Rating: 
Summary: A LONESOME ROAD
Review: First, raspberries to the reviewers who felt impelled to give away the ending. It would ruin the movie for those who haven't seen it, guys!!!
Anyway, ARLINGTON ROAD is one dark and disturbing movie, fueled with paranoia, suspicions, and mistrust. Jeff Bridges, looking for the first time like an elderly gentleman (not old, just aging), gives a tense performance as a history teacher who lost his FBI wife in a botched raid. He now teaches terrorism at a college in the DC area. The movie's opening is gutwrenching from the start, but necessary to involve Bridges with his new neighbors, played like Stepford Wives by Joan Cusack and Tim Robbins. But all is not as it seems. Bridges is sure Robbins is a terrorist, responsible for a dreadful bombing in St. Louis, and is ultimately planning more bombings. Bridges' live-in girl friend (Hope Davis) at first doesn't buy into Bridges' theory, but later finds proof that brings her to Bridges' side. From there on, though, it's a frightening change of pace as Bridges races to stop Robbins' plot and save his son in the meantime. Mark Pellington's direction is right on, and the ending is quite unexpected.
This is not a conventional movie, and not one that brightens your day, but it is an intense, well-done and unusual thriller.
Well made!!
Rating: 
Summary: Great Movie, Excellent Ending!
Review: Not only was this movie creepy, but the acting was superb! I love Tim Robbins, but Jeff Bridges did an amazing job!. This movie is a definite must see, (some may have to watch it twice), but the ending is one of the best twisters of all time! I was on the edge of my seat, and was totally blown away, but at the same time, in tears!
Rating:
Summary: Remind me not to f*** with Tim Robbins
Review: Dude this movie is totally off the hook, I mean how often is it when Tim Robbins is scary.Tim Robbins is horrifying in this thrilling epic of anarchy and terrorism. Jeff Bridges is a teacher who begins to investigate his friendly neighbors. When it turns out they have a weird past weird happenings happen. When it all comes down to Jeff Bridges and the anarchy is he going to shut them down or are they going to use him for their benefits? I bought this for my dad and I was like 'What is Happening?' most of the movie then at the end it all pieced together. Like the back of the box says you cant breathe for the last twenty minutes. Buy this movie!
Rating:
Summary: Arlington Road
Review: Arlington Road is a supurb film. The acting was supurb all the way through, although i didnt like the actress who played Brooke much. The plot was great, a terrorist living next door to you. Makes you think who your neighbours really are :))) It keeps you guessing all the way through with its greats twists and turns. The best part of the film, was the ending. I predicted at the end Mr Farraday would save the day, and the terrorist would be defeated. But for a good change the terrorists won. Which goes to show that in life, there isnt always happy endings.
Rating:
Summary: absolutely horrifying, frighteningly well-done
Review: This film was made 2 years before September 11, but the train of thought and final outcome are frighteningly true to life in retrospect. Jeff Bridges plays Michael Faraday, a professor of terrorism at George Washington University in Washington, DC. He is driving home when he seems an injured child walking in the middle of the road. He rushes the kid to the hospital and is ashamed that he doesn't know the kid's name even though he lives across the street from him. In an effort to rectify this, he befriends the neighbors --- Oliver Lang (Tim Robbins), his Stepfordian wife (Joan Cusack), and their three kids. Faraday himself has a 9-year-old son, Grant, and he becomes best friends with Brady, the Langs' son. Faraday lost his wife Leah, an FBI agent, in a workplace snafu that closely resembles Ruby Ridge. His new girlfriend Brooke is his former teaching assistant. He accidentally receives a piece of mail from the University of Pennsylvania that belongs to Oliver, who said he went to Kansas State University, and from there becomes obsessed with "knowing thy neighbor". Friends and family tell Faraday he is thinking all sorts of crazy things about Lang because he teaches that class on terrorism, but Faraday is sure that he is on to something. This movie is spellbinding as it brings up topics that mirror Oklahoma City before it and Sept 11 after it. You do not see the ending coming until it is upon you, and the twist is unbelievably possible.
