Rating: 
Summary: Odd and Funny
Review: I really
like unusual films that you can't make much sense of them like Brazil
or Fight Club and Being John Malkovich is right up there, it's about
a puppeteer named Craig (John Cusack) and his obsession for his partner
Maxine (Cathrine Keener) who doesn't really like him much, her ways
of making him feel like 2 cents are hilarious. Well it's not all about
that, did I mention Craig finds a doorway to John Malkovich's head
that allows you to be John Malkovich and that him and Maxine start
charging people that wanna try it. Oh yeah and Maxine is in love with
Craig's wife, well when she's in Malkovich. The result is a wacky, funny and very original
film with unusual charactors. A really good start for Spike Jonze,
he should have a great career behind him if he makes more films as
original as this.
Rating: 
Summary: One of my favourite films of all time.
Review: This movie is amazing! I have seen it 5 times and it gets better every time I see it. Spike Jonze is a truly talented director (Can you believe that this was his first film? Wow...). The screenplay by Charlie Kaufman is brilliant and very original. John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, and John Malkovich all give great performances (Why weren't Diaz and Malkovich nominated for Oscars???). The DVD has great picture and sound, and it's full of great extras. If you haven't seen this film, I strongly encourage you to rent it. Actually, don't even rent it, just buy it. I guarantee you won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: worthy
Review: I would probably like this movie better if I had seen it earlier like I wanted to and didn't feel like a straggler now. it's a tough nut with acclaimed movies, you are made aware of them but that awareness simultaneously dims the experience in some way. It's a nutty good time, not completely bonkers mind you, not completely abstract either - more lingeringly so. the characters are all self destructive maniacs, humans, in other words. the movie gets weird without ever getting too dark also, thankfully, although sexual relations does become a major point it sticks to the Austin Powers standards of display.is creativity for creativity's sake profound? mind you this film is actually semi-coherent, and is also not a ride through the absurd like you might think, it is creative and structured, but it doesn't offer any message upfront. it's quirky and enjoyable, an adventure, with bittersweet connotations. certainly it keeps good pace with itself and the character of maxine, whatever she's supposed to mean, is delectable for all she might imply about how desperate we all are.
Rating:
Summary: Refreshing
Review: I want to go on record with how much I love this movie. Originality,surprise,wit and good acting. John Cusack"s perfomance was fine, but it was Catherine Keener who blew me away! Want a refreshing diversion from overproduced Hollywood drek? This is it.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Most Original Movies Ever!
Review: Rarely will you come across a movie that gives such a concept-- and that concept continues to push the movie in its storytelling where you continue to watch wondering what's going to happen next, what else can be "done" with this unique concept. Add this all with quirky characters, the unusual 7 1/2 floor, a puppeteer who displays his art in an untraditional way (in a scene that should go down as one of the classic off-beat comedy scenes in history!) And that's before we're introduced to the tunnel/portal that leads you into being inside the actor, John Malkovich-- and then that leads to exploration of love and sex between characters, it's totally off the wall and totally engrossing! If you're looking for something different, something that does not tell Hollywood stories, something that puts art house classics to shame, this is it! Just goes to show the "fantastic," or "magical realism" of which this movie manages to sit so nicely in between is not only alive and well but maybe this is the proof that telling original stories through movies is still possible!
Rating:
Summary: The crueler the better
Review: I remember first hearing about "Being John Malkovich" more than a year before it was released to theatres. At that time it was just a title, a concept, and a guarantee that Malk (and Cusack) would be involved. Stunned at the bravado and imagination, I couldn't wait to buy tickets. Sadly, sometimes anticipation ruins the result, and I left the theatre disappointed, if not a little bored. Having recently seen the movie again, I found myself enjoying it immensely, buying in to its eclectic concept and execution wholeheartedly, while holding a silly smile on my face the whole time. This second experience leads me to a conclusion that dovetails nicely with one of the film's major themes: I'm not the same person now as I was then. Director Spike Jonze and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman realize their vision with exuberance and melancholy, which, although paradoxical emotions, make an easy fit together. Kaufman's script cares not for the rules of the physical world or sane human behaviour. This apathy allows him to go down roads other screenwriter's have not the talent or the courage to travel. Jonze, he who cut his teeth on Beastie Boy, Weezer, and Fatboy Slim videos and who's iconoclastic vision reminds one favourably of his musical namesake, achieves Kaufman's vision so sublimely you'd think the two men sprung from the same artistically fertile womb. They could have made a perfectly banal movie, and only included the marionette sequences, and it still would have been fascinating. Throw in the 7 1/2-floor orientation video, Dr. Lester and his deaf receptionist, the ingenious celebrity cameos, and the 'Dance of Despair and Disillusionment', and you've got yourself a unique and fascinating vision. Top it all off with the stunning "What happens when a man goes through his own portal" scene (where the word 'Malkovich' loses all meaning), and I can't think of a way they could have improved this movie. (Re-reading the above paragraph, it's amazing to think that not two hours ago I would have called anyone who'd written such rubbish a frantic imbecile; ah, how quickly the tune can change when the orchestra is given time to practice…) John Cusack is miles away from Lloyd Dobler country, and yet he still manages to hit the role on the sweet spot. His Craig is an open wound, festering from lack of love and attention. Cusack makes him uncomfortable to watch, which is a neat trick because Johnny boy's roles usually go down smoothly. Like the rest of the actors here, he subverts his own persona (and others'; he's a puppeteer, natch), in a movie about subverting personae. Others themes to watch for (and this is by no means an exhaustive list), include the meaning of the individual