Rating: 
Summary: Hackneyed Thriller
Review: Jodie Foster plays an embittered divorcee establishing her new residence after what we are to presume was a acrimonious divorce. The opening scene has a friend encouraging her to buy an obviously expensive home in New York city - because "he can afford it". And we also learn it is her intention to go back to Columbia University. One assumes her ex will be responsible for the bills or she has been given a handsome settlement that enables her to continue with her life of trivial pursuits. Enter the men. Three thieves. All, naturally of course, lacking enough collective cerebral power to exit the house on finding it is occupied and coming back at another time. The only motivation to staying is possibly that they were aware of the mother's vocation as a silver spoon divorcee and knew that her schedule between tennis lessons, random weekends in the country, classes and cappuccino would be unpredictable. So why not stay and see how it goes? Duh? Well predictably it doesn't go well. Motivated by the impoverishing divorce where she can now only access millions of dollars instead of tens or hundreds of millions and protecting her chronically wounded daughter, the mother puts up a mythic defense against the sullying patrimony of society. Body count? All men - two dead, one captured, and one hospitalized (guess who?). Theft and Divorce karma are obviously very gender specific phenomena. Two stars for the movie. Both for the opening credits which were stunning and thankfully had nothing whatsoever to do with the picture that followed.
Rating: 
Summary: IF IT IS DAVID FINCHER FILM, ITS GENIUS
Review: I Love all David Finchers Films, I have them all on DVD, and the reason being, In this film for example, The camera movements, the way it pans around the house, This film Full of Tensity, Great Camerawork, Brilliant Acting....What can I say but WOW. Anyone who hasn't seen it or is in 2 minds wheather to buy it, I got a few words for you, YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED YOU WILL WATCH IT OVER AND OVER AND OVER BECAUSE ITS......GENIUS.
Rating: 
Summary: A visually exciting yet clastrophic film
Review: Panic Room takes the classic technique of having a limited set (almost the entire film taking place in a house, and most of that in a single room), and adds a visual style to make it exciting. Some reviewers have criticized many of the "excessive" shots as the "camera" zooms through floors and ceilings to follow action as thieves break into the house owned by a woman (Jodie Foster) and her daughter. But when you have a film that takes place in a confined setting, the visual tone of the film is often lifeless. Director David Fincher used the "camera" to capture impossible scenes of roaming through walls to help visually tell the story. And isn't that what the film media is supposed to do? Tell stories primarily through visual images? But the visual style, while perhaps the most prominent, is by far not the heart of this film. What makes this film beat is the terrifying suspense as this woman and daughter find themselves trapped inside a "panic room" with murderous thieves trying to get in. Portrayals from the entire cast are excellent, from Foster's portrayal to each of the burglars. Dwight Yoakam is especially nasty in his brutal character. Panic Room continues Fincher's beautiful track record of films, which include Fight Club and Seven. Definitely worth your while.
Rating:
Summary: STARTS SLOW BUT THEN....
Review: As I began watching this film, I was disappointed as it appeared to drag but then as the story began to unfold and the plot cleared, I sat up in my seat. Being a fan of both Jodie Foster and Forrest Whitaker, I did expect more and in the end was not disappointed at all. Jodie does do some ... kickin' in this one and does it well. Well worth the sit down to watch it.
Rating:
Summary: Better than I thought......
Review: I did not want to rent this movie, but my fiancee did. I really enjoyed it! The film had my complete and undivided attention. Definitely see this one. If you are looking for some suspense, this is the selection for you!
Rating:
Summary: Panic Room succeeds, but doesn't quite hit the mark....
