Rating: 
Summary: The Monkeys! Im a monkey! Ahhhhh!
Review: A very good movie. I'd have to see it again to fully understand it ( I was 9 at the time) but never the less superior acting, especially Brad Pitt as the maniac. A thinking mans movie just like 2001 and Blade Runner, The director's cut. I don't know why i havent heard much about this movie before i saw it.
Rating:
Summary: Great Flick, but it will make you think!
Review: I was surprised by this one. I was under the impressions that conspiracy, time travel movies were not meant for Bruce Willis, but I was very wrong. His role in this movie was wonderfully written, and as usual his acting was supurb. I can also say that I don't think I have ever seen a better preformance out of Brad Pitt. This is a film about a convict (Bruce Willis) who is sent back in time to find out more information pertaining to a viral disater that struck in the past in hopes of stopping the devistation that has forced a portion of the surviving popultaion to live under ground. This is well written, and for being a far fetched story line it is made very believable. The twists and turns the film takes will keep you guessing until the very end. While watching this one remember that it all makes a lot better sense in the end, just be a little patient.
Rating:
Summary: An entertaining film
Review: Bruce Willis plays a difficult role in this film, he plays it well. The acting in this movie is superb all around. In the end we begin to care deeply about the two protagonists. That's incredible in itself, how often do we even have an inkling to care about a Bruce Willis character? In this film we are introduced to Bruce Willis playing a psychiatric patient who thinks he's a time traveler. Sure, this plot has been done before, but never this well. Also, there are numerous twists in this film, all of which make it very entertaining. Towards then end though, you can figure out the "surprise" finish, but it doesn't matter. Visually this film is great, I would recommend getting a DVD version of this if possible. Either way you'll enjoy it. It can be graphic at times, and the visual look of the "future" in this film is a bit unbelievable, and quite frankly very weird. In the end, this is a great film. You can sit and watch it and enjoy it thoroughly. It's a film you can watch twice, though the ending is known, it forces you into a thoughtful state of wonder. Or something along that affect. Anyway, it's worth the price of admission. Though you may want to rent it first.
Rating:
Summary: 12 Monkeys - A surreal Sci-Fi experience!
Review: 12 Monkeys in no small measure of the term is quite an intriguing science fiction tale. Starring box office favorites such as Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt and Madeline Stowe also sets this film apart as a film that was destined to succeed. Bruce Willis's performance is nothing short of phenomenal as we see him in a role where he's still the hero of the film, but a much more contemplative, melodramatic one. Even when the plot calls for action, he goes about it quite differently than we'd seen him in films prior to and after this great film. I'm not normally a big fan of Brad Pitt, but his performance in this film shows what a talented actor he is, with a great range of skills to draw from. Madeline Stowe, as beautiful and talented as ever performs admirably as a psychiatrist drawn to Willis's character. For me, one of the most interesting aspects of this great film is the time travel. I've always found films that feature this to be most intriguing, if done as well as it has been done with this film. Taken as a whole, this film stands out as a science fiction classic that bears multiple viewings easily. The premise: We meet Bruce Willis's character James Cole who is a prisoner living underground with the rest of humanity, some thirty odd years beyond 1996. They believe that late in 1996 the army of the twelve monkeys released a viral agent in several cities resulting in the near extinction of the human race. James Cole is tapped to "voluntarily" be sent back to 1996 and discover who is behind the army of the twelve monkeys and hopefully obtain a sample of this viral agent so that they might be able to find a cure for it and hopefully bring humanity back from the brink and above ground. Given that science can sometimes not be exact, they drop James into 1990 where he finds himself being thrown into a mental ward where he meets Brad Pitt's wacky character and psychiatrist Dr. Kathryn Railly who takes him under her wing. What follows from this point is certainly to be considered another fine addition to the genres list of classics. {ssintrepid} Special Features: The Hamster Factor and other tales of 12 Monkeys (The making of 12 Monkeys) - This is quite and intriguing hour and a half long look at director Terry Gilliam and what it took for them to put this outstanding film on the silver screen. Feature Commentary with director Terry Gilliam and producer Charles Roven. Production notes - An interesting text version that pretty much sums up what was revealed in the "The Hamster Factor." Cast & Filmmakers - A great text synopsis of the cast & filmmakers. Theatrical Trailer
Rating:
Summary: BRAVO!
