A surprise and worth many viewings
936742
I'm not typically a Tim Roth fan, in fact the work he did in Planet of the Apes was so convincing I couldn't ever see him playing an enjoyable or particularly likeable character. From the moment Roths character goes out to start his shift at the hotel you get a feeling this guy has the best of intentions.

Each of the "Four Rooms" contains a different story, with different characters, Roth being the only connection between the four. Some smaller plot elements tie the four rooms together as well. These are slight and might be missed, but help to make the movie more whole.

My favorite "room" is the Tarintino room. Once you see Quentin you know things are going to get really funny, really dark, kind of weird but always worth the price of admisssion. His is the last of the four rooms though.

Antonio Banderas' room is also great. Although hes not a major part of this room, because the story focuses on his two kids in the scene, his reaction to the mischief the kids get into is awesome! Very fuuny.

Madonna has a nice little role as the head of a witch coven. In their room they are trying to raise a goddess, and need some "special" help from Roth.

Depending on how you like your comedies this movie may or may not be very funny to you. I liked it becuase I thought it was a bit smarter than  slap stick comedies...Roths caricature of the proper British bellboy is the absolute best part of the movie as a whole.

Not perfect but worth owning and worth watching again and again.
3832379
I was quite surprised at the depth and sensitivity of this film, in which an Orthodox Jewish family struggles to deal with the loss of a daughter and the maintenance of the integrity of the family.  The actors are all first-rate, and the depiction of such a little understood culture is shown in universal terms.  Much of the story is shown, not told, and this is a wonderful way of pulling in the viewer.  One of the best films I've seen this year.
3489930
What a pleasant surprise. Films rarely even TRY to present what MIGHT be going on "inside" a serial killer to help us on the outside get a hint as to what's going on. This one makes brave strides in that direction and I laud it for that alone. It drew me right in to his world from the opening scene and held me there for the duration. This is an excellent performance from Owen Wilson and the whole ensemble. The storyline and pacing brings a very different and intimate approach that separates it from any other of the genre that I have seen. It's done without mayhem and titillation. It doesn't have the operatic grandeur of a Silence of the Lambs but it's a very good character study and I recommend it for any student of film or criminal pathology.
1425919
A surprisingly great movie w/ countless named stars in support roles.
750480
This is an brilliant ,while at the same time,a very unusual movie. It was released in 1985,but somehow I had never heard of it until I came across the DVD.By the way,several reviewers have stated that they were very disappointed with the reproduction quality of the DVD.I am writing this review under the VHS version,as the DVD I have is not like the double movie .Mine has only one,"Lamb"and I found no problems with it. It was by Direct Source Special Products,ISBN 1-896306-91-8,Item #DVD 20089.
 The movie has a lot of interesting characters and well played,but really only Brother Michael Lamb (Liam Nesson) and Owen Kane (Hugh O'Connor) have major parts. The whole story is really about them,and the other characters appear only briefly. The movie is totally an Irish movie ,though part of the story takes place and was filmed in London. There are some great scenes of the Irish countryside,St. Kiaran's Reform School in Galway,beaches,and street scenes and other locations in London;but it is by no mean a travelogue.
 The story is very emotional,and both Kane and Lamb are struggling hard in coming to terms with their lives and situations. Watching the movie,you will also feel their problems. Both Nesson and O'Connor are excellent for these roles and played them masterfully.
 Of course,you are really wanting to know how things are going to work out for them;but the thing that makes this movie one that is unusual,and which will remain with you;is the sudden and totally unexpected ending.
4845944
You probably hadn't hear of Look during it's limited theatrical run. I hadn't and only discovered it through Amazon. I didn't read up on it before watching it and, to tell you the truth, I wasn't too excited to watch it. The gimmick of making a movie entirely with surveillance cameras didn't seem that intriguing to me. What really surprised me was that five minutes into Look I was hooked.

The film opens with a title card explaining that there are 30 million surveillance cameras in the U.S. and that the average American is caught on video 200 times a day.

