Rating: 
Summary: Excellent DVD....except no commentary?
Review: This is the scariest movie I have seen in probably the last 5 years. It is also one of those great ones that you and a friend can talk about afterwards, trying to interpret the ending.I am mystified by the people comparing it to the original Japanese version and complaining. I rented "Ringu" last night from my neighborhood Blockbuster, and for the first hour the two films were virtually identical, shot for shot. Granted the climax is much creepier in the original, however I thought it was ridiculous how the entire plot exposition was achieved because the boyfriend was psychic, so magically knew all the answers to her questions. This was a cheap shortcut that cuts about a half-hour out compared to the American version (but given she only had a week to solve the mystery, this must have come in handy. Leads one to wonder what she spent the other 23 hours of the day doing?) I found the American version far more believable based on this fact alone. Not to mention only half the imagery in the video is explained in "Ringu", whereas the American version ties everything together neatly and logically by the end. Regardless of comparisons, the DVD is pretty good except for the lack of commentary. The "extra film" they advertise is actually deleted scenes cleverly spliced next to key scenes from the feature to make a little "mini-Ring" synopsis film, including what was obviously the original ending (and should have been kept as such, in my opinion). No fear, I'm sure in 2 years they will release a big special edition DVD and put all the goodies on it, making this one obsolete.
Rating: 
Summary: See the original Japanese movie
Review: The American remake of The Ring (called Ringu in Japan) is not as good as the original. It's not as simple, as well acted, as subtle. The remake cuts one entire scene in court that raises tension quite a bit. It also intercuts action in a crucial scene near the end, lessening the tension. And, characters explain things that would be better left unsaid. All in all, see the original, subtitles and all. Leave this one alone, please.
Rating:
Summary: A surprise on the DVD
Review: I first saw this movie in the theater, and I was surprised by how different the previews were to the actual story line. Overall, I don't think the acting was too great....but the disturbing images and strange filming style made me like it. It's like when you are in a big empty room for too long, and you start to feel alone...I mean really alone. Or, if you stay up at night and see shapes or faces in the shadows of your bedroom. Your mind can play tricks on you, and make you feel strange. I recently purchased the dvd. When you are on the main menu of the dvd and you press up (when PLAY MOVIE is highlighted)...nothing will be highlighted. THIS IS THE ACTUAL RING MOVIE, (you know, the one that kills you) Quite disturbing if you ask me. :) Plus there is an item on the menu that says "don't look here". And me being the fool that I am....I looked. They made a fantastic short version of the movie with deleted scenes, more disturbing images...and many of the shocking parts of the movie..... WELL THAT WAS ENOUGH....I SHUT I OFF....no more scary stuff for me.....(that lady was looking at me in the mirror!) Needless to say...I didn't even watch the full feature from the dvd yet..... maybe tomorrow, when its light outside.
Rating: 
Summary: Intelligent Horror
Review: First of all, I would like to point out that not since The Blair Witch Project, did a film divide reviewers the way the Ring did..either top or low marks, which in my opinion is due to the film's success..it makes people react and think about it. I sure did.
The hype surrounding the film notwithstanding, I really watched it with a clear objective eye, and I was very much impressed by what I saw. Being sick and tired with the usual horror movies formula of blood and gore and predictable endings, The Ring provided a fresh alternative, boosted by a very good script, haunting piano and strings score, talented director and excellent acting.
I would put the Ring along with The Blair Witch, and the Others as the most intelligent horror movie I have seen since The Omen/Excorist period!! and indeed it is an horror film, despite some reviewers thinking otherwise, for the subject, the tension and the supernatural element makes it so.
Speaking of the tension, it is there form the first minute, when the two teenage girls are talking about the deadly tape and the inevitable consequence that sets the mood.The tension did remind me of the Blair Witch, gradually building by each passing day..The similarities with the Blair Witch probably stems from the fact that both film are the brainchild of talented amateur filmmakers on small budgets (I am talking about The Japanese original 'Ringu', which the Ring is 'inspired from' though I have yet to see it to judge whether it was copied frame by frame from the original like many hollywood adaptations (Assasins, Birdcage..etc..) or loosley based on as the filmmakers claim..)
