The story becomes at times a detective story, the jury trying to put together missing pieces of the murder puzzle.

This movie shows in a marvelous simple way the mechanism of the justice system, how easily a man can be convicted to the death sentence based on prejudice, subjective declarations of witnesses and an unprofessional defense lawyer. It stresses out the importance of declaring someone "not guilty" if there is a reasonable doubt in your mind about his guilt. It shows that you should always ask questions and not accept everything on first hand.

Besides these simple, yet profound ideas, there is a solid acting from everyone of those 12 jury members. Each is unique in his way, with his own personality,history and background. There is the typical immigrant, the wise guy cracking up jokes, the mediator, the wise old man, the educated man with stiff views of the world, the geek, the self-made man who did not forget where he came from, the choleric, the prejudiced man, the stupid guy who does not give a damn about this trial but only about getting to his football game in time. They don't have names, in fact there is no name mentioned until the very last scene in the movie, each jury member just has a number, yet you distinguish them very easily just by their personality. Some are given more screen time, some less, but they all do some marvelous acting.

Last, but not least, the camera and directing! Can I just say, for a movie taking place in one room, it's really amazing...stressing out gestures, faces of people, objects to give depth to the scenes. I'll never forget the scene where one jury member just tries to convince the others of the young boy's guilt, because "these people (living in slums) are born this way and they do these things, they're violent, they're animals" and one by one, the jury members leave the table, the place of dialog and go to other corners of the room, signaling that they do not wish to continue this conversation. Or the scene where they do a re-enactment of an old man trudging along to reach his front door.

Truly, a masterpiece, I recommend it to anyone anytime!

10/10

I know this movie has been talked about without end, it's great, original, it's the Matrix in a dream, etc etc. So here's my 2 cents about it. Personally, I like the following things about the movie:

• the idea of a dream in a dream in a dream is original, and the movie is food for the mind. This is not the stereotype brainless blockbuster, your gray cells are actually put to work in order to follow what is going on and in who's dream you are now in. Finally a smart movie!

• how the director/writer tries inception on you: is the final scene a dream or is it reality? what is reality? nice mind game, Mr. Nolan!

• the scene where they fight in imponderable state...now that has not been done in the Matrix or any other movie I've seen. The Matrix came close, but not quite! Very nice, original..and a first!

However, this whole idea of dreams in dreams and the subconscious reacting and an architect...one, Matrix, two, at some point it gets too complicated and twisted, but in the same time repetitive and boring..I mean, why not 4 levels of dream, why not a hundred, why not an infinite number of levels?? how do you know on which level you are after all? and I could go on with this forever.. oh look how smart I am!

Conclusion: plot pretty smart but not brilliant (take any philosophy book and you'll find these ideas), acting does not matter (since it's all about the plot in this movie, there's no deep psychological study or conflict, the Leo/Marillon story is the usual tragic love story designed to show how inception works, how you can loose touch with reality and go crazy thinking about dream levels and how the subconscious affects our dreams), great special effects.

7/10

It's an original movie, with a strong political message, throwing questions about what a government can and cannot do to protect its citizens, if invading someones private life is right or not, where does democracy end and tyranny start, how strong is a person when tortured and so on. It's interesting, but the tone and atmosphere of the movie is too cartoony and in Hollywood style, and hence it tends to become the usual superhero story instead of something more as it wants to. Ther is also a weird love story in the movie, but again it's more of a Phantom of the Opera rip-off.

In the end they tried so hard to make it original, the message got lost on the way.