Reviews

While I enjoyed another of Dennis Quaid's films, I had to keep the rating a bit lower than I might normally have done, mostly because of the writer's and director's inadequacies, and not the actors. First off, the story was too inconsistent, what with putting in the mumble jumble of the female 'horseman', when being interrogated by Quaid. Then the lack of establishing some type of family history with his kids and deceased wife kept this from being a potentially great film. The actors all did well, given what they had to work with. The last thing I'll comment on, would be the ending. As other comments disclose, it's too predictable. I had guessed who the last horseman was, at least 30 minutes from the end. And the final minutes were absolutely horrible. There is no apparent investigation into who started the website, or anything to suggest who was actually leading the other members, except for Alex's comments at the end. Yet, if he's the actually leader, how did he evolve to that position? My guess is, that there was someone else involved. You'll have your own interpretations, I'm sure. In any case, it's still an enjoyable movie, that at least isn't a repeat, a remake, or a sequel. (am I the only one who's tired of seeing those come out year after year?) You would think that there was someone out there with enough creativity, to at least come up with some new story!!

Simon, you evidently visited the IMDb page for this movie. Why don't you take time to look at the top of the page? It clearly states that this is a PREQUEL. That means this movie is set at some time BEFORE the Death Note movies, which in turn means, that he has not been exposed to that plot-line. Therefore, your comment is about this being a lame spin-off that doesn't relate to the Death Note plot is very much on track, because it wasn't supposed to! This was a movie that only intended to fill in some character and history for "L". I can't comment on the actual movie, since it hasn't been released here, but I look forward to seeing it. I also hope the studio continues SEQUELS to the Death Note series. They are now among my most favorite all-time movies, for their entertainment value, their originality, as well as the way the writers make you think and guess what's going to happen, only to find that you frequently guess wrong. I for one never thought Light would end up being killed, so that was very refreshing and different than what typical Hollywood studios might have done

I have watched and enjoyed Christian, since he first appeared on-screen. I was, however, coming to think of him as one-dimensional. After all, I believe at least 90% of his work is action, adventure, thriller type movies, ala "Arrowhead", or "Alone in the Dark".

This film totally transformed how I think if him, as an actor. His portrayal of a maniacally depressed human being, who's unable to cope with the loss of his family, was outstanding. I'm really outraged, that this film had not 1 Oscar nomination. I feel it should have at least gotten the nod either for the storyline/plot/writing, or Christian's performance.

I can't say that I'm going to boycott Hollywood. But, I guarantee that I will NOT watch any movie that the so-called 'critics' give kudos to. This film had more originality than "There Will Be Blood" (how many times do we have to put up with sitting thru another movie about some ruthless kingpin breaking laws to make money?). The only reason 'blood' is so high-profiled, in my thinking, is because of Iraq and the oil industry making record multi-billion dollar profits for at least 3 years straight!

I seriously hope some producer or a head of one of the major movie companies take notice of this film, it's crew, supporting actors, and especially Slater. I'm sure others may not agree with me. I just believe that Christian showed an entirely new aspect to his acting talent. Michael Douglas got rave reviews for his role in 93's "Falling Down". Christian's role was much harder to play, because of his fear of social interaction, while Douglas's role was totally opposite.

There was once or twice that I became slightly muddled on the story-line, but the writers did a good job of being able to keep the viewer thinking, which allows them to get past those parts. This is the only reason I didn't give it a 10.

I highly recommend this film, for it's message, as well as the great job that the cast and crew did to create an enjoyable movie.

It was good to see Josh Brolin on-screen again. I have always enjoyed his and father James's work. I can't believe some of the comments I read, especially one that totally overlooks Jones's character! His is one of the pivotal roles in the film. After all, his character is what the whole premise of the story is place on.

I liked how the Cohens cut from action/thriller type scenes, which dealt with the drugs and money, trailing Brolin's character, and back to Jones's character to how he was tracking the case. I also enjoyed how Jones portrayed his role, which showed the difference in crime fighting approaches. You can see his as being laid-back methodical thinking, basing his conclusions on factual evidence, against the "Miami Vice" type of hyper-active approach to go fast, making conclusions based on circumstantial evidence, and assumptions.

