Rating: 
Summary: EXCESS
Review: Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman is vile and disgusting... just like he is supposed to be. In a tale based on a best-selling novel, this disturbing film showcases the excesses and disposability of American life in the 1980s. Bateman is a successful and financially well off New York corporate suit and tie who hangs around with other shallow and plastic carbon copies of himself. They compare business cards and become excited by the lettering and exact colours of the cards. It is quite stunning in its brutal shallowness. But when it comes to brutal, there is nothing quite so brutal as Bateman's disposable attitude toward people. About one quarter of the way into the movie, you realise that Bateman, while plastic and passionless in most ways, cannot get his aggressions and feelings out through any means of expression but violent and heinous murder. He murders prostitutes, strangers, co workers. You name it. The graphic depictions of these murders are unbelievable and caused controversy when the film was released. Strangely enough, though, all the violence and blood and gore makes it onto the screen but a sex scene between Bateman and two prostitutes was censored. The funny thing about this film is that while there are a few notable actors in it (Chloe Sevigny as Bateman's secretary, Reese Witherspoon as Bateman's fiancée, Jared Leto as Bateman's office nemesis Paul Allen, and Samantha Mathis as Bateman's sometime sex partner) none of them is more than one dimensional, except maybe the secretary simply because she is not caught up in the plastic world which all these others occupy. I suppose this is the point and all the actors have done their jobs well as a result. Is this a good movie worth your time? Not so sure. I went to see it at the cinema when it was first released, and I had to get up and leave halfway through because there were people all around me eating and making too much noise. The movie was good enough to sit through, but it was not gripping enough for me to regret getting up and leaving in the middle.
Rating:
Summary: The spirit is here, but it is flawed.
Review: I hate mixing literature with film but I must in this case.This film catches a book that seemed to be unfilmable. The film doesn't rely on violence as much as it does dark comedy. If it did it would have had a much bigger reception in the box office. When I saw this film I felt it was very reminiscent of Hitchcock. What I don't understand is why the NC-17 rating on the film for those small differences? But you miss little in the R rated as opposed to unrated version. This film is so Hitchcock-esque I am suprised I did not catch a cameo of Mary Harron on-screen. This film was darkly funny, but not nearly as darkly funny as the book. I wish Harron would have caught on to the manic episodes that Bateman has in the book. The focus on male vanity makes this film such a comic riff on males. Where this movie fails is that it should have been more focused on the insanity of the eighties zeitgiest. It was more focused on the pure male rage and reverse psychology male bashing. This narrative is that of a Wall St. New York city setting. This film could have used a NYC backdrop rather than soundstages and Toronto Canada. The Canadian psycho really turned me off. Christian Bale gives a great performance of elitist Ivy League scum. This film is him. Though if the film were to have starred DiCaprio there may have been funding for a NYC backdrop and more time to cover the facets missed. But nonetheless hats off to Ms. Harron to filming the novel that was deemed unfilmable. I would take Bale as the Psycho over Dicaprio anyday.Ultimately this is Bale's breakthrough,defining performance.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting to Dull
Review: This movie was interesting. Not to mention that the fact that a person can interperet the ending in any way they please is a little unsettling, also. I have no other word to describe this movie, except dull. It was dull because there was a point where I was saying "get on with the movie and do something" to the main character. I can handle some dull movies, though, and this movie's dullness was not excrushiating. It was funny, all the same. His mental health problems were clearly evident. Aside from the ending, this movie didnt suck. I reccomend it to those who like watching victims of mental health problems.
Rating: 
Summary: Chilling
Review: "American Psycho" is deinitely NOT for the faint of heart. With tons of sex, violence, and drug references, this is one OUTRAGEOUS movie... This isn't to say that it's not good... it's just... sadistic. BUT... I have to say, that the black humour was well appreciated... kind of lightening up the disgusting subject matter of the movie. This was a very chilling and twisted movie... see it!
Rating:
Summary: Mature, black and spooky.
