Plantiana Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

SparkMore n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Argemaluco Personal Effects is a tedious and redundant movie which is finished with a weak and forced conclusion.Big part of the movie is focused on the romance between a young man and a mature woman, something which frankly did not interest me at all; and during the rest of the time, we contemplate their bitter lives, something which interested me even less.I appreciate the fact that Ashton Kutcher decided to explore new creative horizons taking a dramatic role such as the one from this movie.The truth is that he has cultivated such an image of a jester on his career as well as on his personal life that I thought it was going to be impossible for me to accept him as a man tortured by his past.However, I have to admit he made a competent work for most of the time, and I generally found him credible on his character.Nevertheless, the screenplay occasionally requires too much from him and he could not always comply.That happens on the manipulative scenes in which we are supposed to feel the pain from his character while he is using a chicken disguise (long story).Even though Kutcher tries to apparent gravity, the result is involuntarily laughable.Now, to be honest, I doubt that even Philip Seymour Hoffman or Chiwetel Ejiofor (just to mention two of my favorite actors) would have fared well from those ridiculous situations.As for Michelle Pfeiffer, she does what she can with her hollow character.This excellent actress showed in many occasions during her career her huge talent to find the precise tone which makes her performances not only credible, but also absolutely natural.There are some glimpses of that ability in Personal Effects, but unfortunately, the screenplay does not support her too much.Besides, director David Hollander could not generate the necessary energy in the movie, because his work feels cold and lacking of passion.I have may become too cynical.The drama portrayed in this movie may be more resonant to people who, at my difference, are not tired of pretentious and "deep" films which use easy tragedies as substitutes from the real drama (calling director Alejandro González Iñárritu...).I find it to be significant the fact that Personal Effects is based on a short story written by Rick Moody, who was also the author of the book The Ice Storm, which was adapted to the cinema on an homonym excellent film directed by Ang Lee in 1997.In that movie, there were not any apparatus tragedies or unexpected violence...just the unbearable suffering of the marital unhappiness and the existential frustration.And that was more than enough.Personal Effects could not achieve even a pinch of that level of impact with its tragedies.So, needless to say I do not recommend this mediocre and boring film called Personal Effects.

bsmtpa I usually don't watch Lifetime movies but it was a rare Saturday Night that i was home.. nothing else was on...the tube... Turned to Lifetime and saw an original TV film with Michelle Pfeifer was about to begin.."Personal Effects" The minute it stated I was hoooked... Love Michelle Pfeifer and she was excellent in the role of a somewhat older woman who falls for (through various circumstances) a younger man, played by Aston Kutcher ..now I've heard of him but had never (i thought seen him act ) Not only is he good looking and a"hunk" but he can really act he played the part of a confused somewhat depressed young man so well..I felt so sympathetic towards him ..Excellent performance know now, thanks to IMDb.that he's married to Demi Moore, and I did see him in "Bobby" and possibly the "70's Show". He was wonderful as was Michelle and the entire cast including Kathy Bates in another unbelievably good performance as "Kutcher's mom . Very adult quite graphic ,a bit violent but very well done and well acted.. The plot has a few implausabilities and was a bit confusing but stick with it... One of the best made for TV films I've seen in awhile Shown on the Lifetime Network

batispexa I expected this film to be awful and it turned out to be decent. This is not the best film I've seen last several months, but I have certainly seen worse. It is a bit more pretentious that it can deliver. But all in all I think it deserves rating between 5 and 7, depending on a taste of a viewer. It is nice to watch and though sometimes it is too predictable and dialog sucks, it still touches you. I wish it was done better, it could've been. i liked grey color. Music was sickly sometimes. acting was good. Who would've thought that pretty boy Ashton could act? I would recommend this movie if you like drama, slow-pace, better-than- mediocre photography and don't have anything to do.

aiga I have just returned from the theater and I must share my thoughts. I was – still am – incredibly moved by this movie. It has been a while since I saw anything that touched me so deeply. This movie is a treasure that has found its way to the audience in the era of thrillers and romcoms. The story is about people left behind after their loved ones have been violently taken away from them. They are trying to find their way back into life, but it is not easy. Each one of them is looking for something that would give the support or direction for this new life that they have to make now. For one person it is a new love that gives sense back to her existence. For the other person it is a hope of justice. Yet another one finds peace in a self actualization.The movie has an incredibly melancholy and soulful tone to it. It is very quiet in spite of the intense suffering that it depicts. There are no loud manifestations or long intense monologues. There are just these people. They look at you through the screen and you can feel their pain and sorrow. These people have lost something irreplaceable, something that, in a way, was a part of their being. How to cope with a loss like that? The world depicted in the movie is a reflection of the human emotions. It highlights the melancholy atmosphere of the movie. There are dark clouds and rain constantly present. The world is grey and joyless, just as the people in it. All in all, I feel that the movie is perfect in its sadness. Still, it shows that there is hope even when you don't see any. The actors gave an excellent performance. Michelle Pfeiffer is wonderful and charming as usual. I must praise Ashton Kutcher. I like his comedies where he usually gets to play handsome romantic fellows, but guess what! There is more to him than meets the eye! Well, there have been movies, like The Butterfly Effect and The Guardian, where it was noticeable that he has a serious drama actor potential. Then there was Spread, which was something new and interesting. This movie, however, brings a whole new level out in him. There was no sign of the boisterous, self confident good-looking young man that he always plays. There was just this sad young man with these incredibly soulful eyes and no apparent aim in the future. Excellent performance! There was, however, one minus. I believe there is a great deal of those who would agree with me on the point. The movie has all the makings of a real drama - in all the senses of the word. It depicts real people in the real world with just as real problems. There are no particular surprises or twists in the story, which in this case I don't consider to be a flaw. It is about the feeling that it brings. Usually I am a fan of happy endings, but in this case I felt a bit cheated. I could see the shooting approaching, but I was still shocked and desperate when it happened. The following scene softened this blow and ultimately spoiled the movie a bit. I suppose that changing the ending of the movie might have resulted in the change of its general message as well, but I feel that it would have suited better.