K-PAX

Rating:
Summary: Smooth and Flawless
Review: If you have read my reviews, you know I don't review a movie to give away the scenes or the ending. I believe reviews that give it all away are like Cliff Notes. Why see the DVD? You need to see the movie and be surprised/entertained. And this film will entertain you completely.

I put this DVD in my player expecting a comedy (per the tv hype and trailers). True to this usual misleading media hype, K-Pax is not a comedy. It turned out to be one of the most poignant and engrossing films I have seen in the last year. Kevin Spacey IS `Prot', a supposed visitor from the planet K-Pax, who is arrested by New York cops for no reason other than he attempts to thwart a purse robbery, and help the victim (I immediately wanted to b-slap the cops for stupity). Jeff Bridges is the tired shrink, oblivious to his own personal family issues, assigned to `correct' Prot's way of thinking. The groundwork was cast within the first 5 minutes of the film, and my instincts told me "here we go again". Another looney tune-corrects-a-self absorbed-righteous shrink flick. It is, but it isn't.

Spacey made me BELIEVE from second one, that he was a visitor from K-Pax. I believed he was Prot. I believed Bridges as the tired psych. And as the film progressed, I was rewarded with Spacey's perfectly even character, and Bridges' coming into awareness concerning his own personal shortcomings. I cannot bring myself to expose the whole movie, since I truly want you to experience the absolute smoothness of this film. I can tell you I was blown away by the planetary mathematic scene in the planetarium, where Prot proves the existance of his planet to the only three scientists in the world who could understand the physics-math. I knew then that Prot was real. And I actually clapped my hands and yelled `YES!' at the tv (it did not answer). Prot had PROVED he was an alien visitor. And I believed.

There is an almost uncanny parallel to the very underated film `Fisher King' starring Robin Williams(a fantastic performance) and, oh!, Jeff Bridges! Both Williams and Spacey are suspected lunatics,with Bridges as their psych guy. The difference is, in Fisher King, Bridges is actually drawn into Williams' madness, and in K-Pax, Bridges does a superb job of walking the `I Believe' tightrope. Williams played a blatant lunatic who thrives in his alter-world, and Spacey IS from this Universe. In both films, I compliment Bridges (though I am not a real fan) but in Fisher King, the movie is quietly about Bridges. In K-Pax, Spacey is the the absolute heart and soul. I honestly smelled Oscar for Spacey, and he deserveds it. For Bridges, a Best Supporting was NOT unbelievable.

And the ending? Oh the ending! The best thing this film did, was give you an ending with a true dicotomy. Is Prot from K-Pax, or is he the poor wretched character Bridges dug up. I am leaving this review vague on purpose. I do not want to taint YOUR interpretation of the ending. I will say this, the alternate ending on The DVD is the better ending.

Okay, I will ruin it. Prot, was right. He COULD travel on beams of light. he did go back. K-Pax was real. At least, That's what I believe.

If any of you have read my reviews, you know I do not review bad films (except Scary Movie). Trust, I am never wrong. If you see this DVD, you WILL own it, and watch it at least 3 times within a week.

Rating:
Summary: A Subtle and Imaginative Drama
Review: This superbly acted drama about an extraterrestrial named Prot, grabbed my attention from beginning to end. Kevin Spacey is rapidly becoming one of our very finest actors. The depth of his performance in this film deserved an Academy Award nomination. Jeff Bridges, as the psychiatrist in charge of Prot, gives another solid performance. This movie works on many levels. Prot claims to have come on a beam of light to earth, and he leaves in the same manner. Like the character in 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance', Prot's consciousness comes in over that of Robert Porter, who is a catatonic. While on earth, Prot solves the perturbations in the orbit of the binary star of K-PAX, disappears for 3 days from a secure facility, and generally displays knowledge that no one on earth could possess. Yet no one will believe Prot is not from earth, despite all of the evidence. This is typical of the human mindset, which disavows anything that is not 'common knowledge'.
At the end of the movie, Porter (Spacey) is in a wheelchair, and Bridges smiles and tells him 'if you are willing to talk, I am always waiting.' The subtle, poignant smile that appears on Spacey's face is masterful, and is in microcosm a portrait of the human experience. It is worth seeing the entire movie just for that last scene. It brought a tear to my eye, I can tell you.
This is a wonderful movie with great depth, wonderfully acted, and it reminds us that there is a big, wide universe out there which we have not even begun to explore.

Rating:
Summary: Spacey is AMAZING!
Review: Great acting by both Spacey and Bridges. The plot flows very well. There are some logical holes in the story but I liked it so much, I was willing to over look them. This is definitely a movie a family should see on a Sunday afternoon.

