Rating: 
Summary: Sam Raimi's Truimphant Return To The Occult
Review: Sam Raimi returns to his horror roots in "The Gift," his first horror film since 1993's "Army of Darkness." Raimi has come a long way since his "Evil Dead" days, but his obscure camera angles and tension building scenes still remain.
The film reunites Raimi with Billy Bob Thornton, as they had worked together on the acclaimed "A Simple Plan." Thornton's screenplay is excellent (as would be expected) and a welcome change of pace in the modern horror genre.
Although the directing and writing is good, the acting is what makes the film. The film's star, Cate Blanchett, plays a leading lady suprisingly well, but the supporting cast of Katie Holms, Greg Kennier, Hillary Swank, Giovanni Ribisi, and Keanu Reeves is amazing. Reeves and Ribisi are in top form, with over-the-top preformances as a wife-beating redneck and a slow-witted, ill-tempered mechanic.
The film is low on gore, and high on tension, which makes it appealing to anyone looking for a good scare. If you liked "What Lies Beneath" this movie should "knock your socks off!"
Rating: 
Summary: The Sixth Sense meets To Kill a Mockingbird
Review: Cate Blanchett gives a strong, nuanced performance as Annie Wilson, an impoverished widow with three children trying to make a living reading the tarot in a lush, southern town of secrets, mysteries and rednecks. The cast of hot young actors is strong. Giovanni Ribisi plays a very damaged and rage filled, but sensitive, garage mechanic. His scene with his father is almost unwatchable in it's intensity. Hilary Swank is perfect as an abused co-dependant wife who can't leave her awful, violent husband played by Keanu Reeves. Greg Kinnear does his usual sweet guy character that he does so well.
The direction of Sam Raimi is very stylized and dream like. This film has the same brooding intensity of his previous effort A Perfect Plan.
The story by Billy Bob Thornton has a few predictable twists and plot turns, but the message of the film feels new and is ultimately very uplifting. It's a dark, Gothic journey to redemption similiar to the one that is explored in the movie Magnolia.
Rating: 
Summary: Raimi can do better. But we still love ya Sam.
Review: Sam Raimi takes a detour from his blood and guts horror fare (that's Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, and Army of Darkness to you Mundanes) to create this spooky picture about a woman with the, well...the gift to perform tarot readings for the local townsfolk. The movie is most specifically about the deep south and its inhabitants. This movie taught me that apparently everyone living in the south is some kind of freakish, backward, ill-educated slob. Such a sadsack cast of characters provides plenty for Kate Blanchett's character to do as a result. Mostly, she acts as a psychiatrist. More irritating is the use of completely non-Tarot-like reading. In a movie where Kate's character is perpetually harassed for her "Satanic" rituals of Tarot-reading, it's bizarre that an actual Tarot isn't used. Instead, we get the dumbed down version: symbols that represent the four elements, a star, a square, etc. The symbols are used to good effect -- when she reads the future of a murder victim, she draws four "water" cards. But really, couldn't they have used real Tarot cards? I expect a wee bit more daring from a guy who filmed an eyeball popping into a woman's mouth. But I digress. The two outstanding actors in this film are Keanu Reeves and Giovanni Ribisi. That's right, you saw me type that correctly -- Keanu Reeves. Keanu has a typically vapid look about him that makes him a canvas for more complex stories. I call it the Kevin Costner effect. This is why he works so well in the Matrix -- he's bland enough to allow the ridiculously complex backstory of the Matrix to swirl around him. But what's most startling is to see that vacuous stare used to startling effect in The Gift. Add a few pounds, give Keanu a shaggy beard, and his soft brown eyes become the cold glaze of a killer. Or at least, a wife beater. He pulls it off with terrifying menace. It made me want to rent The Watcher just to see if this was a fluke or due to Sam's influence. Giovanni, of course, plays a psychotic. Gee, who would have thought, Giovanni playing a weird creepy guy! Still, he's like the Jack Nicholson of our era, because he does it SO WELL. Ultimately, the movie was predictable. Maleficent and I trakced every single surprise, the twist ending, everything -- we mapped this puppy out in perfect detail and were never wrong once. Does this make it a bad movie? Not at all. Does it make it a great movie? Alas, not. Sam can do better. But we still love ya Sam.