Review: of excellence you've come to expect from Director David Fincher. Panic Room has been transferred to DVD using Superbit technology, and the DVD visuals and sound are superb. Fincher used stunning camera work to capture the almost malevolent feel of the house that luckless mom, Jodie Foster, purchases in Manhattan, following a divorce from her powerful husband. The room in question, upstairs in the house, has been built for a siege, of solid concrete and steel, with survival contents and surveillance cameras. Meg, Foster's character, has a teenage daughter, Sarah (Kirsten Stewart in a superb performance). They are lucky to awake and get to the panic room on the night that three intruders invade the house. Unfortunately, the intruders know more about the secrets held in the Panic Room than do Meg and Sarah. The home invaders (Jared Leto, Dwight Yoakam and Forest Whitaker) are an unlikely bunch, and their unfortunate partnership leads to several mishaps in their quest to unglue the women from the Panic Room, in order to obtain the fortune that lies hidden there. Because they seem to be bunglers (and perhaps because Leto & Yoakam are miscast), viewers are shocked at the speed and nature of the violence that occurs. Billed as a suspenseful thriller, Panic Room has its moments of suspense, but tends to disappoint as the action drags. The brilliant filming holds your attention, and Foster is in her element as a strong woman who will fight to defend her daughter, no matter what the cost. I think the screenwriter was unable to create the suspense the setting and the players deserved, and so instead, the viewers have several "why did they do that....they're so stupid!" moments. You didn't see those moments in Hitchcock films, because he knew how to deliver suspense in a way that had you living it with the character, not able to spot actions that would lead to disaster. Definitely worth a viewing, Panic Room may be more of a rental film than one you want to add to your collection.
Rating:
Summary: Weak...
Review: Good idea for a Hitchcockian thriller, but oh so far from it. Fault doesn't lie so much with the director or actors, it is just an extreamly weak screenplay. Every character is a moron. So many obvious flaws that it would be hard to explain here, but suffice it to say I was looking at my watch after about an hour. I really enjoy Jodie Foster and Forest Whitaker. They are fine actors and usually very selective about what they will do. Apparently accepting these roles caught them in a weak moment. Rent if you must, but save your hard earned money for another purchase.
Rating: 
Summary: If it wasn't for Foster...
Review: If it wasn't for a more recognized name like Jodie Foster, I probably wouldn't have bothered to watch this movie. Sceptical, I viewed this movie to be entertained with some of the action of a hunted down pair innocent of wrong doing and misunderstanding. The story lacks a bit of creativity and has basically half-witted criminals trying to get inside a secret room in the house that contains bonds worth a fortune. The exploding propane gas-scene was probably the best, though this movie didn't seem to have enough action as there were very little scenes. With little scenes I would have preferred more drama and acting, but that didn't come through enough for me. Is this a great Jodie Foster movie? No, there has been better that she has done, but has some good suspense which makes it interesting at times. 3 Stars!
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing thriller from David Fincher
Review: My opinion of "Panic Room" was adversely affected by my high expectations of it. It was directed by David Fincher, the man behind two of my favorite movies - "Seven" and "Fight Club". It stars Jodie Foster, who was so incredibly good as Agent Starling in one of the great thrillers, "Silence of the Lambs". The co-stars are three of my favorite actors - Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto and Dwight Yoakum. In the hands of a lesser [or lesser known] director and crew, this might have seemed like a first-rate thriller. For Fincher and company, though, this strikes me as a second-tier work. Meg Altman [Foster], recently divorced from a very wealthy man, buys a posh townhouse in an exclusive Manhattan neighborhood. The eccentric previous owner had a 'panic room' installed off the master bedroom. Encased by concrete and steel, the room is impervious to intruders. Altman and her young daughter think of the unusual room as nothing more than a conversation piece. They think again when the house is broken into by three men on the very night they move in. They escape into the panic room just in time, only to find that what the men want is in the room itself. The ensuing cat and mouse game resembles a game of chess played by very determined adversaries. The movie is technically brilliant - so much so that I found myself more interested in the set design and the camera work than in the story itself. That's because the script didn't work for me. I know thrillers rarely have a great deal of logic to them, but this one seemed especially absurd. For example, when one of the thieves takes a sledgehammer to the ceiling below the panic room, I wondered why a neighbor didn't call the cops. This is a townhouse in a quiet part of New York, after all, not some isolated mansion. [There are a number of questionable moves and inconsistencies, but to reveal more of them would spoil the plot.]
Rating:
Summary: Very Entertaining
Review: The actors and actresses were teriffic in this great thriller - especially an unrecognizable Country Singer named Dwight Yoakim. I've always admired Ms. Foster, and once again she does not disappoint in this fast-moving film.
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