Rating:
Summary: To Be or Not to Be........
Review: Some people have complained that this movies ending is ambiguous and the director doesn't tell the audience whether Prot is really from K-Pax or just the delusional Robert Porter. It's true, but that's what I found so fascinating about the movie and it's premise.

The story stars two of my favorite actors, Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges. They put on these roles like a comfortable pair of shoes and it isn't long before we feel we've known them for years. Every actor brings their best work to the show and you can't help but be interested and drawn into the story. Whether you believe Prot is real or Robert Porter is just a very tortured man, there are plenty of ambiguities for everyone.

I usually like a movie to be tied up nicely and all the loose ends resolved by the time the credits role. K-Pax is the exception. I appreciated the director laying out the wonderful story with its drama, humor and sadness and letting us draw our own conclusions based on the events as they unfold.

Whatever conclusion you arrive at, K-Pax will entertain you with its intelligent script, wonderful actors and must have music.

Rating:
Summary: A Psychiatrist Meets a "Fruity" Extraterrestrial
Review: =====>

This 2001 movie (120 minutes) consists of eighteen scenes. It is based on the novel of the same title. Like the novel, this movie is part mystery, part comedy, and part human drama.

The story is about a man who claims to come from the utopian world called K-PAX (a planet he says is in the constellation Lyra). This man is the prot-agonist of the movie and calls himself Prot (Kevin Spacey).

Excellent cinematography is one of the highlights of this movie. For example, the way Prot (pronounced pr-OAT) is introduced to the movie viewer is truly amazing. At the beginning of of the movie, we find ourselves in a busy and crowded train station and gradually the sunlight coming through the station windows brightens. Then the crowd parts and we see Prot standing in the center of the station floor with his sunglasses on. It's as if he entered the station "on a beam of light."

Eventually, Prot ends up in a mental institution and the psychiatrist that treats him is Dr. Mark Powell (Jeff Bridges). Most of the movie is concerned with the interaction and relationship that develops between Prot and Powell.

The acting, especially among the above two actors, is another highlight of this movie. Spacey does a superb job of getting across Prot's wit, humor, and extensive knowledge (especially in sciences like astronomy and physics). He also gets across Prot's passion for eating fruit. Bridges, as the psychiatrist Powell, does a great job in trying to analyze Prot. Powell finds Prot quite rational and later admits that this patient is "the most convincing delusional I've ever seen."

One of the best and most colorful scenes occurs at a planetarium where Prot demonstrates to some distinguished astonomers and astrophysicists that he knows the precise orbital pattern of his home planet in a newly discovered star system. The thing is he should not know this information! As well, Prot demonstrates certain otherworldly abilities. Thus Powell and the movie viewer don't know if Prot is indeed an extraterrestrial or a traumatized human.

Prot has a positive influence on all the people he meets especially on Dr. Powell, his family, and other patients in the mental institution. This gives the movie a certain warmth.

Suspense is created when Prot tells Powell that he must eventually return to K-PAX. As well, even though all his fellow patients want to go with him to his utopian world, he states that one can only come with him. As the announced "departure" date approaches, the question asked by Powell is: "What will happen when this day arrives?" As well, the other patients wonder whom Prot will choose to go with him.

This movie is perfect for the first 75 minutes. It retains its wit and humor for that time. After this, the movie seems to lose its humor and becomes serious. For about 15 of the remaining 45 minutes, Powell does some investigative footwork and he has no further interaction with Prot. In my opinion, this was a mistake since (as mentioned above) this story revolves around the interaction between Powell and Prot. (Note that the novel never loses its humor until the very end and an investigative reporter does all the investigative footwork thus allowing Powell and Prot to maintain their interaction.) However, some movie viewers may forgive this because the story is so engrossing.

The ending is well done. The movie ends on an ambiguous note and leaves you wondering. (However, some viewers may not think that the ending is ambiguous.) An ambiguous ending is also found in the novel.

Thus this movie ends and the end credits start rolling. The movie is over. Right? Wrong! I'm not sure why this was done (and it seems that other reviewers never noticed this), but the movie actually continues AFTER the end credits have stopped!! (I found this out by accident.) For about a minute, we have a scene (with no dialogue) where Powell is looking through a telescope at a constellation. Readers of the novel will understand what this means but those who have not read the novel will probably not understand its significance. Then the movie ends.

Yet another highlight of this movie is its music. In a word, it's--beautiful. It is hard to describe but I might call it "quiet new age." This music seems to heighten the emotion experienced in each scene.

Finally, you don't have to read the novel to understand this movie. However, if you want to understand its finer nuances, I recommend that you read the novel first.

In conclusion, this movie is one that has extraordinary acting, cinematography, and music. Be sure not to miss this magical movie so you can experience what it's like to "catch a beam of light."

