Rating: 
Summary: Solid (but long) movie
Review: This is a good movie overall, however there are a couple of complaints. First would be the wandering plot---could've been tightened up more as well as shortened. Everyone I have talked to about the movie mentions how long it was.Second, Lady Chablis is overused...she is kinda gimmicky in my opinion and wears thin in a couple scenes. Her type of novel character is better used in small doses, not as the main focus. that is all go watch this joint and see what YOU think
Rating: 
Summary: Very good film, even better DVD
Review: Clint Eastwood has made a beautiful-looking film, which is fortunate since Savannah is one of the most beautiful places in the US. And while the plotting of the story isn't quite bulletproof, the characters are so fascinating that you'll want to follow them anywhere. Lady Chablis is a casting coup, and I can't imagine the movie existing without her. She gives the movie a depth that is necessary to accompany the beautiful scenery. John Cusack is great as usual, Kevin Spacey has a nasty good time (think Tommy Lee Jones in JFK), and Broadway veteran Dorothy Loudon (Annie, Ballroom) make a welcome appearance as Serena Dawes. As for the DVD extras, they make this package a must-buy. The documentaries and biographies about the real-life people and situations that inspired the story, as well as the making of the movie, are great viewing. They also make the experience of watching the movie even more enjoyable. Watch the film, then watch the extras. Then read the book. And then, buy an airplane ticket to Savannah and make your own adventure. You won't be sorry!
Rating:
Summary: Next to excellent and definitely remarkable!
Review: Very good film - in top 1% of all Hollywood creations. The reason I am giving it 4 stars is an existance of Kieslowski, Antonioni, Tarkovski, etc. Most "regular" mass-productions are not worth a fraction of a positive grade. One thing bothers, though. How did mass culture manage to mess up Eastwood's life by making him dirtyharriish when he is actually capable of mastering real Art?!? Heil McDonald's!
Rating:
Summary: A good adaptation of a great book!
Review: This DVD film does offer a pretty good representation of the marvelous book. While somewhat long, the film does offer a great cast, excellent music, and few deviations from the book. Kevin Spacey is excellent as Jim Williams, and John Cusack does a good job dramatizing the role of the author. Clint Eastwood does a fine directorial job, and made a good move when he cast his daughter, Alison, in the role of the nightclub singer. The extra features on the DVD are excellent, also. Particularly enlightening are the interviews with the actual people who were portrayed in the book and film. If you enjoyed the book, you will likely enjoy this film and its representation of the 'eccentric' side of the American South.
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as the book, but worth watching
Review: This Clint Eastwood film shadows the book by John Berendt closely; the acting is superb and the cinematography impressive. Sounds pretty good, right? It is "pretty good", but not great, as many thought it would be. Overall, something is missing. The movie lags in places but then picks up the pace, only to become stale again minutes later. Personally I think the focus was too wide; the director tried to embrace the whole world of Savannah in one film---it doesn't really work. Kevin Spacey is excellent is this film.
