Rating: 
Summary: Boring!!!
Review: Boring!!!! I'm not quite sure what but this movie was lacking something very important. It is too bad because it was visually beautiful and I love Johnny Depp. Oh well.
Rating: 
Summary: Gory but Great
Review: Johnny Depp is arguably the best actor of his generation, and this movie only furthers that belief. The movie serves as a biography of Jack the Ripper, the first truly publicized serial killer who terrified England and most of Europe in the late 1800's. Stylistically, the movie is stunning and the cinematography breathtaking. The movie is historically accurate and presents a chilling account of the crimes and investigation of the the murders. At times it is quite gory, but rightfully so. Jack the Ripper did ritualistically butcher women, and this film does not shy away from it. Depp delivers a brilliant performance as the opium-addicted detective in charge of the case, with a sharply forensic mind that places him at odds with his superior officers. The only drawback of the movie is Heather Graham. While she might be a good actress in other things, there's nothing in this performance that lends her character as necessary. Indeed, she takes away from the film. I'd much rather have seen Christina Ricci in the part, as she has a brilliant chemistry was Depp, as evidenced in Sleepy Hollow and The Man Who Cried.Recommended because of Depp's performance and the faithful adaptation of the story.
Rating: 
Summary: Grisly, well-made thriller.
Review: Despite all the negative reviews, I really liked this film. Sure, the material isn't new, but for once it's refreshing to see a story that's so blatantly in the realm of the exploitation film being tackled by A-list talent in Hollywood style. The Hughes brothers have a gift for implementing extremely stylish techniques without seeming show-offy. The "absinthe" visions in the film as experienced by Johnny Depp's character serve to enhance the mood rather than show off the latest cinematic trick. The Hugheses do seem fond of extremely graphic violence as seen in Dead Presidents; in From Hell, when a cop says a victim is "in pieces", the directors show no mercy in sparing you the sight. However, the highly grisly content has a purpose -- it deprives you of the sense of safety that a "polite" shooting style often yields, and it also blends the two ideas of social decay and aristocratic decadence which both the story and the cinematography express. Depp does a fine job here, though the role of Inspector Abberline isn't exactly his most challenging. But he is sympathetic and charismatic, projecting intelligence and a troubled psyche. Heather Graham looks ravishingly beautiful, and I didn't have a huge problem with her accent -- certainly leagues above Julia Roberts' feeble attempt in Michael Collins. Depp and Graham make for a great pair onscreen, and the screenplay has enough good lines to keep you interested throughout. Ian Holm does walk off with the film, though, as supra-genius surgeon Sir William Gull.
For me, the only truly weak point of the film is the endless scenes with the streetwalkers. They are a pretty colourful bunch, and there are some highly talented actresses in their midst -- including Katrin Cartlidge and Lesley Sharp, both of Mike Leigh's Naked, Estelle Skornik, and Susan Lynch, who did a marvellous job in the film Nora. But the scenes with them are so repetitive that the film's pacing suffers. Small gripe, though -- with amazing lighting and design (including painstakingly accurate recreations of the murder sites), good performances and a nice sense of forward momentum, this film is a good (and lavish) addition to the Jack the Ripper canon.
Rating:
Summary: Splendid Film!!
Review: This film was great in many regards. For starters, the setting was excellent. The Hughes Brothers paid very close attention to every little detail about the White Chapel district in London. As for the story itself, I was impressed with how closely related this film was to many of the actual events that occured at the time. The acting was great. Johnny Depp is a magnificent actor, and he certainly didn't disappoint in the role of the Detective in pursuit of Jack the Ripper. The murders themselves were very well done. There was enough gore to keep any horror movie fan happy, yet they never got carried away by showing too much gore. At times the film seemed a bit drawn out with some meaningless dialogue, but overall the script was decent. I think that the whole storyline about the Mason's involvement in the murders could have been explained a little bit better. Finally, I was a little disappointed with the ending. Not with the fact that it wasn't a fairy tale ending, but more because Johnny Depp's character just seemed to fall apart too easily.
Rating:
Summary: A Hellish Spectacle.
Review: The movie "From Hell" gives the viewer a penetrating look into the murky underworld of nineteenth century England and the machinations of a cult of evil Freemasons. This movie shows us the motivations of the infamous serial killer Jack the Ripper, an empire loyalist who slaughtered his prostitute victims in alignment with Freemasonic ritual. It is a must see for those of us who dare to look into the mind of a madman hellbent on ridding England of it's "vile element" in the most unChristian of manners.
