Rating: 
Summary: Hysterical, warped, bizarre yet flawed contemporary comedy.
Review: Nicolas Cage gives his edgiest performance in years, as Charlie Kaufman and twin brother Donald. Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper star as opposites-attract real-life characters, Susan Orlean (author of the Orchid Thief) and John LaRoche, horticulturist and the "orchid thief" himself. Brian Cox blusters brilliantly in a hilarious yet oddly touching ten minute supporting part as screenwriting guru Robert McKee. Adaptation is an adaptation of Orlean's the Orchid Thief. But it is a chronicle of the difficult task of writing that screenplay. It is intentionally and whole-heartedly an odd and difficult movie to sum up with conventional logic. What is real and what isn't? What is based on life? What is based on the book? And finally is it all just based simply on pure artistic chicanery?Don't be fooled by the movie's alleged esoterism. Director Spike Jonze and real-life screenwriter Charlie Kaufman still plan on telling a story that has universal appeal. Orlean's The Orchid Thief dealt with disappointment and people's perception of success and failure. In thematic response, the plot of Charlie Kaufman's struggle to adapt the Orchid Thief, whilst being surrounded by his infinitely more successful brother, Donald, revolves around disappointment too. These themes resonate with the viewer. We grow to equally identify with Donald's good-natured ignorance as protoganist Charlie's paranoid neurosis. If one thinks outside the box (which is an absolute requirement for watching this movie) is is apparent that Charlie and Donald represent different sides of the same person (the real-lifeKaufman). Charlie reminded me of the Adam Sandler character, Barry Egan in Paul Thomas Anderson's vibrant and beautiful Punch-Drunk Love. Both are too afraid of themselves to love. Both are intelligent and decidedly kooky, and fall in love with exotic British women. Comparisons of the films as wholes have been made, but Punch-Drunk Love is decidedly more artsy and classical in sensibility...requiring patience to enjoy its beauties. Adaptation for all its weirdness is more bent on making the audience have a good time (but with brain and oddball sense of humor attached of course). An argument exists that this movie's utterly odd and warped conclusion is a cop-out. Though i daren't spoil the surprise of what happens, the notion that Jonze and Kaufman express is one that requires deep consideration on the part of the film viewer. Is it a cop-out if there's a reason behind the cop-out? Afterall, we only know what we see. Can a movie rely on implications and get away with it? These are questions Jonze and Kaufman invite the viewer to pore over. Adaptation is a thought-provoking but still viscerally entertaining shot of pure cinema. Love it, then think about it afterwards.
Rating: 
Summary: I never wanted to watch a movie about a screenwriter
Review: Great cast, lacking movie. Nicholas Cage plays twin brothers, the screenwriter of this movie that perpetually whines about everything. His brother obviously got the better half of his personality. The movies starts with one of these whines. This screenwriter famous for "Being John Malkovitch" is assigned the screenplay of the book the Orchid thief. He botches the interview because his social skills with women, leave him a bumbling idiot, but he still gets the job. Simultaneously, you see the author of the book portrayed by Meryl Streep, beginning the interviews that prompted the writing of the book. The Orchid thief is about a gentleman "Laroche" that is a bit of a back woods nut that goes onto state preserves and steals orchids to grow them. It is evident during the interview that his man gets obsessed with one thing or the other. First it was turtles, then fish and now orchids. Meryl Streep's characters finds this "love" a focus for her emotionless life. As the movie jumps back and forth, you see Nicholas Cage's character writing what you just saw. That was neat the first 3 times you saw it. After that, you just want to say, okay, okay now I get it. The story goes on about the twin brothers relationship. You can clearly see, that one's glum attitude brings just what he expects and the other ones sunny dispostion, gets just that as well. All this while the story of Orchid thief continues. At one point in time the writer goes to a seminar his brother recommends while he is in NY. Here you see the formula for this movie painted for you. In a conversation, with the speaker the writer gets the ending for this movie all mapped out. Basically, forget what it is in the book, take an artistic license and make it your own story. This is obvious what happens in the end... and leaves me sorrily disappointed. The movies drags. You are tired of Nicholas Cages whining. The obsessions and life of the Orchid thief never really gets to the forefront. You wonder why you rented this movie. I'm sure the author of the book is glad, they did not reuse the name of their book, for it had little to do with it. The movie makes the assumption that the book does not have what it takes to make a movie. It assumes the life of an insecure screenwriter is more interesting than the story the author wrote. I disagree with both and am tired of these formulas in movies. All this artsy stuff is lost on me. How about just telling a story.
Rating:
Summary: Not For Everybody!
