Rating: Summary: great movie Review: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil stands out as one of Kevin Spacey and Kevin Spacey's best performances. The movie is a deeply interesting mystery that really keeps you wondering about what will happen next and who has done what.
Rating: Summary: Very Good...Could have been better! Review: Having read the book and gotten the sound track a while back, thought it was time to watch the movie. It was a nice tour for this Yankee, but there were not enough outdoor scenes of beautiful Savannah, one of my complaints of the film. Also, Chablis, though amusing at first, was definitely overdone, and this character wears very thin after a while. The rest was all in all superb, the scenes in the Mercer House all well done, and the acting just as good. Nice wry humor with Cusik/writer character too. The mystery aspect also different, but maybe the voodoo could have been played down a bit. Could have been a masterpiece, but not quite.
Rating: Summary: Refreshing Review: I like mysteries, but I don't like movies containing violence, nudity/sexual scenes, and foul language (it is my opinion that only the BEST writers and directors have the talent required to make movies like that). This movie does have a modest amount of violence, but that's okay because it is a terrific story. Very refreshing to sit down and watch all by myself--I love this one.
Rating: Summary: One of the worst movies I've ever seen. Review: One of the worst movies I've ever seen.
Rating: Summary: Strange, but I loved it! Review: This is very strange to me but... The book on which this film is based is my all time favorite...The movie pales in comparison but I still love it! The film is certainly more fiction than fact...There were 4 trials...the movie lumps them together in one, the Cusack character is pure fiction and (without giving away the ending)this is not how one of the main characters ended in real life but Savannah is as stunning on film as it is in life! As for Kevin Spacey, well, he is brilliant as usual and Jack Thompson and Dorothy Loudon head a supporting cast that also included Jude Law that is just great. Now for the Lady Chablis. As a gay man I have always found drag and female impersonators just too much too take but THE LADY is just great playing of all people, HERSELF! Due to the lengthy time frame of the actual events and a host of eccentric real life people I think the book should have been made into a mini series but certainly on a cable channel so nothing would have to be edited...
Rating: Summary: unknown Review: haven't seen the movie but the book was excellent. i guess i'll have to buy the movie and then i'll let you know
Rating: Summary: Great movie Review: I bought this DVD for my wife for her birthday. We watched it for the first time last night. We both really loved the movie.The movie portays Savannah, Georgia as a beautiful, quirky town. It populates the town with a cast of friendly eccentrics. There is a great deal of excellent interplay between the local eccentrics and the main characters. It is also quite funny in many ways. Apparently it is based on a true story. We have ordered the book and will read it soon.
Rating: Summary: Decent, but expected more Review: There were high hopes for this film, but from what I remember this Eastwood project was considered a commercial and critical failure. Ouch...wait, it isn't THAT bad. The mood and setting is actually quite good---you really get the feel of the haunting atmosphere in Savannah. Also, Spacey (who plays Jim Williams) does an excellent job with the role. Certain problems, however, plague this movie. First of all, there is a lot of "rambling" as far as the plot is concerned...too much jumping around. Another issue I had with it is the length. Simply said, it is just too long, and I started playing gameboy advance in the dark in order to stay awake. As for the "special edition" dvd, I failed to see what was so freakin' special about it. The "extra features" on the menu are just text on the screen, nothing more. I think a documentary of the story would have worked nicely here instead of forcing the bored viewer to actually read something in funky print on the screen.
Rating: Summary: Spacey at his best. Review: If you are a Spacey fan or looking for other works after seeing "American Beauty"--this is a must see. The "essential video review" has this movie based on fiction, this is an error. Mr Berendt's book is a non-fiction account of a Savannah Killing (murder, you decide?). Mr Beredt's book, referred to in Savannah as "the book", and this film, referred to as "the movie" have become local legends. Tours are based on both. There is one local character still performing, the Lady Chablais. The Lady, a transexual, gets a little too much screen time--but steals several scenes from strong actors. This film gives a nice glimpse into what has become of the 'gentile south'. Besides being a fine movie, it is a must see if your visiting Savannah. DVD extras are standard, menu easy and typical.
Rating: Summary: Ingeniously accurate Review: In all it's superficiality, hospitality, and absurdity, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil captures the essence of the South. Though perhaps some instances are more ridiculous than the unfamiliar would like to believe, the atmosphere created in this film is perfect. The characters that Eastwood brings to life are simultaneously astonishing and absorbing. From Williams' indifference toward truth to Kelso's incessant struggle to find it, the characters construct their own illusory environment in which reality can no longer be distilled, and "there ain't no answers." To truly enjoy this film, one must be willing to set aside one's desire to know something definite, one's desire to rationalize, and otherwise rely on what Keat's would call "negative capabilities"-- the abilty to be satisfied without a definite answer. The world of the south is ambiguous, and "truth, like art, is in the eye of the beholder."
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