I also liked Bardem's character. However, I don't give him kudos for the style. I liked the way it showed his ability to evade any visibility, as well as glimpses of skills that proved he had to be a professional govt agent, albeit a rogue agent. I did wish there weren't lapses in the time-line, as others also commented on. If he'd shown me something better than Hannibal Lector, then my opinion would change.

What I didn't like, was the lack of any substance regarding the Mexicans, and how they were able to track the money. The question was posed, but left unanswered. In my view, that was a crucial point. Another was the build-up of Brolin's character, and giving us a major fall-off at the end. What happened with his wife? What happened with the police case? Jones's character seemed to give the impression that he had absolutely no concern, after he retired. I think any lawman would either casually follow an unsolved case that was still fresh when they retired, possibly staying involved, either actively, or as a consultant, if nothing else! I know some think/say that this movie wasn't intended as mystery/action. But, I think when there's as much left hanging at the end, as was done in this one, that it looks more like an unfinished story. You'll never hear Oscar suggestions from me. That's all bull, as far as I'm concerned. Everyone knows the quality of their own talents and abilities and the result of their labors. Oscars are only to hype an actors value,, and to me, it doesn't make any movie worth paying upwards of $10, to see the theater release.

However, even with my dislikes, I cannot ignore the fact that I was enthralled and entertained, which is why I rate it 7. If they could have done a bit better with the "ending" and shown a bit more in the middle, to clear up some confusion, I think it could be a 10.

I'm just an average citizen, who loves horror movies, as well as action, thrillers and some drama. Positive opinions 1st, then I'll list the negative:

The basic storyline was good. I really liked how the writer mixed horror with mystery. I've seen other films that mix genres, and do a terrible job, or are just boring, because they're just the same old story. I thought this one was pretty original. The way the different time periods were mixed in was very good, much the same as "Highlander" worked. Although it seemed supernatural at first, the viewer will still wonder if that part is true, since the murders had not continued (at least until the truth is revealed near the end)

Camera work was pretty good. The overall acting was acceptable for this type of genre; Maybe with a few tweaks and better direction, the viewer would be so riveted in the show, that other aspects, such as the scare scenes would provoke more feelings of fright, than I felt, when I watched this. I did think Lane did a very good job, though some of his dialogue didn't seem to fit the character. I thought Luscri did the best acting in this film. Her character was very believable.

I loved the location, and scenery. I live in Missouri, and many times while watching, I was taken back to my youth. I think the crew did a great job capturing the feel and look of each era presented during the film.

Neutral thoughts: Although the camera work was good, there were several points that I started to lose interest. I don't know what the director was thinking, by not cutting a lot of the scenery shots from the film. It would've kept me more focused on the movie, if that had been done. I don't think it would've hurt the film by cutting 5-10 minutes of just panning shots.

Negative points: As for the acting, as I said, overall it was OK. The main char. could've been much better. But, not being in the movie biz, I can't say whether this facet was due to Clifton's abilities, or if it was the chemistry between the film crew and actors.

I think some of the writing could've been much better, such as making it more believable that Luscri's character would have knowledge and access to all types of evidence and articles, pertaining to the murders. After all, even though she's the sheriff's daughter, it would seem pretty hard to believe that she knows about interviews or evidence that her father had kept secret for over 25 years.

My main disappointments in the movie were: the "scarey" parts. Several times, I started to brace for the main scare in certain scenes, only to be left hanging, or wondering why it wasn't better done. The other part was the evil preacher, even though I loved the idea of how his character evolved. I ended up rolling my eyes, during the fight scene, when he was unable to over-power Jake, after previous points in the fight, where it showed him hurling either Jake or the sheriff into a wall, or across the room with, what I think is an accepted fact of vampyre myth, great strength.

I did enjoy this film, yet I feel that it could have become a very big hit or even a staple in the cult classics world, if either the direction or production were better and some tweaks were done with the script.