Rating: 
Summary: A tense, snappy, edge-of-your-seat thriller.
Review: Clocking in at only 80 minutes, "Phone Booth" resembles an unusually bloody, foul-mouthed episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." Colin Farrell gives a masterful performance as a cocky, two-timing New York publicist who is gradually turned into a quivering, remorseful mass of jelly by a psychopathic sniper on the other end of the line at a Manhattan phone booth. Put the receiver down, and I will kill you, the sniper tells him, taking out a guy or two on the street to prove his point (and making it look like Farrell did it in the bargain). Director Joel Schumacher keeps the tension at a high level throughout the movie, and he manages to keep in check his usual penchant for grandiose cinematic flourishes (except for extraneous outer-space shots at the beginning and end). Besides Farrell's excellent performance, the movie is helped greatly by Forest Whitaker as a courageous police negotiator and by the superbly menacing, burnt-umber voice of Kiefer Sutherland, serving as the voice of the sniper.
Rating: 
Summary: Should Have Been Better
Review: Phonebooth has ALMOST all of the necessary parts to add up to
a great, tense, tight thriller. But it's the little things that
really let this film rate no better than average... Colin Farrell pulls his weight in the lead role, showing that he's much more than a highly-hyped flash-in-the-pan. Schumacher gives us
edgy, energetic visuals and staging...and the basic premise is
fascinating. What if you picked up a ringing phone, and a stranger, a dangerous madman was on the other side? Phonebooth relies on the viewer to get wrapped-up in a very dramatic, realistic situation...however, once the police arrive, the script and/or Schumacher start throwing non-sensical behaviour and procedural mistakes into the mix. What is with the annoying, rage-o-holic Negotiator guy? What is with letting Stuart's wife mingle around with the police freely after the police Captain sees the red laser-sight of the sniper's rifle on her forehead? We already have volcanic hookers, a deranged gunman, and a guy who just won't get off the phone. The police should have been portrayed as the efficient, professional, almost mechanical opposite of this...not the Three Stooges with guns.
There are other confusing lapses as well, but to say more might give important details away. At the very least I thought there were instances of bad, or obvious acting...and as for Kiefer Sutherland, I love the show 24, and think highly of Kiefer, and feel he was a good casting choice for the role he plays, but much of his dialogue sounds...well...read, rather than said...which of course it was, but which is not supposed to sound as such. His voice is in the foreground, brighter, clearer, and even more present than Farrell's which makes me think that Schumacher wanted us to view the events from the caller's perspective, but what's onscreen doesn't always jibe with this and thus only adds the the artificiality of some portions. I hate to sound so negative because is not really all that bad...
It just could have been much better.
It might have been much more interesting to have the Caller not know the person who picks up the phone, and then draw the skeletons out of his closet and manipulate him...because then it could have been any of us...
Rating:
Summary: Interesting
Review: This movie is surprisingly interesting for the most part (except some slower parts in the middle), that has an interesting plot and an even more intersting method of revealing it. Fine performances across the board. For the me, the climax of the movie is where Farrel's character must confess his sins to all the people of New York. This is was extremely (but not too much) emotional and a true testament to the unacknowledged acting talent Farrel has. I will watch this movie again just to see that part.
Rating:
Summary: Low-Budget At Its Best
Review: Phone Booth is a low-budget thriller at its best. The fact that it is clearly low-budget takes nothing away from this stylish thriller (think Reservoir Dogs). Colin Farrel plays Stu Sheppard, a cocky PR man that finds himself stuck in a phone booth with a sniper threatening to kill him if he leaves. Three hookers soon steal the show for the 10 or so minutes that they are in it. The african american hooker makes one of the funniest comments I have ever heard (you'll know what I am talking about). The police arrive, following a shooting that the hookers blame on Stu. Forest Whitaker plays the officer in charge, the man assigned to figure the situation out, and to get Stu out of the booth. An excellent thriller that almost anyone will enjoy. I will definately be purchasing this when it becomes available on DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Has "B-Movie" All Over It, But Is Still Quite Thrilling!
Review: Joel Schumacher can be considered to be the Jerry Bruckheimer of directors, as both men have a tendency towards thrillers and action films that emphasize things that go boom, bang, and screech while giving little concern about the plot's construction. So, as PHONE BOOTH starts with an acapella tune and fast-paced camera editing, it can be easy to think that the movie starts off as just another one of Schumacher's predictable doses of overblown action. Though the audience learns about the dishonest publicist Stu quickly enough to set the tone for the movie, its fate still doesn't look like it's going to change from a ridiculous, overwrought flick. And Schumacher's reasoning behind the start of the action is absolutely contrived- I mean, really, I've never even been to New York City, and I know better than to answer ANY phone in a public booth, regardless of where it's at! But once the voice on the other side comes through, the movie soon becomes something more. As the two big people in this film, Colin Farrell and Keifer Sutherland are absolutely stunning. It is certainly no easy task for just two characters to provide the meat and potatoes of the plot, but Farrell and Sutherland work off amazing chemistry, and they help make PHONE BOOTH at its best a highly-charged thriller. Since the suspense in the phone booth takes up most of the movie, it can be easy to forget about the ridiculous logic, the confusing fast-paced camera shots, or the stereotypes that some of these people play (most notably the "hookers" that get angry over Stu hogging the phone). But the suspense itself is still convincing enough, as Farrell gradually becomes frightened over the caller, and then all but breaks down as the caller orders him to confess about the lies he is spreading in periodicals and the life he is juggling with a wife and a mistress. All the while, Sutherland is chillingly frighening as the mysterious caller, and these elements help the audience side with both people on the phone line in the appropriate manner. So, overall, PHONE BOOTH is nowhere near the best thriller ever made, but it's not the disaster that detractors of Joel Schumacher would expect it to be. Rather, it's a fast-paced popcorn flick that delivers the expected goods in its tight 80-minute package.
