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The Others

The Others

List Price: $19.99
Your Price: $15.99
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A great Movie
Review: I really liked it, it wasn't scarey, but more of a movie, where you try to figure out the ending, before the end happens. Nicole's performance was awesome, and I can't picture any other actress playing the part. This movie would be great for kids 10 and over, and would be great for any kind of seelover your kids might be having.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Not what I hoped
Review: This is one of those predictable kind of creepy movies. I figured out the "surprise ending" not too long after the movie started getting into depth. The plot is ok and the characters are good but I was hoping to be scared but I found myself bored. If you really liked the sixth sense i suppose you would enjoy this movie. But if you are looking here for a very frightening movie, you're not looking in the right places.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A thrilling thriller
Review: And what a change that is. The Others is one of those sit back and let yourself be quietly swept away to ... well, you'll find out. It builds slowly and quietly and while not much seems to happen at first, you realize that you are hooked. Kidman and Flanagan are excellent in this film. Lighting, sound, music -EERIE. A return to the good, old-fashioned horror movies where you use your head and your imagination to frighten you, not gory scenes of bloodshed. Some have compared this to The Sixth Sense; they are wrong. This is a beautiful piece of filmaking, The Six Sense is a shrink-wrapped mass produced puzzle.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Rental material
Review: Beautifully acted and directed, the Others is a sort of WWII period piece/psychological thriller set in rural England. Comparisons of the Others to the Sixth Sense seem to abound which essentially gives away the fact that there's a trick ending. If you're even just the slightest bit sensitive to the heavy-handed foreshadowing, the surprise at the end will probably not be too surprising. In other words, you know what's coming after the first twenty minutes or so.

During the wait for the plot to pull itself together at the end, Kidman acts impressively and is framed artistically from one excellent shot to the next. The set-design, costuming, lighting, camera-work, and wonderful sound design are all spectacular.

But then it's over and you know what happened and probably won't watch this a second time. I suppose this can be said about any film but I think this truism becomes more meaningful when the "trick-ending" is the primary vehicle for the story as is the case with the Others. For example, knowing that Bobby C. dies in Saturday Night Fever doesn't make the film any less enjoyable in subsequent viewings and consequently is a good DVD to own. The same goes for the Godfather trilogy. Simply knowing that Michael will eventually have Fredo murdered doesn't make the moment when it happens a bore. This is because these last two films don't lean heavily on the mechanism of surprising the audience to entertain. Actually, the predictability of a tragic outcome often seems to heighten the sense of myth in a good film.

For me, this leaves films such as the Others, the Usual Suspects, Memento, etc., in the one hit wonder category unfortunately. I couldn't recommend buying any of these on DVD. To be enjoyable in the DVD world of repeat viewing, I think it's important that the entire film doesn't revolve around keeping the viewer on the edge of his seat until he/she's shocked by a surprise [dare I say gimmicky?] ending.

4/5

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Welcome to the twilight zone
Review: a great movie with a very atmospheric environement, the story it's really suspenseful, frightening and unexpected, and he end it's really amazing, technically the DVD image it's great with nice colors and detail, the soundtrack really get you inmersed in the story ( I can still hear the whispers thru my surround speakers right to my ears).The extra features of the second disc are nice and all of them beautifully packaged. Highly recommended

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Interest at it's peak
Review: I wanted to see this film without knowing exactly what it was about but purely on suspicion and a hunch. And as always I was definetly right. "The Others" althogh it is out of the ordinary captures you right from the beginning and takes you on a suspicious ride all the way through asking questions like Who is he? and you do think he's real? Most importantly it makes you wonder of the after life and if there are people that believe in this philosophy. Thiis film wins my vote not because it makes you feel warm and wholesome but because it was well written well played and it displays and it displays elements of a truth that we are all questioning. Very entertaining and Nicole Kindman is brilliant as usual.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The Others is all about spooky atmostphere
Review: The greatest strength in The Others is it's creepy gothic atmosphere which pervades every scene. This is definitely a mood film, all about creating an off-kilter texture of images on screen that feels like they take place in another world. But an all-to-similar ending to another recent ghost blockbuster weakens its overall strength.

