Rating: 
Summary: "Good Bud Smoking Movie"
Review: BJM was a very disturbing and depressing fantasy film. I felt utterly depressed after watching this film. The reason I rented it was because someone recommended it as a "good bud smoking movie" (in other words, a movie you watch while under the influence of a mind altering substance). I don't do drugs, but this movie sure made me feel like I did. I felt all the experiences of a druggy: the highs and the lows. I felt highs during the beginning when I thought this was going to be a good and interesting film, and I felt withdrawal after discovering halfway throughout that it wasn't. Towards the end of the film, I was left pondering my own existence and my feelings of depression. I tell you, this movie definitely makes you feel like you're ON DRUGS. They should show this film to people who think they might want to take drugs (it'll make them change their mind real quick). But, if you are a marijuana user, I'll once again echo the sentiments of someone who recommended this film to me and say that it is, indeed, a good "bud smoking movie" and if you're not stay far, far away from it, unless you like films that depress you or make you feel suicidal.
Rating: 
Summary: Weird...
Review: Weird a movie this is. Hard to be categorized. But worth many explorations. Those who like to exercite their minds, here's a nice gymn.
Rating: 
Summary: I watch it all the way through but not sure why...
Review: May be creative but I like to think the average veiwer has a little more taste and education than the target of this film. MY recomendation? Don't bother Check out all the used ones for sale... wonder why...
Rating: 
Summary: Overated!
Review: Ok. The premise is interesting. That's the reason I watched this movie in the first place. However, the execution leaves a whole lot to be desired. I don't want to ruin the movie for anyone who still wants to see it, but I will say that I was surprised at how poorly some of the actors acted in this movie, especially Cameron Diaz. The movie also takes far too long to get anywhere and when it does, you're left wondering how much better this movie could have been with a stronger script. I know that Roger Ebert said this was the best movie of 1999 (it says so right on the box), but he really missed the boat on this one.
Rating:
Summary: Uniquely mediocre.
Review: To my mind, the desperate thirst for something original and fresh that has parched the metaphorical throats of so many film viewers of the 90s and beyond, is the chief thing that has compelled so many to proclaim this a "masterpiece." What it really is, is a daring but ultimately mediocre black comedy which tries to be too many things at once.The premise has charm, it's true. John Malkovich couldn't have been a better choice for an oddball film like this, and he is the one actor involved who I feel I can give real, enduring credit to. He throws himself into the project without a trace of self-consciousness, going wherever the movie asks him to, having fun, and tackling tricky territory at the same time (it can't be easy to pretend that you're partially possessed by a dorky John Cusack, but Malkovich does it well -- probably playing Cusack's part better than Cusack himself does.) Other than this, and the sheer volume of quirkiness that many seem to enjoy, Being John Malkovich is pretty weak. All of the major characters are unlikable and annoying, and only occasionally funny. I assume they are supposed to annoying -- to reflect our own imperfections, somewhat uncomfortably -- but I just didn't care for this tactic. It's awkwardly done. It isn't even exactly "black comedy," unless black comedy is characterized primarily by awkward, schizophrenic, arbitrary jerks in tone and mood. Feeling no affinity for the characters and being only marginally interested in the outcome of their highly unpredictable activities, it was hard to view their general descent into mutual abuse and emotional greed with much more than puzzled distaste. The metaphysical themes played up on towards the end are interesting in and of themselves, but, like almost everything else in Being John Malkovich, are melded into the overall project in a generally unsatisfactory fashion. The film will just decide: "It's time to be serious and deep now," and that's that. Like the raining frogs in Magnolia, Being John Malkovich is full of strange turns that, though bold and original, are more contrived than earned. As far as performances go, it's pretty much Malkovich's show. John Cusack's performance, although his character has a few funny moments, is irritatingly bad. Cameron Diaz fares better as his dowdy, animal-loving wife -- unfortunately, the character herself isn't very interesting or funny. Catherine Keener just acts bitchy and weird, as usual, and the fact that she happens to be the "femme fatale" here is kind of arbitrary. Kudos to Charlie Sheen on a great cameo though. One of the best parts of this otherwise interesting but overrated film.
Rating:
Summary: Confused and contrived
Review: What a load of old cobblers! This is like watching 6 short films strung together and not one of them has anything to do with another. There is no consistency here. It's just another reason why music video clip directors should not be allowed to make films. Ask anyone why he or she liked this film and the standard answer is "I thought it was interesting." 'Interesting' is how you describe bad haircuts when you don't want to offend. Malkovich and Cusack should be ashamed of themselves... oh no, they already did Con Air. That was enough.
Rating: 
Summary: Certainly the most interesting movie of the 90's.
