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Eyes Wide Shut

Eyes Wide Shut

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Eyes wired open ... that's the only way you'll watch it all!
Review: Eye's Wide Shut has to be the poorest movie I have ever seen.

Although I like both Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman in other movies, this movie seems to have highlighted their weaknesses making them both look quite amateur.

The movie was very slow, both figuratively and literally. It was over two hours of pull my nails out fun. The speaking in the movie was done with "dramatic pauses" between almost every word. Then when there were no words, there was background music ... well a piano ... well, the one chord, played over and over again.

Let us not leave out the color blue beaming through the windows, every window taking your attention away from the horrific plot. Another technique of the movie that was overused. It seems that there was an attempt to make every scene dramatic, but instead most every scene becomes irritating.

The plot was hazy at best. Haziness induced by characters introduced with seemingly value added interaction, then *POOF* they're gone, never to be heard from again; leaving me with an empty feeling about this movie.

Of course the ending ... without giving it away, lets just say that it leaves you

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Magnificent!
Review: ...I must honestly say that this was an incredible movie. The cinematography was amazing, dark sequences, an excellent soundtrack that fit the movie well, dare I say, it was a masterpiece. Certainly, 'Eyes Wide Shut' pales in comparison to Kubrick's earlier works, such as 'The Shining', and 'Full Metal Jacket', but when presented in the late 1990's, it is actually a breath of fresh air...

Right from the beginning, the viewer knows that 'Eyes Wide Shut' isn't going to be one of your run-of-the-mill suspenseful films. Although the movie gets off to a slow start, it picks up pace, and the viewer doesn't really understand what's going on. First, the protagonist of the movie, Tom Cruise, meets a member of a Jazz band(a former classmate in College) at some sort of function, the Jazz player tells Cruise about a "really strange gig" he had at a Mansion earlier. Since Cruise is having a turbelent time in his household, he decides he wants to see what exactly the Jazz Musician is talking about. And once he discovers what the Musician was talking about, he is probably sorry that he ever met the Jazz Musician. Cruise is involved in an oddysey where people are murdered, wealthy and notorious people belong to secret societies, and participate in strange and disturbing orgies, the viewer knows the Protagonist will never be the same after what he experienced. Although I am not a "movie Buff", I still recommend this movie nonetheless. Taken in the context of Kubrick's earlier works, it's probably not the best movie, but taken in the context of 90's cinema, it can be considered a masterpiece...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A MASTERPIECE!
Review: Eyes wide shut is a excellent movie. though it has everyone up in arms with the digital altercations. WHO CARES! eyes wide shut is Tom Cruise best role , same goes to Kidman.

Stanley Kuberick will be remembered for 2001, the shining, and EYES WIDE SHUT

Eyes Wide Shut:A

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Stanley Kubrick Did a Bad, Bad Thing with Eyes Wide Shut
Review: Stanley Kubrick's last release, "Eye Wide Shut" was a pathetic and misanthropic finish to one of the greatest careers in film making history. The only defense I can suggest is that perhaps had Kubrick lived a bit longer, the film would have been dramatically improved. Unfortunately, we are only able to judge the finished product that we see before our very open eyes. I have an incredible respect and admiration for Kubrick's past masterpieces. "Full Metal Jacket," for instance, is perhaps the defining film concerning the Vietnam tragedy. "Dr. Strangelove,""2001: A Space Odyssey," and "The Shining," will remain among the finest movies of all time. Every artist, however, has their inevitable failures, and the giant, Stanley Kubrick, is no exception.