Soon, we're watching two teenage girls trying on clothes in a dressing room. Next, we meet the manager of the store who enjoys seducing all of the female employees. We meet a nerdy young man who is constantly ridiculed at work. A teacher with a pregnant wife, a gas station attendant, a couple of serial killers, and various other characters.

The film takes advantage of our voyeuristic tendencies as humans. This is what makes it so instantly fascinating and intriguing. What made the film such a profound viewing experience, for me, was the realism of it. While not always pleasant, the film does show a rarely-glimped side of human nature. This subject matter is not glamorized or watered-down which is most likely why this was never billed as big Hollywood movie.

Writer/director Adam Rifkin was clearly not afraid of some risk-taking in telling this story. In this surveillance footage format, you're not given a viewpoint that allows you to explore a character's motives, back-story, etc. All we know about the character's is what the surveillance "footage" allows us to see. Some filmmakers would find this to be a near-unbearable challenge, but Rifkin seems to embrace it. With these restraints, I found it impressive that he was able to find a way for us to empathize with these characters. Even more impressive is that once we do empathize with them, Rifkin throws the audience a curveball (even though some of these "curveballs" are, admittedly, rather predictable).

Look is an entertaining, funny, provocative, startling, and profoundly disturbing movie that defies many typical cinematic conventions. What appears to be a mere cinematic experiment turns out to be a movie that will grab you and not let you go, as well as make you think along the way. As Richard Roeper said of the film, it's "worth seeking out."
Look for it.

GRADE: A
2468153
I don't know what I thought this movie would be, but it surprised and delighted me.  I'm not much into "family drama, reconciliation, getting back to your roots, family secrets" types of movies  -they tend to be drawn out, boring and preachy.  But this was a delight.  Don't get me wrong, this was emotionally hard to watch at times, but Dern's performance was almost perfect.  He walked a line that, had he gone either way, would have been maudlin or a caricature - he was neither. All the performances were spot-on.
639568
Not really what expected (unsure what it was I expected), but a very good film!
4811770
One of the best film I have ever seen, and I have seen many.
3305219
I am always a little aprehensive about "art movies".  I should clarify that I use the term to mean movies about great artists (as opposed to what used to be the term to describe movies coming out of France and Scandanavia).  The reason for my reluctance is that, if the art itself doesn't impress me, then the movie probably won't either.  However, I recently watched "Amadeus" for the first time and was greatly impressed.  So, when I saw "Frida" on IFC's schedule, I thought I'd take a chance on that one as well.  Thank goodness that I did.  This, too, is an impressive movie.

I will admit that I knew nothing about the true-life artist, Frida Kahlo, although I vaguely recognized the name of her husband, Diego Rivera.  I'm sure that "Frida" must have been an exceptional experience for those who were already fans of her work before the movie came out.  However, I was impressed that prior knowledge of the woman was not a requirement for being able to enjoy "Frida".  The impact of the movie came from its' portrayal of the artist first and the art second.  Frida Kahlo was a vibrant woman who overcame many things because of her passion for life and love.  She backed-off for no one, even her wandering husband.  She overcame a serious accident that left her in pain and follow-up surgeries most of her life.  She did not compromise on expectations of anyone, including herself.  All of this we saw through the excellent directing of Julie Taymor and the Academy Award-nominated acting of Salma Hayek in the title role.  I did not see Nichole Kidman in "The Hours" so I can't complain too loudly about the injustice of Hayek not winning the award.  Let's just say that, if and when I get around to seeing "The Hours", I'll be expecting a lot.

The use of art in "Frida" was expected but the unique ways that it was blended in were exceptionally well-done.  History plays an important role in "Frida" as well with the assassination of Leon Trotsky (gee, I sure hope I'm not giving anything away with that) being a special focal point for me.

"Amadeus" excelled in how it brought the man, the music and the times to life.  "Frida" excels by doing as well in all three areas.  I may prefer Wolfgang and his music to Frida and her art but I must confess that Frida and her art stand pretty high in my opinion after watching "Frida".
3338217
Other viewers have given excellent synopses of the overall plot and characters, so I won't attempt to repeat.

