Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely Amazing!
Review: This movie was absolutely amazing! If it does not get nominated for at least 1 academy award, the whole thing is a sham. Awesome acting from Jeff Bridges and Tim Robbins, and a surprising role from Joan Cusack. Incredible script. And the ending was completely unbelievable!!!
Rating:
Summary: A great thriller with a surprise twist ending
Review: This is a movie which has not received the credit it deserves from the "reviewers". It is a very well plotted and acted film. It should appeal to those fans of movies like Three Days of the Condor or Cape Fear or anyone looking for a film to offer a little escapism and hold their attention throughout. The subject matter, the terrorist next door, is presented in a very believable, realitic way. With today's headlines featuring bombings of government buildings, terrorism, underground groups and militia, the film is very timely. The running time of the film is very appropriate. Unlike many movies today, it is not drawn out too long. The great ending features a Hitchcock-like twist and good closure for the audience. It is the type of intricately plotted movie that will generate questions and reveal added details with each new viewing. It should do well in the video rental and sales markets. A book or screenplay would also be well received.
Rating:
Summary: This Movie was Great
Review: I watched Arlington Road (my street is Arlington Avenue) on a flight to New York from Israel. Before I saw it I thaught it was about ghosts, but it is actually about this guy who finds out his neighbor is a terrorist. I hope they make a sequal!
Rating: 
Summary: Arlington Road should have done a lot better than this
Review: All the friends' opinions were positive. The leading cast added a sense of insurance. The name of the director was without any doubt promising. Despite the demanding label of "political thriller", having taken into consideration all the ingredients above, I was convinced that Arlington Road would offer me an enjoyable time.I admit that I finished viewing the movie with a feeling of disappointment and disbelief. To be fair, there is not doubt that Arlington Road provides a great dosage of suspense throughout its duration. But if you make the mistake and try to think of what you just saw, after the end titles, everything seems to fall apart. The basic character of our story is Michael Faraday (Jeff Bridges). He is working as a professor of political history, with terrorism being its main focus. This, combined with the loss of his wife caused by a wrong judgment by FBI, renders him particularly sensitive to relevant stimuli. We can sense from the beginning that his fragile psyche will play an important role as the story evolves. After a strong opening sequence we see Faraday developing friendly relations with his new neighbors. Until the day an unexpected event puts doubts in his clouded mind. The question is clear: Are his neighbors involved in a terrorist group? That was it. Arlington Road now resorts to a series of easy clichés. Its obvious purpose is to surprise the viewer with the known plot twist of the neighbor who is not as innocent as we thought at the beginning - or could he be innocent, after all? Tim Robbins gives a satisfactory performance in the role of the mysterious neighbor. On the other hand, Jeff Bridges, whose role as the "Dude" in Big Lebowski was absolutely amazing, here constantly gave me an impression of being over the top: his performance featured numerous hysteric reactions and grimaces. Some viewers may explain them based on Faraday's unstable mental condition; nevertheless they failed to convince me. Director Mark Pellington does a more than adequate job with the script he has in his hands. Still, he is capable for a lot more things as revealed by his next and undoubtedly better creation, Mothman Prophecies. I will conclude with a short comment regarding the highly praised film's closing sequence. Without revealing anything, here is what crossed my mind when watching it: Each of the terrorists should have had at least 3 Ph.D. degrees in Psychology. Only such collected knowledge would enable them to predict with the shown accuracy the reactions of so many people on so many occasions. If that was not the case, then I hope that they purchased a few lottery tickets the same day, since their success would have been certain!
Rating:
Summary: Intense, chilling & thought provoking.
Review: You come to a movie like this, if you are like me, thinking that it is another propaganda attempt by the left, trying to convince you that Christians with bibles are loonies that go around blowing up stuff. Thankfully Mark Pellington (Director) opted for something more realistic than that stereotypical portrayal. There are no madmen, in the conventional sense, in this film, just ordinary people with grudges. People who have been hurt by the government and want to get back at it for what they perceive to be injustices. Pellington also reminds us that we are so quick to find scapegoats to blame because it gives us a sense of relief, a feeling that all is once again right with the world, and that acts of terrorism can only be carried out by 'others' not by people like us. I don't want to give you the wrong impression however, because this is certainly not a didactic movie. As to the movie itself, the plot is cleverly written and you definitely feel the tension and suspense building as the movie progresses. The characters are believable and frightening because of their normality. Joan Cusack was perfectly cast as the wife of the half-sane, half mad terrorist. I still can't get forget that sinister smile of hers. Tim Robbin's character was credible, with the right balance of insanity and reason. He definitely wasn't the 'typical villain.' As for Bridges, he was the one who made this whole movie work, without him the movie would have flopped. I would highly recommend this movie, I don't give too many movies 5 stars but this one definitely deserved it. Arlington Road has a great cast, a great storyline, but best of all, it gets you to thinking about terrorism and what motivates terrorists. This is a very relevant movie, especially after the events of 9/11.
Rating: 
Summary: Oh, please.