and the self, loneliness, obsession, genius, unrequited love, existentialism, capitalism, ethics, morality, celebrity, theology, immortality, passion, art, the tortured artist, vanity, inspiration, and of course, fractional numbers. It tackles all the big themes, and it tackles them hard. Why is Cameron Diaz in this movie? I asked myself upon first viewing. Why bring her aboard, and then waste the one reason why you would cast Cameron Diaz, i.e., because she looks like Cameron Diaz! Putting her in a fright wig, and never letting her near the shower just seemed counterproductive. Well, on further review, she actually does a fine job in both creating her character and subverting her glamorous Cameron Diaz persona. She shows longing and frustration, and then ecstasy with ease, and is able to pull off some of the deadpan absurdity that Lotte's dialogue requires. Catherine Keener proves that if you need someone to play a sexy ice queen, then she's your girl. Ratcheting up a notch her work as a similar character in "Your Friends and Neighbors", Keener is a vital life force, giving energy and vitality to a film peopled with losers and freaks (that's the film's message, not just my opinion). Whenever she's onscreen, you fear for your life in the audience, for she just might lash out through the screen and slap you where you sit without blinking an eye. But, she's also able to sincerely play the more emotional moments, without believability and vulnerability. I love watching this classy lady on film. More Keener please! Malkovich himself pulls off the film's best acting, especially when he has to portray what happens while Craig is inside his skull. It's a trick that Cage/Travolta tried to pull off, without success, in "Face/Off". Here, Malk and Cusack form a superior tandem (having worked together previously in "Con Air"; that's not the jewel thief movie everyone is talking about, is it?). Malk details Cusack's mannerisms with spot-on accuracy. But there are other moments where Malk mocks himself, his celebrity, and his supposed lifestyle. Scenes showing him earnestly rehearsing "The Cherry Orchard" and "Richard III", greeting obtuse fans who praise him for his sensitivity in playing "retards", or passionately ordering bathroom towels from a mail order catalog not only subvert his persona, but deconstruct it, and then deconstruct it again. This movie wouldn't have worked if Malkovich had no sense of humour about himself (His advice to Spike Jonze upon taking the role: 'The crueler the better'; "Being Tom Cruise", while probably a bigger ticket, wouldn't have packed the same punch). Kudos to him for getting, and running with, the joke. [The DVD is loaded with quirky video pieces, such as the entire orientation video and Malkovich-as-puppeteer documentary, both featured in the movie; plus, it has an odd behind the scenes look at one of the extras driving along the Jersey Turnpike, and a mock interview with Spike Jonze that's a dirty gag in more ways than one]
Rating: 
Summary: After the first half hour this one plummets!!!
Review: Yes the beginning was really fine, especially the office scenes on the 7 and a half floor, with the receptionist, the dark haired girl (Keener character), and all the jibes that our hero (Cuzak, not Malkovich, at least not yet) gets from everyone. The "history of the building" film was cute. The marionette scenes are nice too, and I even felt some sympathy for this frustrated puppeteer. I'm so out of it, I was not even sure who the Diaz character was, till I read it here. I've read she's supposed to be a real looker, but you'd never guess here! It was amusing seeing the world thru John's eyes for a while too. The movie has a claustophobic feel, and I felt relief at the outdoor shots, Park Avenue and even the Jersey Turnpike scenes after the tunnel trips thru John's mind. Despite a few laughs here and there, especially where John visits his mind and there he is all over the resturant, the rest mostly fell flat. None of the characters were attractive in the least except perhaps the older doctor,the owner of the filing business. The rest of this film seemed dragged out, and whereas in the beginning the characters had some redeeming value, this greatly dissipates into transexual empty suit roles,and unfunny sexual hijinx and manipulation. It becomes almost a bad cartoon slowly but surely. Maybe another viewing would made the whole thing better and more understandable, but I doubt I'll bother.
Rating:
Summary: Great Concept Overexplained
Review: Being John Malkovich has the kind of frothy surrealism easy to conceive and terribly difficult to execute. Keeping the tone consistent and flowing is no mean achievement. The movie loses its momentum in its late stage when it tries to explain its plot. This is unnecessary, and only serves to conjure unwelcome disbelief. One movie that possibly inspired BJM, and did in fact manage to sustain its surrealist tone is Tom Schiller's Nothing Lasts Forever (1985), which was never released due to poor audience testing in Seattle. Seattle deserves a little seismic spank for depriving America of this neglected gem. The plot, as in BJM, takes place in New York sometime in the indeterminate future. The Port Authority has declared martial law, and struggling artists must negotiate with bureaucrats to fulfill their aesthetic labor. Stylistically, the tone is a retro homage to the New York of the late 1940s when bohemianism had an intellectual edge. Performers include Imogene Coca, Mort Sahl, Eddie Fisher, Selma Diamond, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray and Anita Ellis. What a shame this movie can't be seen!
Rating:
Summary: Great Fantasy Comedy
Review: Even though we saw this in the theater, it was worth picking up the DVD. I laughed so much the first time I saw it that I missed some key lines, so watching it again a couple of times has made me appreciate it more. It's not often that a movie so clearly illuminates the dark side of the human condition and at the same time displays such youthful innocence. Great flick!
Rating: 
Summary: Dark in spite of all the flourescent lighting
Review: It says much for this film that I was so engrossed by it as to forget about the argument I'd been having with a fellow movie-goer during the previews. Cusack, living a life of utter misery (even his basement apartment is lit by greenish flourescent lights and populated by dogs, cats, birds and even a monkey), discovers at work a porthole leading directly to the brain of John Malkovich. Soon Cusack and the smart and enterprising Keener are selling tickets to poor slobs who want to be Malkovich for 15 minutes--including Cusack himself and his frowsy, animal-loving wife, Diaz ("We're getting a new shipment of kitty litter today!!!"). The movie was funny, perverse, and just flat-out freaky.
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