Rating:
Summary: First-Rate Thriller
Review: Though I seem to be in the minority on this one, THE GIFT was one of the most exceptionally made films that I've seen in quite some time. Working with a script that has a twist for every turn that's made, Sam Raimi manages to provide several neat twists to what could have been a really tired story. The crux of the film is that there has been a murder in the film's small Georgia town, and with no leads, the police resort to seeking the counsel of the local psychic, played by Blanchett. As with most of her previous work, Cate Blanchett again owns the movie--unlike some of her contemporaries(namely the talented but sometimes ill-used Gwyneth Paltrow), Blanchett manages to flesh out any character that she's given, no matter how bad of a stinker movie she's in, but lucky for us she's in a pretty good one here. The rest of the casting is a mixed bag somewhat. Greg Kinnear plays the male lead, effective but not extraordinary, and the same can be said of Katie Holmes, sporting an overripe Southern accent as his fiancee. Keanu Reeves surprises as a backwoods wife-beater--he makes the best of a small role, easily his best acting since MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO(it's sometimes hard to forget that at one point in his career he actually ACTED). Oscar winner Hilary Swank plays Reeves' human punching bag, in a variation on her BOYS DON'T CRY role-she's also memorable, but needs to branch out from playing these victim roles. Rounding out the cast, Giovanni Ribisi again overracts in his umpteenth role as a mentally challenged individual, this time playing a client of Blanchett's psychic character. Again, Blanchett holds this superb film together--shame on the Oscars for not recognizing genre films, because Blanchett gave a truly nuanced, Oscar-worthy performance.
Rating:
Summary: A "Gift" You Won't Want to Return.
Review: "The Gift" is a moody, atmospheric thriller that, despite its sometimes formulaic plot, soars on the strength of its ensemble cast. Cate Blanchett, already on a roll with films as diverse as "Elizabeth," "An Ideal Husband," and "The Talented Mr. Ripley," shines as Annie Wilson, a single mom who makes a living reading people's fortunes in a rural setting down south. An Australian in a pitch-perfect southern drawl, Blanchet sinks deeply into her role, making it one of the most underrated performances ever. Annie gets caught into a web of drama when she tries to counsel Valerie (Hilary Swank, back in "Boys Don't Cry" mode) who's being abused by her boorish, redneck husband Donnie (Keanu Reeves). To say the least, Donnie isn't thrilled to have his wife get counseling from a fortune teller, and he begins to threaten both Annie and her kids. All this leads to a murder mystery, which contains spoilers that I won't reveal. Director Sam Raimi, who also directed the solid "A Simple Plan" and this summer's "Spider-Man," does a competent job at moving the film at a decent pace, and performances from Greg Kinnear, Giovanni Ribisi, and Katie Holmes stand out as well. But while the spotlight belongs to Blanchett, the film's revelation is definitely Keanau Reeves, who--dare I say it--brings an intensity to his role that makes his redneck character truly disturbing. "The Gift" was one of the most slept-on films of 2000, and it definitely deserves a look.
