Rating: 
Summary: When Your Number Is Up
Review: Actress Sandra Bullock is not really known for taking on dramatic roles. When she does go dramatic, it's usually within the context of the thriller, like A Time To Kill, or The Net. However, for Murder By Numbers, the star goes one step further, and helps make the film better then it otherwise would have been.Cassie Mayweather (Bullock) is a determined, headstrong, homicide detective, whose latest case, forces her to confront demons out of her past. She and her new partner, detective Sam Kennedy (Ben Chaplin) are investigating the brutal murder of a young female. The evidence leads to two bored rich kids who planned "the perfect murder" Directed by Barbet Schroeder, the film's other standout performances come from Ryan Gosling, as Richard and Michael Pitt as Justin. The pair are truly creepy as they attempt to outwitt the authorities. Early on, the story reminded me of a Culumbo telefilm--there's little doubt who did the crime--but its fun to watch as the how and why are explained. Embedded within the story, are several twists, that are clever. Bullock gives Cassie a heroic, yet flawed "real" quality. Murder By Numbers is by no means a perfect film, but the three actors I mentioned, do make it an above average film. The DVD has a limited amount of bonus material. The audio commentary track with Schroeder and film editor Lee Percy is pretty solid. I was struck by how much Schroeder let Percy talk things out. I wish that some of the edited scenes that were mentioned had made it on the disc. Some of them actually sound like they would be interesting to see (unlike most of that kind of stuff). Cast and crew filmoraghies and the film's theatrical trailer round out the disc's extras. Better than some would have made it seem--the DVD is recommended. It is available in separate widescreen, and fullscreen viewing formats
Rating:
Summary: Interesting Movie
Review: Sandra Bullock stars in this psychological thriller about two teenagers who want to commit the perfect murder. She hands in a commanding performance as Cassie Mayweather, a homicide investigator who is looking into the murder of a young woman. The character is strong, with a few expections. There is too much backstory involved, and by the time it all comes together you'll wonder why it took so long for them to develop this part of the story. We spend most of the movie watching her, wondering what her past is, and it's very anti-climatic when she finally spills the beans on her past. Her partner Sam Kennedy (Ben Chaplin) is also a very bland character, however he shines in a few scenes especially during the interrogation near the end of the movie. Ryan Gosling plays Richard, the rich kid who is "free" and Michael Pitt plays Justin, the smart kid who is not "free" but longs to be. The plot however is well written, and well paced so viewers can piece together what's happening without fault. Just when you think there are no more twists and turns, it goes to show you wrong once again when you least expect it. Overall movie viewers should enjoy this if you enjoy these mystery type movies, the acting is superb, and it's overall not a bad movie at all just a little patchy in some areas.
Rating: 
Summary: Dull and Predictable Thriller
Review: Extremely boring and unconvinced crime thriller in which two psycho teenagers commited a murder just to prove to them selves that they are genious. But they have to confront smart police officer (played with no intensity by Bullock)who take up the investigation of the gruesome case. Predictable, dull and unsuspenseful. A waste of time, in fact.
Rating: 
Summary: Body count
Review: Two spoiled teenagers decide to commit a perfect murder, and one deeply flawed cop vows to trip them up in this glossy, less-than-compelling thriller about the darkness in the human heart. Everyone thinks San Benito, Calif., high school seniors Richard Haywood (Ryan Gosling) and Justin Pendleton (Michael Pitt, styled to look uncannily like convicted killer Damien Echols, whose case was documented in the 1996 film PARADISE LOST) hate each other: Richard, after all, is a rich, smart, chic and popular A-teen, while Justin is an insecure, bookish nerd. But they're secret best friends, bound by a none-too-subtle homoerotic attraction and a pop-Nietzschean pact to achieve freedom by committing a perfect murder. And after months of research and heady theorizing, they finally act on their epater le bourgeois impulses. (True crime buffs will recognize the shadow of 1920s intellectual thrill-killers Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb looming over this conceit.) When the strangled corpse of Oliva Lake (Krista Carpenter) is found by a stream, the case falls to hard-drinking, sharp-tongued detective Cassie Mayweather (Sandra Bullock) and her new partner, Sam Kennedy (Ben Chaplin), new to homicide from vice. The police carefully follow the clues Justin and Richard have planted, which lead directly to high school janitor and part-time pot dealer Ray (Chris Penn). But Cassie senses that something's wrong; the clues add up too neatly and she gets a bad vibe from Richard and Justin. Unfortunately, like her namesake Cassandra, Cassie's words fall on deaf ears; everyone thinks she's too personally involved in the case, too biased by some deep dark secret (a secret just about everyone seems to know) in her own past to assess things rationally. Will she be able to tame her demons in time to keep the smug little sociopaths from getting away with murder? While it's commendable that Sandra Bullock (who also executive produced) is looking for acting challenges, she's a liability in a character-driven thriller built around a deeply damaged protagonist like Cassie. Bullock has the motions down, but her broad, open face betrays every attempt to convey Cassie's guarded bitterness and defensive rigidity. Barbet Schroeder is an erratic director whose best films, notably REVERSAL OF FORTUNE (1990) and OUR LADY OF THE ASSASSINS (2000), are interspersed with blandly efficient thrillers like this one: There's nothing blatantly wrong with it (except perhaps the red-assed baboon ex machina), but it's 100% shock-free and coasts to a formulaic conclusion.
