Rating: Summary: not bad,but not the best... Review: well,i would say, this US remake of the ring is not bad,,copare to many other hollywood horror in past 10 years or so, it was well done.( not too much CG,especialy CG made monster in many other films such as Resident Evil) but if you see japanese original,you will see, US version is not showing charactors deep enough, such as anguish, fear etc.i think,they could make it better, but if you see this movie as original movie,not remake, maybe i can say its made fine. but if you have a chance, i recommend you to watch japanese original one. its surely more spooky,and better.
Rating: Summary: not as creepy as Ringu :-( Review: High-budget remakes don't always turn out better than their predecessors. And this is a good example. The creepiness from Ringu just didn't transfer very well onto this remake. I'd rather not give away too much detail by explaining why. However, I think one of the reasons that makes The Ring nearly as good as Ringu is that more viewers understand english. Afterall, who likes reading subtitles?
Rating: Summary: The (Bo)Ring Review: If you thought this was scary, you either think On The Line is a cinematic masterpiece, or you have no sense at all. Oh, wait, same difference. This is pure hokey, watered-down, cheap, mainstream garbage. If it actually scared you, you got problems. Just watch the original.
Rating: Summary: Classic psychological thriller Review: I'll agree with many of the critics and bashers of this film who complain that it is too full of plot holes and that it leaves too many questions unanswered. For that, I'll only give it four stars, because aside from these flaws, this was a seriously creepy movie. I thought it was infinitely scarier and more believable than the ridiculous "Signs." I agree with many of the comparisons people have made with "The Exorcist." Aside from the fact that cute, seemingly harmless little girls feature prominently in both stories, "The Ring" resembles "The Exorcist" in its dark, malevolent mood. Like "The Blair Witch Project," this is a horror movie blissfully free of blood and gore. The horror of this film comes from hints at things unseen and incredibly disturbing imagery. I've heard many people complain about the twist ending- indeed, it would have been fine with me if the film had ended fifteen minutes earlier. I will say that this ending, unecessary as it might have been, provides one of the most disturbing scenes I have ever seen on film. I found Naomi Watts to be wonderful in this role, almost as impressive as her part in "Mulholland Drive." She really held this movie together for me, because I wasn't particularly enamoured with the other actors (not to say that they were bad). I haven't yet seen the Japanese version of this film (though I have looked for it), so I can't make comparisons. It wouldn't surprise me if this is a dumbed down, Americanized version (see "The Vanishing" for a particularly egregious example of this phenomenon). Even if this is an inferior version, however, it is still one of the finer horror films I have seen in a long, long time.
Rating: Summary: Should have been titled "The Stink" Review: 1. Totally non-frightening, because 2. Absolutely incoherent 3. If it rained that hard, for that long, in Seattle, the area would have been depopulated long ago.
Rating: Summary: For better of worse, it's a decent effort. Review: While watching "The Ring", the last thing I wanted to do was to draw comparisons with the original Japanese "Ringu". Simply because I wanted to enjoy it as what it is, rather than a revisited English version of a same film. Unfortunately, I found comparisons to be inevitable. Not saying that "The Ring" is either superior or inferior, but it stayed very truthful to the original material it was based on, too truthful. For viewers who haven't had a chance to see "Ringu", you will find idea of "The Ring" wholly unique, nevertheless bizarre and ridiculous at the same time, depending on your cynicism level. But for those who have seen the original, you may think that the story of this US remake unfolds in an almost identical way, even though some incidents along the way were inserted or slightly altered to cater for the vaster audiences. In certain cases these alterations are actually an improvement that contributes to the mood of the story, as well as providing hints and clues of the final conclusion. In Japan, like in China and many other countries in Asia, they have long history that consists of countless mythical tales and legends about the spiritual realm, so a cursed video may seem vividly possible, while seems far-fetched and hard to swallow to the English-speaking world. But in order to retain that sense of myth, a lot of elements converted (or rather not converted) into the US version do feel quite out of place. Verbinski, while flaring some ingenious camera setups, did not tackle the subtlety a movie that is largely atmospheric requires. "The Ring" is a material which M. Night Shyamalan could probably do while he sleepwalks, and his knack for psychological thrills and minimalism style would surely be effective here. Perhaps looking at Verbinski's résumé (Mousehunt, The Mexicans), he may be too cynical for a subject that deals with a video tape that kills people. However with the limited amount of Gore (no puns intended), he did succeed in letting some genuine chills creep into the audiences at the sublimal level. Where "The Ring" did fail is, not having convincing characters. Naomi Watts serves up a decent job as a career-driven news reporter, but she did not look frightened or concerned enough for a single-mother who knows her exact time and date of death. There was no sense of emergency that she is desperate to find out how to lift the curse, instead she spends the entire time questioning who was involved in the sad story behind the video. By the end of the seventh day the audiences are left to wander off somewhere forgetting why she needs to find out about the origin of the video in the first place. Secondly