Rating: 
Summary: THE LUCKYDOG NEWSLETTER
Review: "Midnight in the garden of good and evil" IN A CEMETERY, refers to the time between the 30 minutes before midnight (the good) and the 30 minutes after midnight (the bad). Its probably just superstition. To put into words how wonderful this movie is is a bit hard. It is a brilliant portrayal of what may seem to be a short story from an American Literature Textbook. And do not shy away because of the risqay aray of roles this film portrays, it has sort of a guilty pleasure to it. Plus there is no nudity, and very little violence and language. It is mainly rated R for Adult Content, which put into lamens' terms means, you learn a lot of stuff, verbally, that you probably REALLY DID NOT need to know or already suspected. A seemingly humble journalist (John Cusack, "Grosse Point Blank," "Pushing Tin," "Con Air," Being John Malcovich," "The Thin Red Line.") from a familiar magazine has arived at the house of a famous and rather entertaining antiques dealer (Kevin Spacey, "The Ref," "The Usual Suspects," "Seven," The Negotiator," "American Beauty," "Pay it Forward."), who invites some of the city's most demented, to a party that leaves the journalist a bit confused yet intrigued. The journalist is there to do a puff piece on the dealer, expanding the view of the rich man's house and lifestyle, to the general public. But his first night there, ends with a bang as the tongue twisting script and tight turning plot flip you up down and around. You learn something new and interesting in every scene that may or may not blow you away. I was glued to the screen the entire time trying to make out who was lying and who was telling the truth. After a few scenes with a witch, a transvestite (Lady Chablis), a guy who walks a dead dog, a drunken party goer, the girl of the journalists dreams, a poor boy whose refered to as "the best piece of A** in town (Jude Law, "The Talented Mr. Ripley," "Spiderman.")," and a DEVILISH antiques dealer who always seems to have a card up his sleves, the movie comes to a crashing hault and leaves you pondering the true meaning of this twisted tale. In a way it reveals everything that took place "That fateful night", but in another way, it just confuses the hell out of you and enjoys doing it. If I had to compare this film to others I would say it is a definite cross between The Usual Suspects (a film that Kevin Spacey won an Academy award for) and Gross Point Blank ( A Film John Cusack should have won an Academy award for). This film is very well played out and a joy to watch. Even though it is confusing and kinda losses you here and there, it has major potential for being a classic mystery. And in a way it leaves room for a sequel, but I doubt it will happen. This is Acedog from the LuckyDog Newsletter: Movie Review Have a wonderful MIDNIGHT.
Rating: 
Summary: Only So-So...Too Long...Tepid...But the Lady Chablis Rocks !
Review: I bought the DVD of this so-so film so I could watch the scenes with The Lady Chablis repeatedly. "She" is a riot...sassy and silly and ultimately the only redeeming feature of Clint Eastwood's disappointing version of the mega-selling book. Though John Cusack is charming in "Grosse Pointe Blank" and "High Fidelity," he exudes no personality here and even looks pasty and exhausted. Kevin Spacey's Jim Williams is under- developed and creates neither sympathy nor loathing. The atmosphere of Savannah and the vodoo element are also wasted. This unfortunate combination allows Chablis to walk off with the picture... and she manages to make Cusack, Spacey, and the rest of the cast the straight (no pun intended) pawns in her hilarious act.
Rating:
Summary: Not what I hoped it'd be
Review: I was hoping that this movie would show all the beauty that John Berendt described in the book that the movie was based on. This movie doesn't show everything that was in the book, nor does it show everyone. If you're hoping this movie is going to illustrate the book, then this isn't what you're looking for. The movie itself was OK. It was interesting and I didn't find myself getting bored while watching it. It seemed a bit rushed though - there wasn't enough detail. I think that too much of it was about the case rather than the characters. Unlike the book, I never really got close to the characters - they didn't really seem to have any depth.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent DVD adaptation of decent movie
Review: The excellent adaptation of this movie to the DVD medium more than makes up for the mediocrity (probably to strong of a term) of the movie. When my wife and I had finished watching the movie, we both thought it was done fairly well but was never really as suspensefull as the book. While the screenplay adaption never really grabbed the audience like it could have, the acting was quite good and some of the performances were amazing. Regardless of the actual movie though, the DVD adaptation is fantastic. You feel like you are literally drawn into the city of Savannah to re-experience the best parts of the movie all over again. It is without a doubt one of the best-uses of the DVD medium that I have seen to date.
Rating:
Summary: Too much plodding
Review: I was really surprised that Eastwood would allow this film to cruise along on such a low level of energy. Kevin Spacey is perfect in his role, Cusack so-so, and the Lady Chablis steals the scene. The quirky charm of the setting carries the movie along, but there is no tension or real anticipation to involve the viewer. The Cusack character evoked no empathy from me, he seemed a total mercenary, and that was crucial in dissapating whatever momentum the movie DID manage to develop. I was certainly hoping for better.
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