Rating: 
Summary: Could have been so much better
Review: Some movies are misses not because they're necessarily bad, but because they end up being mediocre even if the people involved are talented and the story has it's moments. Gothika is one such movie.Oscar winner Halle Berry plays Miranda, a psychologist working in a mental institution. One night, after a rough session with Chloe (Cruz), a difficult patient, she goes home only to find the road blocked. After being forced to take a different route, she crashes into a ditch after swerving her car trying not to hit a girl standin in the road. When she wakes up, she's trapped in her own clinic as one of the patients, and being charged for the murder of her husband (Dutton). Is she going crazy? Has she already lost her mind? Did she or didn't she kill her husband and why can't she remember? What follows is a series of discoveries that lead Miranda in a direction she never expected and the answer to the mystery of her madness. However, the film does a poor job in creating true suspense. The whole movie is dimly lit and most of the scenes in the sanitarium have a blue tone, as if to reflect the depression and the fear, but because it is constantly that way, it ends up losing its effect. The acting is simply awful. Berry should return her Oscar after this, and Robert Downey jr., as the friendly (or is he?) doctor gives a stiff performance. The acting was so bad that Penélope Cruz ends up being the best actor in the film. Go figure. All in all, it's not a bad film, but it could have been so much better. Two last comments: the film is superbly produced, which makes sense when you learn that this is another Dark Castle production. Dark Castle, for those of you not in the know, is Robert Zemeckis's and Joel Silver's company for suspense/mystery films, such as Ghost ship and Thir13en ghosts. Also, this film is directed by Mathieu Kassovitz, best known as Amelie's boyfriend Nino.
Rating:
Summary: Horror story with some good effects
Review: Similar to a Stephen King effort, this rather subpar film concerns a prison psychiatrist who has been falsely accused of murdering her husband. It is partly a ghost story as well but overall the dramatic tension is not played out as well as some other films, and I think there are some better films out there. But as a horror story it's fairly good, since it effectively combines a ghost story with a story of another murder. The best scenes show Halle Berry as the psychiatrist thrashing herself about her cell after she has been thrown in an asylum along with her former patient;she knows she is innocent of the crime of which she has been accused, so this is not the act of a madwoman.She is shown showering with the other inmates in abject humiliation. The scenes showing her trying to escape the asylum occupy many minutes of screentime; when she does, she borrows the attendant's car keys and escapes to her husband's house in a screeching drive across the countryside. When she arrives she has many flashbacks as she attempts to maintain her sanity.
Rating:
Summary: Some good effects
Review: Similar to a Stephen King effort, this rather overrated film concerns a prison psychiatrist who has been accused falsely of murdering her husband. It is partly a ghost story as well but over all the dramatic tension is not played out as well as some other films, and I think there are many better films out there. But as a horror story it's fairly good, since it effectively combines a ghost story with a story of another murder. The best scenes show Halle Berry as the psychiatrist thrashing herself about her cell after she has been thrown in an asylum along with her former patient; she knows she is innocent of the crime of which she has been accused, so this is not the act of a madwoman.
The scenes showing her trying to escape the asylum go on and on and grow tedious after a while.
Rating: 
Summary: A HALLE HORROR STORY
Review: Halle Berry dominates the screen when she's on it. And not just with her obvious beauty. But her presence is so 'BIG', you can't help but keep your eyes glued to the screen. Halle elevates GOTHIKA with a performance that is both subtly performed and wildly erratic at times. I did wonder if perhaps her character had gone insane. GOTHIKA is a moody, creepy and engrossing ghost story that pulls some weird twists and some real shocks. Berry is given excellent support by Robert Downey as her psychiatrist friend; John Carroll Lynch as the sheriff who was also her husband's best friend; Penelope Cruz as the tormented patient Chloe; and Charles Dutton as her doomed hubby. By the time the movie reaches it's climax, you'll slap yourself on the head and say, of course! But, at the same time, how does Halle get off the hook---the movie never explains and it's "sixth sense" ending is also a little disturbing, hence only the four stars. GOTHIKA is no where as bad as most critics have said; it's a good ghost story and a wonderful performance from Ms. Berry.
Rating: 
Summary: PREDICTABLE SNOOZER WASTES GREAT TALENT
Review: This movie shamefully wastes its talented cast and production crew with an all-too-predictable storyline full of unsympathetic characters at a "mental institution" that looks more like the set for a StarTrek movie. Properly directed and edited, this flick could have been scary and fun, as the ghost premise is not a bad idea. Unfortunately, all of the jarring moments are telegraphed way in advance so there's nothing to be scared of, and the basic premise collapses under the wimpy, convoluted, subplots meant to "distract" you. In sum, this flick suffers from a host of dull-as-dirt subplots, poor characterization, and a waste of STELLAR special effects. Even the supremely talented Halle Berry couldn't save this one. It's a total bomb.
Rating: 
Summary: One of Halle's best Pictures
Review: A supremely made horror-suspense motion picture that I found very enjoyable. You won't find any of Halle's soft skin in here, if you want that then view the last 007 flick.