the son Aidan is too creepy, and without a trace of innocence for us to really care about what will happen to him. He shares no chemistry with his mother, spending the entire time staring into the far place, drawing dark pictures, or mumbling something about a imaginary friend. In another word, he seems more like a possessed puppet than your little nephew you would like to take to the carnival. In Alejandro Amenavar's "The Others", in Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining", or even in the most obvious example, Shyamalan's "The Sixth Sense", children's straightforward manner and innocence proved to be far more effective in creating sense of peril, and in that matter, way more disturbing. Another disappointing performance is from Martin Henderson as Noah. He has great presence, but again he does not convey any chemistry with the other actors in the film. The expression he has for not believing the nonsense of a killer video is not so different from the one he knows his life could be in threat. Is he helping Rachel because he does have feelings for her, or does he just hope to get laid again because she is still hot? It was not explained, nor do we really care much. Though the number of extras on this DVD is disappointing, what it does offer is in fact quite neat. The picture is sharp and crisp, providing a good contrast of the grayish grim look of the film, with the bursting colors at times that will permanently damage your retina (in some way it actually distracts you from the mood the film is supposed to have). While the sound may not give your system a throughout workout, the localization is quite well defined, and provide a good dimension for the otherwise monotone sound effects, therefore making the few shock-tricks exceptionally powerful (needless to say the DTS track again proves to be the champion of cinema sound). An advertised "never-before-seen short film" could be seen by selecting the "Don't look here" option on the main menu. It is in fact a collection of deleted and extended scenes, featuring a few more graphic sequences trimmed from the theatrical release. Without commentary or additional information, it doesn't really reveal any more insights or secret than the film itself, but would definitely affect the rating if they were incorporated back into the film as an "uncut edition". Yet whether it would be a better viewing experience is another question. Also included is a very brief trailer of the original "Ringu" on DVD (also released by Dreamworks, surprise, surprise!), a theatrical trailer of "Catch Me If You Can", and an "8 Mile" DVD promo spot. If you are patient enough to play around with the remote a little bit more, you may find a not so pleasant easter egg! Overall "The Ring" DVD is a nice little package that will make your collection looks better...is that your phone ringing?
Rating: Summary: Fantastically done Review: This is an original, fascinating, and truly scary horror movie. Those few flaws which I found in my initial viewing of the movie have been remedied with artistic flair by the deleted scenes included in the DVD release. Simply brilliant. A masterful horror film.
Rating: Summary: A creepy and pretty film made to set up sequels.... Review: Rented the RING last night and watched "the 3 scary parts" this morning, so this review is fresh! I like to bulletize my reviews to break things down to basics. So here goes.... -I was concidering buying this.... maybe if it goes on deep discount. -The film has a very spooky feal to it but not many scares. I was most startled by cenetipede crawling out from under a paper. -The story has too many holes (no pun intended) to count. Perhaps if they didn't try to explain any of it I would have accepted it. -This has "Sequel" written all over it. "Ringu" has 2 sequels. -If you like the feal but not the story, try "The Shining". Much more cohesive without explaining everything. -Camera work is outstanding. -Excellent use of music and sound(or quiet)to set the mood. -Some of the deleated scenes should be put back. Why not? The story is already disjointed. -A very quiet movie that forces you to turn up the volume... ... then ZAPS you with something loud but perhaps not scary. -The video was the most spooky thing in the film. If it just lead to something.... -This is a "scary mystery" story. The problem is the clues don't really solve anything. It all turned out to be pointless. -"The Exorcist" with aging special affects is still much scarier than this, and it actually has a beginning and an end. -5 better movies that will leave you fealing disturbed and uneasy: Shinning, Exorcist, "living Dead" trilogy, Silence of the lambs and the original "Hellraiser". (now that's scary!) This film left me wanting. Rent it first. -
Rating: Summary: An "now I get it.." movie Review: All in all an OK movie, for those rainy sunday-afternoons. The plot is good.. the ending better. You will only "get" this movie by watching the ending. Personally I like these kind of movies. Although the story is refreshing it sometimes rushes through the plot trying to fit the time frame. I'd rather see "The Ring" as an 3 hour movie, so they could tell the story better. Alas we've got this version. In favour of the movie I would like to say that it is a perfect blend of Blairwitch (part 2)and "the 6th sense". A shame however that M. Night Shaylamalan(??) ,director and writer of "The 6th Sense", hasn't directed this movie, for he could visualize it much better. But they didn't even ask him. I strongly recomend "Ringu" the ORIGINAL japanese version (yes... HOLLYWOOD didn't come up with this movie) for it is certainly better!! Even if you don't understand Japanese.
Rating: Summary: Total .... Review: ... It is not scary but stupid. The only movies worse than this is "The Blair Witch Project" and "Horror House on Highway 5." The second best part of the movie was the first 10 minutes and quickly went down hill (the best part was the credits). Do not waste your time. Terrible!!!!
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