Rating: 
Summary: At Least He Didn't Have To Pay For The Call
Review: I remember when "Phone Booth" came out. I wanted to see it. Judging by the trailer it looked like an intense thriller. When it did open most of the critics seemed to like it. So, I thought I would go and see. But, I never got a chance. I have just seen this movie yesterday and I will admit, I feel somewhat disappointed. "Phone Booth" is a movie that only a certain group of people will enjoy. It all depends on how you personally look at the situation. If your searching for logic don't bother. If you just want to sit back relax and most importantly DON'T THINK then you will enjoy the movie more than others. As I first started to watch this movie I belonged to the first group. I personally feel everything in life needs logic. And I became annoyed with the movie at first, and then after awhile I soon realized the "correct" way to view the movie. Don't take it so serious. A lot of people will have a problem with the whole premise. A man picks up a ringing phone in a phone booth. He doesn't recognize the voice but continues to stay on the line. This is where it's important to know which group you belong to. Logically if someone where to pick up a ringing phone and heard the voice this guy has you would hang up and walk away. But, what kind of movie would that make!? So logic must be thrown out the window. The man hangs up, the phone rings again, the man picks up again. And this is where the movie starts to take shape. The voice on the other end is done by (Kiefer Sutherland) the man is Stu Shepard (Colen Farrell). "The voice" wants Stu to confess all of his sins. It seems "the voice" has been tracking Stu down. He knows the name of his wife, he knows Stu is cheating on her and he even knows Stu's address. Of course, Stu would have to stay on the line long enough for this guy to tell him all of this lol. But Stu must now do everything this "voice" wants him to. Now, naturally no one really cares what I think about this movie. But, I think most people will agree with me that the whole movie revolves around why Stu continues to talk to this guy. What makes him pick up the phone a second time? This is what will bring the whole movie together, don't you agree? If I wrote this movie my approach would be "the voice" has his wife in the room with him. And if Stu doesn't do everything he says he will kill his wife. This would make more sense, and those looking for logic would get it. Another fault with the movie is, why does this guy care so much about what Stu does? Who exactly is HE? "Phone Booth" nevertheless does have it's suspenseful moments. If you are willing to go along with the movie you may find your on the edge of your seat. The acting is fine and I suppose director Joel Schumacher does string everything together nicely. So there are some good points to the film but, the plot holes may be too much for some to completely enjoy. Bottom-line: An effective thriller depending on how you look at it. Works best if you throw logic out the window and just sit back and absorb everything the movie throws your way.
Rating:
Summary: Mixed Emotions
Review: Phone Booth is one of those movies that make you think what you would do if you were in Stew's position. However, I found the movie not to have any ups and downs...I had the same emotions throughout. I thought the ending was kinda strange, but good, and I thought Colin Farrell did an excellent job. It's a so-so movie and not one i plan to rush out and buy.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing Thriller
Review: PHONE BOOTH is the second pairing of director Joel Schumacher and star Collin Farrell; unfortunately it is a disappointment compared to their first collaboration, "Tigerland." Farrell playes a sleazy, small-time New York press agent. He lies to his clients, the press, and anyone else he can use. This situation comes to a head when he is pinned down in a phone booth by a sniper. Schmuacher can be a good action director, so I was expecting much more from this movie. Even though the movie is short (my DVD counter said 89 minutes), it really drags at times. Farrell is pretty good, but we don't get to know much about his character before the sniper incident, so I really didn't care much about what happened to him. The characters also tend to be a bit over-the-top, expecially the three prostitutes, who add some unintentional (?) humor. Also, PHONE BOOTH is ultimately too preachy and moralistic for it's own good; it's simply too shallow of a movie to pull it off well. Perhaps the best part is Schumacher's director's commentary; Schumacher is a solid director and he knows the kind of information that will be of interest to the audience. Too bad he didn't have as much sense when he was making the movie.
Rating: 
Summary: If you hear a pay phone ringing, just leave it alone...