Review: This is not a typical film. I can't stress this enough. Nicolaus Cage was brillant in this film however the film suffered from points of incoherence that could not be saved by even Meryl Streep. I can't say that this film was absolutely terrible neither can I say it was particularly good. Audiences that are used to films with more of a linear plot direction will tire of this film very very quickly. I recommend renting first of course but the ending felt rushed and anticlimatic. Seriously, RENT FIRST!!!
Rating:
Summary: Best movie of the year
Review: This movie blew my mind. I didn't see it in the theaters for a couple of reasons. One, I work at a movie theater and we didn't get it, and after 3 years I don't really like paying for movies. Reason two, I really don't like Nicolas Cage in the least bit...except for this movie. He is absolutely brilliant portraying Charlie Kaufman and his fictional twin brother Donald. While one would think that it might be hard to tell them apart, Cage somehow sounds different as the characters and pulls off their completely opposite personalities flawlessly. Adaptation's story is also one of the most original and bizarre things that I have ever watched. To put it in the most simple way I can, it's about Charlie Kaufman trying to write a screenplay for a book called "The Orchid Thief". The book, written by The New Yorker writer Susan Orlean doesn't have a real plot to it, so Kaufman ends up writing himself into his own script, creating a fictional twin brother, and switching back and forth between scenes of him trying to write and some of the events that take place in the novel. Sound confusing? It isn't. If you sit down and actually pay attention to the movie, you can figure it out. But if you're excited for 2 Fast 2 Furious, then I wouldn't recommend this movie to you at all. The most brilliant part of this movie is the last 20-25 minutes. Don't let people tell you that it's horrible because it packs in just about every Hollywood cliche there ever has been. That's pretty much the point of it, to show how movies have gotten worse as the years have gone by. I wouldn't even bother watching newer movies still if it wasn't for Spike Jonze, P.T. Anderson, Martin Scorsese, and, perhaps the most brilliant new director, Darren Aronofsky. As I said before, if you are a thinking man(or woman)and can appreciate the humor and brilliance of this movie, rent this first and then go out and buy it the next day.
Rating: 
Summary: A Tedious Exercise
Review: Adaptation straddles the border between being clever and being smug. There were some amusing scenes, but by the end of the film I felt that the filmmakers probably had more fun making the film than I actually had watching it. Despite Jonze's amusing camera tricks, this probably worked better as a screenplay than it does as a film.
Rating: 
Summary: It's oh so wonderful and oh so rewarding
Review: In a film about a man writing a screenplay about life without sex, drugs, drama, action, comedy, and all that Hollywood jazz, 'Adaptation' becomes a movie composed of sex, drugs, drama, action, comedy, and all that Hollywood jazz. Didn't like the way that sentence made you think? Then don't watch this movie. This is one of the craziest, most atypically typical movies to come out of recent years. And what should we expect from a guy (Spike Jonze) who brought us a movie about a porthole to John Malkovich's brain? 'Adaptation' stars Nicolas Cage, Chris Cooper, Meryl Streep, and... well, Nicolas Cage. It will go without saying 15 minutes into the film that it is not your average piece of work. Even if at the end it appears its as average as anything you've ever seen. I was a bit worried about all the praise set over the head of this film, but was more than impressed with almost all of its aspects. Alas, there were a few climactic points I found to be a bit disappointing. But then again, that's life. In this motion picture, Cage stars as Charlie Kaufman, who is presently struggling over a script for "The Orchid Thief" (a book about flowers) he's to adapt into a movie. The reason Kaufman struggles is not because he's unintelligent or a bad writer, but because he wants [his] film to be real. "Real" in the sense that it's only about flowers. Nothing more, nothing less. Genuinely precise; as he might envision. Saying that Charlie experiences an exceptional case of writer's block would be understating the situation rather nonchalantly. Along with his endless writing problems, he has a twin brother, Donald (Cage again), also a writer, who is frequently at his heels begging for helpful tips on his own screenplay; which is a thriller/horror film about split personalities and cops, entitled 'The 3' (go figure). What makes Don so amiable is that he does everything by the book. Or at least derived from whatever writing guru McKee (played brilliantly by Brian Cox) tells him. Fittingly enough, that's exactly how Charlie would never do it. Or so he thinks. There is great contrast betwixt Charlie and Don; allowing for some great comical passages. Those fruitful, but important scenes (along with the appearance by Ron Livingston), are the lone laughable ingredients in 'Adaptation'. And they're just enough. On top of it all, Charlie has troubles with his "sex" life. We won't even go there. When we are not seeing Charlie write and bicker with his identical twin, we see past assembly with John Laroche (Cooper) and Susan Orlean (Streep). Laroche is a scruffy but loveable orchid pilferer who becomes infamous when he's caught stealing a rare, endangered flower. He is then pursued by THE NEW YORKER journalist Susan Orlean, who consequently writes the book "The Orchid Thief" based on her experiences with Laroche and his flower-filled expeditions and stories. That somewhat brings you up to speed. The plot for 'Adaptation' is very long and (probably) too in-depth for me to review justly. And to be honest, if I kept going on and on it would spoil the film's originality and it's prominence as a "great" movie. Here, the hype is certainly not over-hyped. The few weak points I found within the movie are only weak points because I didn't like the way they flowed with the movie. The movie goes in a kind of slow, laid back manner that allows you to think while still being, to a large extent, entertained. During the climaxes--which are the only time you'll be expected to tolerate action sequences--the effects and affects were minimal compared to the dramatic and melodramatic parts. Some of them were very, very good (specifically the car crashes); but one in particular was upsetting. I won't spoil it for you. Still, as I said before, that's life. The acting by everyone is more than superb. It's obvious why they and the movie got so many Academy Award nominations (four, to be exact). Because this film is so incredibly different from 'Being John Malkovich', I can't say if you liked that one you'll like this one. I can, however, say that if you enjoy Nicolas Cage's work and/or an engaging thrill ride at the hands of flowers and wonderfully calculated drama- you will love 'Adaptation'. I highly recommend you watch this film before you go to bed. Not when you're tired, but so when you're in bed you can lay back and just think about how good this movie actually is.
