Secret Window

Rating:
Summary: Better than I was expecting
Review: I walked into this movie thinking it was gonna be a lame, cheesy new thriller. But it wasn't. Beginning to end this is a very entertaing movie. It will give you some spooks and it will also make you laugh. The ending was pretty unexpected. Usually, you know what's gonna happen halfway through the movie, but w/Secret Window, you don't. So if you plan on going to see an entertaining movie that's actually worth your $, then go see Secret Window.

Rating:
Summary: What's so Secret?
Review: (...)Based on a short story by Stephen King, the film revolves around a straightforward concept, Johnny Depp's peculiarity, and an utterly predictable script. It masquerades itself as a psychological thriller, while in fact it's just another pay check, just another PG-13 thriller. Count the number of times the f-word is mentioned - it's fun to do in those films. And the level of violence, too (even though a dog does get stabbed in the head, as well as three other people, ooohhh....) "Secret Window" is a plodding, assured testimonial to all twist-ending-PG-13-star-studded-stuff out there.
The plot involves a novelist (Depp in nerdy glasses), who isolates himself in a cabin deep in the woods. He talks to his dog, and the 'highlights' include him trying to quit smoking (really, is there subtext in that, or is the director just throwing out another cliché, and ponders it, like there's no tomorrow?!) A creep called Shooter visit's the novelist one afternoon, claiming the writer stole his story. John Turturro's understated, thickly accented performance feels out of place, as if he walked in from a better film. From that point on, Shooter periodically appears, sinister stuff happening in-between his visits. To unnecessarily complicate the plot a little, Koepp throws in a little history, involving the writer's ex-wife (Maria Bello), who is now married to another eerie and suspicious character (Timothy Hutton, welcome back!)
The thrills are half-arsed post-"Sixth Sense" cliches (opening windows, creepy noises). "Secret Window" also wins the award for the most predictable ending. As if Koepp realized that 90% of his audiences will guess the outcome within the first 15 minutes, when they are palpably distracted by unnecessary characters, he added an ending with an obvious homage to King. It involves lots of corn, and basically describes the movie.
I was going to give "Secret window" a generous two stars, for the film at least sustaining a mood more-or-less effectively with some tricky imagery, and for Depp's performance, which, despite lacking his usual stimulation, manages to hold the film together nevertheless...But no, it's time to stop being generous, and for David Koepp to re-watch "Apartment Zero" before attempting another directorial undertaking.

Rating:
Summary: Wow
Review: Just came back from cinema with Secret Window movie fresh in my mind. Well,you could definitely tell it was another Stephen King movie but it was honestly a very nice movie. The famous Johnny Depp plays the role of a published writer. He has a wife that he catches cheating on him and this event makes him leave his house and move to another one which has a secret window. He is lonely and he tries to write another book unsuccesfully - then one morning there's a knock on the door and outside there's a mysterious man! "You stole my story" - are his first words to the writer and the rest of the movie is - Finding proof that Johnny Depp didn't steal a story from this man as the book was already published! But there's heaps more to it then this...and what that is - you'd have to see it yourself. I don't want to spoil this great thriller movie for you.

Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Another must see movie by Johnny Depp
Review: When I went to see "Secret Window" I thought, what have I got myself in to? I don't like horror flicks, however, this movie was a thriller and contained a suprise ending that you would not figure out. Another Johnny Depp great. A must to ad to my movie collection.

Rating:
Summary: Ultimately, there's nothing GREAT about this movie
Review: Given that Johnny Depp is in Secret Window, I knew I was going to see this movie. Maleficent is a big Depp fan. Fortunately, I got something out of the deal - Maleficent agreed to see Dawn of the Dead without me even asking her. Did I mention I love my wife?

Anyway, I did not love this movie. In an amusing twist, not only did I not enjoy Secret Window, I wasn't paying attention enough to catch onto the plot twist. Maleficent did - in fact, she said she saw the whole plot twist coming a mile away. In my defense, I feel the movie was boring enough such that I wasn't looking that hard for the Plot Twist ™.

That, and the fact that there were two people in the movie theater who were possibly drunk, definitely movie hopping, and loudly whispering to each other throughout every potentially scary scene.

"He's in the closet," the female would loudly whisper, "I just know he's going to jump out and stab her."

"No he's not," says the male, "he's under the bed..."

I'm not sure if it's better or worse that they were wrong on EVERY count. Still, it completely distracted me from watching the movie. I seem to have this problem a lot (for more amusing anecdotes, see the throw down after Dawn of the Dead). But I digress.