Review: In "Phone Booth" a fast-talking, two-timing Broadway press agent named Stu Shepard (Colin Farrell) stops at his regular phone booth to call the young wannabee actress he wants to be his mistress (Katie Holmes) so that it does not show up on his cell phone bill where his wife can see the number. But as soon as he hangs up--and refuses delivery of a pizza--there is a second phone call and a voice telling him what to do and what to say or else he is going to be shot. Everyone should know the situation from the trailers and recognizes the voice on the other end of the phone as belonging to Keifer Sutherland, which is enough to take the situation very seriously. Stu takes a bit longer to be persuaded and by then he is into this situation so deep that there looks like there is no hope of ever getting out of it. "Phone Booth" is only 81 minutes long, which makes sense since Stu gets himself into this situation pretty quickly and since the intensity is on high for almost the entire film. This is not a film where you try to figure out what is really going on and why the voice on the other end of the phone is playing out this twisted little game with Stu. After all, can you really believe anything said by somebody who is holding a gun on you? What the voice wants does not matter. The question is how many people are going to be dead when this one is over. The motivation is secondary in a thriller such as this one. At first I thought that Sutherland's voice work is too good, because director Joel Schumacher does not filter the voice through a phone so that we hear it the way Stu would. Instead we hear Sutherland's voice clearer than we hear Farrell's. But then it dawned on me that doing this was to help force the viewer more into the perspective of a voyeur. After all, since we do not know where the sniper is which means that any and all camera shots could be his perspective. In the final analysis, what makes this film work for me is the character of Captain Ramey (Forest Whitaker), the cop who shows up to take charge of the situation and tries to find out what is going on instead of jumping to conclusions. As was the case in "Panic Room," I very much appreciated the idea that there are smart cops out there who do their jobs the way they should be done. What really saves "Phone Booth" from being a two-dimensional film is when Ramey turns the dyad into a triad.
Rating: 
Summary: Reasonable plot! Excellent actor and director
Review: I understand why some reviewers had criticized the plot (though only in hindsight and definitely not when I was watching it) so badly. Some complained about the over extension of the story line and the ending (I am not going to ruin your interest of seeing it by telling you more). However, how the director shot and how Farrell acted just simply cover up all the weaknesses. A brilliant movie! I had not pressed the fast forward button once, which I couldnt recall what other DVDs (over 20) I watched this year could stop me from doing so. Really enchanting. Dont miss this.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best movies of 2003!
Review: If you have not seen this film yet, and do not want to see it because you think that a movie that is almost all shot in a phone booth would be boring or bland, you really need to purchase a copy of this astounding flick. Colin Farrell's performance as Stu Shepard, a self-centered NYC publicist, is amazing. Perhaps the best role in this reviewers opinon was that of Kiefer Sutherland's performance as "the caller." Bottom Line: Do not rent this amazing film...BUY IT!
Rating:
Summary: Keeps you watching until the last second!
Review: PHONE BOOTH was a very good, suspensful film and Colin Farrell should be given ten awards for his incredible performance. It's a real jolter and it's so good you won't want to turn away! Stu Shepherd (Farrell) is a publicist whom steps into a phone booth in NYC to make a private call. When he is finished, the phone rings and on the other end of the line is a man that seems to know every aspect of Stu's life, even everything private and intimate. The man tells Stu that if he hangs up the phone, he will be murdered immediately. If you want to find out the rest of this intense thriller, see it!
Rating:
Summary: Clever, Fast paced semi-comedy
Review: I really enjoyed this film, the sniper had a great personality and I was laughing at just about everything he said. I think the plot was very good, but not as deep as it could have been, but all in all a VERY good movie, I'm gonna go and watch it again. Buy it, you'll enjoy it!
Rating:
Summary: You Better Take This Call...
Review: From the moment I saw the trailer for this movie I was instantly interested. The plot seemed fresh and original. Sadly, I never got a chance to see this film in the theaters as my schedule just wouldn't permit it. Flash forward: I rented this on dvd today with renewed excitement in finally seeing it. I was not disappointed. First off, I have to say that this movie has one of the most original plot lines I've seen in quite some time. And it's pulled off rather well. I never thought I could watch a movie that 98% of the film only takes place in one place (the phone booth of course) and be totally hooked the whole time. Very suspenseful, the movie comes off tense and nerve racking. The acting from Colin Ferrell and Kiefer Sutherland (the voice) is top drawer. An excellent script and excellent directing make up this thrilling (I assume - low budget) sleeper. Even though the whole movie took place in a phone booth - I didn't find myself bored once. My only gripe with the film, and the only reason why it didn't get 4 1/2 stars with me is I thought the ending could have been a little better. Don't get me wrong, it's good and satisfying, but the VERY end (I don't want to give away any spoilers for people who haven't seen it, so I'll just say, the AMBULANCE scene) could have been a little more creative. Overall, an excellent little film that I think deserves much praise. I would recommend renting it before you buy it to make sure it's your cup of tea, but at least rent it!! 4 stars. (I didn't have a chance to check out the special features on the dvd, but the audio/picture looked just fine in full screen format.)
Rating:
Summary: Not too shabby
Review: I must say, all in all this movie was pretty good. My expectations were half and half. The commercials made it seem interesting, but the fact that it was directed by Joel Schumacher kind of turned me off (man, the 3rd and 4th Batman movies were awful). Upon seeing it, I liked it quite a bit. It's very suspencful and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Granted, parts of it dragged (and the call girls in the movie were down right annoying), but overall, I really enjoyed it. No, it's not the greatest movie of all time or anything like that, but it is entertaining and definately worth checking out.
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