Rating:
Summary: WOW
Review: This movie was absolutely amazing- (I just saw it on TV though, so i didn't get to buy it- or watch all the apparently interesting extras on the DVD!)
I live in Reston, VA where the story takes place- and know of a "Michael Farady Rd." right near where I live (named after an inventor- not the movie..) but this made the movie all the more interesting! And then to think this was a pre-sept 11 movie! What an interesting thought- that your next door neighbor could be a terrorist? Espeically considering that I also have friends who knew the Russian Spy you may recall.
This moive was AMAZING!!! SOO realistic- makes you think, and makes you angry. Wish I had the DVD so I could watch it again.
Rating: 
Summary: Arlington Road should have done a lot better than this
Review: All the friends' opinions were positive. The leading cast added a sense of insurance. The name of the director was without any doubt promising. Despite the demanding label of "political thriller", having taken into consideration all the ingredients above, I was convinced that Arlington Road would offer me an enjoyable time. I admit that I finished viewing the movie with a feeling of disappointment and disbelief. To be fair, there is not doubt that Arlington Road provides a great dosage of suspense throughout its duration. But if you make the mistake and try to think of what you just saw, after the end titles, everything seems to fall apart. The basic character of our story is Michael Faraday (Jeff Bridges). He is working as a professor of political history, with terrorism being its main focus. This, combined with the loss of his wife caused by a wrong judgment by FBI, renders him particularly sensitive to relevant stimuli. We can sense from the beginning that his fragile psyche will play an important role as the story evolves. After a strong opening sequence we see Faraday developing friendly relations with his new neighbors. Until the day an unexpected event puts doubts in his clouded mind. The question is clear: Are his neighbors involved in a terrorist group? That was it. Arlington Road now resorts to a series of easy clichés. Its obvious purpose is to surprise the viewer with the known plot twist of the neighbor who is not as innocent as we thought at the beginning - or could he be innocent, after all? Tim Robbins gives a satisfactory performance in the role of the mysterious neighbor. On the other hand, Jeff Bridges, whose role as the "Dude" in Big Lebowski was absolutely amazing, here constantly gave me an impression of being over the top: his performance featured numerous hysteric reactions and grimaces. Some viewers may explain them based on Faraday's unstable mental condition; nevertheless they failed to convince me. Director Mark Pellington does a more than adequate job with the script he has in his hands. Still, he is capable for a lot more things as revealed by his next and undoubtedly better creation, Mothman Prophecies. I will conclude with a short comment regarding the highly praised film's closing sequence. Without revealing anything, here is what crossed my mind when watching it: Each of the terrorists should have had at least 3 Ph.D. degrees in Psychology. Only such collected knowledge would enable them to predict with the shown accuracy the reactions of so many people on so many occasions. If that was not the case, then I hope that they purchased a few lottery tickets the same day, since their success would have been certain!
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie
Review: This movie is awesome. I think it is one of the best thrillers I have ever seen. However, can someone here tell me what the DVD alternate ending is? In reviews that I have seen, viewers and the directors both say they're glad they chose the one used in the movie. But does anyone know what the alternate ending was?
Rating:
Summary: Solid throughout, smart and well-acted
Review: There isn't much in the way of superlatives that hasn't already been said. I'll just add that this film keeps your interest throughout instead waiting for the climax to impress us. God knows it could have -- it's a prefectly executed twist on a par with the classics. If calibrate the twist-o-meter to Momento/Psycho/Citizen Cane = 1 (they actually tell you what the twist is), Usual Suspects = 2 (enough clues to figure it out, but pretty explicit), Mulholland Drive/White = 3 (leaves you twisted), this one falls in at a 2. Enough that you can't believe they pulled it off, but it doesn't take you two days to figure out what happened. In other words, perfect.
Rating:
Summary: One Of The Best Movies Ever
Review: Arlington Road is one of the most well constructed movies that has come along in a long time. It has a unique way of showing the viewer both sides of the story. Having Jeff Bridges and Tim Robbins in this film was a wise choice. Great DVD, would only be better if it were in both widescreen and full screen. A+
|
