Rating: 
Summary: What a weak story line! Too bad for Travolta
Review: Harold Becker(Director) tried to embed a taste of suspense into the story. Well, who are to blame? Despite the fact that Travolta scored yet another Razzie nomination for Worst Actor for this film as well as "Swordfish", certainly he is not the one to be blamed. As a matter of fact, since the comeback from his career saving motion picture "PULP FICTION", his performance has been of top quality of all, standing unrivaled in a sense that he can play both a good and bad guy without causing us any awkward feeling at all. But for his performance, this otherwise predicable story wouldn't bear great value.
To top it off, many scenes or lines which were originally shown in the theatrical trailer are either missing or being changed or deleted. What happened to two guys fighting in the water or Frank(John Travolta) challeging Rick(Vince Vaughn) revealing his past in front of him? Seems they changed the story line. As skilled as he is, why on earth did Harold Becker make or even agreed about the script. He could have turned this into a real suspenseful story like "Mercury Rising" he also directed. Ironically enough, the theatrical trailer gives much more thriller than the real movie does. This is always the case when one tries to squeeze such thrilling essences into less than 90 minutes' film. If you take a look at "The Good Son", a suspense drama Elijah Wood and Macaulay Culkin starred in, you will find a bad example of all. One hour and a half is hardly the sufficient amount of time for true depiction of complex situations and for plot development to the point. (Provided the tight budget, it kills the movie.) And If that's the case, I can't blame Harold Becker either. He should've seen it coming, though. To point out what is worthwhile is the portrait of the strong ties between Frank(Travolta) and Danny(O'Leary). Needless to say Travolta plays well his role as a loving father, Matt O'Leary's performance to play the charactor of an adolescent boy with the sense of uneasiness about the situations of his parents' divorce/remarriage and his struggling also deserve much attention. The story is about a boy witnessing his step father(Vince) killing a guy. Although nobody except his father(Travolta) believes in his story 'cause of his frequent lies, the bond between Danny(O'Leary) and Frank(Travolta) is strong. Believing in his own son, Frank becomes suspicious about Rick and starts searching for a lead to his killing. Up to here is just all-too-common in this type of story, however, the real value of the film as a suspense stems from here. Either thrilling or boring, that's where you decide.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your money
Review: What a waste of money this was. The whole story was so predictable. This is something I would expect on network tv with has-been actors. Why John Travolta lowered himself to do this film is beyond me. His talents were wasted with this shallow character that the writer / director provided him. I would have rated it NO stars, if that was possible. Save your money and buy Spy Game instead.
Rating: 
Summary: An Example of What "NOT TO DO" in Storytelling
Review: This is a film that started with a clever premise of a good "seed" idea and demonstrates to any serious film buff, just how important having a story is for a film. It's a classic example of what formula writing is all about as it supports the concept that Hollywood is run by "C" students. Having been a screenwriter and amateur filmmaker myself for many years now, I can appreciate how difficult it is to make a good movie. However, you have to know the rules to break the rules, and this film shows that it's still in grammar school. An entertaining film with no substance and less story, but for someone who doesn't want to be stimulated, it's a perfect piece of work. There are so many examples of what not to do in making a movie here it's hard to know where to start, so I'll just keep it simple. Here's my formal statement regarding this Domestic Disturbance: This movie proves beyond the shadow of doubt that good acting cannot salvage a bad script, although a good script can make a bad actor look good. My hat's off to John T and Vince V. for their efforts as their acting was strong (not great, but at least they made the effort). A fine supporting cast, well acted, but an uninspired story that took us nowhere new. A DVD to add to your collection if you're an aspiring filmmaker or film buff that would like to have an example of what "not to do" in storytelling. Wayne Baimbridge
Writer/Director
Elysium Studios
www.elysiumstudios.com wayne@elsysiumstudios.com
Rating:
Summary: "I haven't seen any adult bookstores in this town."
