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Limbo

Limbo

List Price: $24.95
Your Price: $22.46
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: HORRIBLE ! THE WORST MOVIE I'VE EVER SEEN !
Review: I can't believe this director made such a lousy movie. The characters are ridiculous, the plot is almost non-existant, the ending is absurd, as if it was calling the spectator a dumb ! The cover art of the box is fooling the audience, because there's no action at all.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: THE VIEWER FROM CONNECTICUT IS DEAD WRONG!
Review: This film was by no means boring. John Sayles has made a masterpiece yet again. If the viewer from Connecticut happened to have known what the word "limbo" meant, they would then understand the ending. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is excellent in this film. David Straithairn is superb. John Sayles is a master at character driven stories. If you like John Sayles, I suggest watching "Lone Star", another excellent film by this very gifted director.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Fascinating character study...near-great film.
Review: As one viewer observed, Director Sayles approach is "novelistic". That is, he focuses on character development but renders his explorations...obviously...employing the advantages of the medium. Unfortunately, the limits of movie-making can easily trap a good director. I am in agreement with those who feel that the ending of this otherwise fine film is such a trap. The ending is not trite...merely unsatisfying and a novelist (of stature...as John Sayles certainly is as writer/director)might not attempt to get away with it. "Limbo" was a concept formulated by St. Augustine to explain the ultimate fate of unbaptized children. Sayles' characters are not children and all have been "baptized" into circumstances which permit choice (THEIR OWN... or ANOTHER's) to radically affect their fate. Sayles did a masterful job in LONE STAR and he is attempting something similar in LIMBO. The plot is good; the acting is fine and the potential for a powerful, illuminating conclusion evident. (Especially with "Joe"; superbly played by David Strathairn as a good man...fully aware of what life's "graced moments"...as Mastrantonio puts it...do and reveal, who is suddenly offered one more as a test whose outcome would have been redemptive...or tragically damning.) Instead, the director of this fascinating character study (and adventure)decides to leave the viewer in Limbo. This may not quite be a cop-out...because the film is still "great"...but in my estimate, was an unnecessary and avoidable mistake. But have no doubt, LIMBO is well worth seeing. Several times (perhaps for the several reasons Sayles intended with his risky ending)...

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Unbelievable!
Review: Actually, I wouldn't even give this movie any stars...I found it to be choppy, vague and unbearably boooooooooooring and what kind of ending was that...poor choices were made by those actors...I too was drawn by the cast. Don't waste your money or time.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Another masterpiece of Sayles
Review: The first movie of Sayles I saw was "Lone Star" and it just fascinated me. The story, it's characters, the whole movie touched me deeply. "Limbo" is another great masterpiece, even though it does not match the quality of "Lone Star". There have been quite many negative opinions published about this movie among the reviewers... Its certainly true that this movie, the way it is done, and the story, are quite unconventional and might not appeal to everyone (especially the ambigous ending)... Still, I do think that you all should have a look at it before you judge ... Sayles and the fantastic actors deserve it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Sayles delivers the goods... again.
Review: I would wager that for the most part, those who ravaged this film are likely to be big Star Wars aficionados.

For the rest of you...

John Sayles is a unique filmmaker. Simply put, he makes films about people; their personal struggles, the choices they make and the results of such choices. Even with films like Matewan, his characters remain central to him, and not the events in which they are participating. This to me is what seperates John Sayles from other filmmakers.

For me the true measure of a films success are the moments immediately following the last image on the screen. If you get up and begin praising the special effects, you have experienced little more than pure escapism, a Hollywood trademark. On the other hand, if your left with a sense of personal attachment -- if what these characters have experienced in some way speaks to you, or offers you a new perspective or insight, then I feel you've just seen a very good film. And while Sayles' films are all similar in some respects, he manages to address a different aspect of the human condition each time out. Hollywood escapism has it's place. But you should know that whenever you pick up a film credited to John Sayles, your going to be exposed to life beneath the surface. It's not for everyone.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Hmm
Review: It is a shame that these excellent actors were in this movie. One of the reasons I rented it was because the actors in this movie are usually in pretty good movies. I suppose actors are entitled to one huge mistake.

Go with the majority on this one, and save your money. I get the weird feeling here that any good reviews have been perhaps written by John Sayles himself... makes you wonder. I can't image what anyone would find even remotely interesting about this movie. If anything, it is very depressing. I'd have to agree with several previous reviews in that I feel robbed of several hours on this one.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: I want my money back!
Review: We need to have a negative star rating - this one surely deserves it. YAWN.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Another masterpiece of John Sayles
Review: After "Lone Star", my favorite movie, comes "Limbo", a wondefully told story of a lonely people finding each other to form a new family in rather difficult circumstances...

Starting as a character study of people living in Alaska, and giving an insight in their way of thinking and their daily lives (similar to the way how he showed the problems and issues of the communicty of Rio County in "Lone Star"), the story evolves in an adventure movie of a family threatened by drug dealers, alone on a remote island without much hope to get back to civilization.

The very special ending of the movie is brilliant and allows us to make our own imagination work... The scenery is just wonderful and the the actors very convincing in their roles. It's nice to meet Kris Kristofferson again :-)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Ever heard of a satisfyingly ambiguous ending?
Review: I HATE untidy or ambiguous endings. Check that...I LOATHE untidy or ambiguous endings. Whenever I see an untidy/ambiguous ending, I think that either: 1) the writer/director didn't know how to end the movie, so figured he'd just stop filming somewhere along the way; or 2) that the writer/director is going for some deep meaningful ending that is supposed to make us think he/she is a "powerful" director willing to "take risks" to "make a statement".

Well, let's just say that I found the ending to Limbo to be one of the most satisfyingly ambiguous endings I've ever seen. The final shot says so much about where the characters have come from and how they've changed that it was really touching...despite not really learning what happens past the final shot.

This movie is like two movies in one, and the fact that it works is a huge credit to John Sayles. The first half of the movie involves the relationships between people who are basically down on their luck in Alaska. And if you think they are in limbo through the first half of the movie, wait until the sudden shift to the Alaskan wilderness for the second half of the movie.

Beautifully acted, written, directed and filmed. Great dialog and oustanding scenery. Definite 5 star movie all the way.


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