adamdwyer

The biggest problem with this film is not the film itself but the marketing of it. The synopsis, the trailer and other promotional materials of this movie are misleading to the point of being a bold lie. That aside, the film is really not that great: M. Night tries stretch out the suspense but it ends up becoming thin and boring in places; Brody's mentally-handicapped character remarkably manages to overcome his disability at just the right moments, over-conveniently serving the plot. Although, for the most part M. Night's talent as a director is on full display; as well, he has assembled a great cast (as usual).

Nonetheless, I can't help but feel disappointed in the fact that I didn't get what I was promised in the ads. Many people are going to see this film because they know there is a surprise ending, but I'm willing to bet that most (if not all) of them will walk unsatisfied, even feeling cheated, largely due to the mishandling by the marketing department. 6 outta 10.

A low, low budget romantic comedy. The cheapness of this movie seemed to add to its hilarity. I didn't buy the kids as a boy-band -- they just didn't look right. But they were funny because of that. The male and female leads did rather well respectively. The dialogue was fairly well written; very funny in places (especially some of lines the boy-band members say, like the eleven-year-old who insists he is gay). But overall the writing was not very good and the film lacked direction. In spite of this, I somehow found Dragonwheel (albeit, not a good title) to be a charming little movie.

6.5 outta 10.

Like most truly great films, THE HOURS isn't a film for everyone.

This one is for those filmgoers with an acquired taste (like for fine

wine). THE HOURS has been often criticized for being too long;

but, if you think about it, three intercut stories in two hours... that is

concise. Stephen Daldry has done a marvelous job. All three

stories connect smoothly. This is greatly due to the beautiful

score by Philip Glass. David Hare displays some the best

screenwriting in recent years. All performances are great. The

reason most people won't like this movie is because it is very

dark, showing people full of despair, people who dream of self- killing. Oddly, suicide in this film is examined as a positive

solution to the characters's situations. (People in Eastern cultures

are more likely not to find this so odd.) As dark as this picture may

seem, it is not void of hope. You just have to look....

A perfect 10/10!