Review: Worth seeing just to hear Steve Buscemi deliver that line. (I'm beginning to wonder if Hollywood can exist without the guy. I find it curious that the very few good movies America produces each year seem to have him in them.) *Domestic Disturbance* is about a troublemaking, constantly lying pubescent who finds out that his rich new stepfather (Vince Vaughn) is a murderous con. The kid discovers this when he hides behind the front seat of his stepdad's SUV and witnesses Vince Vaughn kill Steve Buscemi, the latter being an unwelcome reminder of the past that Vaughn's trying to cover up. Understandably, given the kid's various scrapes with the law, the police doesn't deign to believe his story, which creates the prime source of suspense here. The way the discovery gets made is a regrettable B-movie convention, and Buscemi's bloody exit may prompt you to turn off the TV, seeing as how he brought the strongest sparks to the proceedings. But do stick around -- *Domestic Disturbance*, despite what you may have heard, is actually a well-made thriller that isn't afraid to take on some heavy themes. The movie boils the step-parent issue down to its worst-case scenario: it imagines a household in which every kid's worst fears about the yet-to-be-trusted stepdad are realized. Through the whole movie, both young Matt O'Leary and Vaughn are onto each other . . . one threatens exposure to clueless Mom, the cops, et al., causing the other to make a counter-threat of murder. This creates a genuine sense of terror, to say the least. Also noteworthy is the relationship between the boy and his real father, John Travolta. Both instinctively dislike the rich newcomer even before his psychopathy is revealed, a dislike stemming from what's probably a primal fury directed at the ex-wife / mother. Even the commentary about how money talks and everything else walks is a point well-taken. The ending of the movie's a letdown: director Harold Becker feels the necessity of manufacturing a "hair-raising finale" that doesn't pass the reality test . . . but in fairness to Becker, he's more restrained in this area than some others (compare with Robert Zemeckis silly finish for *What Lies Beneath*, for example). Becker's also to be commended for putting a firm clamp down on Travolta's tendency to horse around in front of the camera -- the result is a surprisingly immediate performance.
Rating:
Summary: The worst movie ever made.
Review: Well maybe Manos: Hands of Fate was worse, but I bet the budget for this trash was considerably higher. How do you make an 89 minute suspense movie? Especially one this predictable? I was batting 1.000 throughout, and I didn't even figure out the end of Titanic before the boat sank. Without a single twist or turn, an ending that rivaled a dead end street in a crack neighborhood, and being short enough to hold the attention of hyperactive 6 year old who sold his ritalin for milk money this was the worst movie I have ever seen. In addition to a wretched script, a movie with so much potential had watered down dialogue (terrible sound editing btw, there were at least three scenes where the actors' mouths CLEARLY said something the MPAA deemed naughty, but magically a Disney approved soundtrack spewed horribly from their lips). Furthermore, the preview included several scenes (that looked rather good) that failed to make it into the final cut. Why edit so much out? Afraid the audience would get up and leave? Nearly did anyways, but it was over before I could finish my popcorn. All in all, Vince Vaughn did a nice acting job, John Travolta was at par with his previous works, but an amateur (at best) director, an undiagnosed case of ADD in the editor, and terrible marketing (who went back and edited this for a PG-13? What 13 year old is going to see this?) all come together to make: THE WORST MOVIE EVER MADE.
Rating:
Summary: What might have been
Review: Now who honestly thought that this was a good movie ? What shocked me was the number of scenes that there in the movie trailer that never made it to the final cut. I know the DVD has deleted scenes but there accounted for less than 30% of what are missing from the trailer. The reason why I wanted to see this movie is because the trailer made a so-so storyline look half decent. In the end, it was just like a poor made-for-TV
movie, I am glad I did not waste my [money] at the movies to see it.
Rating:
Summary: How is this suspenseful?
Review: Thuis is by far one of the worst movies of 2001. I'm sorry to all of those who may have enjoyed this unbelievably fake and predictable films of the year. If you watch the trailer before you watch the film, you will greatly disappointed seeing as how half of the footage in the trailer was deleted. Another thing that ticked me off was that on the DVD only a portion of those things deleted were in the deleted scenes area of the disc. The trailer is a much more suspenseful and enjoyable than the film itself, so don't waste 89 minutes(That's all folks, pathetic ain't it?), just spend 2.5 on the trailer.
Rating:
Summary: Less if I could
Review: This movie offended my intelligence. The Keystone cops, the absence of logic, & unconvincing parents by the lead roles. You must have a better way to spend 90 minutes.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie, but awful DVD quality!!!!!!
Review: This is a great movie of a child in jeopardy. John Travolta is a wonderful actor as always. Vincent Vaughn is a great bad guy. the movie works. The DVD quality on the other hand is 100% awful. The picture looks stretched throughout making the heads of the people in the movie look elongated. Paramount should really reconsider this dvd and reformat it to make it more appealing to the eye.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable Thriller
Review: Definately an enjoyable, fast-paced thriller that would have been nothing if not for the performance involved. A second viewing helps, w/ a few throwaway hints (Steve Buscemi agressively calling Vince Vaughn "Jack!" and Vince Vaughn telling Teri Polo what stress might do to her) that tighten the plot. One thing, however: Why didn't the DVD include the alternate ending that ended up being re-shot? From what I understand there's about 20 minutes of different material that could have resulted in a very nice, "Joy Ride"-type disc.
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