Rating: 
Summary: worst movie ever!
Review: I'm not a movie hater, but this movie had to be the worst movie ever made. As other reviewers have said, the idea/plot for this movie was totally unique & interesting, but that is all the movie had to offer! The characters acted so awkwardly & completely unnatural. This movie is just too bizarre (not in a good way)...don't throw your money away, rent it first before you buy it.
Rating: 
Summary: Wow! What'a movie!
Review: Despite all you can think about the strange cover, in which there are many people disguised with a mask of John Malkovich, you should take a look before you put it where it belongs.
This movie goes by small dark places. It has a promising beginning: John Cusack starring in as a puppeteer with little money looking for a job. He has no children and has lost all the interest in his wife (Cameron Diaz). He starts working in the "seventh and a half" floor of an enterprise. This is placed between the seventh and the eighth floor and it's only 1,5 metres high, so he has to pull down the head to walk in all the time. One day he meets a beautiful woman at work (Catherine Keener) and he tries to attract her attention, but she ignores him. The things start to change when he discovers a secret door where he finds the power of being able to see with John Malkovich's eyes. However, this ability lasts only fifteen minutes and then, John Cusack falls in the outskirts of the city. He immediately tells all the story to that woman. At first, she doesn't care much, but she calls him on the phone later. Her idea is to write an advertisement in the newspaper and start a business: let people being Malkovich for a while after earning a lot of money. Everything is right then, but it happens that Cusack's wife uses it when the other woman is meeting John Malkovich. They have a relationship, and it results that she is not making love to him, but to her, in fact. Malkovich realizes that he's not able to control his body.
The script couldn't be better, I mean, how can you imagine someone living in John Malkovich's brain? How can you imagine the funny idea of working in a "seventh and a half flat" and such a stupid story of how it became like that?
Another good thing in the movie are the actors. John Cusack's performance and Catherine Keener's are excellent; Cameron Diaz's character is well-depicted, although it's a bit strange to watch her acting in a movie like this, and John Malkovich doesn't really act, because the movie deals about this person, but he shows himself as an interesting and mysterious man, and I think that is the reason of why so many people want to be him. I found fantastic the scene in which he enters the secret door, and what surprise when he discovers a world dwelt by hundreds of copies of himself!
This is a movie you can't stop watching, and it's worth doing it several more times. I wait impatiently the next Spike Jonze's challenge.
Rating:
Summary: Very strange, yet it works
Review: This movie is weird, and having heard how totally off beat it is, I resisted seing it for years. I figured that this movie is just not for me. My son, however, who had already seen the movie, got the dvd, and asked me to sit with him and watch it. I did so and immediately I was taken by the fact that the crazy humor, somehow, was on my wavelegnth. I was hysterical at the concept of a business being located on the 7 and a half floor. It slayed me when a person with perfect diction thaought he had a speech defect because someone who he spent so much time with was hard of hearing. OK, that's enough, I better not give away any more of the humor.Going from the hilarious side humor to the premise of the movie, somehow the concept of being able to enter John Malkovich's body for 15 minutes actually plays and this movie works. There are many issues explored, as John Cusack, who is a puppeteer in the movie, seeks to gain control of John Malkovich and thereby have his grandest triumph in "pulling the strings." Cusack and his wife, played by Cameron Diaz, compete with each other to occupy Malkovich in order, through Malkovich, to live out their love interest with a third individual (a straight relationship for Cusack and a lesbian relationship for Diaz). Granted, this movie is strange, but if the humor connects with you, it is a 5 star plus. I must also note, John Malkovich is one hell of a good sport to willing to be the subject of this movie; and furthermore, he is great in his role.
Rating:
Summary: Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich
Review: This movie blew me away, I've never seen anything like it. The movie is so original that you can't help but wonder what it will come up with next from scene to scene. The best part of this movie though is the fact that it's a comedy, because most films like this where reality is questioned (like Vanilla Sky) are very serious. This is easily one of the best movies I've ever seen. The DVD is just as weird as the movie..... the extras are very strange to say the least. The video is very dark and murky which is intentional and the 5.1 is best utilized when inside Malkovich's head. This DVD is a welcome addition to my collection and I would rate this as 10 stars if it were possible.
Rating: 
Summary: Another well-reviewed movie I didn't like.
