Rating: 
Summary: Expected A Little More Than Given...
Review: Overall this film kept me right on the edge of the seat, and that's why I give it the four stars. Jonny Depp was great in this movie. He looked exactly like a writer- tousled hair, hilariously tattered robe, the works. He worked the part of a lonely writer perfectly. He played this 'lonely writer' who is obviously still tortured about his wife's infidelity and their divorce they are finishing through, and then to add to his problems a guy comes to his door and claims he stole his story. Throughout the entire movie I was kept in suspense, because I honestly didn't know what was going to be the solution of this plot.
And yet the solution is where I dropped one star. The ending was a total killer for me. I don't know why, but in the back of my mind I made the assumption that this guy accusing Depp's character of plagirism was a lot more than he turned out to be. I won't ruin the ending for people who haven't seen it, but trust me, the ending is not explosive, not surprising, not anything. It's just a dull 'oh yeah' kind of ending. But all in all, the beginning and middle of this film are gripping and awesome, so the movie's worth that much to watch it.
Rating: 
Summary: The Phantom Menace
Review: After taking a comedic turn in Pirates Of The Carribean, actor Johnny Depp decides to take on more familiar terriory, playing a tortured man both on the inside and out. Too bad the material forces the viewer to wish he hadn't wasted his time with the Secret Window.Mort Rainey (Depp) is a writer, who's just coming off of a rather nasty divorce from his ex-wife, Amy (Maria Bello) and he decides to bury himself in his work at his cabin by the lake. Soon after he arrives, he finds himself being stalked by a psychopath, John Shooter (John Turturro), who claims Mort stole his best story idea and just changed the ending. While I have never read author Stephen King's work on which the film is based, and can not compare and contrast, I can say that screenwriter/director David Koepp should stick to the writing side of the business. While his screenplays are usually top notch, as his work on Panic Room, the first Spider-Man movie, and the original Jurassic Park demonstrates, his directorial skills are lacking--see the jumble that is Stir Of Echoes-as an example. Koepp tries to give the cabin scenes a rising tension, that's muted thanks to a miscast Turturro, who can't muster too much of a threat. He should have taken lessons from Kathy Bates as the number one fan in the film adaptation of King's Misery. My friends that is how it's done. With the antagonist taken off the table early on--Depp has no one to act off of, and the film suffers for it greatly. It's a like watching Ali shadow box himself Pretty boring. Depp is the only reason any of this comes close to working at all. The DVD's audio commentary with Koepp is actually better than the film itelf. Too bad the execution fell flat. The four deleted scenes, with optional director's commentary, don't really do anything except provide a few charater tid-bits. Three featurettes, "From Book to Film", "A Look Through It", and "Secrets Revealed", offer just what you would expect, but probably would have worked better as one whole than they did broken up in three pieces. The animated storyboards of 4 key sequences: the opening credits, pushing car off cliff, twist revealed, and into the garden are just what you would expect them to be. The theatrical trailer tops off the disc. Rabid Depp fans will probably like Secret Window more than anyone else...
Rating: 
Summary: Thoughtful, Spooky Adaptation.
Review: Mort Rainey (Johnny Depp) is an author going through a difficult divorce. He retreats to his secluded country home to work on a new book. One day, he is jolted from sleep by a stranger at his door. This man, named John Shooter (John Turturro), claims that Mort has plagiarized a short story that he wrote. Mort denies the accusation, claiming that he wrote the story first and can prove it. But John Shooter is determined to exact revenge. "Secret Window" is based on Stephen King's story "Secret Window, Secret Garden", published in his 1990 collection "Four Past Midnight". The story was adapted for the screen and directed by David Koepp. Koepp does an admirable job of manipulating the audience, creating suspense, and surprising us. Johnny Depp is perfect in the role of this slightly eccentric, suddenly spooked writer. John Turturro gives the most memorable performance of the film as the monotone, obsessed, menacing villain. I wouldn't have pictured Turturro in the role of a country bumpkin. It just goes to show the breadth of his talent. I thoroughly enjoyed "Secret Window". It looks good. The story is solid and layered. Director David Koepp is creative, clever, and has a great sense of timing. The DVD: Bonus features include four deleted scenes, three featurettes, "Animatics", and an audio commentary from director David Koepp. "From Book to Film" is a documentary featuring interviews with David Koepp and the film's cast. The first 10 minutes of it basically just recap the film. Then there is some discussion of casting and filming. I wouldn't bother with this one. "A Look Through It" is a better documentary. 30 minutes long, David Koepp talks about the decisions he made shooting key sequences in the film, such as the opening hotel sequence and shooting inside the cabin. "Secrets Revealed" is a 13-minute documentary discussing the final 15 minutes of the movie. If you're really interested, these last two documentaries are the ones to watch. "Animatics" shows what are essentially animated storyboards for four scenes in the film. There is no narration or explanation. I had already heard too much commentary from the director to want to listen to the film's audio commentary, so I can't comment on that except to say that director David Koepp is interesting and well-spoken, so you might want to give the commentary a try if an hour's worth of featurettes haven't satisfied you. Subtitles are available in English and French. Dubbing is available in French.
Rating:
Summary: A good thriller!
Review: Mort Rainey (Johnny Depp) a writer in a remote house in upstate New York, encounters an "apparent" fan, a character named Shooter (John Turturro). Shooter has accused Mort of stealing his story and threatens to kill Mort and everyone he may have ever known if he doesn't fix the situation.
Mort hires a special investigator (Charles Dutton to locate Mr. Shooter and try to stop him.
