Rating: 
Summary: terrifically creative melding of reality and fantasy
Review: i'm not even sure how to begin to describe this movie, so i'll just say read some of the previous reviews for that score. it is a blending of fantasy and reality, and in this movie (as in being john malkovich) the lines are quite unclear. it is more linear than being john malkovich, and it is much easier to follow or "get." between the two, i prefer this one. i have to say that chris cooper is my new favorite actor; i am convinced he must actually be missing his front teeth or else the cgi people are more than astoundingly good. a little too much nic cage for me; meryl streep was a bit too shrill for my liking. tilda swinton was awesome; the agent (the guy from office space) was absolutely hilarious. if you liked being john malkovich, you will like this as well; if your favorite movie is sense and sensibility, you will probably not like this. well worth a purchase.
Rating: 
Summary: The Movie
Review: Wonderfully crazy, and let's remember: "We are what we
love," which can mean much suffering.
Rating:
Summary: Five stars are not enough
Review: Adaptation is brilliant, funny, serious, entertaining, complex. I almost didn't review it because I'm limited to five stars. It made me laugh; it made me think; it fooled me. Nicolas Cage is perfect, as usual. Don't miss this one; I'm buying one for myself and one for my daughter.
Rating: 
Summary: I GET it, but it was still dull...
Review: Risking a torment of negative responses, I must say that I was dissapointed with Adaptation. I loved Being John Malkovich. The story that everyone keeps calling "twisted" wasn't all that twisted. It was predictable. From pretty early on in the film it is obvious that we're seeing the screenplay that Charlie wrote. Yes, his brother with his sensationalistic tactics gets involved, and we see the result of the rewrite from that point. I saw the dual performances of Cage, the typical anguished performance of Streep. The plot twist that wasn't was not enough to keep me on the edge of my seat. And yes, I "get" all of the inside formulaic Hollywood bashing. Thing is, and this is important... isn't this a Hollywood movie?
Rating:
Summary: Very Good Movie, but NO DVD Extras
Review: "Adaptation" is a really interesting, well-acted movie. At times, the script is rather self-conscious, but it contains enough smart jabs at the movie industry to create a nice balance. Some of lines are pretty brilliant and will stick with me for awhile. So why only 3 stars? Because of a disappointing DVD package....I skipped seeing "Adaptation" in the theater, mostly because I eagerly anticipated the DVD extras. This movie is the kind of twisty, fairly intellectual movie that you'd expect to have a plethora of extras (especially DVD commentaries). Sadly, the only extra on this version is the trailer (I'm sure you saw it plenty of times in theaters). Ok, I understand that not every moviemaker wants to record a DVD commentary, but "Adaptation" was one of the most critically acclaimed movies of the year. A real disappointment, and I'll be even more disappointed if a Deluxe Version is released a few months from now.
Rating:
Summary: About the ENDING...
Review: I think what a lot of reviewers completely missed (and I found completely hilarious) was that DONALD Kaufman wrote the ending to the movie. That's why you almost barely notice the transition into an action flick with murder and mayhem during the last ~20 minutes. That's the point. That's the joke. That's the ending. Remember when Charlie asked for him to help write the ending? It's because he finally gave in and proclaimed his more socially adept brother as a great writer. That's pretty funny in the context of the movie ending. On a side note, the whole Superbit thing is kind of bogus. Why no extras at the usual DVD price? Is it to rush the delivery of the movie to DVD format? I really don't see a difference in quality between "superbit" and my other high quality DVDs. I won't be purchasing the "special tricked-out ultra-bit mega-edition" of this movie when it's released. We're all being had when that happens.
Rating:
Summary: An original structure is not worth much without good content
Review: Adaptation springs from a real story - or more accurately, a real book called "The Orchid Thief". In that book, a New Yorker journalist details the adventures of an orchid thief called John Laroche. In the movie, screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (a real screenwriter, who worked on Being John Malkovich, amongst other things) is assigned to write a script based on that book. Unfortunately, "The Orchid Thief" has little action, and he cannot find a good angle. We intercut between the past and the present, although the past and the narrative are, to a certain extent, created by Kaufman as he tries to figure out how to write the script. Are you following me ? Following Adaptation's narrative structure is a pleasure. Unfortunately, the story itself is rather mundane. We see Kaufman hit on some good or goofy ideas as he writes his screenplay (such as scenes with Charles Darwin writing his book, or a montage of all the stages of the evolution of species). But Kaufman himself is the cliché of the extremely neurotic professional, and much is made of his incapacity to talk to people. And this topped off with another stupid action ending, I'm afraid. I understand how it fits in the whole narrative, I just didn't care for it. In the end, an original structure is not worth much without good content to put in it, and this is a case that demands better. If you want to see this concept executed masterfully, I strongly encourage you to see 8 1/2, by Fellini. Heck, if you haven't seen 8 1/2 yet, go see it regardless ! And skip Adaptation.
Rating:
Summary: antiHollywood
Review: Keeping things simple, Adaptation is a fine example of a near-Escher logic and structure. Things turn in on themselves and never quite appear as they seem. Nicholas Cage gives two excellent performances as a seriously on the edge screenwriter with a ton of problems, in particular no way to write a story based on a book he admires that has little action and is about orchids, not a winning formular for a screenplay. This could have gotten sophomoric easily and to the film's credit and the fine acting of the cast instead we see twists and turns within the mind and within the plot. Reality faces inner monologue and inner monologue becomes reality...oh, and the film is non-linear which takes the viewer on a sensory rollercoaster ride. Truths are told as the convoluted story, which is fairly easy to follow, makes it's way through something you'd expect to read in a gonzo, prozac gone bad, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas kind of way. The last 30 minutes (or if you prefer third act)change in tone and style, collapsing in mood and sudden linear exposition and action. On first viewing it was a bit of a disappointment but watching the film a second time it was a good choice and made sense. An entertaining film and enlightening. You learn a lot about the creative process and the toll it can take on writers if you come away with nothing else, and there are many other areas explored. Adaptation is one of the few films that is fun to watch, challenging and not so arty as to be condecending to the audience which is probably how it got made. That and the success of Being John Malcovich by the same screenwriter/director team. Adaptation is everything a film should be.
Rating: 
Summary: "Adaptation" of a Disaster
Review: "Adaptation" will, probably, be remembered among the 10 worst films produced in this Century.
Why the talented and beautiful Meryl Streep agreed to be part of this fiasco will, probably, remain known only to her. The story line & script would become lost in the eye of a needle. Gage plays his usual neurotic self. How this film won any awards is beyond me. I will not type the rating that I would give it.
Rating:
Summary: These people must be watching a different movie!
Review: Don't listen to them--this is the funniest movie I've ever seen. I sat in the theatre and laughed until the tears were streaming down my face! It's a masterpiece: the performances, the writing, the directing and the editing. I cheered when Chris Cooper won the Oscar.
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