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The Bone Collector

The Bone Collector

List Price: $12.98
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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: One Star? This doesn't even deserve an asteroid!
Review: THIS HAS TO BE THE WORST POLICE MOVIE EVER! Just consider:

A bedridden paraplegic policeman who lives in a chic SoHo loft equipped with state-of-the-art technology and round-the-clock nursing (all this on a cop's pension) solves a series of preposterous gory murders with the help of a gorgeous rookie who used to be a supermodel! In the end -of course!- he alone confronts the bad guy, outsmarts him and gets the girl!

No, wait!; there's more!: A wealthy couple takes a nap in a NYC cab at night, the girl enters every crime scene with no backup whatsoever (the cops would mess up the evidence, see -say what?), an abandoned subway station is discovered just below the Staten Island Ferry pier complete with a derailed wagon, a hooker lies down on a pool table in a seedy bar while there's people playing in it and no one complains, the hero deducts the exact whereabouts of a kidnapping cabbie from a single hundred-year-old bolt found elsewhere instead of asking who was working a cab that night, and -you guessed it- the killer can own a Yellow Cab in New York City with no questions asked! And don't think for a moment I'm giving away the plot; this is just for starters!

Apparently the sreenwriter(?) has never seen a "Law & Order" episode, and the people who gave favorable reviews to this turkey either hates thrillers or wouldn't know one from a Police Academy flick! In fact, the only suspense about it is ...what is Denzel doing in a bomb like this?

P.S.: On top of it all, the photography is lousy!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Queen La gets Offed...? Again? Wassup with That?
Review: ...they oughta let the girl live in one of them movies she's in. About this movie, it's okay, but they shouldn't compare "The Bone Collector" with "Rear Window", "Se7en" or "Silence of the Lambs" mainly because those films took a whole lotta time setting up that creeee-eeepy, eerie mood that they get in..."Se7en" was so dark, eerie and gritty that if you took two showers after seeing it, you still would not feel right. The premise of the movie, the logistical set up of it and the acting from Al Bundy, moody Angelina Jolie, Denzel and Queen La were all first rate, but the powers that be should have taken more time with the mood setting so that when the denouement hit, we the audience could really feel the terror with Denzel...a la "Rear Window" or "Wait Until Dark". That would have been really thrilling moviemaking. Other than that, it is a pretty good show. I did expect Queen La to come strolling into the last scenes bandaged up, but...

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good clean thriller
Review: I found this movie to be classically directed, it certainly kept me guessing right to the end. The only down side to this movie was that it managed to keep the suspense going through a large duration, not giving the viewer an opportunity to think out who the taxi driver was. So whodunnit, you will just have to see it for yourself. Denzel was excellent, considering he was only able to move his left index finger and speak.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: quadripelegia for the masses
Review: Well, this is a bad movie in more ways than one: sense one: it has nothing to offer, at best. Imagine a wattered down version of Seven, add a lame, literally, version of Silence of the lambs, and then any assorted B crime flick, and then take it down a few notches.

It is beneath contempt. If you like it, you don't like good movies. Which is OK.

Case and point: man (DW) who can't move arms or legs, is able to defeat a man who has control of his limbs and a GUN in "hand to hand" combat ( I use this term loosely). If this sounds like a good movie to you, rent it , live it, love it.

I felt the need to purge myself. DW has stooped to new lows. This movie is so bad I feel soiled writing about it. Any who like it should hang their heads in shame.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Nice try, but too predictable
Review: This is a very competently made movie, with a great musical score, and fine acting by the stunning Ms. Jolie. Denzel Washington is a little off his usually superb game here, but he is always watchable. It may be that there have been one too many serial killer flicks, because this comes off as rather stale and predictable. The violence seems excessive--this may be one of the problems. It simply isn't clear whether Director Noyce wanted to make an intellectual thriller or a visceral, scary movie. If I could have given it 3.5 stars I would have--the music, Ms. Jolie, and the fine DVD package make up for the deficiencies in plot and pace. It certainly is worth watching, but it could have been so much more.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Exceptionally good mystery thriller.
Review: This is one of the first movies I have seen that really exemplified the capability of the physically challenged individual. Just because a professional person can no longer scramble from meeting to meeting or perform tasks in the form of the social norm does not mean he or she is non- productive in society. The plot is terrific, terrifying and edge of your seat thrilling. You will never know "who-done-it" until the end; the climax is gripping and the wrap-up enhances the

