Rating: 
Summary: Terrible
Review: This is one of the most terrible films I have ever seen. It is awful in its violence and at times the unspoken is even more dreadful. Basically these guys go on a rampage of killing yet there is never an explination why. They seem to just kill and torture for the fun of it. The acting is good but at times hollow and not a realistic depiction of fright. Basically it is a flim that should have never been made and would be better left in the box. If you are a serial killer or death is your thing then you might enjoy it. Otherwise take my advice and stay away. It reminds me why European cinema does not work in the U.S. We want tidy endings or at least to understand. This film provides none of that.
Rating:
Summary: terrible
Review: If I was a serial killer I would love this film. It is simply the most terrible film I think I have ever seen. It is killing without motive. It makes me realize why I like American films and tend to loath European films. I keep trying but this is a film without point and grotesque in its presentation and theme.I think that it is a piece of @#$@#@ that should have never been made and at best never viewed.
Rating: 
Summary: I'm not quite sure what to make of this movie.
Review: I do know one thing: I've never seen a movie quite like this before. After I watched it, I just kind of sat there staring at thescreen for several minutes, not really knowing what to think. This movie wasn't really what I expected- or mentally prepared for. I didn't expect the movie to have such a cold, flat tone, for one thing. For another, I didn't expect it to be so, well, depressing. The plot concerns a family-two parents, one young boy, and a dog-have recently arrived at their summer home by the lake for a nice relaxing vacation. The relaxing part lasts maybe 10 minutes, tops. Two young men trick their way into their home and, for no apparent reason, proceed to play mind games with them, torture them psychologically, emotionally, and physically, and that's as far as I can go without spoilers. That's about the extent of the plot. Some people have said the movie is very unrealistic. Those of us who have known someone who was the victim of a motive-less homicide in their own home would disagree. I have always been extremely careful, andnever open the door of my home to a stranger. After watching thismovie, any stranger I find in my home will probably end up being beaten by a pulp and then kicked down a flight of stairs by me, even if they turn out to be completely harmless. Also, never trust anyone who is wearing surgical gloves for no apparent reason. Perhaps the only part I thought was unrealistic was the fact that the husband takes several fatal minutes to try to hear both sides of the story before deciding to do anything. Now if *my* spouse walked in, saw two men in our house we barely knew, and me on the verge of tears telling him to make them leave, they would eithe rbe gone in less than 5 seconds or something violent would occur to at least one of the parties involved. People have called this movie extremely disturbing. I'd give it maybe a 7 or 8 on a scale of one to ten, one being Ghostbusters and ten being, say, the uncut original Ilsa. What kept it from being all-out disturbing for me? Fortunately,one of the killers frequently breaks the "fourth wall" and talks directly to the camera. There's also a scene where one of the killers grabs the TV remote control and rewinds the movie for a couple minutes so they can change the outcome. While I admire the film-maker for being original, and I understand the statement he was trying to make with this, it mostly killed my suspension of disbelief(characters stopping the action by turning to the camera and asking the viewer a question will definitely do that). I'm glad this happened, however. Otherwise, this movie would have given me nightmares. The scene about 2/3 through the movie that people mentionas being the most shocking and upsetting was so painfully realistic I had to look away. We don't see the actual act, just the aftermath,which is much more effective. I don't think I'll get the image of Anna on the couch out of my head for a long, long time; the director shot the scene in 'real time', and everything is so still for so long that I actually thought for a minute that my DVD had frozen up. Again,I'm not really sure what to make of this movie, or even how to find the words to describe it. Usually I write reviews fairly quickly; for this one I almost felt like I was back in college trying to answer an essay question. I guess that says something right there. On the negative side, I don't like when directors manipulate the audience's emotions, especially with gimmicks. The plot is very thin, and there is no real 'climax' at the end; something happens and the movie just sort of meanders off. I