Being John Malkovich

Rating:
Summary: A good movie
Review: This was one 0f the unique movies ever. it is very enjoyable. Cameron Diaz is the best followed by John malkovich. The others were alright but not as funny as the others.

Being John Malkovich B

Rating:
Summary: About as good as it gets
Review: Imagine being someone else for about 15 minutes, then suddenly you are dropped onto the side of the New Jersey turnpike. Imagine explaining what happened to your friends. Imagine if they saw this as a business opportunity. That's what Being John Malcovich is all about. Imagination is the key. The entire story has a creative adolescent spirit. There is nothing complicated here. A man (John Cusak) finds a door on the 7 1/2 floor of a building and it takes you inside of John Malcovich for about 15 minutes, then you're dropped onto the side of the New Jersey turnpike. Form this revolves a plot involving sex, greed, and voyeurism. This simple elegance is what makes this film so enticing. Who hasn't imagined what it would be like to live in another's shoes. This movie brings reality to an idea most of us dismissed at the age of 12. Suddenly we're in a surreal place where an office can exist on the 7 1/2 floor and you can actually be another person. The movie takes your intellect on a thrill ride.

This kind of idea and environment is what Spike Jonez was put on this planet to direct. You feel as if he, and only he, could bring a film of this substance to life. The whole thing cannot be described as a movie but rather an experience. It is unlike anything you have ever seen.

This movie is for people who liked to be challenged and entertained by new ideas. If you like films that simply feed you information, you'll probably hate this movie. You have to be willing to try something different.

Rating:
Summary: Best Picture of 1999 -- bar none
Review: This film is inspired, hilarious and unnervingly touching. The script is absolutely original and the characters' interaction between each other very funny. The scenes between Keener and Cusack are wonderful.

The other day I was buying a hat and had my first real-life "loden" experience. You will remember loden is Malkovich's second choice color for his bath towels when he finds periwinkle is out of stock. Well, I was picking out a hat at a haberdashery, and as I checked out the label I saw that the color was loden. It was hilarious, but impossible to explain to the clerk.

I can't believe Being John Malkovich was overlooked by the Academy this year. It truly was better than anything else, and it has advanced film and humor theory forward more than any movie in a long time. In that respect it has a lot in common with Pulp Fiction.

It also would have been nice to hear the following surreal announcement at the Oscars: "And the Oscar goes to... John Malkovich, for Being John Malkovich."

Rating:
Summary: This movie was GREAT!
Review: This is an fantastic film with a genuine "theme". The theme is that it matters not at all who we really are and what our talents are where impressing others is concerned. What matters is the basic, outward perception others have of us (ie our physical appearance).

Okay. Fair enough. The plot delivers this message well but it, in itself, is ingenious. This a sureal movie that marches forward and keeps the viewer thinking, wondering and laughing out loud. The acting, despite a brief appearance by Charlie Sheen, is superb and it's difficult to decide who the awards should go to among them. It was great to see both Mary Kay Place and Orson Bean in such rare form again and John Cusack and the beautiful Cameron Diaz insured that this film will become a cult classic. Great job!

I made the mistake of renting this movie first. If I had it to do all over again I'd have saved the four bucks and bought it right away.

Rating:
Summary: Definitely a fresh concept
Review: I started out watching this movie expecting a great comedy, based on the reviews. However, that never happens. I found the characters too self-centered and shallow, causing them to be a distraction. The movie never really flowed in my opinion.

So far this isn't a four-star rating, right? Well, I enjoyed the concept of the movie. The thought of people traveling into another person's mind and being them was refreshing different.

The puppet scenes were great also (although not a lot of them).

As for the DVD: The quality was good and the extras were nice. I liked the in depth look at puppeteering.

All in all, I say rent this movie before you buy it. Then make your decision.

Rating:
Summary: a smart, crazy comedy
Review: This movie manages to be both smart and hilarious at the same time, with an extremely inventive premise and excellent acting. Katherine Keener should have received best supporting actress for this film, and the script should have won best screenplay. The plot expands upon the commonplace idea of "wanting to be someone else," as the characters chance upon a strange portal in a strange office building, a portal that lets them enter the mind of dramatic actor John Malkovich.

Malkovich is excellent as a slightly skewed version of himself, and he is most impressive when he begins to imitate John Cusack late in the play, even performing the strange dance that opens the movie.

If you don't mind strange movies and bizarre plot twists, and if you like witty comedy, this movie is for you.

Rating:
Summary: Original and Thought Provoking, without being pretentious.
Review: This is the most original movie I think I have ever seen. The style of filmmaking, and the original comedic and twisted story will have you thinking for a very long time. Another good thing is this movie does not cross the line into being pretentious, as most heavy art films do. This movie will appeal to a large audience. It's hard to pinpoint the effect this movie has, but definately see it.

Rating:
Summary: The incredible lightness of "Being..."
Review: The film itself--with its assured, unblinking absurdity, ably acted throughout--is worth the price; the extended Merton building piece a gem of an extra. Catherine Keener takes a star turn in the tightrope role of an enchantress with no soul.

I have a new favorite DVD.

Rating:
Summary: A fascinating study in puppetry
Review: How much control do we have over our own lives? Scholars and theologians alike constantly debate free will and fate, but their studies concern the will of a greater being. What if all that we are is just a marionette being controlled by another person's deft hands? What if it's the same person whom we've crossed paths with on the street, secretly manipulating your every action, even your words and movements? It's no suprise that the story's plot and the hobby of Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) are so intertwined. Incredible performances by all of the cast, especially Malkovich, purposely remaining the flattest character in the movie. Don't see this one if you're going to get hung over by the fact that a portal exists into a man's head. See it to discover what happens when we start pulling other people's strings, how our lives are affected, and what the intoxicating feeling of control can drive people to do.

Rating:
Summary: .
Review: I used to dream up ideas for movies something like this, and always lamented the fact that such delightful oddities would never enjoy the coveted "green light" of Hollywood. So naturally I was dizzyingly pleased to hear about Being John Malkovich, and my expectations were not disappointed when I went to see it.

Being John Malkovich easily matches up with some of the other surprisingly thought-provoking movies of the year, such as Fight Club and American Beauty. Underneath the quirkiness and the eccentric humor, very interesting ideas regarding identity, ego, and the nature of human consciousness (esp. the unconscious) are being played with. There are some suprisingly dark twists to the film, and the characters struck me as unusually mean-spirited -- but neither of these things are, necessarily, complaints. The end was, to me, somehow very sad and vaguely disturbing, and the concluding image of the film is beautifully metaphorically suggestive.

At the same time, Being John Malkovich is generally very accessible and funny. Not all of the humor works quite as well as it'd like to, but most of it does, and there are numerous moments of winningly imaginative hilarity. The performances range from interesting to good. Malkovich himself is a treat and, I have to assume, a remarkably good sport.

Being John Malkovich also boasts the most unusually charming cameo appearance that I've ever seen, I think. Shame on a previous review for revealing it to those who haven't seen the film. I'm not sure if I've offered anything especially new with this review, but rest assured that if you have an interest in seeing this movie, you probably will not be disappointed. An eccentric gem of a film that I like to think of as a refreshing breeze of genuine imagination wafting through the stagnant airways of the Hollywood behemoth.