"happily ever after" feel good that a viewer needs after a violent but well assembled line of action.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Waste of good actor's talent.
Review: I like the type of movie that Bone Collector was supposed to bebut it doesn't live up to it's counterparts like Seven. I'm notsaying that it's not worth anything but don't expect too much from this predictable movie. It's worth watching when you've done a full weekend of partying and your mind is completely fried...

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: a great movie, but a better book
Review: i thought the movie was a really good one, but some of the plotlines in the book were not found in the movie. in the book, the killer (who by the way, for that guy down there, DOES show up earlier in the movie, you just need to pay more attention. if you got everything in mission impossible the first time, i'm impressed) in the book murders more people than in the movie, and the book was a little more suspenceful. overall, it's a good movie with or without having read the book.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent detective story
Review: This intelligent crime story is an excellent addition to the genre. It combines some time honored plot elements with some nuances and twists to provide an effective and intriguing story that has viewers wracking their brains along with the characters to figure out "who done it".

I was prepared to dislike this film when I rented it because I've increasingly felt that the politically correct crowd in Hollywood has gone overboard lately in their use of films as diversity training for the masses. I was expecting preachy subtext about how the handicapped can be heroes too. Though that message was inherent in the fact that the hero was a quadriplegic, I came away feeling that the disability was an essential plot element and was not used for shameless sermonizing.

The quadriplegic element was actually an effective novelty in a genre that is often criticized (as was this film) for its lack of originality. The story's calculating serial killer with a very specific motive was a welcome change from oft used psychopath on the rampage. So, unlike many who have excoriated this script for lacking freshness, I felt it had a lot of good angles that distinguished it in a genre that has been greatly over plowed. Though a novel murder mystery is as hard to come by as a novel romance, that doesn't mean that such familiar themes can no longer be entertaining.

Director Phillip Noyce combines mystery, suspense, and graphic violence and delivers the total package with great impact. He is extremely effective in his use of the camera to heighten the effect of scenes through extreme close ups, top down shots and interesting perspective shots. His use of sound is also very compelling as on numerous occasions I found myself startled right out of my seat (having the DTS version of the DVD probably enhanced this effect). The underground sets were fantastic and lent an eerie reality to the historic broken down locations where the crimes were set.

The acting by Denzel Washington was first rate. He is particularly effective in thoughtful, intelligent roles where his character has to think his way through the film while dealing with emotional baggage. This was a particularly difficult role because he had to deliver the impact of the character without the use of his body, making his facial expressions and voice his only dramatic weapons. Given these constraints, he did an outstanding job of presenting a dynamic and powerful portrayal.

Angelina Jolie has proven once again that she is a serious dramatic talent. She consistently eschews the fluffy girlie roles to take on difficult characters. She was hard as nails and convincing as the intuitive forensics cop. It was she who made the chemistry work between Lincoln and Amelia by creating an emotional barrier of spiteful cynicism and then slowly letting it down as Lincoln gained her respect. She has the range to effectively portray grit and vulnerability in the same character which is no small order.

I gave this film a 9/10. As crime dramas go, it was terrific. The graphic violence is not for everyone, but if you enjoy a good taut murder mystery, you can't go wrong with this film.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Bone Collector
Review: A very suspensefull film, Danzel Washington performs one of his most challenging roles. The character he portrays, Lincoln Rhyme, becomes paralyzed from a near fatal accident that leaves him bed ridden. Lost without hope, and plagued with seizures, he desperately searches for a means to finally end his suffering. That is until a daring young cop, played by Angelina Jolie, stumbles upon a murder with clues that baffels the department. Using Amelia's (Angelina Jolie) eyes and his own mind for piecing together the clues, a new sense of purpose arises in Lincoln's mind. As the connections to these murders become apparent, each clue revealed is a race against time to find the the next victum before it's too late. A horrifying journey that could lead Amilia and Lincoln to become the next target at any given moment.


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