Rating: 
Summary: A COMEDIC MASTERPIECE
Review: THIS WAS A GREAT MOVIE, FULL OF DEATH AND GORE. IT SHOULD HAVE HAD SOME EXPLODING HEADS, BUT WHO AM I TO MESS WITH PERFECTION. I REALLY LIKE THE SCENE WITH THE CHAINSAW. BRINGS BACK MEMORIES OF MY HONEYMOON IN FRANCE.......I USED TO BE SO PRETTY......IN PARIS.....
Rating: 
Summary: Ho Hum
Review: There is nothing to really appreciate in this movie. Sure its supposed to be a satire but where is the joke in any of this? Christian Bale does give a great performance but most of the reviewers for this movie seem to be demented people or movie "buffs" who think they know all there is to know about movies. There's a great buildup in this movie that doesn't get released. I haven't read the book but they are never translated directly in the movie. Definitely a movie you should rent, but not worth buying.
Rating:
Summary: Nice Try - but no cigar!
Review: This would have been a very difficult movie to make as there were very graphic scenes of murder, torture and mutilation in the book. There was cannibalism and the murder of children. Unpleasant to say the least. However, the book was interesting on a couple of levels. After reading it I wondered about the main character - was it all in his imagination? I also wondered about the author(Brett Easton Ellis)- what exactly is in his head? The guy is only the same age as Bateman himself. I looked forward with some anticipation to the movie - boy was I ever disappointed! I did not feel that the movie captured the essence of Bateman at all. For example,(in the book)Bateman is a guy obsessed with clothes and describes the clothing of all he meets in great detail. I know that I couldn't identify an Armani suit if my life depended upon it. The detective (Kimble) is wearing a 'linen Armani not unlike mine' but who's to know? Bateman is a character who is mega-rich with expensive education, clothes, apartment,lifestyle, etc. but the movie did not truly reflect that. When paying a check all four yuppie diners slap down a silver credit card (meant to be Platinum AMEX cards) but who's to know? For no apparent reason the names of a couple of the characters were changed. Tim Price became Timothy Bryce, Paul Owen became Paul Allen. Bateman tells Evelyn that she should leave as he 'could not control himself' when this was actually to a air-headed model called Daisy whom he picks up in Nell's. The movie tried hard to make the point that it may all have been in his sick imagination - but not convincingly. There have been reviewers who thought this was a black comedy. Murder, torture and mutilation are not funny to my mind. This is a sick mind we are dealing with - whether we believe he is a murderer or not. More to be pitied/reviled than laughed at. Apart from Christian Bale's performance the whole thing was quite bland really. There were several anonymous characters. Willem Dafoe was wasted. As for the violence is was not well done. Come back Hitchcock - all is forgiven!
Rating:
Summary: An American Classic
Review: Mesmerizing adaptation of the controversial novel by the same name, American Psycho scores on every conceivable level. As a psychological thriller there are none better. As a gere film it's among the best of it's kind. And as a black comedy it's rivaled only by the 1989 cult classic Vampires Kiss, to which it bears a striking resemblence. In short it's the best film of the early 21st century and one of my all time favorites.Christian Bale, his name above the title for the first time in his career, stars as Patrick Bateman, a narcissistic Wall Street yuppie who may or may not be a serial killer, depending on your point of view. By that I mean, second time director Mary Harron (avoiding the sophomore slump) leaves the movie open to interruption. And if you're looking for easy answers there aren't any here. The euphoric tone in which the story unfolds seems to suggest, in retrospect, that the movie may actually be the elaborate fantasy of a very deranged individual. Or maybe it's the setting, Reagan-era New York, that makes it seem so alien. Either way it's a tremendously thought-provoking film that should have people talking for a long time to come. Just imagine if Leonardo DiCaprio were in the lead? It'd have been interesting to see if he could have made such sophisticated art house fare fly with mainstream American. But at the same time he would have deprived us of one of the best performances I can remember, ever! It's not that Chris Bale looses himself in the character so much as Patrick Bateman has no character, and it's that understanding that he brings to the role. He's always acting, which is an important component to the performance because Bateman is acting himself, just trying to fit in. And he does, which is most disturbing of all. Not the blood or the gore, which is toned down from the book, but the fact that he fits in so well. Maybe that's the most tellling statement of all, to say that society bears the responsibilty for having created the Patrick Bateman's of the world. His rampage begins by taking the life of a homeless man, to which he feels his financial status entitles him to. He moves on to supposed "productive" members of society who, despite all their money, never seem to be doing much work. It's then, after killing Paul Allen (Jared Leto), that he finds himself being questioned by a private investigator (Willem Dafoe), seemingly more interested in flirting with him than interrogating him. I'm not sure if this was intentional on Dafoe's part but it adds to an already layered cast of characters. Especially interesting of that bunch is Cara Seymour in a performance so drop dead hysterical (excuse the in joke) that she'll have you laughing long after the movie's over. She plays Christie, a street walker who falls victim to Bateman's most violent fantasy. This is one of those tongue-in-cheek moments that manages to be both terrifying and funny at the same time. Of course, I don't mean to suggest this for everybody, because as most of the best films usually are, it's of an acquired taste. Anyone not willing to suspend disbelief and buy into the premise should be advised to stay away. Especially when you consider you're being asked to invest in a protagonist who has essentially no redeeming qualities except for the fact that he's potrayed by an actor of immeasurable talent, Christian Bale, whose sure to win over more fans (known as Baleheads) with this star-making performance. So for those of you with no qualms over endearing yourself to a really bad guy, you're in for a smart, scary thriller that's one of the most chilling of this or any other year.