also felt at times like I was being preached to. I can't really use the word 'positive' to explain the things that I thought were effective, or say that there were things I 'liked' or 'enjoyed'. This is not a likeable movie. Instead, here are the things that I thought worked well or were memorable. The acting was superb; the actress playing Anna was so good that I actually had to remind myself at times that I was watching a movie and not a documentary or snuff film. There's no score. I was never able to predict what was going to happen next. We never see the most violent acts, only the aftermath. This is not what I would call a gory movie,but it is still sickening enough that I couldn't eat while watching it. The film never glamorizes violence, makes it look cool, or portrays the slightest bit of likeability in the killers. It has the courage to be utterly downbeat and grim. I don't even know who to recommend this movie to. I'm at a loss, which has never happened before. Adults only. Perhaps people that saw Natural Born Killers and thought Mickey and Mallory were the heroes, or people who went out and bought OJ Simpson masks to wear as a Halloween costume--in other words, those who should see and consider the victim's side. I know who should NOT see the movie- those who are easily disturbed, worry obsessively about something happening to their family or have lost someone they know to a homicide, or people expecting something enjoyably spooky. If you want black humor, watch Bad Lieutenant or The Frighteners or something else. I have a pretty morbid sense of humor at times and I didn't crack a smile once. ...I had never heard [before]the director's statement that people that walk out because they can't take the movie don't need it, while the people that sit through the entire movie do it because they need it. Since I sat through themovie, I really would rather not dwell on what that says about my personality and morals. No thanks, I don't think I'll go there.
Rating: 
Summary: Extraordinarily Disturbing - What Nightmares Are Made of..
Review: This was one of the most disturbing movies I have ever seen.. I was about to be sick of my stomach, and yet - I couln't stop watch the darn thing - hoping that something 'good' would happen.
Rating: 
Summary: dredging through true horror
Review: Michael Haneke has done it again. He is the only filmmmaker with wide U.S. distribution who is creating true horror. "Funny Games" works at a brisk pace by comparison to his earlier vision of a familial apocalypse, "The Seventh Continent".
This is not to say however, that this is a fast flow picture. The film drags the viewer through the menacing of an affulent Austrian family on holiday by a couple of sociopaths of undisclosed backgrounds. It is an utterly hopeless glimpse of the anihilation of innocents by two seemingly souless societal abberrations. The acting is superior! The ideas are well developed. Haneke plumbs the realities of violence and contrasts them with the cartoonization of it by mainstream cinema. This is exquistely illustrated in the films' rewind sequence.
The movie plays like a slow motion viewing of a head-on collision between a horse drawn carriage and a tank. "Funny Games" is devastation plain and simple. This must be the closest a film can come to what it would be like to have your world rended by a brush with uncompromising sickness.
Why would someone want to watch this kind of thing? Because it takes aim at many filmmakers' love affair with high body counts and low soul coefficients. In our realities as human beings, the majority of people who die at the hands of others don't utter ridiculous heroic affirmations while doing so. Also, "Funny Games" points out that those who commit such actions are seldom going to be able to lose any thing so dear to them as that which they have taken from others...because for them, nothing is.
I have read the complaints about this film. They are accurate in fact, but missing the point where intent is concerned. The film does indulge in the subject matter it indicts. This could have been the undoing of "Funny Games" except that it never strays from the abject nature of it's events. Even when the action is subjected to ridiculous midstream revisions, it is done only to further purge hope from it's universe of terror.
Rating:
Summary: Be forewarned: HIGHLY disturbing flick...
Review: I usually have a strong stomach when watching movies, but the earlier reviewers are quite correct in their assesment of this film: it's incredibly unsettling to view. The torture the family endures (both physically and psychologically) is unrelenting, and the moral culpability of the viewer in "participating" in these acts leaves one feeling squeamish. I don't think I've ever been more stressed while watching a movie. Be careful: NOT for the faint of heart...