Upon reading the gist of the story, I wasn't sure whether I would like this film, because the women protagonists are all comatose. Indeed, as I watched, I found this theme echoed in the cinema-within-cinema as well, in which many of the women are also asleep or in swoons. The pervasiveness of the unconscious woman image is intentional, and weaves in with the movie as a whole to make a multi-level commentary on the relationships between the sexes.

On the level of plot and character, the story seems to me to be mostly about many different kinds of love and acceptance between people. It challenges the usual judgments that we may make about people and their feelings, actions, and relationships. I found the ending unexpectedly affirming, though some may disagree.

I whole-heartedly rate this film five stars - for a unique story line, for fine performances by all the cast, for extremely creative use of cinema within cinema, for the visuals (especially the scenery and the corrida) and for a well-chosen score.

A footnote about the rating: it is rated R for some nudity and sexual themes, including a scene in the film within a film that was intentionally done with props that are clearly not actual human body. The scene of the goring of the torera was handled with restraint, and did not shock me.
188359
I had the pleasure to see 'The Good Night' after waiting almost two years to see it due to limited release. I expected someting interesting, but alas, this film somehow found a place deep inside my heart.

Similar themes have been done from 'Vanilla Sky' to 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind', but 'The Good Night' is much more subtle and quiet; it feels more organic and real, winding up to an ending I did not expect, leaving me with emotions I can't quite explain.

Jake's direction is quite brilliant: from using clunky video shots in the 'real' world contrasted by the divinely photographed scenes in the dream sequences, to photographically placing the arguing couples in their own separate 'units' as a visual metaphor. Both the male and female characters look similar, yet differ completely in temperament, signifying the archetypal poles of men and women.

The music was also well chosen, especially the end sequence, invoking the oddest emotions I have felt in a long time.

'The Good Night' is probably one of the most interesting films I have seen in years: a quiet yet endearing script, finished in the most subtle direction.

It is one of those films that will be re-discovered in years to come by sensitive souls, placing it firmly with the likes of Anthony Minghella's and Tom Tykwer's quiet diamonds, lost in the madness of Hollywood Land.

I hope that Jake Paltrow will endure and return; he has much to gift the world...
1772555
I was really, really surprised by this film. The preview does not really do it justice, as this is NOT a film about a white gangsta and a crew of Girls Gone Wild armed robbers. Yes, there is a white gangster, and there are sexy girls in bikinis robbing and shooting. But the film is not actually about those facts. The film is a study in CONTRAST (both visual and thematic), and in challenging your expectations. The filmmaker is really, really good at changing gears once you think you understand the characters' motivations, or where the plot is going. At first, Franco's "Alien" character seems like a con-man hustler, and you feel an almost paternal fear for the girls as he sucks them into his world, but this perspective does not last long, and soon you are starting to wonder if the girls are really just using him as he grows more emotionally attached to them. They turn the tables on his apparent supremacy in a scene involving his gun collection and his bedroom, and the sexual dynamic of the group shifts radically.

On that topic, there is surprisingly little sex in the film. The scenes of spring break debauchery leave the actual act to the imagination for the most part, and by the time sex actually occurs in the Franco-Girls gang, it is far more emotional than you have been expecting. The scene where Franco's "Alien" serenades the ladies with a Brittany Spears song SHOULD have been a point of ridicule, but as it was happening, all I could think was that this is EXACTLY how a character like Alien would express his genuine emotions.

The film is shockingly beautiful, visually. The moments of color contrast are perfect. At one point, Alien, in an electric green jacket stand opposite his ethnically black arch rival, decked out in vibrant red, and their color profiles (white+green vs jet-black+red) seem as opposite as their position on each other. The entire movie is a study in contrast. Innocent Faith (Selena Gomez) standing in a crowd of pool playing gangsters, ski masked girls in bikinis, the sub-tropical beauty of Tampa against its urban ghetto. Bad-looking Alien expressing (probably) real emotions compared to the girls with their secret motivations.

The film moves in a curve, with some elements repeating at the beginning and the end, and it has a dash of the Kirosawa 'Rashamon' technique of alternative perspectives (but never heavy handed). The entire film moves like its a 90-minute preview of a movie itself, and I don't recall being bored for a single minute.