Rating:
Summary: Mind Blowing...
Review: As long as your not a concrete thinker, and your thoughts travel beyond your nose, then you'll love the movie. Anyone seeking for an amazing adventure would love this movie. I would say, that if you've seen A Clockwork Orange, you would adore this movie. This movie was brilliant, and you have to think to understand this. If you really analyze the movie, it really shows how perverse and twisted up people in America can be. Definatly buy this movie!!!
Rating:
Summary: As good as adaptations get.
Review: You don't need to read Bret Easton Ellis's highly controversal novel to get the full impact of AMERICAN PSYCHO... you simply have to remember the eighties. An era of all style, no substance, and a perfect setting for this searing indictment against male vanity and territoriality. Christain Bale gives a rare performance as Patrick Bateman, a business suit-clad serial killer whose charming smile and uncanny fashion sense just barely hides a seething hatred for women and disturbing psychotic impulses. This is a performance of true power and wit and Bale throws himself into the role without a hint of self-preservation, a rare quality for an actor. The men portrayed in this film are as empty as their lives, their existence marked only by their haircuts and designer suits. The Bateman character could easily be anyone in the film, they are all the same person, the only difference between them is where they hang out, who they have dinner with, the ease with which they get reservations. The character of Bateman is reduced to spouting off philosophies behind POP SONGS of all things in order to show that he has a single original thought in his head (and the sight of an empty, meaningless character reaching for meaning in something as empty and meaningless as a Whitney Houston song is extremely funny). When Bateman and company are sitting around a meeting table swapping business cards, the scene takes on a perverse meaning, as if they were swapping the size of their members. It all adds up to an extremely funny film for those who appreciate this type of satire. However, the film has a very dark side to it as well. The graphic nature of the violence in the novel has been toned down or removed, but it is shocking nonetheless as Bateman splits open the head of one of his rivals (off-screen, mind you) and then casually sits down and lights a cigar. The callousness and seeming inhumanity of Bateman is frightening. Director Mary Harron creates a beautiful film given it's subject matter and it looks like it cost millions more then it did to make. Add great supporting work by Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto, Samantha Mathis, and Chloe Sevigny (who shares the most memorable scene with Bale, a date in which they completely mis-read each other's motives) and you have a film that's as entertaining as it is thought-provoking. It will stay with you for days. And that's a good thing.
Rating:
Summary: An American Classic
Review: I don't know what these people are talking about! AMERICAN PSYCHO is an excellent movie. Perhaps they don't like the movie because they don't like the characters. News Flash:You're supposed to dislike the characters. They're self-centered, vain, elitist jerks. And Patrick Bateman is worse than them all. Without giving away any details to the plot and the twists, I have to say that this movie was incredibly enjoyable. Yes, you have to have a DARK sense of humor to enjoy it. This isn't for those who love PATCH ADAMS or the mindless antics of Adam Sandler. The movie is called AMERICAN PSYCHO for a reason. Christian Bale's Bateman is the most vain man alive and his voiceovers describing how he feels about the people around him and what they wear, and his everyday reflections are hysterical. Especially brilliant is his voiceover about his morning ritual. I'm sorry if you don't agree, but I feel that there has never before been a more insightful look at the mindset of a character. Yes, much of what happens seems over the top, but remember, it is the height of the Me Me Me '80s. And as for the violence seeming over the top, it is nothing compared to the book (also, the key word here is seeming). Watch this film with an open mind. Remember, it is a black comedy. Many people don't see the humor in black comedies and that's a shame. Like any good black comedy, PSYCHO makes us uncomfortable and we question whether we are supposed to laugh. Is it in bad taste to laugh at this? No. Is it appropriate? The answer is YES.
Rating: 
Summary: Is that it?