Review: Well, this is a comedy, right??? Then why aren't I laughing that much??? Must be a drama, right??? Then why aren't I whimpering and sobbing??? Anyone care to answer these questions??? NO... all right then, I will. Simple: BEING JOHN MALKOVICH defies every genre ever created. If anything it's an art film. The story, concerning a struggling puppeteer who stumbles upon a tunnel into John Malkovich's head, is easily the strangest idea ever to be committed to paper and the direction is so off-the-wall you'll find yourself rubbing your eyes in disbelief every five minutes or so. But that's a good thing. If BEING JOHN MALKOVICH proves anything to it's audience it's this: CREATIVITY IS NOT DEAD IN HOLLYWOOD... it's just been waiting for director Spike Jonze and writer Charlie Kaufman to come and snatch it up. And what a film they have made! Heartbreaking but humorous, wildly inventive yet strikingly simple... no other film can simply make you accept that a building has a 7 1/2 floor let alone make you really want to spend 15 minutes in the head of John Malkovich. It's all so amazingly creative and fluid that watching it is like witnessing a dream, something you're constantly surprised by yet extremel;y at ease with. Superb performances by John Cusack, Cameron Diaz (yes that really IS Cameron Diaz under all that hair), Catherine Keener, and even John Malkovich in a completely off-beat comedy-drama-arty contraption of a film. As film critic Glenn Kenny said, "this is the Citizen Kane of consciousness-invasion movies". I'll call it "astounding". Either way, it's really, really good.
Rating:
Summary: Very disappointing indeed
Review: This movie strikes me as one you either love or hate, and I'm in the latter category. The single biggest problem in this film is that you end up hating every person in it - the only person you can feel even a little bit sorry for is John Malkovich himself. The experience of watching it was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. The movie is so voyeuristic, it made the Jerry Springer show look like a walk in the park by its simplicity. I do think that the movie was well acted and filmed, sadly, but the plot left something to be desired.
Rating:
Summary: Startlingly Original
Review: For my money, this was the best picture of the year (1999), a startling piece with some great acting performances that left the competition in the dust along the Jersey Turnpike....In Being John Malkovich, the premise of the movie is hysterical and unique. John Cusack is a down and out loser puppeteer, married to the gloriously frumpy and frizzy-haired Cameron Diaz (in a wonderful casting about-face), who had to abandon his puppetry "art" and head off into the real world for a desk job in order to pay the bills and support his wife's many pets. He shows up at the 7 1/2 floor of a building, after a scene in the elevator that still brings a smile to my face when I think of it, and starts work at a bizarre company (where everyone stoops under a five foot ceiling) only to discovey a mysterious passageway behind a file cabinet which is a portal into the mind of John Malkovich. All of this is directed by Spike Jonze in such an effective, unsensational manner that the outlandish plot and absurd setting become almost believable. Anyway, without giving away too much of the plot, the movie kept me continuously guessing, and the acting performances were great. Malkovich playing himself was a riot, and I loved the appearance of Charlie Sheen in a self-mocking role late in the film. Jonze lampoons voyeurism, sexual identity, sado-masochism (a cage is prominently used) and shameless opportunism for the almighty dollar. If you haven't seen this flick yet, stop wasting time and find out what everyone was laughing about at the coffee machine last year. A big thumbs up.
Rating:
Summary: "Undescribably great"
Review: Normally, when I'm about to write a review, I know what to write. How to begin and how to end. With this movie, I really don't. There is so much to say about and the words you might read, can't do this movie right, because it's originality and class can't be described. That's why I'm going to give you 3 points why this movie is worthwhile a night at the theatre (or on video before your TV set): 1) the story : A puppeteer, who has a hard time finding work, starts in a company who has its office at the 7nd-and-half floor. There does the puppeteer, Craig, discovers a tiny door which leads right into the head of actor John Malkovich. 2) the actors : John Cusack, Cahterine Keener, Cameron Diaz, John Malkovich,... ALL do a really great job to make their characters come alive. 3)the approach of the movie itself : this isn't just an one-dimensional comedy like "American Pie" or such, this is a satire, goofy comedy and dramatic love story in one. With , sometimes rich, imagination, developed characterization, atmospheric music and a firm director, there is just to much to mention about this movie. So, maybe some of you still don't have a clue what it's all about? Well, so did I. I wasn't prepared for what was to come. Well, dear people, I can say you this : this is the most entertaining, moving, original movie of the last 5 years. Please, rent this movie or go see it, pay attention and the reward at the end of it will be immense. Don't miss this little gem in filmmaking. I guarantee a unforgettable, undescribably great experience!!
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