As I said, this movie really, REALLY surprised me. I found it to be quite intelligent and artistic, and the film maker played with my emotions and expectations in a really interesting way. Would definitely watch it again and have been recommending it to all my friends who are into interesting cinema.
3757534
Quite possibly the most different type of movie I've seen in a long time. But worth watching.
3234824
This movie surprised me, to say the least. The acting is superb, with Jim Caviezel giving one of the best performances of his career. The cinematography is superb. It is a very subtle movie that grabs you at the right times. I want to watch it again and I will definitely recommend it to others.`
4934366
Saw this movie many many moons ago; just out of curiosity borrowing the DVD from my local library. Then tricked every one of my friends to watch it telling them it's a screwball comedy. They all blamed me for the redness in their eyes the next day of course. This is a beautifully made move, beautiful in every way - from it's understated performances; with it's delicate and respectful handling of a very touchy topic - a soldiers last journey home. And in addition to that this is based on the real life experience of the Major makes it even more remarkable.
I am not a big fan on Kevin Bacon; he's done good work over the years - but this one sticks out in my memory more than others. I went into this expecting a jingoistic anti/pro war movie - this one is neither; and is pretty remarkable for that fact alone. It a movie about basic human decency, and compassion and ethics - something our society needs to remind itself of in more recent times.
1527512
Despite mixed reviews, I'm glad I gave this a watch because it was worth it. It's a bit of a journey but the emotional pay-off is superb and the characters will stay with you long after.

It's a quiet film essentially about the way people interact with each other in the world while at the same time functioning inside a bubble of isolation and the ultimate effect that can have.  Each of the characters are struggling with some sort of emotional grief - their stories all connected - and yet they`re unable to help or, at times, even be fully aware of each other.

While the primary theme is fairly tragic, there's a sense of lightness that keeps the film from bogging down. The cinematography is gorgeous in a minimalist setting that lets the performances stand on their own.  There were also some flashes of dark, unexpected humor, if you pay close attention. I had one laugh-out-loud moment when Somerhalder's character - who is often so isolated and restrained that he's almost like a ghost - has a moment of painful irony with a young boy, Josh.

The downside of the movie is that it sometimes tries too hard to reach a level of quirk that can be expected in indie films. It's also a shade pretentious, taking itself very seriously and can be a bit heavy-handed trying to get it's ideas across. Perhaps the writer/director should have just let this one unfold a bit more organically at times.

The brightest spots were the actor's performances. I fully expected Strathairn, Adams, Scott and Cusak to be wonderful and they absolutely were.  I was pleasantly surprised by almost the entire cast, though. A few of them particularly stood out for me.

Daniel Gillies shone as Dylan, a troubled, lonely man with so many issues - past and present - but with a desperate need to continue to make a connection with others. He can only seem to do it on a superficial level though, attempting to form bonds with strangers but unable to find his way back to his own family. Gillies performance was so bold and funny and sad that it makes me wonder why I haven`t seen more of him. He was fantastic.

Ian Somerhalder was another revelation. Early on his character, Drifter, is so understated that he seems almost one-note. Soon, though, you realize that he's just so damaged that isolation and repression are the only way he has to keep from coming completely unglued. In the moments when his character breaks through his barriers, Somerhalder shows a surprising ability for handling the grueling emotional aspects of the role. Although his is the quietest performance with the least dialogue of any of the main characters, I was haunted by Drifter and found myself completely invested in his outcome.

Elisabeth Waterston was just gorgeous. Completely natural and never forced, her performance was spot on. Her character is the thread that weaves several of the stories together and Waterston handles the task so lightly, so delicately that there's never a sense her character is any sort of device created for this purpose. Although a bit overly quirky (a fault that doesn't lie with the actor but in the writing) there is still substance to her story. Waterston is able to portray strength and independence while still remaining whimsical and vulnerable and make it all believable.

In the end, the story comes full circle and we see what Finn's true purpose has been all along. It's a long and sometimes convoluted path, but the pay-off is worth it.