2007 Films- Disappointing

A Stephen King short about an evil room made into a film starring John Cusack just has spine chilling thriller written all over it. Just viewing the trailer I felt the chill bumps start rising. I had to go and spoil those wonderful chill bumps. I saw the movie- chill bumps only once & jumped in my seat only twice. During the entire 1 hour and 34 minutes of this film, only one person in the theater made a sound similar to a scream. What went wrong with this film? The story is evident and John Cusack brings it all to the table. Mikael Håfstrom didn't deliver the goods. This is only the second film I've viewed which Mikael Håfstrom has directed. The first was Derailed. Could someone please ask the film companies to cut this man from their list? His direction destroys what should be really good films. The plot in this film is one that should be so intense you grip the edge of your seat the entire film. The direction instead turns out a want to be psychological thriller. I have to give 2 1/2 stars for the story and Cusack. Cusack gave 110% trying to make this film work. It saddens me that it didn't. King and Cusack fans will want to see this film. If you're looking for what the trailer promised, don't bother......

Another epic love story, albeit, this one is a bit different. Director, Joe Wright, from my understanding tried to remain true to the novel. Not having read he novel, I don't know how well he did. He may have done an excellent job and maybe that's why this film seems long and drawn out. Trying to capture different characters perspective on the same events convoluted the film in many ways. The middle of the film seems to drag the most. The ending, which is a bit surprising, helps in the redemption of the overall film. The costuming and cinematography are stunning. McAvoy and Ronan are easily the stellar performers in Atonement. For all the Oscar hype and best picture nomination, I was disappointed and expected much more.

This movie garners an above average ranking from me because the acting is stellar and the plot is intriguing. The constant transfer from present to past to present to past was bit overdone in my opinion. I think Sidney Lumet had a great script and he worked the actors perfectly. I just wish he'd not used the time frame switching quite so often. It was too much of a distraction from the film. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke and Marisa Tomei fans will want to see this one.

Highly disappointing...
Charlie Bartlett earns 2 1/2 stars simply for the talent of Robert Downey, Jr and Hope Davis. This film has one of the most poorly written scripts I've ever seen. There were moments when I thought the film was going to take off and go where comedy needs to go, but then it would just flop. Those moments always included the afore mentioned talents. Given a proper script, the film could have been stellar. It wasn't the directing, the cinematography, or the acting. Gustin Nash gets all the credit for this films failure to be funny.

A post 9/11 propaganda film that goes far overboard trying to portray the so-called 'right-wingers' in the USA as terrorists...

Not recommended...

Not what I had anticipated from a movie starring Kevin Bacon... I simply cannot give this movie more than 3 stars because I think the storyline and character development could have been improved upon. It's not a bad start away from the horror genre by James Wan. The chase scenes are spectacular, and the fight scenes are pretty good as well. I had to suspend logic to make this film work, and that by itself is not a problem for me. I just couldn't make the entire film fit into a neat little package and that bothered me. I've read praise upon praise for Kevin Bacon in this role, and yet I don't feel he portrayed Nick Hume as I would have preferred. In other words, Bacon didn't cut it for me this time. I would have loved to have seen more character development with John Goodman and Garrett Hedlund's roles. Both had characters which could have been awe inspiring and would have stolen the movie. I don't think the flaws in the film can be placed on the shoulders of Wan and/or Bacon but more on the script writing of Ian Jeffers. If you like action, you should enjoy a rental of Death Sentence.

December Boys should have been a touching and poignant coming of age film. Instead the script and directing are bland. The characters are much too underdeveloped. The film is boring. Kudos to cinematographer David Connell. Only his stunning shots of the Kangaroo Island kept this film from being a total waste.

A movie about choices, friendships, love and life in general... The movie just didn't meet my expectations. The premise was good, but the story and direction didn't make the best of what it was given. John Corbett's character was the most believable and the most touching.

Ghost Rider is what it is... cheesy fun. The special effects are done fairly well, the story has potential, but the writing, direction and acting fall way short of making this a spectacular film. Mark Steven Johnson just is not a writer and his direction is much less than stellar. Maybe we can hope for a sequel presented by a different writer/director. I enjoyed viewing this film, but I had hoped for much more.