Review: Gilliam's Hamster effect is truly an art of mistake and too much overachieving in the result of this visually messy masterpiece of time travel webbed into someones fateful moment. I am a big fan of alot of Gilliams work and first I must say the extra features including the 'Hamster Effect Documentary' is worth the buy but I have seen this movie many times and watching it on DVD was watching the whole thing over and over again! The story is twisted in Gilliam style and probably the only style he will ever agree to put effort into film but this is a cool and very stylish film. If your a fan of Terry Gilliam and you are looking for a film with more depth than the time in which it was spent actually writing the story than this movie is definitely worth the watch!
Rating:
Summary: my favorite movie-Spoilers within
Review: Why do I consider this my favorite movie? Because its one of the few intelligent sci-fi movies. The time travel elements are very well thought out and there isn't really a hole in the story. Willis' character isn't trying to save mankind by going back in time, its already happened. Once Willis goes back and saves mankind, the virus ceases to exist and thus Willis creates a future where mankind does not need to be saved, so there is no reason for him to travel back in the first place. But by creating a scenario where mankind is sick and needs the antidote, this paradox is cleverly avoided and the classic "go back in time to save the future" plot is left in the dust. Many paradoxes such as this are discovered when constructing a story around space time. For example, if a sadistic evil character goes back in time and murders his parents, then he creates a paradox because he was never born to begin with. The script intelligently attempts to avoid paradoxes such as these and presents us with a very interesting story. Brad Pitt is AMAZING in this movie and Willis is perfect at playing another average joe character, just like his breakthrough character in Die Hard. One of the other things I love about this movie is the questions it raises. Does pyschology help MAKE people crazy? Willis states "I am insane and you are my insanity" and Willis allows himself to become convinced that he is crazy so that he may live in a world without the virus, where he and the psychiatrist can be in love... and people thought memento was clever? Bah. Some other questions it raises are, are we too quick to dismiss the strange and paranormal? The boy in the well is the perfect allusion to this. Many of us have a faith which lies bound with the beliefs of a prophet who spoke the word of God, yet if someone were to come along and speak prophetically to us in this day and age, we would call them crazy, such is the case for Bruce Willis' character, and its ironic that the "boy in the well" is what helps make the psychologist believe Willis, because the boy in the well represents the irony of our quickness to judge Willis' statements as crazy, but our swiftness at believing that the boy is actually trapped in the well. Once you cry wolf enough for a given situation, one begins to question what is true and what is false in relation to that situation, and this suggests that we as humans are very gullible, but it is the lies of others which come later which cause us to question what we hold to be true. We know of no instance where a boy lies about being trapped in a well, but we've seen many lunatics spout out crazy statements and prophecies. Then we have the concept that Willis' character actually plants the idea in brad pitts mind, this opens up a whole new area of thought. The ending is simply amazing, its tragic, but we realise that through the time travel, willis' character is living on in another dimension, moving towards his final destiny in an infinite reoccurring battle, and the ending manages to be both tragic and happy at the same time, due to the last scene with the scientist and the image of willis still alive as a boy. This really is a beautiful movie with great acting, a great story, and it also raises some intellegient questions, that's why its easily my favorite movie.