**** 1/2

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Rating:
Summary: Great Movie and Pretty Close to the Book!
Review: Kevin Spacey is pure genius. Jeff Bridges is rather impressive himself. Having seen this movie before I read the book, I could easily see these people in the roles in the book. I thought the adaptation of the script was rather respectful to the book. Though not perfect, and missing a main character, the movie really did get the book's mystery across rather successfully. The thing I liked about the movie, is the fact that it isn't as one sided as the book. The book is written in first person from the perspective of the Jeff Daniels character, the psychologist named "Dr. Mark Powell". A film obviously is much more difficult to work in this fashion. The movie is warmer than the book too, which is a plus.

Anyway, enough about the book. The movie revolves around a psychologist who gets a new patient who calls himself "prot" (rhymes with goat). "prot," is either an alien from the planet K-PAX or he is a convincing delusional. With "prot's" scheduled departure date, Bridges character "Dr. Powell," is in a race against time to find out "prot's" real identity, if he has an identity at all. "prot" influences many of those who are institutionalized at the Manhattan Psychiatric Institute, as well as much of the staff, as he promises that he will take one of them home with him to K-PAX. That's all I can say without giving anything away. I have no interest in spoiling such a wonderful story.

The movie moves very well. I love the character interaction. The cast is pure gold. Kevin Spacey is remarkable as usual. There isn't really anything bad about this movie at all. And any nitpicking that I would point out, however trivial, would be a spoiler. I will just have to ask you to trust my judgment that this movie is fun, brilliant, and rather captivating. Rent it once, and you'll buy it. I don't think you will be disappointed.

epc

Rating:
Summary: Inspired storytelling
Review: K-Pax is a very intriguing film. Is Prot (Kevin Spacey) really an alien, or is he a mentally deranged human who just thinks he is an alien? That is the question that Dr. Powell (Jeff Bridges) must answer before the self proclaimed deadline that Prot sets for his departure from Earth.

As the film unfolds and more evidence is uncovered, both theories grow in credibility. His ability to map from memory the area of the galaxy where his home planet is located indicates a knowledge that no human could possibly possess. Yet the hypnosis sessions lead us to a real person with a very real and traumatic life, filled with devastating events that could have caused such a personality aberration. The ending seems to give the answer, but is just ambiguous enough to make you wonder if you really know. Normally, I don't like lady or tiger endings, but this one is tantalizing. I have my own theory that fits all the clues, but I don't know that my theory is any more correct than anyone else's.

Director Iain Softley ("Wings of the Dove") spins the tale delicately, with great skill. This is a rare example of the director staying in the shadows and inducing outstanding acting performances out of talented actors to let the story dominate. This is not to say that the directing is technically inferior, because it is excellent, especially the cinematography. However, Softley remains unobtrusive, delivering great power through the use of subtlety, a pleasant change from today's vanguard directors who visually grab and shake the viewer as if to scream, "Look how brilliant I am!"

Kevin Spacey once again delivers a marvelous performance as Prot. This is a part that is extraordinarily demanding, requiring Spacey to render the cool and logical Prot one minute, and then switch gears to conjure his tormented alter ego under hypnosis the next. Spacey is so believable as both alien and human, it makes the viewer's task that much more difficult. Jeff Bridges is also terrific as the relentless psychologist who becomes obsessed with learning the truth about Prot.

This is inspired storytelling for the thoughtful viewer. I rated it a 9/10. If you must have closure at the end of a film, this movie will be very frustrating. However, if you like a fascinating mystery that keeps you thinking long after the credits, you won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: A Psychiatrist Meets a "Fruity" Extraterrestrial
Review: =====>

This 2001 movie (120 minutes) consists of eighteen scenes. It is based on the novel of the same title. Like the novel, this movie is part mystery, part comedy, and part human drama.

The story is about a man who claims to come from the utopian world called K-PAX (a planet he says is in the constellation Lyra). This man is the prot-agonist of the movie and calls himself Prot (Kevin Spacey).

Excellent cinematography is one of the highlights of this movie. For example, the way Prot (pronounced pr-OAT) is introduced to the movie viewer is truly amazing. At the beginning of of the movie, we find ourselves in a busy and crowded train station and gradually the sunlight coming through the station windows brightens. Then the crowd parts and we see Prot standing in the center of the station floor with his sunglasses on. It's as if he entered the station "on a beam of light."

Eventually, Prot ends up in a mental institution and the psychiatrist that treats him is Dr. Mark Powell (Jeff Bridges). Most of the movie is concerned with the interaction and relationship that develops between Prot and Powell.

The acting, especially among the above two actors, is another highlight of this movie. Spacey does a superb job of getting across Prot's wit, humor, and extensive knowledge (especially in sciences like astronomy and physics). He also gets across Prot's passion for eating fruit. Bridges, as the psychiatrist Powell, does a great job in trying to analyze Prot. Powell finds Prot quite rational and later admits that this patient is "the most convincing delusional I've ever seen."