Both films have a supernatural edge and an ending that far from giving an answer, deepens the mystery.
Like The Omen and The Exorcist, the use the innocence of a child as a vehicle for evil is part of why The Ring works well..
The 'evil' tape in question is very well filmed and edited and is truly spooky, especially since we see it at the begining..
Yet there are some flaws in the The Ring..The role of the child is under developed, and not as prominent as it is in the Sixth Sense..and some aspect of the plot just does not make any sense..but overall, I give it full marks, because it is an intelligent horror film, that will keep you at the edge of your seat, and because we really need similar films more often.
Rating: 
Summary: Reaches for the stars but falls short
Review: I have never really liked horror movies much, and so I sat here at the computer, wonderered if I should give a review to this movie, fearful that I might have been intrinsically biased to give it a bad review. Well, after setting my qualms about horror aside, I'm giving it a bad review anyway. I knew this movie was going to be a bad one from the first snippets of dialogue: two teenage girls talking about Your Most Basic Outcast Teenager Stuff, and then the small talk is eschewed in the clunkiest manner possible when one suddenly tells the other about a videotape that kills the viewer one week after he/she watches it. Ugh. And uh-oh, one of the girls watched it seven days ago. She dies, and her friend ends up in an psychiatric ward. Enter the heroine, an investigative reporter for a Seattle newspaper, played by Naomi Watts. She's the aunt of the opening scene's victim. She comes across the tape and watches it, and learns that she has seven days left. This part was actually intriguing to me, because I thought the movie was going to break free of the horror movie cliches it was in danger of getting bogged down into. At this point it's more of a thriller; a race against time. Title cards coveniently fade in, reminding us how long she has before she dies. To add to the excitment, her son watches the tape--now she's not just fighting for her own life but his, too. The biggest problem with the movie was that it almost seemed to want to be another "Sixth Sense" by providing a twist and then giving a back story after the fact saying "See, here's why there's a twist and why the movie doesn't end the way you think it does." There is even a review on the box of the DVD stating that it is the best scary movie since "The Sixth Sense". Nice try, but this movie isn't a tenth of what that one is. The twist itself wasn't the problem--in fact, I kind of liked it and thought that after it was established that yes, this was the way things were REALLY going to work out, the movie would have ended on a stronger note without any explanation. Instead, as before mentioned, more scenes take place that might interest some people who like all their stories tied up with a bow, but just left me thinking "This movie's STILL not over?"
Rating:
Summary: Do not waste your time!
Review: This movie was as bad as movies get! The idea for the movie was pretty good - a video that, if you watched it, you would die in 7 days. However, that is all you get here. The movie never elaborates on the original premise or makes sense of anything it tries to explain. I wish someone had told me to watch only the first five minutes of the movie, then shut it off - it is honestly the best part of the film. Anything after that is a waste of your time. If you like movies with a coherent story, this movie is definitely not for you.
Rating:
Summary: The Ring?
Review: When I read the box and saw that the rating was PG-13 I was thinking to myself how horrifying can this be? I think it is completley uproarious when people think that a PG-13 film will possess chills down the spine. I thought this movie was loaded with alot of cheap scares and I think the suspense was the only factor in this film that possesed any scary moments. The plot was very unexplained and didn't really make alot of sense. Also anything that they felt they could build any suspense off of they did it. For example why was it so important to not explain that Naomi Watts friend was the father of her child? The plot is so thin that they take little things like that to keep you going and it turns out to be insignificant. Why was Samara evil? Why did she enjoy what she was doing? How did she have the power to proceed with these actions after death? I suppose the tape was basically a channel or outsource for her to pick and get to her victims? I really don't understand it was a really strange idea to be conceived. But I will say that I like the direction of the film and the hazy cinematography that it conveyed. Which definitley gave it that erie boast to help support its plot. Basically though I think I am a bit more supportive of this film because Naomi Watts is in it. Every since 2001's Mulholland Dr, I have been somewhat of a fan of her work. But anyway I am not going to ramble on about this film. If you are one of those that will easily get scared this is the project for you other wise just enjoy the suspense of this film and the visuals. I don't really know alot about the japanese Ringu, but it has to be more violent than this film I will definitley have to check it out. Arish
Rating:
Summary: Scariest Movie ever!
