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DVD The Forgotten
With a plot that might've been lifted from The X-Files, nothing is quite what it seems in The Forgotten, a psychological conspiracy thriller with Julianne Moore doing fine work as a grieving mother whose nine-year-old son was killed in a plane crash. At least, that's what she's been led to believe, but when even her husband (Anthony Edwards) tries to convince her that she's delusional and never had a child, things start to get very spooky indeed. Dominic West (from HBO's superb series The Wire) plays a similarly traumatized father, and when they witness some very strange events--and a mysterious man (Linus Roache) who might be indestructible--this glorified B-movie potboiler directed by Joseph Ruben (best known for Dreamscape and The Stepfather) turns into a preposterous but entertaining trip into The Twilight Zone territory. Featuring Alfre Woodard as an intuitive New York detective and Gary Sinise as a seemingly sympathetic psychiatrist, The Forgotten offers adequate shocks and an intriguing, otherworldly study of tenacious parental instinct. It deserved its mixed reviews, but it's a fun spook-fest for rainy-day viewing. --Jeff Shannon
With the most ridiculous, kitschy effects I've seen yet in this kind of a movie, the Forgotten is easily one DVD which if you are considering buying, the thought of which should be quickly forgotten. The acting was ok, but the script was absurd. I was kicking myself for having bought this one.
Forget the Forgotten!
If Julianne Moore isn't one of the best actresses in Hollywood, then at least you can say she is one of the most prolific. I can't blame her - she must be as tireless as the Energizer Bunny.
That out of the way....
The Forgotton, on its face, starts out feeling like one of those outrageously scary/creepy/bizarre Japanese horror films. When it ends, you feel cheated. You realize it's nothing more than an expanded episode of The X Files.
Moore's got a kid, she knows it. Then she doesn't. No one else remembers her having a kid - but she can. Something's up. What's going on? Ed: Now that IS scary! Imagine feeling like you're going nuts and knowing that you're not. Knowing you have a child but the child is no where to be seen and no one remembers you ever having a child. Jeez - that's creepy stuff.
This is a bit of a chase movie...it's got a little bit of X Files, a little "They Live!" and far too much of a television feeling for my sensibilities.
I won't give the lame conclusion away. However, suffice it to say that you'll be able to figure it out about 15 minutes in and you'll keep telling yourself, "Surely, they won't do something that lame, that stupid, that much of a cop out."
Oh, but they do. They did. And I wanted my money back.
Forget the Forgotten!
The Forgotten? The Forgettable!
Without spoiling the movie or touting yet another synopsis, I'll be brief:
With what started as an interesting concept dragged into boredom before descending into the asinine with vacuum-sounding abductions and a conclusion that is trite.
Honestly, rather than going with a new idea of who is taking people, the most unoriginal idea is used, so that the original "why" is overshadowed by the stale "who."
Dull journey, laudable ending, very generously given one star.
Even when his trademark twist-ending formula wears worrisomely thin as it does in The Village, M. Night Shyamalan is a true showman who knows how to serve up a spookfest. He's derailed this time by a howler of a "surprise" lifted almost directly from "A Hundred Yards Over the Rim," an episode of The Twilight Zone starring Cliff Robertson that originally aired in 1961. Even if you're unfamiliar with that Rod Serling scenario, you'll have a good chance of guessing the surprise, which ranks well below The Sixth Sense and Signs on Shyamalan's shock-o-meter. That leaves you to appreciate Shyamalan's proven strengths, including a sharp eye for fear-laden compositions, a general sense of unease, delicate handling of fine actors (alas, most of them wasted here, save... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Bryce Dallas Howard - Joaquin Phoenix - Adrien Brody - William Hurt - Sigourney Weaver Director(s): M. Night Shyamalan DVD Release Date: Released the 11 January 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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It's not the scary hit that The Ring was in 2002, but The Grudge makes a similarly convincing case for American remakes of popular Japanese horror films. Barely a year passed between the release of Takashi Shimizu's creepy ghost story Ju-On: The Grudge and the production of this American remake, set in Tokyo and starring Sarah Michelle Gellar in her first post-Buffy horror film. About the only significant difference between the two films is the importing of a mostly-American cast (including Bill Pullman, Clea DuVall and Grace Zabriskie), but The Grudge was reconfigured (by screenwriter Stephen Susco) to allow Shimizu to refine and improve the spookiest highlights of his earlier version, which enjoyed previous incarnations as a short film and two... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Sarah Michelle Gellar - Jason Behr - Clea DuVall Director(s): Takashi Shimizu DVD Release Date: Released the 01 February 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Just when you think it's getting silly, Cellular serves up another tantalizing twist. In the time-honored tradition of Sorry, Wrong Number and Wait Until Dark, Kim Basinger is well-cast as a resourceful damsel-in-distress who thwarts her kidnappers by connecting with a n'er-do-well cell-phone user (Chris Evans, later seen in The Fantastic Four) who races against time to rescue her from afar. One good cop (William H. Macy) assembles clues to uncover conspiracy, while first-time writer Chris Morgan and pulp-movie master Larry Cohen (who conceived the plot, similar to his own Phone Booth screenplay) serve up a consistently satisfying string of high-tension surprises. Jason Statham continues to prove his rising-star status as the film's tenacious villain,... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Kim Basinger Director(s): David R. Ellis DVD Release Date: Released the 18 January 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Like a Hardy Boys mystery on steroids, National Treasure offers popcorn thrills and enough boyish charm to overcome its rampant silliness. Although it was roundly criticized as a poor man's rip-off of Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Da Vinci Code, it's entertaining on its own ludicrous terms, and Nicolas Cage proves once again that one actor's infectious enthusiasm can compensate for a multitude of movie sins. The contrived plot involves Cage's present-day quest for the ancient treasure of the Knights Templar, kept secret through the ages by Freemasons past and present. Finding the treasure requires the theft of the Declaration of Independence (there are crucial treasure clues on the back, of course!), so you can add "caper comedy" to this Jerry Bruckheimer... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Jon Turteltaub DVD Release Date: Released the 03 May 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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While setting a milestone in the progress of digital filmmaking, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow resurrects a nostalgic fantasy world derived from a wide variety of vintage inspirations. It's a dazzling dream for anyone who appreciates the look and feel of golden-age sci-fi pulp magazines, drawing its unique, all-digital design from such diverse sources as Howard Hawks adventures, Fritz Lang's Metropolis, Buck Rogers, Blackhawk comics, The Third Man, cliffhanger serials, and the action-packed Indiana Jones franchise. Writer-director Kerry Conran's feature debut is also guaranteed to inspire digital dreamers everywhere, suggesting a paradigm shift in the way CGI-dominated movies are made. It's a giddy adventure for the young and young-at-heart, in... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Gwyneth Paltrow - Jude Law - Angelina Jolie Director(s): Kerry Conran DVD Release Date: Released the 25 January 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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