One of the best and most colorful scenes occurs at a planetarium where Prot demonstrates to some distinguished astonomers and astrophysicists that he knows the precise orbital pattern of his home planet in a newly discovered star system. The thing is he should not know this information! As well, Prot demonstrates certain otherworldly abilities. Thus Powell and the movie viewer don't know if Prot is indeed an extraterrestrial or a traumatized human.

Prot has a positive influence on all the people he meets especially on Dr. Powell, his family, and other patients in the mental institution. This gives the movie a certain warmth.

Suspense is created when Prot tells Powell that he must eventually return to K-PAX. As well, even though all his fellow patients want to go with him to his utopian world, he states that one can only come with him. As the announced "departure" date approaches, the question asked by Powell is: "What will happen when this day arrives?" As well, the other patients wonder whom Prot will choose to go with him.

This movie is perfect for the first 75 minutes. It retains its wit and humor for that time. After this, the movie seems to lose its humor and becomes serious. For about 15 of the remaining 45 minutes, Powell does some investigative footwork and he has no further interaction with Prot. In my opinion, this was a mistake since (as mentioned above) this story revolves around the interaction between Powell and Prot. (Note that the novel never loses its humor until the very end and an investigative reporter does all the investigative footwork thus allowing Powell and Prot to maintain their interaction.) However, some movie viewers may forgive this because the story is so engrossing.

The ending is well done. The movie ends on an ambiguous note and leaves you wondering. (However, some viewers may not think that the ending is ambiguous.) An ambiguous ending is also found in the novel.

Thus this movie ends and the end credits start rolling. The movie is over. Right? Wrong! I'm not sure why this was done (and it seems that other reviewers never noticed this), but the movie actually continues AFTER the end credits have stopped!! (I found this out by accident.) For about a minute, we have a scene (with no dialogue) where Powell is looking through a telescope at a constellation. Readers of the novel will understand what this means but those who have not read the novel will probably not understand its significance. Then the movie ends.

Yet another highlight of this movie is its music. In a word, it's--beautiful. It is hard to describe but I might call it "quiet new age." This music seems to heighten the emotion experienced in each scene.

Finally, you don't have to read the novel to understand this movie. However, if you want to understand its finer nuances, I recommend that you read the novel first.

In conclusion, this movie is one that has extraordinary acting, cinematography, and music. Be sure not to miss this magical movie so you can experience what it's like to "catch a beam of light."

**** 1/2

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Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!
Review: K-PAX is a movie in it's own. Kevin Spacey plays a brilliant performance of "Prot," the Ailen from K-PAX, and Jeff Bridges plays Spacey's phycologist in a mental institution. Funny, sad, and and actually makes you think ... Buy this now!

Rating:
Summary: Phenomenal performances, gripping story. Loved it!
Review: This enigmatic tale will challenge the skeptic in all of us and awaken a deep sense of wonder and hope. This is the kind of story that can make us WANT to believe.

Meet "Prot" (played by Kevin Spacey), the mysterious stranger with no apparent past whose claims to be an alien from the planet K-Pax promptly earn him a trip to the local psychiatric hospital. His treating psychiatrist, Dr. Mark Powell (played by Jeff Bridges), initially treats Prot as just another routine case, dismissing his odd claims and "alien" behavior as just the products of a sick mind. Over time, however, Prot begins to do, say and know things that Powell simply cannot ignore. Could there be some truth to his claims? Following a fascinating demonstration at the local planetarium, which both confounds and amazes an assembly of distinguished scientests, the remotely plausible starts to become dramatically more convincing.

All the other patients at the hospital love Prot, and are soon infected by his deeply held expectation that the "mother ship" will, in fact, return to pick him up. They even go so far as to prepare a sending-off party, and to hold an essay contest to decide who will be the one lucky person who gets to go with him. Nevertheless, Prot seems, for all his claims and otherworldly behavior, to be a very normal, lucid individual -- quite harmless to himself or others.

Powell thus feels comfortable to take him to meet the family. All goes well at first, but when an innocuous event begins to awaken some deeply repressed memories, Prot undergoes a sudden change. It is here that the viewer gains new insights into the disturbing and tragic past of this man who calls himself by an alien name. It all begins to make sense now -- or so it seems.

Just as we start to think we understand who Prot is and why he acts as he does, the ending of the movie takes an unexpected twist that causes us to question -- and to hope -- yet again. The fate of Prot is never made clear, and I think that's what turns an otherwise merely good movie into a great one. The viewer is left with his sense of grief and tragedy competing with a sense of inspiration and hope. I guess each viewer decides which one wins, but for me it was hope. I enjoyed believing in something good for a change -- doesn't matter whether I was right or wrong. Great movie!