Review: This movie was scary! I was really freaked out! On a scale from 1 to 10 I would give it an 11.
Rating:
Summary: Plenty of chills, but little brain food
Review: "The Ring" is best viewed for its subconsciously affecting elements. Anytime the film strays into an area where logic is required, it falters. But the chills which it provides are quite intense, if you'll let them be. The film's plot, which need not be summarized here in great detail since others have done it before and better, concerns a videotape which kills its viewers in seven days. Our heroine is a journalist trying to keep the tape from killing herself and her son. Now, the first truly frightening part of this film is that killer videotape itself. Using a mixture of elements lifted from Freudian psychology and inserted into frightening settings, it is quite disturbing in a way that is hard to pin down. What, exactly, is so sinister about a ladder leaning against a blank wall? Or a woman slowly brushing her hair? Somehow these mundane elements become subtly chilling. Stylistically the video resembles Bunuel's "Un Chien Andalou" but uses such a surreal effect to much more disturbing ends. Whereas Bunuel's film was just calculated weirdness, the killer videotape might stay with you when you try to fall asleep at night after seeing this film. The other disturbing elements play on subconscious fears that many viewers are probably not aware that they have. For example, in modern society it is very easy to go a lifetime without confronting the terrifying situations of being trapped in a well or chased by a maverick horse. But once we see these situations, we respond with a primal terror. It is in visceral thrills like these that "The Ring" excels. Its logical abilities are somewhat more impaired. The film spends too much time trying to tie up loose ends, but in the process points our attention to the questions that are left unanswered. Many classic horror movies explain themselves away in the end, but they do so fully, in a way that makes the audience say, "Ah! I understand why that happened now!" "The Ring" simply leaves us saying, "Okay, so that's why THAT happened, but what about THIS? How can THIS be explained?" The strengths of this film lie in its visual effects (the villainess is truly creepy, when she finally appears). I suggest taking the film at face value, renting it for a teenage slumber party, or renting it for a night at home with a date. Perhaps a little wine or other intoxicant would eliminate some of the glaring plot holes for some viewers. Regarding the DVD features, there are not too many. But the deleted scenes montage is quite well-done. Gore Verbinksi has taken deleted scenes and intercut them with necessary moments from the finished film, creating a "shortened" version of the original film that uses the deleted scenes in place of transitional scenes that made the final cut. I feel that some of the scenes which made the final cut could have been left out in favor of some deleted scenes which enriched the background story, but that is my opinion. At any rate, the deleted scenes are worth checking out. The preview for the Japanese original version of the film make it seem exactly like the American version, which I'm sure it isn't really. But it does give you an idea of what the Japanese version looks like. Overall, watch the film and the bonus features once. Let it scare the pants off you. Then postpone watching it again for a while, lest the inevitable questions of logic begin to creep in.
Rating:
Summary: Great horror flick!
Review: This supernatural thriller is about a video tape that plays bizarre images and a ring-shaped object in the middle of the tape, however, it does have a effect that can make the phone ring and warn someone that they will day in seven days. Now a woman who saw the haunted video tape must survive for 7 days and
find out the mysterious secret of " The Ring". A complicated but entertaining spook feast with good acting, inspired by a 1998 Japanese horror flick with the same name. It's worth a look if your in the mood for a scary flick. Also recommended: Videodrome, The Beyond, City of the Living Dead, Poltergeist, The Sixth Sense, Final Destination, Scream, Scream 2, Making Contact, Hellraiser, The Gate.
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