Rating: 
Summary: A Superb Film - Highly Underrated!
Review: The Ninth Gate is a great film and one of Roman Polanski's most underrated films. Twenty years from now people will give this film the respect it deserves and hail it to be the great film that it is. Fist of all The Ninth Gate is not an action film. It's a slow-paced psychological thriller very similar in tone and style to Polanski's earlier films Chinatown and Frantic. Johnny Depp and Frank Langella both give great performances. Darius Khondji's photography is amazing and it has an even more amazing score by Kilar. The majority of the film was shot on location and is like a guided tour through Europe. Ignore the negative reviews and comments from people who've been brainwashed and blinded by the current Hollywood fast-food style of film making with the intention of only appealing to the lowest common denominator. A review doesn't make a good film better or a bad film worse. A superb film. Rating 10 out of 10.
Rating: 
Summary: Forget the movie and just read the book!
Review: This movie is an adaptation of the book "The Club Dumas" by Arturo Pérez-Reverte. Read the book a while back and was totally absorbed. Saw this movie, and regretted it. While Depp is truly a great actor, his portrayal of the main character, Dean Corso, was weak at best, but that's not his fault. It's the fault of the screenplay itself. This movie fails tremendously to capture the dark brooding mood of the main character and any insight into what drives him. If the movie seems to amble along and then suddenly there's this "plot" going on, it's because all of the book's sub-plots that lay the groundwork, are missing. Those sub-plots are crucial. They define the characters and the reasons why everyone is chasing a particular book. The relationship of the characters is based upon other motives not established in the movie. Without them, everything's just trite and banal which is exactly what this movie is. If you have NOTHING to do, and want to kill time, then maybe ok. But if you are looking for a film that rivets you and intrigues you to venture into the world of Dean Corso and his cohorts, then skip this altogether and just buy the book. Let the book and your imagination work for you.
Rating: 
Summary: CONFUSING ENDING SPOILS THE MOVIE!!!
Review: I won't go into a lot of details about the plot of this movie. Just the basics. Johnny Depp plays a rare book hunter hired to authenticate a book which legend says was written by the devil. His quest takes him to Europe where he tracks down some missing pages, meanwhile a strange female shadows him and helps him out as if she were his guardian angel. I love Johnny Depp. He always plays roles that are a bit "out there". I love the fact the gravitates towards roles that are a bit quirky. But he should have read the script more closely. The movie is very intriguing combining elements of horror and mystery. But it all unravels at the end into a B-movie horror schtick and an ending that will leave you throwing your shoe at the TV. I've often wondered what rationale that filmmakers have for endings that are so confusing. Do they want to make us think? Do they want to show how clever they are because we can't figure it out? I've talked to a number of people about this movie and all of them came away confused and a bit purturbed about the ending.
Rating:
Summary: Total waste of talent
Review: You think Johnny Depp is going to be directed by Roman Polanski, and you get pretty excited. Instead you get absolute drivel. The "mystery" of the books is mildly interesting, but the rest of the story makes absolutely no sense. Let's see now, let me get this straight; satan himself, who is sort of like a god, right? He drew woodcuts for a paper book? What, he was on holiday and took some art classes? He even signs them, out of pride I suppose, it's a sin, but so are the stupid pictures. But nevermind, we'll let that go, but the deal is if you put all these pictures together . . . uh, actually, it isn't really clear what happens. One guy thinks they'll confer some sort of power on him, but of what sort isn't clear. What are the rules anyway? Do they have to be within so many inches of each other or something? I think "Warlock" had this figured out much better. And then you have Depp, who is supposed to be a ruthless profiteer of old books, but for most of the movie actually seems to be a decent person. I mean, he doesn't kill anyone or anything like that. Yet, in the end, when the last picture appears out of nowhere in a really bad plot twist, all of a sudden he's off to some castle to make a pact with the devil, or whatever is suppose to happen; that's left unsaid, maybe because everyone just got bored and justified that a mysterious ending was sort of cool as a cop out. Then's there's the nameless kung-fu fighting girl, who's role in the movie is . . . uh, who the heck is she anyway, and what side is she on? In the end it seems she's in league with the devil, but if so, why did she help Depp thwart the bad guys? If she knew where the last page was, why didn't she make a deal with Langella? I think she's in the movie just to have an outdoor love scene with Depp (her name is, heh heh, "Emmanuelle"). Shamefully stupid, with many of the usual corny scenes that would be at home in any "cult" type movie (don't these cults ever have decent security for their gatherings? Is it that easy to steal exotic cars in Europe?). The only possible explanation is that Polanski and Depp were pursued by someone with big checks in hand and didn't have any other commitments.
Rating:
Summary: BELLEs, Books and slight Scandals .....