Rating:
Summary: Talented cast lift this out of mediocrity
Review: The Gift is destined to always be a three star out of five film, though don't let that dissuade you from watching it, because that's not to say that it's worthless. Far from it. Co-scripted by Billy Bob Thornton, The Gift relates the rather straightforward story of a woman (Cate Blanchett) haunted by her psychic visions of the murder of a young girl (Katie Holmes) from the backwater town she lives in. Red herrings abound, almost to the point of ridiculousness where you begin to suspect pretty much every character bar Blanchett's. What lifts the movie out of its mediocrity is the fact that it's cast does so much with the slight material they've been handed. Blanchett proves that Elizabeth was no fluke, giving a typically strong performance of a woman on the edge of breakdown. Given her recent casting as lead in movies such as Charlotte Gray and Heaven, along with some high profile supporting roles in Lord of the Rings and The Talented Mr. Ripley, this is one actress who's undoubtedly going to go far. Every bit as good as Blanchett though is Giovanni Ribisi, playing a deranged man-child who forms an unwholesome attachment to Blanchett. His weepy yet electrifying performance rivets the movie in place in a much more powerful way that Keanu Reeves' bearded psycho could ever manage. Surprisingly, director Sam Raimi has also managed to garner Oscar-winner Hilary Swank who, despite turning in a solid performance, gives the impression that Boys Don't Cry might have been the best role she's ever likely to get in a while if she's taking relatively small roles in something like this. Whilst this never reaches the highs of other recent ghost stories (The Sixth Sense, The Others and the Japanese version of Ring are all much better), this is nothing short of a solid effort from the director of zombie classic Evil Dead, and is rarely short of compelling. If it lacks a little originality in the script give it some credit; there's a place for small-ish movies like this, especially given Raimi's latest blockbuster Spiderman. In short - good, but no classic.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Premise, but......
Review: Well, worth seeing, about a psychic in the south (Cate Blanchett) enlisted to help find a missing girl (Katie Holmes. One star for a semi-original idea, another for Katie Holmes's (...). Yeah, it was OK. It's not like I want 2 hours of my life back, but I won't be investing another 2 hours anytime soon.
Rating:
Summary: More of a review on Keanu Reeves's part
Review: The plot of this movie could've been a bit better (it was rather predictable and, to me, slow at points) but I found the cast very good. I found all the characters believable. I was especially impressed by Keanu Reeves's character (who was really the reason i rented this--I'm a huge fan) who I didn't expect to be very good. I didn't think he could pull off a villian role (even in "The Watcher" he never eally showed much of an evil side) but the first little...outburst effectively freaked me out. I just can't stand him with a Southern accent... So, I really recommend this movie if you're in the mood for a mystery movie. Not that there's much mystery to it really.
Rating:
Summary: BLANCHETT'S GIFT
Review: Cate Blanchett is brilliant in the leading role of Annie Wilson in this wonderful movie. Blanchett is approaching Streep-status in her ability to completely embrace her role and pivot a movie into its highest potential. She is aided by a wonderful script by Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson; the beautiful and evocative music by Christopher Young; Jamie Anderson's gorgeous camerawork and a stupendous supporting cast: Hilary Swank, Greg Kinnear (a much better actor than one would have thought); Keanu Reeves (his most effective performance yet); Giovanni Ribisi (remarkable in his role as a troubled car mechanic); Gary Cole, Kim Dickens, Katie Holmes, and even Rosemary Harris' small role as Annie's grandma. Sam Raimi's pacing is excellent, and there are some extremely powerful scenes.
But the movie is Miss Cate's and she is awesome to watch.
A real winner!
Rating:
Summary: 3 stars for the movie, 1 extra star for Katie
Review: The movie is so full of great stars - Cate, Keanu, Hilary, Katie.... Cate is as usual a very fine performer. But I don't think Keanu is believable as the bad husband. He is not a bad actor he is more suitable as Neo, someone more heroic.
About the director - Sam Raimi is not a great (but not bad) director - to me. Spider-man is just so-so. Evil Dead is just okay, compare to many horror classics. So, it is not a surprise that I find the movie is just a okay movie. The most enjoyable part is to see the acting of the fine casts. You may have already realized from other reviews that the story is very predictable, and I agree very much with that.
Finally, I will give one extra star for Katie Holmes, for her stunning beauty, and her first-time nudity on big screen.
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