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Secret Window

Secret Window

List Price: $19.94
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Very Good Suspenseful Thriller!
Review: David Koepp's SECRET WINDOW is well-paced (even if it is a bit slow) and suspenseful (even if you can figure out the ending from about the midway point). It is also superbly acted. Johnny Depp gives yet another bravura performance as an emotionally haunted writer going through a bitter divorce who tries to escape in a lonely cabin in upstate New York. He receives a visit from a strange man from Mississippi, played believably by Brooklyn-bred John Turturro, who says simply, "Yew stole mah storay." This sets a chain of events into place that are fascinating as the film unfolds in true suspenseful roller-coaster-like fashion. Johnny Depp has some really funny lines in his many soliloquies. Also featured in solid supporting roles are Charles S. Dutton, Len Cariou and Timothy Hutton.

See SECRET WINDOW now. It is one of the better Stephen King adaptations.

RECOMMENDED
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR SUSPENSE (AND JOHNNY DEPP) FANS

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An Old-School suspense thriller.
Review: As stated before, this is from a Stephen King story, but the filmakers decided quite smartly to use a definite Hitchcock riff in making the movie adaption. From the cinematography to the score to the old-school, toned down level of gore (there was plenty of room to make this a bloodsoaked slasher film, but it's violence is tame enough for 9 PM TV and the gore is less than a typical episode of CSI), this is just a good, solid suspense movie. Don't get me wrong. It's not as good as Hitchcock, but it IS good enough that ol' Alfred would be proud to have these guys emulating him. (The score was especially effective in that way....)

Now, on to Depp. To be honest, I'm not what you would call a Depp fan. I really haven't liked most of his movies and I consider him a rather big idiot in his personal life, but I do recognize his obvious talent. And in this movie, he shines. For a LOT of the film, it's just him on screen, and he has to carry the movie on his own. And he succeeds at doing this with a natural ease that is rare in the modern era of melodramatic overacting. Jimmy Stewart never played anyone pushed this far over the edge, but if he had, I suspect it would have been in a similar "make it look easy" kind of way. That's about the highest compliment I can give Mr. Depp.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: It seemed very familiar
Review: As I sat in the movie theatre, I kept thinking that this all seemes very familiar and wondered why I kept thinking about the butler from the movie Mr. Deeds. I do agree with other reviewers that this is a very excellent performance by Johnny Depp, but the story line lacked and kept me bored for the first hour and then after the movie was over I compaired it to Fight Club which seemed very similar to this story line. I would not have been afraid to get up to go to the bathroom or get something to eat because I would miss part of the story line. Even though I harp on this, I still found this a decent movie with excellent cast.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: King corn
Review: "Secret Window" must be the umpteenth movie adapted from a Stephen King story, and it's not one of the most successful. I haven't read all of King's works -- evidently they constitite a small-town library -- but the ones I've read reveal a mild talent for the Gothic genre. (Interestingly, one of the best, "Gerald's Game", has not been filmed, perhaps because its claustrophobic variations on a theme would not appeal to adolescents.) "Secret Window" has Johnny Depp as a burned-out author going through an unusually recriminatory divorce. Depp, fresh from playing Captain Queen in "Pirates of the Caribbean", goes in the opposite direction here: badly in need of strong coffee, hair a rat's nest, tattered bathrobe, thick eyeglasses clamped to his face. Depp takes chances, you gotta give him credit. His character has moved into an upstate New York country house, isolated and in more need of repairs than Depp himself. He's immediately confronted by a strange character out of "Deliverance" (John Turturro) accusing the author of plagiarism. Now, in real life, with today's high-tech communications, such a vague accusation could be resolved in hours. But this is not real life, it's Stephen King, so the situation drags on and on, becoming increasingly nasty. Director David Koepp works with the idea that if you're manipulative enough the audience will not notice the incompetence in the plot's construction. And the manipulation is shameless, not to mention predictable. Scene after sloppy scene is just too obvious to be scary. As for the ending: well, I'm not going to give away the secret of "Secret Window". Let's just say that Margaret Millar did it a lot better in "Beast in View", and that was nearly 50 years ago.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Please go see it
Review: did make one mistake in attending this movie, it was either this or go see "The Passion". I thought that by going to see this I would not be as numb when I went to work.

What I saw on the screen didn't NUMB me so much as freak me out. I didn't dislike the experience even though it was a little stomach churning.