The film jumps right into the story as a mother (Nicole Kidman) is showing new caretakers around her large mansion on a small island off England during World War II. Soon we're introduced to her two children, who have a rare skin condition that don't allow them to be in the sunlight, and learn her husband mostly likely died in battle. But things begin to get strange in the already creepy environment when the daughter is convinced there are "invaders" in the house, ghostly sounds and visions that soon begin to haunt the family.

Without a doubt, if it wasn't for the deliciously crafted mood created by the set, music, and lighting (expertly realized with candlelight), as well as the superb acting by Kidman and her two young co-stars, this film probably wouldn't be worth your time. The tried and true plot device of a haunted house works, but the ending feels like a let-down when you know you're supposed to be shocked. If The Others had come out prior to ... possible spoiler warning ... The Sixth Sense, its very similar ending would have had a much deeper impact. Yet it's also not as expertly crafted as The Sixth Sense, which never let on to its shocking revelation. Instead, The Others gives enough clues along the way that when the final twist is unraveled, typical reaction is only slight surprise. An additional small annoyance throughout the film is the overstating of particular ideas and observances. Whenever the film would offer enough clues to easily figure something out, the characters always have to state it, just to make sure the audience gets it. As long as you're an attentive audience member, you don't need to be told, and doing so just seems like an insult to your intelligence.

After all that, it may sound like this film isn't all that great, but honestly, as I said before, the ending nor the minor problems leading up to it really don't matter a whole lot when compared to how expertly this film conveys mood and it's unsettling gothic atmosphere. The Others is perfect on a foggy October evening when the moon is full and you just may believe in something supernatural out there.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Creepiest movie I have seen in years.
Review: Nicole Kidman gives an award winning performance as a mother of two children who are allergic to sunlight. They live in a very large house where they have been waiting for their father to return from the war. Along come three very creepy servents looking for work, and Nicole takes them on. They learn the ropes of caring for the house and the children and Nicole finds out that they used to care for the house before she and her children came to live there. The children speak in whispers about there mothers break down and the day "it" happened. The older of the children hears voices and befriends a boy named Nicholas, and strange things begin to happen. Lights come on, doors lock from inside, all of the curtains are removed while the family sleeps. Nicole has no idea what is happening, but the new servants seem to have an idea. It all comes down to a switch ending that will make you shriek. This is the best ghost story told in a long time. Nicole and the rest of the cast are superb and the chills are well worth the slow pace of the film.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Very scary and lots of tension
Review: The performance by Kidman here is nothing less than superb. I picked up her fear and felt edgy and uncomfortable the entire movie. I do not like horror/slasher films and this film does not even come close to that genre but it is very scary.

If you enjoyed "The Sixth Sense" or similar movies then you should thoroughly enjoy this film, it scares even more with no gore, blood and violence. The cinematography is absolutely brilliant, it keep me wanting to shut my eyes almost the entire movie it was so suspenseful. In fact, I'll make a confession here, I started to watch this late one night by myself but decided to wait and see it another night when I wouldn't be alone after just a few minutes of viewing. The director did a wonderful job of starting with and keeping up the tension the whole film.

The only people I wouldn't recommend this film to are the viewers that want to see some guy in a face mask chop up screaming teenagers. This is a thinking movie with great acting and lots of surprise and suspense, a strong recommendation.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Stellar moviemaking
Review: Hitchcock once said words to this effect: "A bomb is under a table and explodes. That's surprise. A bomb is under a table and DOESN'T explode. THAT'S suspense." Nicole Kidman breathes barely-contained frenetic life into this thriller that just embodies real suspense. If you watch this, turn all the lights off and allow yourself to be drawn into the mood and setting of the film. Watch how Kidman's character just clings to a modicum of sanity, displaying all the proper British etiquette outwardly, but shattering to pieces inwardly. I developed a complete respect for this woman as an actress while watching this movie. The children are well-played, as is the housekeeper. I read some of the other reviews on here and one reviewer said that conservative religious people might take offense to this movie's portrayal of death. Since conservative religious people take offense to pretty much everything, though, this really shouldn't impede anyone's enjoyment of a finely-crafted, superbly-paced psychological thriller. No blood, no gore, no murder... just the ever-present ratcheting up of tension, frame by frame. See this film.


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