You will find this movie keeping you staring into your TV and trying to contemplate what had just happened when that "hook" arrives to interweave into your brain.
I found it overall unpredictable.
A must see motion picture!
Rating:
Summary: This ghost story puts Halle Berry through the wringer
Review: "Gothika" is one of those movies that is not as bad as you heard that it was although certainly it has some major problems. For one thing the movie tries so relentlessly to be eerie with all the spooky lighting and music that it threatens to be carried along by the style rather than the substance. Then there is the fact that we know that in the "real world" a prison psychiatrist is not going to end up in the same prison where they practiced if the world decides that they are insane. Doing so would mess up the treatment of every patient she had been working with, so we know that Halle Berry's Miranda Grey is there for a reason, which gets us thinking ahead of the plot and trying to figure out whodunnit. Is director Mathieu Kassovitz being so heavy handed that he is obvious or is he skillfully setting up a red herring? Good question. You can answer it for yourself after you see the film. Miranda is a psychiatrist in a dark and dreary prison where we are introduced to her as she is working with patient Chloe Sava (Penelope Cruz). Miranda seems clinical and cool, if not cold. One of the other staff psychiatrists, Pete Graham (Robert Downey Jr.) seems interested in her, but she has recently wed her boss, Dr. Douglas Grey (Charles S. Dutton). That night, after taking a swim in the prison pool, she drives home during a thunderstorm and is forced to take a detour. The figure of a ghostly girl appears in the middle of the road and Miranda crashes her car. Miranda tries to help the girl, who looks like she has been the victim of something horrible, but then the girl bursts into flames. The next thing Miranda knows she wakes up a prisoner in her own institution where she is told by Pete that she has been accused of brutally murdering her husband with an axe. Miranda remembers nothing. Chloe explains to Miranda that once you are declared to be officially insane anything you say will automatically be considered to be the ravings of a lunatic. Miranda is put in the impossible position of convincing her captors that she is sane. However, that is really not much of a problem because she is so distraught and confused that she convinces both herself and the viewers that maybe she is insane, and if that is true, then maybe it is true that she killed her husband. Berry's performance bounces back and forth between screaming hysteria and a guarded detachment in an effort to survive everything that is being thrown at her by not only the authorities trying to convict her of murder but also of her own mind. For those that thought Berry's Oscar for "Monster's Ball" did not prove she was a real actress, "Gothika" proves she is clearly more than a pretty face. There is a paradox in this film, what some may consider a fatal flaw, in that in the final analysis all of the pieces do not fit. Even once you know what is going on it does not really explain everything that is happening. Watch the film a second time and you will see this is clearly the case. However I think this was really more a question of keeping us guessing rather than having problems with story construction. Kassovitz and screenwriter Sebastian Gutierrez are developing a sense of mystery and terror that literally extends to the end of the film where the final scene provides another piece of what is really an unfinished puzzle. Listen to Kassovitz's commentary on this DVD and he will repeatedly talk about what they did to make individual scenes scary, without a clear regard for what it meant for the logic of the film. Either you buy into the end result or this movie is going to grossly offend you. There probably is not going to be any middle ground on this one. Final Note: Kassovitz earns points by filming a group shower scene with Berry, Cruz, and over a dozen other women that is totally in keeping with the atmosphere of the film. These women are all naked, but the scene is filmed in such a way that they are not nude (that will make sense when you see it). When that scene started I was mentally rolling my eyes at what I thought was going to be coming up next and Kassovitz simply did not go there. That says something.
Rating: 
Summary: Good acting couldn't save the bad script & weak plot
Review: Most movies ask for a certain level of suspension of disbelief, but this one carries this to a ridiculous extreme. For example, if a ghost can carve a clue into your arm, why can't it just write you a note to tell you what it wants? Also, I'm quite certain that a medical examination after a rape is a good way for a well trained expert to determine whether or not a woman has been raped or at the very least has had sexual intercourse. Another problem in the movie is with the fact that in a suicide investigation, the forensic examination of the body would determine whether or not injuries were received before or after death. These and other obvious flaws in the storyline and the less than mediocre plot are just some of many reasons this movie is lacking and should be skipped.
Rating:
Summary: An Influential Experience-Amazing
Review: This movie was so fascinating and intelligent. The idea put forth was incredibaly clever. The fact of her judging her patients and claiming that they are "crazy" until she wakes up one day to find herself in their position. The whole movie is about how halle berry unravels the case that has caused her and her patients paranoia.
It is the best movie I have ever seen. It's very meaningful influential and powerful. I would definitly advise you to buy it so you can be inspired, just like i was.
Rating:
Summary: So much potential wasted by bad writing
Review: This movie has an excellent cast, an intriguing premise, and a chilling "gothic" visual appeal, but a small child could point out the plotholes, many of which could've been resolved quite easily. The director seems to forget that even a ghost-story must obey its own internal logic. The storytelling in this movie is sloppy, which is a shame. If the story had held up, this could've been one of the best movies of the year. After the initial premise is setup, the movie deteriorates into nonsense, until the ending where people are rushing around for no other reason than to wind up the movie.
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