Shooter begins affecting Mort and his life almost immediately, Mort's dog is killed, a man who saw Shooter talk to Mort is found dead, and crucial evidence that Mort could use to clear his name is destroyed. It is at this point that we start questioning what is real and what is not. As a matter of fact the movie may have been inspired by a recent Russell Crowe movie.
The movie motors on to a climax that is different from the normal genre and that is why I rate it so high. Both Depp and Turturro give excellent performances and look for Timothy Hutton in a lesser role as the boyfriend of Depp's estranged-wife.
Rating:
Summary: 5 and a half?
Review: First off, let me tell you that this is my favorite movie, I have no idea how it got any bad ratings at all, I truly and honestly don't. Well, I guess one possibility would be that they don't understand it, but that's only because it has a very elaborate, complex plot, and an amazing one at that. It's creepy enough to keep you awake, it is definitely suspensful enough to keep you entertained, it even has one short fight scene, and on top of it all, it has a few humorous scenes as well. You just cannot go wrong with this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Johnny Depp+Stephen King...What's not to Like?
Review: Johnny Depp, the greatest actor in modern cinema, transforms from the brillaint scalliwag Jack Sparrow into the secluded writer Mort Rainey in this adaptation of Stephen King's short story. This film garnered mixed reviews throughout 2004, but after seeing it, I have no idea why. From start to finish, Depp's performance intrigues, from the ridiculous attire he wears at home to the cynical comments he makes to others. The plot, as would be expected from a Stephen King story, is well crafted, and it builds progressively from start to finish. In the end, the viewer is satisfied by a sweet, dark ending that Stephen King is so renowned for creating. Secret Window was probably the most overlooked great film that 2004 had to offer.
Rating: 
Summary: Unwatchable.
Review: Secret Window (David Koepp, 2004)
What I still haven't figured out is how no one realized that "Secret Window, Secret Garden," the story upon which the film Secret Window is based, was nothing more than a rehash of Stephen King's novel The Dark Half from a slightly different perspective. Now, The Dark Half was taken on by a mighty, mighty director, George Romero, and it failed miserably. David Koepp is a good director (witness Stir of Echoes) and, when he wants to be, a fantastic writer (Bad Influence, the underrated TV series Hack), but let's face it, David Koepp is not on the level of George Romero. So why did anyone think this was going to work?
Granted, they assembled one of the finest casts in recent history here-- Johnny Depp, Golden Globe winner and nominated for more Golden Globes, Oscars, and Oranges than you can shake a stick at; Golden Globe nominee and Cannes Best Actor winner John Turturro; Golden Globe nominee Maria Bello; Oscar and Golden Globe winner Timothy Hutton; Emmy winner and Golden Globe nominee Charles S. Dutton... I could keep going, but why? You've got a who's-who of underrated Hollywood already. And every one of them turns in a performance as wooden as the trees in Maine. Even Johnny Depp, who in a thirty-film career has never, even in his worst films, played a role that wasn't excellent, is off form here for the first (and perhaps only) time in his career. Depp, who has made a number of otherwise awful films worth watching, however marginally (Sleepy Hollow, The Astronaut's Wife, Don Juan DeMarco), can't save this turkey. The pacing is horrendous, and boredom will set in before ten minutes have passed. I will warn you, it gets no better. This is a thriller completely devoid of thrills, a mystery that's solvable long before the boneheads on the screen work it out. Normally, watching Johnny Depp act would be enough reason to rent this, but it doesn't cut the mustard this time. *
Rating:
Summary: Shoot----Her
Review: This movie is so exiting!!!Even though I knew who it was from the begining. It wouldn't even let me pause it and go get popcorn! I recomend this movie to everyone! Exept people under the age of 11.or 10.
Rating:
Summary: Another wacky adventure for Depp
Review: Reminiscent of Angel Heart, Johny Depp plays a dissociative killer out to even the odds with his estranged wife and her new beau. Depp is confronted by a figment of his imagination played by John Turturro, who accuses Depp of plagarism. Depp's dillusions are far too real and he can not separate fantasy from reality. In the end, he buries the bodies of his wife and her beau in his garden. Great movie.
Rating:
Summary: 4 stars for the first half -- 2 stars for the second half...
Review: As I sat down to watch this movie, I knew from the beginning this was adapted from a short story by Stephen King (is it me, or has Hollywood signed a contract with King agreeing to make at least one of his books or short stories into movies every other year at a BARE MINIMUM??) which isn't necessarily a bad thing. King IS one of the most creative forces in the world of literature the world has ever known. Some of his works are pure genius...others...pure drivel. As 'Secret Window' began, I became quite convinced this was going to be a real treat. Well filmed. Suspenseful. Well acted. Unfortunately as the movie continued on, and the REAL reason for our main character (played wonderfully by Depp) and his problems with a redneck psychopath who is convinced his story was stolen become apparent, well I began to have flashbacks of the Lord of the Rings.
You may wonder just how in the world I can compare these two movies, huh? Well its quite simple, actually. Remember Gollum and his strange split-personality and how he would sometimes talk to himself and work to convince himself that the One Ring was HIS? The portion of 'Secret Window' where Johnny Depp does the same thing kinda weirded me out, and I have to admit, made me think of Gollum right off the bat (and not just me either, my son said the same thing). Despite this small similarity, at the point where Depp begins to interrogate himself, the entire feel of the film began to seriously deteriorate. What WAS a fairly decent suspenseful movie suddenly became a parody of itself and almost crashes and burns. I found the last scene to be really, really odd. Sure, I got the whole sinister joke of it, I just found it to be very UN-funny. Not in poor taste, just not funny. I also found what many people thought was a very clever plot to be quite the opposite, actually. All I can say is this: the first part of the movie was very well done. The last part became just plain strange and un-interesting, which is sad because I really wanted to like this movie.
|
