Freaktana
A Major Disappointment
Clarissa Mora
The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.
Gary
The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.
treeline1
Eli Michaelson (Alan Rickman) is arrogant, narcissistic, and an all-round pig of a man. When he wins the Nobel prize in chemistry, his wife (Mary Steenburgen) and son are expected to join him when he is presented with the two million dollars. Instead, his son is kidnapped and held for ransom for that exact amount.This is a perfect indie film with a bizarre script with endless twists and turns, excellent actors in quirky, often off-putting roles, a loud, funky soundtrack, and a pace that's so quick you'll need to see the movie twice to absorb it all. The ensemble cast is headed by Alan Rickman at his sarcastic best, wallowing happily in his role as a heartless husband and father. He's wonderful. Steenburgen's role is never fully explained; why would she stay married to such a beast? Bill Pullman is great as the cop who investigates the kidnapping. He's sympathetic, professional, and ultra-creepy all at the same time. Bryan Greenberg is good as the kidnap victim. Danny de Vito and Ted Danson round out the cast in small parts.The exciting script will keep you guessing and the acting is top-notch. Recommended.
graestella
This wasn't all bad, but it didn't seem to know where it was going. First of all the lousy music. This was intrusive, too loud and in places even drowned out the dialogue. I found myself reaching for the remote to lower it every time the nutter came on. He was accompanied by crazy music to let us know he was crazy. Then you had to turn the sound up again to catch the next bit of dialogue. The music was terrible, and sounded as if it was added at the last minute to change the direction of the movie in post edit. Then I realised what had happened. The original comedy movie had been made into a 'dark comedy' after shooting was over. The cannibalism, mutilation, kidnapping, murders and beatings were a little too much for the review audiences, so it had to become a thriller. The Woody Allen style poetry group and the presence of so many comedy actors, Rickman, Danson, Steenburgen, De Vito surely meant that this began as a comedy, but someone (one of the 5 producers ? ) decided to change tack. Was De Vito originally meant to be more enhanced role and he was cut down to practically a cameo ? Why was Danson given only a few cutting lines as the University Dean ? Given Benny Hill style music, or even a decent rock score, but hey they have to be paid for, the whole film would have been better. Why did this go straight to DVD here in the UK, and then be given away in a newspaper ? I think a fine cast was let down here by a too many cooks effect and a corporate writing and editing debacle.
HRoss007
What an amazing cast of performers with familiar past credits, Danny DeVito, Mary Steenbergen, Alan Rickman, Ted Danson, and Eliza Dushku! But put together in amazing chemistry with young men Bryan Greenberg and Shawn Hatosy.Rickman, most familiar as Professor Snape from Harry Potter, is even less lovable in this character as a Nobel Prize winning Chemistry Professor, Eli Michaelson. Steenbergen, who has played an understanding mother in 'Joan of Arcadia' is born for this role of Psychology PhD / Detective / Loving Mother and Tolerant Wife of the philandering Professor. Danny DeVito goes beyond the Comedy roles you've seen from him before to be a sad little recovering mental patient, still struggling with his OCD.Who's the biggest Psycho? Is it the Professor's son Barkley, working on a PhD in Cannibalism? Is it the scheming criminally insane Illegitimate Son Thaddeus? Or is it really the lovely Eliza Dushku playing Poet/Artist/Easy Lover named City Hall? The Plot is as twisted as the characters. But don't shy away from the early gruesomeness or you will miss a truly great Psychodrama. Or was that Psycho Drama?
princess_t_storm
i was expecting this to actually be good because of a positive review by a critic who knows film and writes for my local paper. i'm surprised at just how bad it is. first off, the lighting leaves much to be desired. it's far too dark throughout the film. i'm sure this is on purpose, for some reason. second, the editing. lots of scenes in this film are shot like a music video, with quick editing and electronic music playing over it. it also doesn't cover up the flat direction that i believe is at the heart of this film. third, the music again. it's not just played in the quick-edit montages but throughout more static moments in the film. it does not help the film, in my opinion. also, i don't believe that it adds the sense of excitement that i think it is probably intended to. although with a film this uninvolving and flat i don't know that there's any music that could have helped. but the electronica seemed a bad choice. also, there's little to no character development. i really didn't care what happened to any of the characters after a while, so i stopped watching. all in all, i found this film to be a sub-mediocre disappointment of an attempt at quirky black comedy. i give it a 2 because it has some good-to-decent acting despite the uninspired, flat direction.