Review: The only thing good about "American Psycho" was Christian Bale's wonderful portrayal of the twisted Patrick Bateman. Otherwise, this movie went on and on aimlessly as we watch Batemen torment one victim after another until he has a nervous breakdown and then the movie ends. This film has a promising plot, but is missing someting vital. It was an empty film. I suggest "A Clockwork Orange" if you want a better movie under the same genre.
Rating:
Summary: Splatter Comedy?
Review: Summary: if you can laugh at over-the-top violence (which is not especially graphic, any controversy notwithstanding) and if you like social satire, this is worth a watch. Or, if you really like Christian Bale. Competent direction and filmaking aside, his performance is the keystone. This is one of those movies (like the book) that is =bound= to be misunderstood. It's really not meant to be taken literally, and the movie increasingly makes that apparent, as in one scene where Christian Bale's date doesn't notice him putting down plastic on all the furniture (in preparation for the gore to follow) or another where he runs naked and screaming through an apartment building wielding a running chainsaw and not a soul notices. Scenes like these are definite high points, both humorous and horrifying, and driving home the filmmaker's point (about soulless, faceless businessmen) with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. At times, however, the vision is less clear. I suspect that the MPAA, or maybe just concern over what the MPAA would allow, took a lot of the needed edge off this film. My rating is for the R-rated, as-seen-in-theaters version. Also, the ending is a sort of twist. But it only works as a twist if you've been taking the movie literally, which is very hard to do. (Some people had this problem with "Fight Club", too. I didn't but the two movies are only superficially similar.) Keep in mind, though, this isn't a movie with a lot of sympathy toward any of the characters. There's not much chance that you're going to identify with Bateman, and ultimately we're moved from a deatched loathing to a detached pity, which makes it an entirely different experience from other movies which address similar themes. It's not like "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer", where Henry is this sort of nice guy with a small problem (a penchant toward murder) but more like "Silence Of The Lambs" without the characters of Claire and Hannibal Lechter. I hope that gives some idea of what to expect from this movie. It's interesting to note that the violence and sex is over-the-top, but not gratuitous--but in the long run, censors don't really care about that sort of thing.
Rating:
Summary: Should be called "American Ego."
Review: When I go to the movies, I can handle killings and murders. I can handle people going insane in their own minds, and people surrounding them suffering the consequences. That's not a shot to me; you've seen one death, the rest all seem like eye candy. What I don't like it killings and murders without a sensible plot. There has to be a motive, or a point ultimately made in the ending, that satisfies me well enough to have understood why the killer does what he or she does. Then, it's a good movie. "American Psycho" tried its best to fall into that category, though it succeeded only through its failure. The beginning of the movie was set up quite well, but from then on, all we get is the opinions and actions of a man so obsessed with himself that his motives are so petty and pointless. The movie tries so hard to be a satire of its characters, when in reality, it does nothing but give us a little more bloodshed and massacre than most other movies of this genre. The movie follows the everyday proceedings of a successful businessman by the name of Patrick Bateman, a commodities broker who has an insatiable lust for murder and an extreme amount of disdain for all of those around him. This contempt he holds for everyone in his life, known or unknown, is the cause of his mental snaps, which leads him to commit one heinous act after another. And that's all the movie really is: his descent further and further as he begins killing more people and covering it up like nothing has happened. I can't go into details about the ending, so really, it's your choice as to whether or not it is a redeeming feature for the rest of the movie. The only thing that I found admirable about the film is the fact that it is a no-holds-barred deal, and it seems as though it was made with no regard whatsoever about how the MPAA would deal with its extreme level of sexual and violent content. I admire a movie maker who can look society straight in the eye and basically say, "Hey, this is a movie. Some of it actually does happen in real life. Start realizing it." This is one of those movies, and for that, I give it credit. However, I was vastly put off by Bateman's overly egotistical attitude towards everything in his life. It begins in a scene when he wakes up in the morning and takes a shower, and a voice over details everything that he does in regard to washing and cleaning his face, how many crunches he can do ("I can go up to 1,000 now."), and his opinions on life in general. If they had left it at that with this scene, I would've been okay with it, but instead, it extends throughout the entire movie. Even during sex, he cannot help but look at himself in the mirror and flex his bicep. This is the ruinous feature of the film; there's just too much of it for me, and I'm sure others, to handle. While the subject matter of the movie is not the greatest I've ever seen, the actors do a terrific job in their roles. Christian Bale is a standout as Patrick Bateman, and plays out the egotistical maniac role quite well. He is the film, basically. He is able to somewhat keep the movie together in certain places where it is needed. The movie does not have a bad premise to it, but the attitudes and feelings of the characters throughout the film ruin it, so to speak. If they had concentrated more on the satirical nature of the plot, then it would be a far better success than what it really is: bland, and as emotionless as its main character.
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