Rating: 
Summary: A workman-like effort, but not Sandra's best work
Review: Murder by Numbers is a neat concept. What if people who know all about murders decide to commit a murder? Pretty cool, huh? And what if they were high school students? Alright, that seems strange. It actually makes it creepier -- the high school students are definitely Columbine types, the kind who have somehow strayed so far from society (and yet right under our noses) that they are no longer capable of empathy. In the case of Murder by Numbers, the two main characters -- in a relationship with mildly homosexual undertones -- decide to prove they are truly free by intentionally committing murder. It sounds better in the movie than in print. The woman assigned to this case is Cassie Mayweather, played by Sandra Bullock. Let me state my bias up front: I really like Sandra Bullock. Her button-nosed cuteness allows me to forgive her when she makes crappy movies like Miss Congeniality. She had me at The Net. But you've got to be realistic even about the actors you like. And Sandra's just out of her league here. Like Jet Li in The One, this is a complex plot that requires a range of acting abilities that Sandra simply doesn't possess. She's supposed to be a woman with a dark past, a near-death murder victim, a survivor of physical abuse, a licentious woman who sleeps with her partners at a whim. This is not Sandra. And usually, Sandra plays movies around her own carefully cultivated movie personality. In short, this movie requires actual acting. She can't do it. Not for lack of trying. But Sandra comes off as cutesy flirtatious when she's supposed to be a maneater. She comes off as an agitated socialite with a headache rather than a down and dirty cop who was nearly stabbed to death. She's much more victim than survivor. And of course, what Sandra does best is play the victim. She survives, but she's not a SURVIVOR. The ending has a twist. It's not a great twist. The movie is creepy, but not fast enough to pull it off. The actors who play the high school students are disturbing, but they are not so competent to make it genuinely horrifying. Slow. Plodding. Not genuinely real enough characters to make us worry about them or believe their plight. A workman-like effort, but not Sandra's best work.
Rating:
Summary: An Well Done Thriller saved by Sharp Performances.
Review: An Police Detective (Sandra Bullock) investages the Serial of Brutal Murder Crimes with the help of her Partner (Ben Chaplin). When two intelligent but deranged teenagers (Ryan Gosling & Micheal Pitt) find ways to hide all the evidences and clues before the Cops do but there's no such thing as a Perfect Crime. Directed by Barbet Schroeder (Barfly, Reversal of Fortune, Single White Female) made a Smart Suspense-Thriller with an Good Script by Tony Gayton (The Seaton Sea). Bullock, Gosling, Pitt & Chaplin gives Terrific Performances bring this film to life with fine cinematography by Luciano Tovoli (Suspiria, Tenebre, Titus). Bullock also Executive Produced the film. DVD's has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1) transfer and an fine Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DVD Extras are:Commentary Track by the Director, Behind the Scenes featurette & more. Do not miss this fine film. Grade:A-.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting movie
Review: I really enjoyed this movie and felt it was done very well through and through. MURDER BY NUMBERS stars Sandra Bullock as Cassie Mayweather, a homicide detective. She starts to investigate the murder of a young woman, which leads her to two young men: Richard (played by Ryan Gosling) and Justin (Michael Pitt) who wanted to create the perfect crime. There's lots of twists and turns throughout the movie, and it's not perfect, but the performances are inspired and bring these characters to life. Sandra Bullock especially gives Cassie a certain real quality that makes her character endearing, and explains why she acts the way she does. I thought the backstory of her character was well done. Overall, a good suspenseful mystery movie, that will keep you engaged and guessing until the credits roll.
Rating:
Summary: FORMULAIC, DREADFUL,WILL PUT YOU TO SLEEP
Review: This is about the worst film I've ever seen in the police procedural genre. The only reason I gave in 2 stars is because I never give a movie one star, no matter how terrible it is. I'm a generous person. You know the plot. These two supposedly clever highschoolers have been reading to much German existentilism, Kierkegaard probably, and decide the want to be "free", ironic given the ending. This is a sad attempt at replicating ROPE, Hitchcock's classic film, where the kids are cleverly unveiled by Jimmy Stewart, with no histrionics. Sandra Bullock as a detective is awful; her character is inconsistent, one minute hard as nails, the next minute tearing up and comforting one of he villians, who looks like that guy who had the male lead on that horribly overrated TITANIC, with character implausibilities and historical inaccuracies enough to sail an iceberg through. I won't give away the ending of course; you know, of course that the FORMULA dictates that Ms. Bullock won't die. It would be nice to see an ending that breaks the formula where Bullock's role dies, and the two kids end up in Brazil hatching up new plots. Stay with the oldies but goodies, where character moved the plot forward, not banal, inane behaviors. The only relative recent police procedual that I would give 5 stars to is SEA OF LOVE. Check it out. It is non-formulaic, great acting, and a surprise ending you should have seen coming, a VERY LOGICAL ONE but as in THE SIXTH SENSE you'll never see it coming. I also caught on tv. the classic Bogiemovie, THE DESPERATE HOURS. If you wish to see how far has fallen the genre, watch this one; you can get it from Amazon.
Rating:
Summary: Could have been alot better
Review: Too predictable, saw most of the plot elements coming from a mile away. Also, what is up with an intelligent police woman trying to out wit two high school kids? Is it really that hard to do? Sheesh...
Rating:
Summary: perdictable but still entertaining
Review: lacks in the old Hollywood formula with a lot of movies and by the finale its really perdictable.though the performances by Ryan Gosling as Richard and Michael Pitt(Bully, Finding Forrester) help this one out big time...Sandra Bullock(Speed and the crappy sequel Speed 2:Cruise Control) is good but its not her best performance...its her best effort to her best work but its not that great...plus the only reason I watched this is that the great Ben Chaplin(Lost Souls, Birthday Girl) is in this movie as Bullocks partner Sam. directed by Barbet Schroeder(Single White Female, Desperate Measures). also stars R.D. Call(Last Man Standing) and Sean Penn's brother Chris Penn(The Florentine, Rush Hour)..good for its time
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