Review: If you can believe this movie, the domestic anti-government terrorist groups are far more sophisticated than the feds; they are Smoking Man, X-Files-type heavies so secret and inaccessible that they easily manipulate the Timothy McVeighs and dupe the feds into believing only aberrant individuals are responsible for a spate of horrific bombings. Uh-huh.
Rating: 
Summary: White-bread terrorism...
Review: This film won't keep you guessing, but it will keep you watching. And thats a nice quality to have in the terrorism genre. Tim Robbins turns in an engaging performance and always manages to keep a small part of me on his side- no matter how evil it may be. Jeff Bridges and his character's girlfriend were a little lacking, but Robbins and the ever-fabulous Joan Cusack more than made up for it. The kids in this movie were good too- exuding a strange "Children of the Corn" feel despite their limited screen time.
Its a timely film as well in this era of fear and terrorism- pertaining more to the una-bomber and Oklahoma City and such internal militia groups or activists, than foreign attackers such as in the World Trade Center.
I found it to be generally well rounded and acted. The cinematic style was appealing, and the story engaging. I loved the use of light in the scenes, and the mis-en-scene it could create. Also, the colors of the costumes and the use of metal and decor spoke to me on a different level than the script. Each detail was telling you some additional information. Its a more character driven story in my opinion, but the climax and typical twist are satisfying, and the end is intelligent and thought provoking.
I had heard negative reviews of this piece before I saw it, but I must say I was more than pleasantly surprised.
Rating: 
Summary: a bad movie
Review: This is a bad movie. It is silly and implausible and boring. On top of that, it seems to have been made by people who took the 80s remake of D.O.A. as the manual for what a movie should look like. The script isn't that bad, but the movie itself "takes place" in some kind of ridiculously-lit plastic nightmare world populated by good actors acting horribly while being framed in stupid off-kilter pseudo third man angles with lots of pale "freaked out" makeup on and fake tears in their eyes. Yeah it's got a trick ending, but so what? The trick ending don't make no sense. There's one good moment where Joan Cusack appears out of nowhere, and that's kind of scary, but I mean, come on... it's Joan Cusack. We're supposed to believe this? It's two hours of your life. Stay away.
Rating:
Summary: Arlington Road (1999)
Review: Director: Mark Pellington
Cast: Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack, Hope Davis, Robert Gossett.
Running Time: 117 minutes.
Rated R for some bomb violence and language. A gripping look at the horror that terroism can bring is very effective due to idea that it is a threat that can hit close to home. The film opens with college professor Michael Faraday (played extremely well by Jeff Bridges) finding an child on the streets of his neighborhood with half his hand blown off due to a fireworks accident. Faraday rushes the boy to the hospital, not knowing his identity or who his parents are. He later finds out that the boy is the son of the all-American neighborrs Oliver and Cheryl Lang (Tim Robbins and Joan Cusack; in equal chilling performances that make will make your skin crawl) who have just moved across the street in on Arlington Road. As Faraday gets to know the Lang family more intimately, he begins to suspect that they are not all that they claim and seem to be. Faraday's girlfriend (Hope Davis) believes that he is just paranoid due to the tragic death of his wife, who was gunned down by a right-wing group who was suspected to be terrorists. The professor is uncertain what to be believe--is he really just consumed with the Langs because of a haunted past, or is Oliver really a part of a horrific terrorist conspiracy that be lethal to his community? Director Mark Pellington creates an intense, riveting film that does not skip a beat--it unravels from the very start with the eerie introduction and the truth is revealed exceptionally well with a superb, twisted finale. The cast does an great job, especially Robbins, who is stellar as the suspected mad-bomber. The DVD has some nice features, including some nice commentary from Pellington and Bridges, as well as an alternative ending that is equally as surprising. A fine, brainy thriller that is sure to shock and keep the audience on the edge of their toes.
Rating:
Summary: A LONESOME ROAD
Review: First, raspberries to the reviewers who felt impelled to give away the ending. It would ruin the movie for those who haven't seen it, guys!!!
Anyway, ARLINGTON ROAD is one dark and disturbing movie, fueled with paranoia, suspicions, and mistrust. Jeff Bridges, looking for the first time like an elderly gentleman (not old, just aging), gives a tense performance as a history teacher who lost his FBI wife in a botched raid. He now teaches terrorism at a college in the DC area. The movie's opening is gutwrenching from the start, but necessary to involve Bridges with his new neighbors, played like Stepford Wives by Joan Cusack and Tim Robbins. But all is not as it seems. Bridges is sure Robbins is a terrorist, responsible for a dreadful bombing in St. Louis, and is ultimately planning more bombings. Bridges' live-in girl friend (Hope Davis) at first doesn't buy into Bridges' theory, but later finds proof that brings her to Bridges' side. From there on, though, it's a frightening change of pace as Bridges races to stop Robbins' plot and save his son in the meantime. Mark Pellington's direction is right on, and the ending is quite unexpected.
This is not a conventional movie, and not one that brightens your day, but it is an intense, well-done and unusual thriller.
Well made!!
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