Rating:
Summary: A mind bending trip
Review: Monty Python alumnus Terry Gilliam helmed this surprise masterpiece which features some of the finest performances in the careers of Bruce Willis, Madeline Stowe, and Brad Pitt. James Cole (Willis) is "volunteered" to travel back in time to trace the origins of a virus that will wipe out most of the humanity on the planet, but as he is slingshotted back and forth through time he begins to question his sanity and his perceptions of reality. Along the way he is incarcerated in a mental asylum under the care of a psychiatrist who is strangely drawn to him (Stowe), and he encounters a deranged inmate (an Oscar nominated Pitt) on his journey to uncover the truth. Willis is superb in his role, words can't describe it alone. Pitt however, is more than worth noting, and his nomination for Best Supporting Actor was more than well deserved (his characterization of Jeffrey bears a striking similarity, albeit a few cans short of a six pack, to another role of Pitt's in Fight Club as Tyler Durden). Gilliam's direction is as fantastic as it ever was. Even though he had a relatively modest budget for a major studio, his uncanny vision makes the film work. In the hands of another director, 12 Monkeys would have been a failure, in Gilliam's hands we get a dark yet witty apocalyptic film with riveting performances and an unforgettable climax that must be seen to be believed. Christopher Plummer also stars as Pitt's scientist father, and look for David Morse in a pivotal role.
Rating: 
Summary: confusing in a good way
Review: This movie kept me thinking. It is set in both the near future and the present. Brad Pitt does an excellent job of acting. I definitely thought he was crazy. There are points in this movie that are very strange. But in the end when you look back on it as a whole, it is all good. If you like strange movies that don't make sense until the last scene, then this is your type of movie. It does just that. You can guess throughout the movie and frequently change your mind and you will still be surprised in the end. I like it that way. I gave this movie four out of five stars.
Rating:
Summary: A visual treat of apocalyptic sci-fi
Review: Not knowing anything whatsoever about the plot of 12 Monkeys when I first sat down to watch it, I was at first disheartened by what seemed like a typical pulp fiction take on a familiar story. The basic premise has Willis as survivor of a deadly infection that has killed 99% of the world's population, and who is sent back to the 90's to try and discover where the virus originated so that scientists in the future can discover a cure. However, things start going wrong when he's sent back to 1990 rather than 1996 and finds himself locked up in a mental institution with stark-raving mad Brad Pitt as company and the beautiful Madeleine Stowe as company. Believing that the virus is somehow connected to an underground ring calling themselves the army of the 12 Monkeys, Willis enlists Stowe to help him save the human race. As potentially hokey and clichéd as the plot may at first sound, it is a great credit to director Gillam that he manages to pull it off with such panache. The apocalyptic bleakness of not only the future but the faded, bright and harsh present is brilliantly realised and visually this is a very impressive movie indeed. Also impressive is that Gillam actually confronts the impracticalities of time travel, such as asking how can you change the past if it's already happened? Along with this there is the recurrent theme of fate and destiny as Willis constantly flashes back to nightmarish images of his childhood where he saw a man being shot at an airport, a dream that only becomes clear to him (and to us) at the very end. Nods should also go to the performances of the film. Willis again is nothing remarkable but this kind of movie is what he knows best, although given his subtler performance in The Sixth Sense some viewers may question why he doesn't take on more varied roles. However, in fairness, 12 Monkeys cannot be seen as a conventional genre piece and in the same way Willis' character cannot be seen as conventional either. Brad Pitt puts in yet another tour de force of a performance as a mental patient, again proving what a capable actor he is with a great deal of versatility (compare his role here to his roles in Interview With The Vampire, Fight Club and Snatch) that deservedly bagged him an Oscar nomination. Stowe is also incredibly charismatic, giving a performance that refuses to pigeon-hole her as just an obligatory love interest. 12 Monkeys works simply because it often weaves genres together, pumping new life into the apocalypse drama and the time travel story whilst still telling a pretty touching love story with a tragic ending. Equal parts violent and passionate as it is bleak and ultimately depressing, it is small wonder that 12 Monkeys became an almost cult classic of its era. It may not be a revelation but it's certainly different and unforgettable.
Rating:
Summary: 12 Monkeys
Review: With the dream sequences and sudden time shifts, the start of this movie is quite confusing. The story and the characters are engaging. It's funny and well worth watching.
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