Any misgivings I had were washed away in the last 20 minutes. And if anyone gives the ending away i'll track you down and kill you myself.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Very Good Suspenseful Thriller!
Review: David Koepp's SECRET WINDOW, which he adapted from Stephen King's novella as well as directed, is a film that requires some patience due to its deliberate pacing. However, it is so well-acted that it deserves the time you take to sit through it. Johnny Depp, one of the finest actors living today, is wonderful in how he crafts a deeply nuanced character; he is unique among actors of his generation. His haunting portrayal of the troubled, soon-to-be-divorced writer Mort Rainey is worth the price of admission. Of course, every good suspense thriller needs a good villain, and John Turturro plays a good one in John Shooter. The New-York bred Turturro effortlessly portrays this mysterious and dangerous man from Mississippi who shows up one day at Mort's country home and accuses him of "stealin' mah storay." Strange and tragic things begin to happen, and Rainey is left to wonder two things: What is going on? And how do I make this all stop?

Even though the ending is not so much of a surprise after all, it is so well-done that it doesn't matter even if you saw it coming from the midway point. The whole movie is very artistic in its approach, and is very satisfying for that reason alone. Of course, it helps that Johnny Depp is in every single scene and has some great, memorable lines in this frequently amusing thriller. See SECRET WINDOW and stay with it!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: great movie, johnny depp is awesome
Review: this was one great movie. johnny depp was funny and i wasn't prepared for the end. john tuturro as the southern hick was great and a little creepy and weird. this movie had some of johnny depp's dark humor in it. this movie is worth seeing.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: That Johnny Depp Movie...
Review: (...)I made the mistake of reading reviews before going to see this movie and ended up knowing the ending before I even sat down. This totally took away from the entire movie...I found myself seeking faults in the story line rather than enjoying the movie. STOP HERE IF YOU DON'T WANT TO RUIN YOUR EXPERIENCE...

The movie was just OK, to me...It's hard not to like a Johnny Depp movie and I couldn't even remember the name of the actual movie...just that it was that Johnny Depp movie...The ending was predictable, then again, when you know the ending going in it kind of ruins things for you. The movie did keep you entertained however, it was difficult to believe that plagerism would drive a person to stalk someone...and this premise was what was supposed to keep the movie-goer interested.

The Shoot-her concept in the film was kind of lost on me...If the idea was that the personality was derived from the idea of shooting his wife, why didn't he SHOOT her a the end?

See in theaters?- Sure, why not...
Rent?-Definitely
See again?-No
Buy on DVD?-No

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Depps performance is truly wow!!!
Review: Johnny Depp should be recognized this film. His performance really deserves an Oscar. Johnny Depp character is an author who is accused of stealing a story from John Turturro's character. Johnny Depp then says he has proof that he created the story first. John Turturro character gives Johnny Depps character 3 days to give him proof that he made up the story first or else he'll kill him if he doesn't make the changes of the story, the original ending John Turturro character made. John Turturro character mess's with his head by killing his dog and just plain messing with him. Johnny Depp caught his wife cheating on him 6 months earlier. So he is going through a divorce, her new boyfriend then threatens to kick Johnny's ass if he doesn't sign the divorce papers for the divorce can be final. Johnny then hires a cop to look over his house and check if no one is in there, and to just protect him. It is a war between Depp and Turturro of who's the better author, even if you don't really like this film, I know your going to love Depps performance. It is a really shocking thriller, which will leave you on the edge of your seat.

This movie is based on the novel by Stephen King, and you know all the movies based on Stephan Kings novels are amazing, like Pet Cementary, Misery, It, The Shining, Carry and other movies based on Stephen King. And you know the movies based on his novels are sure to be shocking thrillers! This is one of those movies where you have to watch it again and again to actually get it. These performances are really great. John Turturro plays his character so well, he can actually just creep you out like if his character was real. This film has really great cinematography. The movie is really confusing at first, that's really the reason you need to watch it again and again. It will keep you guessing from end to beginning. This movie can make you jump out of your seat, when you walk out of the theater you will just be blown away out of the movie. This is truly, a must see.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Adaptation
Review: In general, the movie was great. The acting and casting was near perfect, however, anyone who has seen adaptation can't help but notice how many "rules" are broken (i.e. lots of voice over when it wasn't really needed). It was worth seeing, though the plot was not the strongest, and the ending was somewhat predictable. Johnny Depp was his normal wonderful self, and assumed the role completely. He wasn't the only great actor, the cast as a whole was strong. It had its funny moments, its suspense and its gruesome times. They were balanced very well. All in all, it was a good movie, but not the best.


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