Review: American Psycho Score: 78/100 American Psycho is not what I expected it to be. I thought it would be part of the "I Still Know What Mrs. Tingle Did With You Idle Hands Last Friday the 13th" routine, but this individual and occasionally stunning feature is a real horror film for a real adult audience. Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) is a respected Wall Street businessman by day. Outside of work, though, he is an accomplished serial killer. After the murder of a rival, Paul Allen (Jared Leto), a private investigator (Willem Dafoe) starts to pick up his trail as Bateman starts to go mental in covering his tracks. The plot is fairly thin on the ground, and the film has a poor shoot-out finale, but this is still an imaginable, carefully crafted film that is highly controversial because of it's continuous violence and rather odd sexual themes, but Christian Bale and Mary Harron work excellently and co-operate well together to make this film hugely successful with both critics and our friends at the box office. The film has a lot of laugh-out-loud funny moments, but if you're expecting a horror-thriller type, you won't be disappointed. There is no shortage of shocks; one immediately scary part is where Bateman chases his regular prostitute around a hotel room with a terrifying chainsaw sound. Christian Bale's performance is another great thing about this great movie; he perfectly catches Bateman's rise and fall with excellent acting skills and awesome narration. Both hip and cool, American Psycho is an underrated little movie that deserves praise.
Rating:
Summary: My stomach hurt and not from laughing
Review: I will begin by saying that I did not read the book. In most cases when I see a movie that has been adapted from a book the movie leaves me feeling like I missed something. I usually run out, find the book and read it. Although I am sure the book would paint an even deaper picture, it is not one I wish to imagine. Christian Bale did a marvelous job portrayng this character, with a bad actor, this movie would have had no chance. The fact that I watched it to the end is due to his acting more than the story itself. He did pull you in and I knew if I did not watch the full movie I would probably end up renting it again. I unfortunately did not find it humurous. When chasing down the women in the hall and finally killing her I could only sit and wonder how someone could find this funny. A few of the scenes dealing with co-workers which should have also been funny, I found just gave me the chills. Like many of the reviewers you will diffinatly love it or leave with a sick feeling in your stomach(and not from laughing) I would say it is for mature audiences only. My nieces watch many movies that are rated pg-17 and above when they hit the video stand, this should not be one of them.
Rating:
Summary: Dark Comedy, Horror, or Just Plain Sick??
Review: Watching American Psycho was one of the most unnerving cinematic experiences I've ever been through (the 1997 German-made film Funny Games (subtitled) being the most tramatic for me). A satire of the materialism and the "me-ism" of the 80's? OK. A dark comedy?? I hardly think so, at least not in the way dark comedy is supposed to work. The movie tries to be too many things to the point that ultimately, it failed for me. It tries satire, horror, psychological "probing" for answers, (although this is understated) unanswered questions, surprise; in short, everything seems thrown into the mix. And even with all of the film's ability to transfix viewers by the sheer audacity of the plot and its execution (seriously, no pun intended), however horrific, I just felt sick to my stomach and VERY depressed when it ended. NOTHING is funny about torture and murder, whatever the context, unless it's explicitly clear FROM THE START AND WITHOUT A DOUBT that dark comedy is the goal (i.e. the late Paul Bartel's 1982 flick Eating Raoul comes to mind). As a male I found the film repugnant and offensive, especially by the cavalier way that sex, brutality, and murder are depicted. Without ignoring the fact that Bale's character is quite sick, whether the acts were actually committed or just in his diseased mind, the film disturbes on a more basic level because it reinforces the notion that men get pleasure from violent sex, from wielding power over women, and just that men can't be trusted, period. Not one male character in the film is depicted in a positive way. Women have plenty enough images of these sick, sadistic men; women are already terrified enough of these men and of the horrifying chances of encountering them. At times I felt the film bordered on an indictment of all male behavior when it comes to sex and power over others. OK, maybe I'm overstating my case here, but that's just how unpleasant the film came off to me (obviously, not that it was supposed to be pleasant), and as such, I just can't buy the notion of dark comedy. Watch with a critical mind--this film plays with viewers in a most unsettling way.