Rating:
Summary: Picking up where Fellini left off
Review: This film is going to garner a lot of comparison to 8 1/2 and deservedly so, it's among the few movies about movies that morphs into what it is actually attempting to deconstruct, comment on, whatever. 8 1/2 is a sort of meandering film that splits it's time between the protagonist director's (Fellini's) thoughts on women and on the movie within the movie that we're watching and likewise, Adaptation gives us an epic human story within what is essentially an inside joke. Hollywood types, screenwriters and more importantly aspiring screenwriters will get all the jokes and laugh to themselves at Brian Cox's brilliant portrayal of Robert McKee, but what this movie does is change, unlike 8 1/2 which always sort of feels like it is aware of what it is (it's smart, it's witty, it's self aware because the genre requires it). Adaptation makes a point of not knowing where it's going, not knowing what it's about, but staying true to the human elements the director and writer have worked into the film. These are what we hold onto as the story starts to become what it seems to abhor (an erotic, action, suspense film). What's amazing about Adaptation is that the cliches built into the movie, the cliches that are supposed to make fun of the Hollywood process and the people, actually come off as genuine because of the honesty of the characters. People are put off by the ending, the car accident, the action, but even 8 1/2 embraced the sort of spectacle of movie endings with the space shuttle and the party with all the returning characters. These elements are what writers and directors have been working with since the beginning of movies. The lonely writer, the split screen twin brother story, the eccentric hick, the drug mystery, the sappy dying last words, three act sturcture, reversal of expectations, big ending. And they are all in this movie, but it remains real and the characters remain fresh and alive. Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufmann are among the most innovative people making movies today.
Rating: 
Summary: smellavision is here
Review: i can't imagine how ms. streep got herself into this mess. it could only have been meant to be passed from one screen-writer to another as an in joke. when i got to the final scenes that took place in the swamp, (with my favorite character, the alligator) the smell was overpowering!
Rating:
Summary: The torture to entertain...
Review: Although this movie is not unusual in its theme - successful but fragile artist examines the industry and their place within it in hopes of making sense of their life - it has been done better. Cage as screenwriter Kaufman gives a great performance but through all the machinations and twists of the movie I just didn't care what happened to him. In the opening sequence we see Kaufman being largely ignored by the crew and actors on the filming set of his movie Being John Malkovich which I found an absurb exposition upon which to base the character and the movie. In trying to explain his secret of not caring what other people think his brother tells him he always felt himself defined by who he loved, not by who loved him. Yes and a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down too! So many writers and directors have done what Adaptation should have been able to do without the scoops of vanilla ice cream coming at you all the time. As another reviewer has suggested 81/2 by Fellini is much better than Adaptation.
Rating:
Summary: Creative
Review: This is a very creative screenplay about the challenges facing a neurotic screenwriter trying to adapt a book into a movie. About the challenge of trying to do something inventive, while reluctantly conceding the need to conform to traditional dramatic formulas. Among other things, it parodies the way writers invent bogus life lessons for the audience to take home, highlighting the way audiences desperately want a movie to be about something. (Premise vs. story.) Read some of the reviews ' it's fascinating yet pathetic to see that people actually do swallow these hook-line-and-sinker. The screenwriters must find this hilarious. Nicholas Cage is amazing in this movie. His performance in the opening scene (at lunch with the studio executive) is absolutely brilliant.
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