Rating:
Summary: excellent (7.5/10)
Review: i was reading a bunch of these peoples reviews and they just don't seem to understand what this movie's intentions are. Yes, the movie is violent; Yes, the movie is gruesome; YES, the movie is hopeless. but that's what makes it great, watching this movie is a reflection of your personality. YOU ARE THE GUYS IN WHITE, YOU ARE THE ONES THAT CONTINUE TO LET THIS POOR FAMILY GET TOURTURED BY NOT SHUTTING IT OFF. maybe you just don't get the symbolism behind the remote or something. this movie is excellent, boder-line brilliant.
Rating:
Summary: Shocking movie... but the reality is more shocking
Review: Really tastes differ...In spite of this the movie is worth watching for everybody.It seems to be treated as a classic one in years to come. The movie was showed on Russian TV tonight. Strange thoughts,parallels and post-feeling pursue me and my friends... Criminal KGB group has captured Power here and keep torturing long-suffering Russia like those bad guys. The end will be the same like in the great Michael Haneke's movie.The Russian people even doesn't resist being in dreaming,shocked by the incredible actions of their beloved rulers(explosives of their own living buildings and so on),non-declared war in Chechnya and many other things done to obtain ratings and provide electing KGB colonel to escape revenge for every criminal thing they commited betraying Democracy and Freedom in the country.Many honesty people here watching degradation of the Power that bring them tortures, emotional sufferings, a feeling of a destiny crush of their own country.Nobody here cannot even rewind these horrible scenes to the starting points...It is already impossible. Too much late.
Rating:
Summary: Defies all expectations as the least violent horror ever.
Review: Funny Games opens with a happy family of three sitting in a car, playing guessing games with classical music. Two hours later, games of an altogether different sort have been played, with guns, knives and golf clubs. The film's plot could be described as flimsy if you wanted to be positive, virtually non-existent if you didn't. Two youths (one fat, dim and awkward, the other slim, intelligent and cruel, both psychotic) clad in t-shirts, shorts and plastic gloves pop over to a holiday home one summer and terrorise the family of three living there, making a bet with them that they'll all be dead before morning. But where the plot fails to astound, the film in general succeeds, in many places with flying colours. As a straightforward attempt to shock, this could be average at best, but fortunately Funny Games does not take itself too seriously. In fact, for "too seriously", read "not seriously at all" - there are several moments in the film where "Paul" (one of the slim youth's many aliases) turns to the camera and asks the viewer which plot development would be more fun, and at one point he even turns and winks at you, as if sharing a private joke. Although the mentions of guns and knives and the obviously ironic title may have you believe otherwise, Funny Games has barely any on-screen violence. There's blood, yes, but nearly all of it is either running down walls or staining clothes and skin - for the most part, all you'll hear are thuds, bangs and shrieks of pain, and while this may disappoint the more extreme cinemagoer, it's still an extremely effective method. The film's main criticism is that perhaps it tries a little hard to be different, and in doing so occasionally gets a little too surreal for its own good - the little knowing looks to the viewer are tolerable, but the scene in which Paul rewinds time with a remote control? As the saying goes, puh-LEASE. All in all, however, Funny Games is an extremely underloved film, and one that should be described as an overlooked classic in years to come.
Rating:
Summary: ABSOLUTELY SCARY
Review: This is easily one of the most disturbing films since David Fincher's "Seven". Two teenage boys terrorize a couple and their young boy in their lakeside home. Violent games ensue leading to some truly horrific events. It's brutally realistic (but never exploitative) and will rattle even the most jaded viewer. Although making a comment on why we as viewers are watching (and thus somewhat taking part) in these events, the film's major strength is really just in the terror of the situation. You feel like you are in the house with them, not knowing what may be next or, even worse, absolutely sure what is about to happen. There is no graphic gore which once again proves that the less you see is much more horrific. The performances by everyone in this film (including the young boy) are absolutely 100% on-the-money real life. This is one incredibly powerful and emotional film that will stick with you. The film even makes a sly comment (in an incredible scene) on viewers who may be "offended" by such subject matter --- do you want to change the ending? These games are not funny, just like in real life. Buy this now!
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