Rating: 
Summary: Once was enough for me - I do not recommend this movie
Review: This was quite possibly one of the most horrifying and disgusting movies that I have ever seen in my life. I know that many people loved not only this film, but also Christian Bale's portrayal of the coolly sadistic Wall Street killer Patrick Bateman. I have to say that I am not one of those people. (There are many other movies that accurately show Bale's fine physique and acting skills besides this one!) While Bale was certainly able to get into the role of Bateman, and in my opinion gave an accurate picture of this man's terrible thoughts, actions and egoism, I was still greatly offended by this movie. While I do not consider myself a prude, this movie beat anything that I have ever seen. I thought the scenes in which Bale's character brutalizes women after forcing them to perform various lewd and embarrassing sex acts on both him and each other were horrifying and degrading. The movie just seemed like one long, neverending ride whose only purpose was to display Bateman's control over handfuls of helpless women through violent sex and murder. While I won't ruin the plot for those of you who wish to see the movie, I will say that there was one scene which made me almost lose it. It was one in which Bateman brutalizes a woman while a frightened prostitute he has hired is forced to watch. When the prostitute tries to escape from his apartment, he runs after her and cuts her in half with a chainsaw. This scene was made particularly outrageous by the fact that Bale's character is completely naked while he is murdering this woman. Many people in the audience thought this scene was one of the funniest parts of the movie, but I felt that it was shocking and offensive. While I am not easily frightened and believe I have a good sense of humor, this movie disturbed me so deeply and was not funny to me at all. It gave me a nightmarish feeling that lingered for hours after I saw it. I do not know how anyone could even have felt this movie was worthy to be classified as a "black comedy". I felt that even the humor that the Bateman character used in everyday society was patronizing, rude and offensive. The movie also contained scenes of animal abuse and showed the murders of several defenseless people, including a homeless man and an elderly woman. All of this terrible violence made me sick, and if you are faint of heart or are squeamish in general, I would not recommend this movie at all. "American Psycho" may be considered by some to be director Mary Harron's crowning achievement, since it covers the challenging territory of a killer's mind - or, some argue, simply the sick fantasies of an "ordinary" man. Whatever the case may be, I feel that this movie is one of the worst examples of filmmaking that I have seen in years. For me, a movie about torture and murder is not entertainment. I am not trying to take the high moral ground, but as a young woman "American Psycho" was grossly offensive to my sensibilities. To me, it displayed women as objects that were simply used and discarded by Bale's character, either for meaningless sex (as in several scenes) or for torture and murder, as in others. I know that everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and that my views are not similar to many of the reviews written on this website. However, I would encourage anyone interested in seeing this movie to rent it before buying it, and then decide if they would like to add it to their video collection.
Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely Amazing
Review: A film I can watch over and over again and find out new things. Did he really kill 'Paul Allen'? Did he really kill anyone? An amazing film adapted from an excellent novel which I would recommend to everyone. A definate must see.
Rating:
Summary: Repellent, Mesmerizing, Disturbing, a Must See
Review: I feared that "American Psycho" would be a horribly upsetting serial killer movie with minimal plot. I could not have been more wrong! This film is very intelligent, underplayed, and well done. It never gets very gory, leaving you to imagine the atrocities rather than be presented them in graphic detail. As a satire of the 80s, I think that this film works somewhat well. As a portrait of a sadistic sociopath, this film works much better. This film makes statements about the lack of personal connection in the 80s society. Status symbols, expensive dinners, and posh clubs have become substitutes for emotions and real connections. Patrick's coworkers cannot distinguish him from other men. He is mistaken for others at several points. Eerily, all the men in this movie do look alike, with slicked back hair and immaculate designer suits. The film reminded me more than once of the great book but lesser movie "Bright Lights, Big City". There are moments of sheer terror in this film... The biggest questions I had after viewing this compelling film were: did the murders actually happen, or is this merely Patrick's imagination?? You are left to decided for yourself. "American Psycho" is not a pleasant film to watch, but is strangely compelling.
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