Review: A delightful - just a delight to watch and what a DELIGHT! Johnny Depp [always mercurial, never disappoints] is our slightly bemused hero - searching for the mysterious faux or real occult editions, but which one is 'the brew that is true' ~ now that's a twice told tale ....errr tail ..... very much of sound and fury when stepped on. Great locations, dark, dank European [and New York] settings, and brilliant landscapes - culminating at a delightful old schloss ...... Stay with this one - it does have quite everything, from dewy maidens [the stunning Emmanuelle Siegner] to feline brunettes [Lena Olin] ~ including the delightful wheel-chair bound [just for impact] Barbara Jefford and not forgetting the almost over-the-top Frank Langella who really knows how to 'break into' a coven! Sheer delight for the non-conformist ~ takes all the sweat out of spell-casting ~ if that's your bag! Great sound-track too!
Rating:
Summary: Not a Valiant Effort from 'The Pianist' Director....
Review: Does this film deserve a write up? Well, okay, no. But, I love Johnny Depp and Roman Polanski so here it is: the cinematography is beautiful, as usual. But the story line and the acting at times, was weak. Please tell me why directors cast their wives when they clearly cannot act? Wait, scratch that, I already know the answer. Anyway, not worth the rental unless you are aiken to the likes of a bad mixture of "Seventh Sign meets The Exorcist meets The Prophecy". I'm glad I didn't pay full tilt at the theatres!
Rating: 
Summary: the Ninth Gate is no Rosemary's Baby...
Review: This movie was suppose to lead Dean on an advanture (and ours in a way) in the search for the Ninth Gate that in a sense failed in its attempts. First off, I wonder who is that girl (played by Polanski's significant other) suppose to portray and why is she helping Dean, played by Johnny Depp admirably, and not Boris Balkin, the person who hired him to search and enthenticate the Ninth Gate book. I think she suppose to be Satan itself, watching over him if not one of his agent (like a guardian angel's). It seems to be the case since Dean has broken some of the deadly sin's in his ruthless pride for himself only and his lack of care for others. Satan does the choosing but it was ab odd way of showing that in the movie, like why go thru the motions, like why can't she just tell him the missing pieces. And what's with Satan having sex with Dean near the end have anything to do with the Ninth Gate???? Was Dean suppose to give Satan's (multi gendered i persume) a demon child? If so, what does that have anything to do with this movie. This seem to fit another demonic type movie that i saw before but it doesn't fit here...sorry. Beside, if her face expression during the sex scene is suppose to put fear into our eyes, it could of did a better job since that wasn't even the same person at any point of the face change. If it had, then it might of been more believable but i was left to think 'who is this person DEan is having sex with?'. Well i was let down and maybe some of you feel the same way. This is not a horror movie and it wasn't suppose to be one but was attended to be a pychological thriller and in that, it acheive it in a slow pace way that only Polanki could. There is no doubt that Polanski can direct movies with his wonderful camera angles at making the viewer feel like they are there as well. The ending was a disapointment because it doesn't make sense yet i enjoy the movie nevertheless. If you want to see Polanski's at his best, then read my review on 'Rosemary's Baby', which is one of the best horror movies ever made along with the Exocist, in my opinion. A classic tour de force!
Rating:
Summary: What are you people talking about?
Review: This movie is awesome! Very well made horror/mystery flick. Keeps you wondering up until the end. Welcome back, Johnny Depp.
Rating:
Summary: Positive reviews?? What movie were you folks watching??
Review: Its been a while since my GF and I fell victim to this movie, thinking from the ads and previews we were in for a good, dark, horror movie. Well, we WERE horrified, I'll grant the movie that much--but not as a result of plot or action or atmosphere or anything...you know, ESSENTIAL to creating any sort of tension and fear. No...what sticks out in my mind, looking back about this movie is the sheer, ungodly amount of screentime the director spent filming traffic scenes. Not car chases, mind you, but slow, speed-limit and under, normal traffic. Every moment of one character's journey from one location to another, all painstakingly documented for posterity. Nothing too mundane for this movie to show, by God! I started commenting about it in the theater. Since we were almost alone in the theater, no one seemed to mind--it helped break the coma-like atmosphere. "WHOA! Hot merging into traffic action! Spare us nothing, movie!!!" "Oh my God. They're going over 20 miles per hour now. Hold onto your seats folks!" "Will he or won't he use the turn signal??? Inquiring minds want to know!!!" You can probably guess the rest. Oh yeah. Johnny Depp was in this movie. Kinda. I know a lot of people comment on his abilities as an actor, and say he was low-key in this film on purpose, but it doesnt strike me as too terribly difficult to act like you're hung over and sleepy after a weekend bender. Considering he was like that for practically the whole of the film, that must have been some bender! In short--I would like to demand the time in my life that I spent watching this movie back, please.
Rating:
Summary: BORING AS ALL GETOUT!! A SLEEPER!!
Review: It is very sad for a Christian to think that the best scene in a film is a sex scene. But that just so happened when I (the Christian in general) viewed this abomination. Thinking I'd see a film where the good guy fights Satan, I viewed this piece...that not only doesn't show the fight, but it appears that the main character (Johnny Depp) is going to have a friendly "chat" with Satan himself (That's what I got out of the last scene in the film). This film is boring, stupid, and makes "Vertigo" look like an actioner (I thought "Vertigo" was a good film). So it is sad to think that I sat through this film just to be entertained at the end by a thirty-second sex scene...
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