Rating:
Summary: Slight but decent thriller.
Review: Joel Schumacher's "Phone Booth," delayed first because star Colin Farrell wasn't famous enough to open the film to substantial box office and then pushed back because the Beltway Sniper attacks made the film too topical to release, was compelling while I was watching it, but it has had no staying power with me whatsoever. It's not a bad movie. It's very simple, very brief and occasionally thrilling. It goes exactly the way you expect it will, not needing to extend far beyond its simple premise of a morality play. A gunman, judging people at random from the sky, decides to make Farrell's tacky agent character face up to his sins. If he doesn't, he'll be dead ... or the friends who've gathered to watch his incident will be killed. So he stays on the phone and confesses to save everyone. Of course, the people around him also think that he's a crazed gunman, and he can do little to convince them otherwise. Therein lies the most interesting aspect of the film, one that the filmmakers don't exploit near enough. I remember an episode of "Homicide: Life of the Streets" that had a similar premise to this one, and I think the "Homicide" episode was slightly better than this movie. But, compared to the travesties Joel Schumacher has subjected upon movie audiences in the past, "Phone Booth" was merely slight - not offensive.
Rating:
Summary: Phone Booth is an overly stylized, B-movie thriller.
Review: Slick and slimy New York publicist, Stuart Shepard (Colin Farrell), finds himself trapped in a phone booth where he is pinned down by a mad man's sniper rifle. Phone Booth comes to us from the director of Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, Joel Schumacher. I was really anticipating this movie. I've always been a fan of thrillers, and I felt the premise was interesting and held quite a lot of suspense potential. I'm sorry to say, I was disappointed. I never really felt anxiety over the main character's fate. This is largely thanks to Schumacher's direction and the unlike-ability of Farrell's character. I realize it was the filmmaker's intent to make him a jerk, but I never really connected. Much of the color appears to have been drained from the image giving the film a washed out look, this really doesn't achieve any dramatic purpose or any appealing stylistic purpose. There are many flashy camera movements that are more distracting than cool, and a few shots look like they were taken from a home video camera. Colin Farrell gives a sold performance, carrying the film for its short running time of 80 minutes. Kiefer Sutherland does a good job at giving voice to the film's antagonist as he spends most of the movie talking to Farrell's character through a phone. The material the script covers is reasonable enough that in the hands of a more skilled suspense director like David Fincher or Chris Nolan, this could have been a great thriller. Instead, we are given a moderately entertaining film that looks like it was made for TV.
Rating: 
Summary: Phone Booth
Review: While this movie has a familiar theme of the bad guy wanting society to admit its sins, it is done is a unique way. The singular setting of the phone booth keeps you riveted to the actions of the characters. The setting also allows viewers to feel the situation the main character is caught in; he is frusterated and feels caught between saving face and telling the truth (while literally being stuck in a phone booth) and we are constrained by the fact we cannot see any other setting. Basically, this movie is a great thriller with moral undertones that make you think of your own situation in life.
Rating:
Summary: Colin is the hottest man alive!
Review: Wow what a great movie! Phone Booth is about a selfish publicist who finds himself in a great deal of trouble after answering an anonymous call from a phone booth. Colin Farrell is great as Stu Shepard. Besides the fact that he is incredibly gorgeous, he plays the part really well, and I actually felt sorry for his character as the movie goes on. Kiefer Sutherland's sniper voice is very creepy. Even though most of the movie takes place in a phone booth, it is not boring, and it will keep you on the edge of your seat. Not too long...only 82 minutes...the other actors are great as well, especially Forest Whitaker as the cop...But, COLIN does steal the show...So, if you like suspenseful movies with hot guys, this one is for you. Can't wait til it comes out on DVD!!
Rating:
Summary: very good movie, Sutherland is perfect!
Review: I first heard of Phone Booth a year or two ago when Jim Carrey had dropped out of the project. I loved the premise: a man answers a ringing phone and steps inside the phone booth. He is told by the man on the phone that he is in the sights of a high powered rifle. The movie will be an hour and a half and will take place almost exclusively in the phone booth. It sounds very experimental and could be a horrible failure or be very interesting. The movie was delayed for a reason I don't remember, and then it was delayed this past fall because of the sniper attacks in Washington D.C. Finally, the movie gets released this April and I finally get a chance to see this movie that I've been hearing about for a long time now. I've already mentioned the basic plot of the movie, so I'll go into a little bit more detail on the story. Colin Farrell plays a slick publicist who calls his girlfriend (but takes off his wedding ring while making the call) from a phone booth so that his wife does not find out about it. When he finishes with the call, the phone rings. He answers it and now finds himself in a situation where if he leaves the booth, a sniper threatens to kill him. The voice of the sniper is played by Keifer Sutherland, and this casting is perfect. I cannot imagine anyone bringing more menace to a phone conversation than Sutherland. While Farrell does a very good job in his role, it is Sutherland that makes the movie. Unfortunately, it is Sutherland's character that is without strong motivation. We must accept that he is a nut, because his reasoning is not very credible (maybe that is the point, but even so). Despite this flaw, I absolutely loved the movie. There was quite a bit of tension and suspense all the way through the film, with enough brief scenes of humor (sometimes the humor came from the tension) to not make it unbearable. Simply put, this was a well played, well acted, and well made film. Not perfect, but it is a very good movie.
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