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Summary: Before you...do me in, Mr. McManus...watch this movie.
Review: Keyser Soze. The perfect criminal. The one who can never be caught, who never will be caught.Right there, under your nose. Don't bother renting this. Buy it immediately.
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Summary: DEFINITELY NOT......YOUR "USUAL" MOVIE
Review: "The Usual Suspects" certainly defies pigeon holing or labeling. Its larger-than-life allure results from a seamless blending of elements: Pschodrama, Action, Suspense and Mystery, all built on intricate storytelling, a dynamic screenplay and taught direction, by Bryan Singer. The aforementioned are all bolstered by credible in-depth character development, brought to life by an outstanding cast, who flesh out each role to chilling near perfection. (Kevin Spacey, seen here before most people would have recognized his name, received an Oscar for his "supporting" role!) But let's not get sidetracked. More than anything else,"SUSPECTS" is about the unparalleled unsettling reaction you get from viewing it! From the first scene to the end credits, it gets a headlock on your psyche, while sending the pit of your stomach into endless free fall! The only way to illustrate this, without giving away any key elements of the film, is a detailed look at the opening scene....a peerless example of instant timeless classic film noir. On a boat, docked in San Pedro Harbor, the dying sole-survivor of an apparently devastating bloodbath shootout painfully ignites a thin trail of gasoline. His obvious intention: Destroy EVERYTHING...himself included! From a deck higher up, an unseen someone pisses out the trail of flames. The shadowy figure walks down the stairs with an unhurried beliberation and saunters over to the agonizing man he has just saved. They exchange somewhat forced greetings and a few disjointed words of banter. Without warning, the intruder firmly raises a pistol, his unblinking gaze reflected in eyes locked in contact with his own. Unhesitatingly, he fires two consecutive shots. A brief pause of contemplation ends when he casually lights a cigarette, stategically dropping his lighter to rekindle the liquid fuse, and then beats a hasty off-board retreat. What better way to introduce a character whose twisted iron resolve is so perverse, so deranged, that he saves a doomed man seconds before certain death, solely for the unmititgated pleasure derived from looking him squarely in the eye, his victim looking right back, while pulling the trigger himself. Without uttering a syllable, his actions shout out,"I piss on you and your puny existence!" His victim's final moments are thusly converted into a living/dying testimony, clearly demonstrating who it is that decides the particulars of when and how he will die! "SUSPECTS" has been severely critiqued by a vocal minority (to paraphrase another Amazon reviewer) for not knowing the difference between a plot twist and a non sequitur. With all due respect to the reviewer, who painstakingly highlighted the difference for us, perhaps a careful second viewing would shed some light on the source of this common confusion. After watching "SUSPECTS" four times making every effort to employ my most discerning eye, I am convinced the true genius of the movie hinges on this particular point! Let me underscore my unequivocal recommendation of this film with a special note to those of you who avoid the Action or Suspense genre becuase of your distaste of the excessive violence that generally characterizes them. Well, THIS IS NO JOHN WOO FILM! A lot of the scenes are done in the "Old School" style, where the violence is kept off-screen. Although there is considerable TALK in "SUSPECTS" about some of the most dastardly deeds imaginable, virtually none of this is graphically portrayed. So, PLEASE, if you have not seen it yet, because of this reason, I urge you to make an exception in this case...GET IT AND SEE IT!
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Summary: Out Tarantinos Tarantino
Review: no lengthy review needed for this one...the script is excellent, proving that there are other screenwriters who know how criminals sound. But the only reason to see this movie is kevin spacey. Who would've ever guessed he was keyser soze? this film has the greatest line i've ever heard in a move " the greatest trick the devil ever pulled, was convincing the world that he didn't exist..." this is a film to own....
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Summary: Been there, done that, believe it or not.
Review: So far in all of the reviews, nobody has mentioned that the basic idea is obviously inspired by Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy-- it contains a mysterious character that no one has actually seen, but turns out you knew who it was all along. Like when a band covers a song, everybody thinks they wrote it. But I shouldn't be too hard on it, all good ideas come from somewhere, the author of this screenplay, Christopher MacQuarrie, just got to it first is all. In this case, in order for a complex idea to appeal to a mass audience, they had to dummy it down into a crime picture full of empty hoodlums. Gabriel Byrne would have been a believable Keiser Soze simply because he was the only interesting character, the natural leader of the group; for that he made the least likely Soze. I should have figured out the ending sooner, I just didn't expect that this wonderful idea would be wasted on this shallow, unnecessarily violent film. I don't cringe at movie violence, but when it's done "well", like in Goodfellas or Pulp Fiction, I do get a little shiver down my spine, thankful that I'm only watching it and not in the room with these people. This film has none of the tension, just one bloody scene after another. People who are amazed at the ending probably don't realize that it's been done before. Years after reading Foundation, I still feel a sense of wonder at its twists and clever manipulation. After watching the Usual Suspects, I threw my hands in the air and went to bed, knowing it's going to spoil it for anything that tries to use this idea later, disappointed that people might think this film is a one-of-a-kind original. Just had to clear the air.
