Rating: 
Summary: Terrifying and disturbing...
Review: Ian Mckellan gave a chilling performance as a guy who used to be a Nazi. Brad Renfro was perfectly cast to play a kid fascinated with the morbid stories. I just rented this tonight. It was tense and suspense-filled.
Rating:
Summary: Bring to life inner evil
Review: "Force, and fraud, are in war the two cardinal virtues""War is the great scavenger of thought" "War is the supreme drama of a completely mechanized society" "There is nothing so subject to the inconstancy of fortune as war" I can't understand how all these Stephen King Fanatics begin to compare this film to the book. It's a movie, it's a change, it's not the book. Instead of sitting there jawing on your bic pen writing down every inconsistency that doesn't follow Stephens story line, sit back and enjoy the true masterpiece of theatrical arts being unfolded before your eyes. It gives you a chill that no other movie has ever deleviered to the base of my spine, it gives you an insight into modern society's idea of a unbelievably realistic story, and it delievers two great acting roles. YOu can complain that your favourite "Friend" had a weak role, but he played that role with the exact tone of voice, facial expression etc. that was involved in his role. And as for all the anticlimatic ending marks. The Evil LIVES, isn't it always more fun when there isn't some 2 hour solution to a story book ending. Incredible story, incredible acting, incredible.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, but kind of creepy!!!
Review: The idea that a high school kid would be so interested in learning about the holocaust that he'd track down a local Nazi-in-hiding is ludicrous. And, even if this really could happen, I don't think any kid who actually absorbs the evils of his Nazi teacher could have been a very good kid to begin with! Evil isn't something you teach like a history lesson --- it involves morals and upbringing. This kid was NOT so much an A-student seduced by "the dark side" as the film would like us to believe. He was always a little nuts if you ask me.
Rating: 
Summary: This movie is sad, sad, sad...
Review: This movie is anything but "gripping". At the end of the film, David Schwimmer's character is pathetically weak. Sticking needles in my eyes would be more fun than watching this movie ever again. Unbelievable story and unbelievably bad.
Rating:
Summary: Kings's novella chilling and effective on the big screen.
Review: This much we all know about Stephen King: first is the fact that he turns out 900-page books every 2 or 3 days. The second is that some are made into movies - which, by and large, haven't all been that well received. Apt Pupil, on the other hand, falls into a different category. Based on one of King's novellas, this little story translates quite well onto the big screen - helped out by fine acting and inspired direction. Todd Bowden (Brad Renfro) is a bright youth with a kinky mind who begins to suspect that a particularly heinous kind of evil resides in his white-bread suburban neighborhood. It turns out that one of the community's senior citizens, Kurt Dussander, is actually a Nazi war criminal. Instead of telling the authorities however, the boy decides to blackmail the old guy and, with Nuremberg-like zeal, he collects enough historic and forensic data to convince Dussander he knows his true identity. Then, perhaps motivated by an evil that lurks in his own heart, the kid proceeds to pump the ancient monster for detailed accounts of his atrocities. The disturbing relationship between old man and boy is alone compelling enough to sustain our interest. But as the two begin to engage in a psychological dance of wills, we start to grasp that the stakes in this mind game may be higher than we first supposed. Our focus fixes on Todd, who, as the balance of power between the two shifts, realizes that the price of the knowledge he seeks may be his very soul. Part of the film's chill is generated by director Bryan Singer's knack for showcasing a King trademark - the frightening juxtaposition of true evil with the seemingly prosaic quality of everyday life. Blessed with an obviously good screenplay, Singer maintains a surprising amount of tension throughout, with adept manipulation of scenes revealing the story's twists and turns. Credit for this also goes to the actors - McKellan's goose-stepping scene develops goose bumps, as we catch a glimpse of the unspeakable evil lying behind his character's watery old eyes. And Renfro is both photogenic and effective as a disturbed adolescent with more brains then conscience. If there is a problem with Apt Pupil, it is that the film is mildly in love with itself - becoming especially drawn out near the end. Some might also find the ending a bit anticlimactic. Overall though, you won't be disappointed - and might even develop a tendency to gaze a bit longer than usual at the next old man you see on a bus.
Rating:
Summary: loved both versions
Review: Normaly I feel cheated when the end of a movie is different then the book. This was a rare exception. I won't spoil anything, but suffice to say what made the movie more scary is that fact that "the Evil" lived on. See the movie, then read the book if you think I'm a clueless moron.
Rating:
Summary: an totally fab film
Review: this film was great the actors were great and the storyline kept u gripped all the way through it.....id advise u all 2 watch it coz when uv watched ul want 2 own it so u can watch it over and over
Rating:
Summary: DISAPPOINTED
Review: I gave this film two stars - one each for the great performances given by the actors. As far as the movie itself, it started out great but ended with not only a fizzle but left me scratching my head... What was the point? An A student going bad? Where was the Stephen King in this picture? This could have been based on any old story. While the storyline itself was fascinating and when the boy forced the old man into the Nazi uniform, I was right there. I invisioned all sorts of follow up but felt so let down with the dismal ending. WARNING: Anybody who really wants to see the movie stop reading at this point. To sum it up the movie is boy finds old Nazi, boy tries to manipulates old Nazi, old Nazi comes back swinging, changes his minds, get found out, dies and boy becomes somebody not very nice. Blah, blah, blah. So what. I wanted the movie to make me care. It didn't. Don't take that trip to the video store, save your money and wait for it to come out on cable or rent something really good because Apt Pupil simply wasn't.
Rating: 
Summary: Stuck to most of the novella....but they caved on the ending
Review: Spolier warning: if you want to read the novella (in SK's Different Seasons) don't read my review. Ok, ready? I like many feel "Apt Pupil", the novella, ranks up there as some of SK's finest writing. It shocks many non-SK fans to learn that two of the most endearing movies of the last ten years ("Shawshank Redemption" and "Stand By Me") were penned by Stephen King. That's why his name is buried in the credits: the directors knew the novellas were great and wanted everyone to see them on film on the merit of the story not the author. "Apt Pupil" was originally bought and cast back in the 80s with then Ricky, now Rick, Schroder as Todd. It never made it to film until this version in 1998. Renfro does a good job as Todd so the wait didn't hurt it. To me, the most "disturbing" thing about the novella is what the film makers chose to leave out--the final sentence (spoiler): "It was five hours and almost dark before they took him down". SK leaves it to your imagination to fill in the blank about how many people Todd kills from his perch above the freeway with his rifle. It's missing from the film. In light of the school shootings of recent times, it is plausable they took the high road in creating the ending the film has (which does work by the way!). The "it's Hollywood's fault" battle cry might have prompted them to change it, esp in light of the lawsuit against the "Basketball Diaries" folks for Leo's dream about shooting up his classmates. But hey, the movie makes a good rental. It was entertaining and held your attention so what more can you ask for these days?
Rating:
Summary: A WORK OF ART
Review: THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST FILMS THAT I HAVE SEEN IN THE LAST YEAR. THIS FILM GOES WHERE OTHER FILMS FEAR TO GO. IT EXPLORES THE IDEA THAT WE ARE ALL INHERENTLY EVIL, OR CAPABLE OF EVIL, GIVEN THE PROPER CHANGE OR CIRCUMSTANCES. IT IS A PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER. THAT DEALS WITH THE HUMAN PSYCHE. IT DOES JUSTICE TO KING'S NOVEL JC
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