Review: June 10, 2002 "Being John Malkovich' can't be satire. Its
characters are too outrageously drawn to stand in
for just plain folks. It is in its own strange
way a horror film, since it proceeds from a nightmare
logic all its own. However, it replaces the glee of
that more simplistic brand of entertainment with a
neurotic need to batter itself, its characters, and
us, with endlessly glib tortures. It envisions a
world where every desire is a joke, every emotion a manipulation, every character a fraud. The story begins with John Cusack's character, a
pretentious artist and sexually frustrated husband
married to a frigid frump of a wife. Forced to
take a job, Cusack chases an attractive co-worker,
even though she's something of a soulless,
... shrew. By means of a magic tunnel, all
three main characters enjoy life in another body,
until, after numerous kinky adventures (which are
not so much tongue-in-cheek as tongue-in-canker-sore),
the film winds its way to a heavily masochistic
conclusion. Without giving too much away, Cusack's
characters ends up taking the brunt of things.
This is strange because his character seemed to be
the only one in the film with any ambition, dreams,
or a modicum of conscience. Undeniably an interesting film, but, unable to justify
itself or its sexual politics, 'Being John Malkovich'
is a frustrating and ultimately displeasing film. I recall reading somewhere that the screenwriter,
Charlie Kaufman, is heavy into analysis. Seeing his
movie, I'm not surprised.
Rating:
Summary: STRANGE,BORING,AND DEPRESSING YET STRANGLY ENTICING
Review: I had intrest in this film in the first place because of it's director Spike Jonze,oddball '90s alt-rock video auteur had directed it
(among his work are Beastie Boys' "Sabotage",Bjork's "It's Oh So Quiet",Weezer's "Buddy Holly",etc.).
Since his videos are very offbeat yet fun and stylish I thought that he would bring that same appeal to the big screen. Sadly no."Being Jon Malkovich" is just odd and depressing and at times very dull and stagnant.Nothing more really.Don't believe me?
Then i'll try to summeriaze the plot ,an out-of-work puppeteer(John Cusack)
gets a part-time job as a file clerk.There he leads into a portal
into the mind of actor John Malkovich.He,his witty co-worker
(Catherine Keener) and eccentric,pet-loving wife(a ghastly-wigged
Cameron Diaz) devise a scheme to let anyone go through the mind of Malkovich just for $200 a pop.Strange,huh? That's not all,
the kicker is that you only get to become Malkoich for a matter of minutes until you're dumped off the New Jersey Turnpike.
As I said,this film is VERY strange(oh,yeah,I forgot most of this happens on the 7 and 1/2 floor of the office;don't ask me!). "Being" comes off as a mix of bizarre "Saturday Night Live" skit,
benign sci-fi flick,and weird exploration of celebrity obession and self-worth(again,don't ask me!). The movie isn't neccesacarily bad nor is it "outstanding",it's just well,too odd to really judge.But to point out the postive points,I can say that Jonze's wry,(VERY) offbeat humor and the film's sparse direction is creative and at times,strangely enticing.(Yet this movie is way too dreary and it's very depressing for some reason). If you know Spike Jonze,you know that you're in for a weird,wild ride and "Being" promises to be just that but just adds up to being weird. P.S.:The DVD features are intresting though.The bizarre TV spots,
weird segments(one page features a in-depth look at puppetering),
blank page,and an interview with Spike Jonze(which ends with Jonze vomitting) are worth giving this film a try...if you like your cinema a little bit strange...
Rating: 
Summary: Did not enjoy this movie
Review: A bit to weird and out of character for all the actors that played in it. I think it was a break away from their usually "GOOD" performances.
The premise of the movie was OKAY from a totally creative standpoint. I mean, I can't imagine it being a book...so a movie is what it would have to be.
The portal thing was OLD the twist were bizarre and the outcome plan old WEIRD.
Just a bit to dark for my taste
Rating:
Summary: In the mind of John Malkovich... literally.
Review: Are you losing faith in the Hollywood system? Tired of all the formula comedy films? Well, BEING JOHN MALKOVICH might just be the cure for what ails you... This film is one of the most unique films of the past 50 years, one that springboards from one creative element to the next. Much of the credit is do to the screenwriter Charlie Kaufman and Director Spike Jonze for being able to interpret and create the world that Kaufman created. This is a world where one can literally get inside the head of the performer John Malkovich, (for a small fee, of course). Puppeteer Craig Schwartz (John Cusack looking more disheveled then ever) takes a new job on the Seventh and a half floor of a New York City based company. While there, he discovers the beautiful but cold Maxine (Catherine Keener who practically walks away with the film) as well as a small door which happens to be a portal into John Malkovich's brain. They enterprisingly charge admission to the "Malk", but trouble comes aplenty when Craig's meek wife goes for a ride and emerges a lesbian in love with Maxine as well... How can this story be any good? The answer is: very easily. The filmmakers keep you guessing and add plenty of timely dark humor. One of the greatest elements in the film is the spectacular use of puppets throughout. They are intricately woven into the tapestry of the film and make for mesmerizing screen time. Easily the best 'special' effect in the film comes at the hand of a real puppetter. Warning, this is a quirky film so might be a little to offbeat for some who are into more mainstream comedy. The luscious DVD has a great audio transfer. Whenever the film is inside of John's head, your sound system knows it! The video is also sharp, capturing all the darks of the film... BEING JOHN MALKOVICH will always be a unique film and the filmmakers deserve a Malkovich for that alone.