"Eyes Wide Shut" is so incredibly awful that I am convinced only someone as respected as Kubrick could have gotten it produced. A budding screen director would have been ridiculed. The banality of the dialogue prompted me to feel sorry for the actors who did their best to give the script some credence. Even the members of the Academy Awards Committee could not find an excuse to give the deceased director a prize in even the minor categories. Publicly the motion picture industry said all the appropriate things. The virtual silence, however, during the awards ceremony spoke volumes of how they actually valued "Eyes Wide Shut." One should also notice that the Amazon community reviewers have essentially ignored this movie. Is this due to a subtle and tacit mindset that believes if you can't say something nice, you shouldn't say anything whatsoever? The only saving grace of this film is Kubrick's mind boggling ability of photographing scenes. My breath is always taken away when observing the visual beauty of Kubrick's artistry. Could any other major director do it better? None comes to mind. Stanley Kubrick is significantly more skilled than even the talented Steven Spielberg. I suspect that Kubrick was becoming very cynical and bitter towards the end of his life. "Eyes Wide Shut" exudes a misanthropic aura that made the film difficult to watch. The highly publicized nudity was not in the least bit erotic. The film's pervasive coldness, subdued anger, and unjustifiable length gave me the distinct impression that Kubrick wanted us to suffer through this experience. I know little about Kubrick's final years, but I doubt if he knew much joy or existential satisfaction. Chris Isaak's lyrics of "Baby did a bad, bad thing" is the signature song of this film. It behooves me to paraphrase Isaak and add "Stanley Kubrick did a bad, bad thing." Kubrick made a film best forgotten and beneath his dignity. Only hard core Kubrick fans should waste their time. Furthermore, I am also relieved that Amazon.com will allow me future opportunities to evaluate Kubrick's remaining works. These caustic remarks will most likely be the exception. I must reiterate my praise for all of the other Kubrick films that I was privileged to see.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: I'd rather be fishing...
Review: I have talked to Kubrick fans who just didn't like this movie. He is a hard cookie to crack, but even for those who normally like his work, this isn't that good. I'm sorry he had to end his life with this movie. The acting is good and the set design and costumes are worthwhile. The music stinks. If you notice the music throughout a movie, it is subtracting to the film. The score's role is to draw you into the film. This does nothing of the kind. It's jarring. I understand that is what the theme of the movie is about. You are jarred from your perception of the world, but when I'm jarred from the movie I get upset.

The biggest problem of the film is the overall point of the movie. Things aren't as you know them to be and how do you react. The Matrix is the same thing, only fun and futuristic. This is just belly-button watching. No dramatic conflicts. I don't care how the characters react, because psychologically it's not very interesting. The overall feeling is "that was great." You have invested too much time for no payoff. I will not be drawn into liking this because it is fashionable to like Kubrick, like it is fashionable to rebel, etc. I am not anti-intellectual or anti-slow pacing. I'm anti-pointlessness.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Intresting yet unsatisfying
Review: Eyes Wide Shut is a very frustrating film. As Stanely Kubrick's last movie it shows what the director was capable of but is rather lacking at the same time.

Despite what many have said about the film, it isn't a porno movie. Sorry. It is a series of adventures into a intresting dream world. Every scene is very well shot and unique. In fact it's fair to say that the whole isn't the sum of it's parts. While all the different encounters Tom Cruis's character has are well-done and intresting, they don't fell connected and the story falls apart quickly. Also, the audience never really gets a sense of Cruis's or Kidman's character.