Secret Window is standard Stephen King fare. Good ole' Mr. King is an expert at taking an everyday domestic situation and turning it into a supernatural, awful occurrence. Indeed, the events that take place are awful enough - the supernatural just speeds up the horrible process. And that process is the complete destruction of a human being.

The Stephen King Destruction Machine is in full effect in Secret Window. The main character, Mort Rainey (played with a multitude of character tics by the ever-experimenting Depp), is going through a divorce after his wife had a miscarriage. Worse, her caught her in bed with another man, a man she continues to date and who lives in "their" house. In fact, Secret Window has all the makings of an episode out of Cops, complete with wife beating, lawsuits, alcohol abuse, and houses being set on fire.

Secret Window only bothers with the third and fourth elements, the other two being curiously repressed. Indeed, much of Secret Window is bizarrely out of place. Mort lives in a cabin where there were happier times. In that cabin is a secret window. It's also where he goes to think. Let's call it the "secret window to his mind."

But Mort's not thinking. He's not writing. He's got the worst case of writer's block ever. Mostly, he sits on the couch and occasionally answers an old phone.

Why doesn't Mort have a cell phone? Well, cause that would screw up the plot in about five minutes. Much of the movie feels outdated without explanation for why it doesn't deal with modern plot elements (but Mort's laptop is definitely modern).

Secret Window has some beautiful symbolism, symbolism entirely on the part of the director and having very little to do with Mr. King. We flow through a mirror at one point of the film and then out again - that's Very Important. Indeed, if anything, Secret Window ranges from hackneyed to over-the-top-obvious.

Without giving away the plot, I can confidently say that Session 9 explored the same human depths of depravity, the same loss of self, the same murder mystery, only it did it much better. Session 9 kicks this movies ass.

Ultimately, there's nothing GREAT about this movie, and that's a shame. It's always fun to see Johnny act (act, Johnny, act!) but his performance is but glossy paint on a rickety old movie that King built.

Rating:
Summary: Overdone
Review: This movie had an extremely overdone plot with underdone acting. Johnny Depp was the only convincing actor, trading in (or so I thought) his insane characters and portraying a depressed, bitter, normal man in the middle of a divorce. It was easy to connect with him and feel sympathetic, but I was surprised to see that towards the end, his performance was not impressive. The movie says 'the ending is the most important part of the story.' That's probably why I can't bring myself to remember the good parts. Both Stephen King and Johnny Depp have a history of making books/movies with great starts and unsupported/down right awful finishes, not to mention that this ending has been done numerous times. Still, if you can bring yourself to ignore the end- I would suggest watching this movie for the rest.

Rating:
Summary: Best Movie I Seen in Awhile
Review: This is a good movie. You will love the move plus it is PG-13. At first you won't understand it but you can get it. I can't wait to this movie come on DVD I will be the first to buy it. I am even going to read the book. If the book is as good as as the movie I will read the whole book in 2 days.

Rating:
Summary: See it for the acting, not for the story
Review: Being a Johnny Depp fan, I had to see this movie, and although it wasn't a waste, it's not all that great. John Turturro and Johnny Depp are great, as well as the more minor characters like Maria Bello and Charles S. Dutton. But what's up with all the Stephen King/corn references? I've only read a couple of Stephen King books, and apparently the whole corn thing appears in most of them, BUT I STILL HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT'S ABOUT. The plot is corny (both literally and figuratively)and plodding. So see it for the acting; basically, for how well the cast manages to bring a crappy screenplay to a semi-enjoyable level.

Rating:
Summary: Johnny Depp was GREAT!!
Review: I thought this was a fabulous movie! Johnny Depp played a great part... so if you like him... you get to see him A LOT!! Great mystery, scary, funny movie! :) I've seen it twice in about 2 weeks...and I'm buying it the day it comes out!!

Rating:
Summary: It ain't Hitchcock, but Alfred would be flattered by it.
Review: Yes, this movie is based on a story by Stephen King, but the real debt is to Hitchcock. This is the most direct attempt to make a modern Hitchcock film that I've seen in many years. And it works to a large degree. First of all, the idea of having one central character dominate a full 3/4ths of the screen time is very gutsy...very Hitchcockian in mindset. I've never been a huge Depp fan, but he really pulls it off here very nicely.

The filmmakers try very hard to keep a nice balance of humor and suspense, providing ample laughs, shocks and twists to keep you entertained, but all with a grown-up mindset that you know it's just a movie and it's ultimately all in fun. That's absolutely DEFINITIVE of Hitchcock, and it's nice to see it on the screen again after all these years.

Bravo to all involved. No, this isn't going to win any Oscars, but who cares? It's still a load of fun, with enough laughs and creepiness to make a cool date movie (unless your girlfriend thinks you may have something sinister in store for her....).