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Flatliners

Flatliners

List Price: $14.94
Your Price: $13.45
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Three stars for trying.
Review: What a great premise for a modern horror story: Young Frankensteins bent crossing the line between life and death. It is a creative and interesting premise along the lines of so many classics, including, of course, Frankenstein, The Fly (the re-make, especially), and The Man With the X-Ray Eyes. Of course, there will be hell to pay for "going where Man ought not go." Oh yes, there'll be hell!

But where the movie fails is in its rather silly, preachy lecture on the consequences of these actions. I won't give it away here, but the film turns into a cheap spin on a familiar ghost story, something done to much better effect in The Sixth Sense. The acting is just average, with Julia Roberts looking better than average, and constraining her hideous laugh, but the rest just mailing it in--with one exception. Kevin Bacon. He has turned out to be a terrific actor all around (including in Mystic River), and he is a real stand out in this film, too. Too bad he isn't enough to save it.

Watch this movie for the premise, for the director's ability to create suspense, and try not to cringe too much as the truth is revealed. Once again, a great premise dies because of bad execution.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Flatliners
Review: What really happens after death...is exactly what a few overzelous medical students try to find out in this suspence-thriller that I think is a real hair rasier! What I really loved about this movie is that they depict death a almost a journey into what the person loved most in their life. They didn't try to do the old hollywood "tunnel of light" but rather a kind of peace that watches over a person after they die. It made me wonder though that when they cheat death, death seems to have a type of "punishment" that befalls every seeker after they come back. Every one soon discoveres that they only way to say "sorry" is to embrace this "punishment" and make amends as kiefer sutherland soon discovers. This movie is stylish and fun and has many lessons that everyone can learn from. Death isn't so scary, its life that is scary and unknown.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An unique, different, thrilling film from Schumacher.
Review: When a young, bright but dangerous and ambititous medical student (Kiefer Sutherland) with his fascination with life after death, if there's such a thing. When he convinces four of medical collegues friends (Julia Roberts, Kevin Bacon, William Baldwin & Oliver Platt) to expierment in a reckless by temporality shut down (flatline) thier heart and brain functions and actually surviving after being dead for a few minutes but once, they had that expiernce, each and one of them, bring something back in thier world from the personal guilt, they have and have to face thier demons and reality, they live in.

Directed by Joel Schumacher (The Lost Boys, A Time to Kill, Phone Booth) made an unusual film with an great premise by Peter Filardi (The Craft), which it does pays off quite well. Not everyone will love this strange film with the heart of a supernatural story but it's Schumacher's moody style and energy keeps this alive with Jan de Bont's Excellent Cinematography. Fine Performances by the Cast, including Joshua Rudoy as the Ghost, who haunts the soul by One of the Medical Students. Fine music score by James Newton Howard (The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Sings). DVD's has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) transfer and an strong Dolby Stereo 2.0 Surround Sound. DVD only extra is a Collector's Booklet. This film is Produced by Two-Time Oscar-Winner:Micheal Douglas (One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, Star Man). Excellent Production Designs by Eugenio Zanetti (What Dreams May Come, The Haunting). Panavision. Grade:A-.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Sixth Sense without the little boy
Review: When the line's blue and flat you start to see things. Bullethole in the windshield, black&white heaven of sensual women blaming you, kids playing their cruel and oftentimes too real games, etc. These are the things that hold the key to the troubles in your life, to your mind and, last but not least, to your death. Already in the Middle-Ages church saw scientists as men who wanted to be equal with God and thus had a pact with Satan. These doctor Faustuses were often called witches and mages and they were burned. But maybe being burned is not the worst thing when you try to rise too high, maybe THAT would be just a dream compared to the nightmare that your (un)life may become.

"The Flatliners" speaks about five med-students who want to see what's beyonf the final frontieer of life. They want to see if there is really a white tunnel with an angelic guide. One of them makes it through and then the others want to go in there too. An auction starts where the bets are not made in money but in time you are willing to spend in clinical death. Problem is that none of them dares to speak about theit fears and problems.

It is a helluva good movie that already back in 1990 dared to enter the grounds where "Sixth Sense" visited only last year. All the actors are playing their parts quite well and to me this was a surprise in the case of young Julia Roberts. Visual effects (the after-death scenes) were stunningly surreal and the overall gothic feeling stays unbroaken untill the end. The only disappointment was the classical American ending, but even that couldn't diminish the radiance of this movie. Sure worth seeing.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Dreamlike, Spooky, Eeerie and all together Spectacular
Review: When the moon is high, and an unsettling breeze creeps through the alley behind my house, I sit dazed, my head floating as if in a dream as I lay watching FLATLINERS, one of my all-time favorite movies. It's a very mesmorising movie to watch. From it's creepy soundtrack, to the unusual way it is filmed. Definately a leader in it's genre. Other films I recommend are THE CROW, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (The Original), FRIGHT NIGHT, and THE LOST BOYS.


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