Rating:
Summary: Ripping Performance
Review: It is interesting to notice that two black directors made a movie involving all-white cast in this film. I think that was a remarkable achievement. Anyway, I liked the film because it was suspenseful and gripping. The artwork, the scenery, and the view of London were dynamic. The artistic creation team deserves a look for the Academy Awards. Johnny Depp is notorious for selecting dark movies, and this was a fine definition of his work. He gave a bold performance as Inspector Abberline. Heather Graham was great in Boogie Nights, but this time, she lacks. I think the role was kinda wrong for her. I think that how the movie used up the flashback/dream sequences while jack the Ripper came to slaughter were cool, better done than it was in Natural Born Killers. I believe I need to see this movie again to give a better review, giving more thought about it. Two things I can say...first, the movie is very good. Secondly, a Johnny Depp movie is well worth renting because he never fails to please the audience.
Rating: 
Summary: Bloody Jack: New Twist to Old Plot
Review: For more than a century, the Western mind has been fascinated with the killing spree of Jack the Ripper that began in London in 1888. A total of five prostitutes were slaughtered by a knife-wielding fiend who taunted the London constabulary with letters and clues as to his identity. He was never caught or positively identified. Many books, short stories, and films have dramatized the events of that brief period when London walked in terror. The latest entry is FROM HELL, a movie which differs from its predecessors in that the focus is less on the Ripper and more on his victims. Directors Albert and Allen Hughes give the audience a grimy view of the Whitechapel district where the murders occurred. This rather small section of London was notorious for its filth, prostitutes, street crime, and grinding poverty. From the opening scene, the Hughes brothers use the camera as the eye of the typical Whitechapel resident. One could not walk a single block without being accosted by whores or derelicts. In the midst of all this squalor, a killer emerged to slice up helpless and hopeless prostitutes. Police inspector Abberline (Johnny Depp) is given the responsibility of catching the Ripper. As Abberline goes about his business of gathering evidence, the viewer notices that the twin brother directors seem unsure as to whether they want the audience to cringe in fear or to wonder about the Ripper's identity. This lack of desired audience response eventually becomes intrusive to the point that it interferes with an otherwise tightly controlled plot that builds to a surprise ending involving among other things some unexpected candidates as the Ripper. Recent critics of FROM HELL have criticised Heather Grahame as Mary Kelly, the only attractive prostitute in a circle of rather plain looking ladies of the night. I see no problem with the physical appearances of any of the victims, since the squalor of their environment was not conducive to frequent beauty treatments. I did see a problem with the character of Inspector Abberline. Depp plays him as a semi-mystic drug-addled addict who ultimately is seen as not unlike the very miserable creatures whom he often arrests for petty crimes. Abberline's opium-induced hallucinogetic visions are inserted more for their pyrotechnic value than for their supposed advantage of providing preternatural clues. The film does have several strong points. When Depp is not in a funk of drugs, he exhibits an increasingly deft touch of acting that allows him to register emotions that resonate both with victim and viewer. Ian Holm as Sir William Gull is effective as the doctor who assists him to catch the Ripper. But the real hero is neither the fine actors nor the rather unbelievably contrived plot exit. What makes FROM HELL the memorable cinematic experience that is, is the sullen sense of a grinding background of poverty and social decay that made it possible in the first place for so many poor women to seek their daily bread at the outstreched hands of those who held out coins in one palm but a scalpel in the other.
Rating:
Summary: Derivative, but INTENSE
Review: Although I found the plot to be incredibly like that in an earlier, excellent film MURDER BY DECREE, what really struck me about this telling of the Jack the Ripper story was that it brought back, brought 'home' if you will, the terror that the women must have experienced when these murders were happening, and usually the women in previous Ripper films seem to little better than props for the legend. It reminded me that there were all too real victims of this man and no one deserves to die in that manner. If only poor Mary Kelly had had the fate the movie gives her instead the one she really had.
Rating:
Summary: Ghastly and Gruesome !
Review: Johnny Depp seems to be drawn towards playing dark, brooding and troubled characters; he's so damned good at it ! Heather Graham releases a fine performance with her almost perfect accent. Yet she's way too much of a knock out to be taken seriously as a late 1880' prostitute or "wench" while the other women looked filthy and harsh. Note how her Mary Kelly role is always the cleanest looking one of the bunch of...well, you know. What was fascinating was the alternate take on the Jack the Ripper murdering theory and who his true indentity was and the so-called diabolical motivation for doing what he did and to whom ! Also, the role the Royal British family patriarch figures into the whole plot. Wonder if the real Royal Family appreciated how their ancestral hierarchy was portrayed !
However, this film is not for the squeamish as there are several graphic violent blood and gore scenes. One scene in particualr is very disturbing since it depicts the Ripper doing what he does while another character holds the victim. The opium induced imagery adds to the already dark and dreary atmosphere for complete full effect...The ending is also, without giving it away, a complete surprise and shock.
Rating:
Summary: Not Alan Moore's best story.
Review: This movie was based on a graphic novel that Alan Moore wrote about who Jack the Ripper might have been, and it was very bizzare and all. This movie was needlessly gory and had some of the worst acting ever. Johnney Depp was in it, so this is no surprise. The Hughes Brothers appear to borrow a lot of their movie making skills from Tim Burton, and it's really patheic.
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