The Hand That Rocks the Cradle

Rating:
Summary: A thrill of thrills!!!
Review: Will you consider someone for a nanny position who knocks at your doorstep? Consider this--Just imagine a perfect family, a perfect home in a perfect setting at suburban Seattle goes wrong when a deranged nanny takes over the family. each sequence of episodes (from claire's doctor's visit for a baby checkup complicated with her asthma attack to her surprising discovery of the truth) is well scripted. It is a classic story that can happen in any quiet neighborhood. Check this DVD out! coz this thriller is guaranteed to keep you glued in your seats from beginning to end.

Rating:
Summary: Predictable but scary
Review: Yes, scary because it is scary to find out that the people whom you trust turn out to be someone you shouldn't. It's predictable because at the very start, we all know that Rebecca DeMornay is the wife of the doctor who sexually harrassed his patients & later on committed suicide upon losing face. We all know that she seeked employment in that particular household to aenge her husband's death, her loss & all other pain both real & imagined caused by her psychological breakdown. What keeps the viewers glued to the set is the exceptional performance of Rebecca -- what would she do next to the hapless unsuspecting victims. I got acquainted with her through this film & up to these days, I still remember her because of her excellent performance in this film.

Rating:
Summary: Except for Post-Production It Would Have Been Great
Review: You start with a great script, assemble a top cast, a good cinematographer, a reasonable budget, and what possibly could go wrong? Well, it all goes wrong after the picture is filmed. It goes to the editing department. A musical score is plugged in that makes you wince with pain--it takes the beautiful "Poor Wandering One" by Gilbert & Sullivan and plays it lugubriously over the opening credits, getting one of the notes wrong and one of the important chords wrong. Thus, instead of a bittersweet tune (which the adapter may have wanted), it turns into a sophomoric howler. But that's just for starters. What really goes wrong in the editing process is that the editor was out to lunch. No sensitivity for pacing. The movie plods along. The editor killed it, stuffing it with scenes that take too long and characterizations that were obvious minutes ago--as if the stupid audience needs more time to let it all "sink in." What a waste of Hollywood creativity! Maybe the editor fought with the director, and maybe it was really the director's fault, though I personally believe that the person who has final cut is the most important person in most movies, and here the final cut was an abomination. This might be one of those rare films that work better on TV with commercial breaks. The commercials would dull your sensibilities, and you can pick up with the film afterwards, and settle into it at the languid pace the editor chose. But on DVD, which is how I just viewed it, it's a movie that shoots itself in the foot. Every element that was necessary for an outstanding movie was there, but it was ruined after the actors and directors and camerapersons went home. Nevertheless, with all of the post-production mediocrity, we still have a very fine screenplay, fine acting, and an entertaining movie. Bottom line: if you don't mind that it could have been much much better, what you'll see is pretty good.