Beautiful cinematography, strong performances from all, a touching and haunting story... If this film had been about 30-45 minutes shorter in length, I would rate it higher. The greatness of the film diminishes for me because it literally began to feel as though it would never end. Emile Hirsh did a fine job, but yet I felt he didn't quite bring the inner fire that Christopher McCandless possessed to the screen. Overall, I was a bit disappointed with a film for which I held the highest expectations.

Where does one begin in describing this film? With Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, one had to leave the theater feeling they had been entertained. Now, other than the lovable Captain Jack, what else warranted 3/12 out of 5 stars? POTC III has beautiful scenery and a tremendous amount of CGI special effects. Little Jack, the monkey is such a scene stealer. You have to love the monkey! The appearance of Keith Richards as Sparrow's father was long anticipated, and though his screen time was short, it was good. I enjoyed Geoffrey Rush as Barbossa in POTC I & was pleased to see him once again in POTC III. The ending leaves you with the feeling that if so inclined, there might be future POTC films. I couldn't rate this film higher than 3 1/2 out 5 stars because it is much too lengthy, the plot is sometimes beyond comprehension, the scenes sometimes much too frantic and the fight scene marriage ridiculous. Everyone knows Elizabeth & Will are in love, but being married aboard ship while in the midst of a battle? Please..... If you don't feel the need to rush out to the theater, I'd wait for the DVD on this one. At least you won't be sitting for 2 hours and 48 minutes without a break. Also, if you're a Johnny Depp and/or POTC fan, you won't want to miss it.

2 stars for the beautiful scenery and the major talents of Pierce Bronson and Liam Neeson, and that's the best thing about this film. Period. A slow moving film, which if written and directed properly could have been a 5 star film. Instead it drags and has so many extra scenes that are so cliché western, that it loses the focus and the plot suffers.

The first 10 minutes of this movie were good. It was downhill from that point onward. Maybe it's my bad for not realizing it was a 'spoof' movie. The Rock looked good....

Overrated would describe this one... The movie didn't hold my full attention and I preferred reading forums on the net to watching. The whole film felt contrived, as though it was made only to make money, not to entertain. I'll give it 2 1/2 for having a couple of good qualities~ the Sandman and James Franco. Franco is just too easy on the eyes not to notice and the Sandman was pretty cool.

Enjoyed the storyline but felt the spiritual aspect fell short. The acting was average, the direction could have been more in depth, the cinematography was good but lacked a bit... Overall Sunshine is an ok Sci-fi flick, but nothing out of the ordinary. I did enjoy how the film made me think about the sacrifices men make for mankind.

The Number 23 has masterpiece written all over it. Anyone who has ever had a fascination with numerology or been a student of numerology could have written a better script. This film falls way short in delivering as a psychological thriller. Schumacher, Carrey and Madsen are not at fault. The direction and acting, though not stellar, are above average. The beginning of the script is good. It draws you in and holds your interest. Schumacher uses camera angles and coloring well during the narratives read from the book. The scenes allowing the viewer to see what the character is reading are the brilliant spots in this film. Once the character's obsession with the number 23 begins, the script starts unraveling. The number 23 is just left dangling. Repeatedly seeing, saying and writing the number 23 becomes boring. Character development becomes shoddy, the plot becomes Hollywood predictable and the twists and turns though existing, do not thrill. Still I can't rate the film lower than 3 stars because Carrey and Madsen worked diligently with what they were handed. Fernley Phillips needs to attend script writing 101.

We Own the Night has about three entertaining scenes. That's it. The rest is rubbish. I expected much more with Phoenix, Wahlberg and Duvall on the cast list. No discredit to the actors because they seemed to work the characters they portrayed as well as anyone could given the script was lousy. The plot wasn't bad, but the script was poorly written. Duvall's character was too wishy-washy and Wahlberg's character was much underdeveloped. The film just drags and it's a relief to finally see the film credits roll.