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Summary: pretty interesting...
Review: i thought it was an interesting movie, but i knew from the start what kind of twist the ending would provide. it may be just because of kevin spacey's oscar, i figured he was not who he was. but the movie was well done and well acted.
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Summary: The best, most inspired move I've ever seen
Review: This is one of a few select movies I've ever seen that made me want to see it again immediately after I saw it for the first time (Fight Club, Sixth Sense, Kundun, Goodfellas, Bladerunner being others...). The whole movie drew me in with the masterful acting by Byrne, Del Toro, and (sorry American Beauty fans) the performance of Spacey's career that won him his first oscar. The movie enticed me to figure out its intracacies, to try to make my own assumptions about the convoluted story, and make my decision on who the infamous Keyser soze was. It continued along, foggy enough to keep me guessing, but intriguing enough to be brilliant. And then, THE ENDING. The end of this movie (I wouldn't dare give it away) is the single finest cinematic moment ever. Period. I don't care about Rosebud or "Here's lookin' at you kid" or any one of the many scenes in The Godfather. The end of the Usual Suspects is AMAZING. I missed it in the theatre so I had to watch it at home. I was alone and I literally stood up out of my seat and said, WOW! If you have not seen this scene you are cheating yourself. I have seen this movie too many times to count. Each time engenders a new appreciation for Brian Singer's masterful directing and the accross the board good acting. A must see. One of the two best movies of the Nineties (along with Schindler's List) as always
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Summary: The Usual Suspects
Review: The second-best crime film ever made, a completely original idea and fabulous dircting makes The Usual Suspects what it is. The characters include five criminals, Dean Keton, a retired criminal who now is romantically involved with a criminal lawyer, and they have gone into the restaurant business together. keton is played by Gabriel Byrne, who is well-cast, but not as well-cast as he is in End of Days, where he plays the devil. Stephen Baldwin plays McManus, a loud, crazy, but effective entry man. He plays this sort of role to a T, but he has been type-cast for his career thanks to his role. Kevin Pollak plays Todd Hockney, the explosives expert, who doesn't care about anyone. Pollak is great at this kind of role, and he has some great lines. Benicio del Toro, in his breakthrough role, is hilarious as a wisecracking criminal with a speech impediment. The speech impediment, where he mumbles constantly, makes him hard to understand, but it's very, very funny. And finally, to round out the criminals, Verbal Kint, a cripple, played by the not yet so famous Kevin Spacey. Kevin Spacey is awesome in this movie. This is his best acting job ever. He won the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his work, and it is well deserved. The opening lineup scene is a classic, and is possibly the greatest opener ever, second only to the Diner Scene, from Reservoir Dogs. The story is told by Kevin Spacey, who is the sole survivor of a mass slaughter in the San Pedro harbor, involving a ship. The five men were sent to destroy coke on a boat by the mysteriously shifty Keyzer Soze, who has never been seen by anyone, that has lived to tell the tale. Spacey is telling his account to U.S. Customs Agent David Cuyan, who has a personal vendetta against Keton. The movie jumps around a little, but by the second viewing it is easy to follow. The chilling climax will leave you speechless, and will put your head in a whirl. Enjoy!
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Summary: Reality staring you in the face
Review: People say this film doesn't make sense. It makes perfect sense. Look at the world around you. Yeah, your world. Then look again. Wake up and smell the coffee cup!
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Summary: Who is Keyser Söze?
Review: Kevin Spacey received a well deserved oscar for his performance. The plot was intriguing and kept me hooked till the last minute.
For all those who heard the ending, it is still worth viewing the movie simply for the brilliant manner in which the plot unfolds. Is it possible? Would you be fooled? I was.
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Summary: best damn film I have seen for ages
Review: Typical of all really good films, it has a twist in the tail that a great white shark would be proud of. Kevin Spacey and Gabriel Byrne are two of the best character actors in the business and Usual Suspects is some of their best work. Those films which leave you with the hairs on the back of your neck tingling when you leave the theatre are few and far between, and this is definetly one of them.
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