Rating:
Summary: Boring John Malkovich
Review: I really like the premise of this movie, and I was excited to see it in the video store. The first thing I did when I got home was put this movie in my DVD player and push play. Within ten minutes I was bored and confused, and was contemplating just stopping it, hopping back in my car, and taking it directly back to the video store. Cusack portrays an out-of-work puppeteer who, if Maxine would have him, would willingly and knowingly cheat on his wife. Maxine and Malkovich are two other characters with no morals either. This movie was really boring, and does not get to the point quick enough. I did really enjoy the scene where Cusack's boss explains to Diaz the portals, and invites her to share in immortality. And one of the funneist segments in the movie is the Oreintation video which explains the 7.5 floor. Perhaps this premise would work better with Sir Elton John or someone like that.
Rating:
Summary: Being Just Marvelous
Review: In the annuals of movie comedy history, there has never been anything quite like Being John Malkovich. I hope there never is again, not for negative reasons, but because it should float out there forever like some special little planet. Then, decades from now, people can look back and see a unique sample of where originality was at the end of the Twentieth Century. The following plot information should be enough to say whether or not it belongs in your universe. Obviously, it fits in fine in mine. Craig Schwartz is a gifted and frustrated puppeteer. I think all puppeteers are frustrated, but manual dexterity is not a talent of mine. I don't hold a ball-point pen. I have to clutch it, or else I flip it across the room. Craig lives in New York with his wife Lotte [Cameron Diaz], who runs a pet shop. She has a bad habit of bringing injured or frustrated animals home. The house is a menagerie. We quickly see that both of these people are highly manipulative. When Lotte suggests that Craig find a normal job [just until his puppeteer career takes off, of course], he grudgingly starts looking for one. He spies an ad from The Lester Corp. that seeks a short person who can file quickly. When he arrives at the building listed, he looks at the directory, only to find that Lester is supposedly on floor 7 1/2. Indeed, it really is. The floor is two-thirds the height of a normal one. Propelled by curiosity and a sense of the ridiculous, Craig goes ahead and gets the job. Working at Lester Corp. is a challenge that goes far beyond having to walk around all day stooped over. The Executive Secretary literally does not hear what anyone says to her. She isn't deaf. It's worse than that. Everything said to her is translated into something else. She's straight out of Alice in Wonderland. Dr. Lester [Orson Beane] thinks about nothing else but chasing women. He's 105 years old. And as for coworker Maxine [Catherine Keener], she is nothing short of insane - not homicidal, but simply mad as a hatter. Yet for a puppeteer, who dreams of performing at Lincoln Center, and for his wife, who lives in her own furry critter world, the situation is not that far removed from their own reality. One afternoon Craig accidentally knocks some papers off a file cabinet. He has to move the cabinet to retrieve them and discovers a little door. He opens it and finds a cave-like passage, just big enough for him to crawl into, which, like any sane man, he promptly does. Suddenly, the door slams shut behind him, and a sudden great wind propels him down a long tunnel. He finds himself peering at the world through someone else's eyes. That someone looks in a mirror, and Craig realizes he is inside the real John Malkovich's head. He is fascinated by this phenomenon, but soon enough he goes flying out and crashes onto the side of the New Jersey Turnpike. There is much more to the story, but this is more than enough to tell you if you find it very original or unimaginably stupid. If the story is to your taste, there is more good news. First-time director Spike Jonze, who made a name for himself doing music videos and commercials, is an astounding talent. He has learned a lot in his twenty-nine years. I don't know if he cast the movie, but the choices are shrewd because Cusack, Diaz, Keener and Mary Kay Place all have played in a number of original, off the wall or screwball comedies. Here are a few of the titles: The Player [1992], Grosse Pointe Blank ['97], My Best Friend ['98], There's Something About Mary ['98] and Pecker ['98]. I recommend all of these. These actors are obviously at home in this kind of movie. As a film buff, the icing of the cake is John Malkovich. This is the first film comedy of his long career, but here he is, not only surviving in style in this madhouse, but also playing himself.
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