The film also feels rather incomplete. Many times it apears the story is heading toward an interesting confrontation only to have the plot abandon the situation and head in a completely different direction. I still recommend seeing Eyes Wide Shut but the film could have been so much more.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Eyes Completely Shut
Review: I don't know what I was expecting when I saw this movie, but whatever it was I don't think I got it. This movie wasn't pornography by any means, although sex is clearly a central theme. Tom Cruise's character always seems to be on the verge of having sex or exploring different sexual practices. That much I enjoyed, but my God this movie dragged. Painfully slow in most scenes, Eyes Wide Shut had me looking at the timer on my DVD player most of the time. This is no slight on the acting performances by Cruise and Kidman who are both quite good, it's more the creative aspect. The writing is dull; the music adds no drama or suspense but lulls you to sleep; and the scenery is overly stuffy. Maybe I was expecting something much greater since this was a Kubrick film, but no matter who directed it there is no excuse for a movie that nearly puts someone to sleep.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Eyes Wide Open: Kubrick's Cinematic Retrospective
Review: I think that Kubrick knew that this would be his last film. He chose to make Eyes Wide Shut, forever leaving his version of AI in that misty region of lost classics and hearsay. This dramatic decision raises logical questions, since AI promised to be a much more bravura film, but Eyes Wide Shut offers something not seen so vigorously in any other Kubrick work - a retrospective look at the autuer's cinematic catalogue. Virtually any official Kubrick film after Spartacus is alluded to: the costume shop Lolita, the circle of power similar to the War Room staging in Dr. Strangelove (in fact, the toy shop in the end continues this motif with a flurry of circles, including a halo of light bulbs over a toy display), the unblinking camera eye at the gate reminiscent of Hal from 2001: A Space Odyssey, masks and aggressive sex a la A Clockwork Orange, the accumulation of antiques, opulent finery and a distant aristocracy - with period setting and costume - from Barry Lyndon, the endangerment of wife and single child from The Shining, and the use of the bathroom as den of deadly, dire consequence - along with the playful three word title - from Full Metal Jacket. If this film is therefore looked upon as a deliberate coda from a prescient Artist, then it is made all the more interesting in what it adds to Kubrick's canon - the power, mystery and implied threat of the strong Woman. Nicole Kidman holds great power over Tom Cruise throughout the film, which she opens while stripping. The last word uttered in the film is hers, and it is a mechanical, unidealized reference to the most intimate physical bond between man and woman. Sexual allusions abound in all of Kubrick's films; Strangelove has no major female characters yet sexual innuendo works its way into everyone's names and is the motivating cause for world disaster. Alice Harford is the specter over all of Kubrick's work - Woman who gives man his subconscious desire to achieve while offering the reassuring appearance of domestic complacency, yet Her true secrets are as vast as 2001's Monoliths while never losing the potential for sinister efficiency.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Haunting final film from Stanley Kubrick
Review: Stanley Kubrick's final film is a haunting and memorable one. The casting of real-life couple Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, serves to make Kubrick's complex plot more believable. Once we get through the slow beginning, we are taken into a new world of sexual exploration, and painstaking perfection. The film centers around Dr. Bill Hertford and his sultry wife Alice. The couple faces infedelity, strange sexual encounters, and a longing for other people. These elements take them into a strange two day period. Bill Hertford finds out shortly into the film that his wife visualized their love making with another man. From there, he sets off in search of answers and a way to ease his anger toward his wife. He thinks he has found an answer to his problems when a an old friend from Med. School invites him to a mansion for a "party". Once arriving, his troubles at home are put aside. For he has entered the homebase of a cult that thrives on strange rituals and sexual desire. After seeing a ritual involving the saying of several Gregorian Chants and masked women, he is warned to leave by an unknown masked woman. Not heeding the warning, he is then caught by the cult's leader. His life is spared by the unknown woman, and he leaves the mansion. Not being able to shake the images of the night before, he seeks clues as to who the cult are and what they do. Sources that would have been reliable disappear. He is warned in the form of a letter, and yet he does not give up. He will find out what happened, and tell his wife everything. So concludes this film. Director Stanley Kubrick went to great lengths to make a great film. He built a wonderful reproduction of NYC's Greenwich Village, and had a great cast of characters. One word of advice, this film is not for everyone though. You have to understand the plot, and accept Stanley Kubrick for what he was. Which was a film genius. To those people like myself, I recommend this great film. A film of perfection and greatness , it is truly a work of art.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: More worth renting than buying...
Review: I found myself minimally entertained, though mostly annoyed while watching "Eyes Wide Shut". Though the plot was provokative and thought-stirring, the way each character seemed to speak in the same repetitive manner got under my skin after the first 10 minutes. For example, someone would say, "I think you life's in danger." And the other person would reply, "You think my life's in danger?" This echoing went on in every dialogue exchange. It was nice to see Tom and Nicole together, but the roles didn't seem to bring out the best in them.


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