DVD Talk
Hide and Seek [Archive] - DVD Talk Forum
 
Best Sellers
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Santa Buddies
Buy: $29.99 $9.99
8.
9.
10.
DVD Blowouts
1.
2.
Cars [Blu-ray]
Buy: $34.99 $15.49
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Mad Men: Season 2
Buy: $49.98 $18.99
10.

PDA
DVD Reviews

View Full Version : Hide and Seek


necros
10-26-04, 10:56 PM
Just saw this trailer on the apple site and thought I'd share

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/hide_and_seek/HS_trailer_large.html

Looks really creepy and it's got little girl extraordinaire Dakota Fanning and Mr. DeNiro too. Hope it's good.

Michael Corvin
10-27-04, 12:22 AM
Looks good but where's Alex Cross?

Geofferson
10-27-04, 09:31 AM
I saw this trailer when I went to see The Grudge. Looks so-so, IMO.

NitroJMS
01-25-05, 10:49 PM
I saw an advanced screening of this tonight. Not bad, but not great either. I would have waited for a rental if it wasn't free.

That said, Fanning is great as usual and Deniro redeems himself for some of the lame comedies he's done as of late.

What held it back (warning: spoils the ending!):
This movie once agains recycles the lame "twist" of the killer (Deniro) being the protagonist and a schizophrenic that was seen in Secret Window last year, and Identity the year before, and Fight Club before that. I would have preferred just a straight up supernatural element than what they went with.

PopcornTreeCt
01-25-05, 11:05 PM
I saw an advanced screening of this tonight. Not bad, but not great either. I would have waited for a rental if it wasn't free.

That said, Fanning is great as usual and Deniro redeems himself for some of the lame comedies he's done as of late.

What held it back (warning: spoils the ending!):
This movie once agains recycles the lame "twist" of the killer (Deniro) being the protagonist and a schizophrenic that was seen in Secret Window last year, and Identity the year before, and Fight Club before that. I would have preferred just a straight up supernatural element than what they went with.


Wow. I almost nailed that ending. I had predicted that Dakota Fanning's character was actually the one who was schizo.

NitroJMS
01-25-05, 11:28 PM
Wow. I almost nailed that ending. I had predicted that Dakota Fanning's character was actually the one who was schizo.

That would have been too obvious.

scott shelton
01-26-05, 12:22 AM
I saw an advanced screening of this tonight. Not bad, but not great either. I would have waited for a rental if it wasn't free.

That said, Fanning is great as usual

I respectfully disagree on the Fanning part. She's too rehearsed to be effective like the film needs her to be.

SEEK is a fairly drab and lifeless thriller. If there wasn't a film made last year with the exact same ending, it would appear more fresh. It's funny how Fox is reduced to publicity stunts now to get people to see this.

But that's what you get when you keep hiring the director of SWIMFAN.

tek2k
01-26-05, 02:03 AM
That said, Fanning is great as usual and Deniro redeems himself for some of the lame comedies he's done as of late.

redeems himself... LOL. there's no need for him to 'redeem' himself for anything. just because you didn't like meet the fockers means he needed any kind of redemption. :p

Geofferson
01-26-05, 10:00 AM
I just find it ridiculous that Fanning gets a mention in the trailer, but not Shue.

Giles
01-26-05, 10:15 AM
I find the trailer really annoying, I'll see it on video, but I wont waste my money on this even at matinee price.

scott shelton
01-26-05, 02:52 PM
I just find it ridiculous that Fanning gets a mention in the trailer, but not Shue.


Shue has a pretty small part. But I get what you're saying...

Geofferson
01-27-05, 09:54 AM
Saw a new commercial for this last night and you know it's not good when they quote words that praise it...such as "chilling", "brilliant" etc...yet don't mention the source.

Mittman
01-27-05, 05:30 PM
I saw a commercial for this tonight that runined the twist. The ad shows Robert DeNiro with a knife and a demented look on his face, with a voice over saying how his performance is chilling and shocking.

Third Baseman
01-27-05, 09:05 PM
http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/movies/h/hide_seek.html

Berardinelli pwned it. :(

Says Fanning was good though. :)

Dr. DVD
01-27-05, 09:38 PM
I wonder if Fanning will continue to make movies when she is an adult?

thegame370
01-27-05, 10:06 PM
I wonder if Fanning will continue to make movies when she is an adult?

If she doesnt, atleast she can say shes worked with some of the best:

Sean Penn (I Am Sam)
Denzel Washington (Man on Fire)
Robert DeNiro (Hide and Seek)
and next with Tom Cruise (War of the Worlds)

dcprules
01-27-05, 10:41 PM
Looks like this one has a 32% on the tomatometer as of right now, but there aren't a ton of reviews. I was kind of hoping this would be good, because DeNiro can be such a great actor and its been a while since there was an R rated horror film out.

Michael Corvin
01-27-05, 10:42 PM
If she doesnt, atleast she can say shes worked with some of the best:

Sean Penn (I Am Sam)
Denzel Washington (Man on Fire)
Robert DeNiro (Hide and Seek)
and next with Tom Cruise (War of the Worlds)

I can't believe you left out Matt LeBlanc.

RyoHazuki
01-27-05, 10:44 PM
and Brittany Murphy.

scott shelton
01-27-05, 11:07 PM
I wonder if Fanning will continue to make movies when she is an adult?

I hope not.

Third Baseman
01-27-05, 11:44 PM
I hope not.
Die. :mad:

Dabaomb
01-28-05, 01:08 AM
I saw a pre-screening of this tonight and was bored to death. The first 3/4 of the movie is soooooo slow.

I give this movie 1 star out of 4. I would've been pissed if I actually paid to see this.

The only highlights were Elisabeth Shue & Famke....not their acting, but just cuz they're eye candy :p

scott shelton
01-28-05, 09:53 AM
Die. :mad:

She's the second coming of Macaulay Culkin: stiff, over-polished, and trying to conjure adult emotions when her range of life are ponies and trust funds.

Child actors should just be child actors. It drives me nuts when they achieve a certain amount of success, and suddenly they think they have "craft."

Fanning isn't a bad actress, but she's entering that moment in her career when Hollywood is hiring her a bit too much becuase they're too lazy to find other child actors.

It happened to Culkin. Look at him now! He's awful.

If it were up to me, kids would only act once or twice, then move on. Agents and parents ruin that natural spark.

PopcornTreeCt
01-28-05, 11:23 AM
Anyone see the new TV Spot for this movie? Totally spoils the movie. I was quite shocked, I hadn't even seen the movie but could tell the commercial spoiled it. Pathetic marketing techniques.

NitroJMS
01-28-05, 01:05 PM
Anyone see the new TV Spot for this movie? Totally spoils the movie. I was quite shocked, I hadn't even seen the movie but could tell the commercial spoiled it. Pathetic marketing techniques.

Yep, the twist is out since the new ad is basically the last 15 minutes of the film.

Ghostface180
01-28-05, 07:45 PM
I just got back from seeing the movie. I really enjoyed it up until they reveal what's going on. I would have been much more satisfied with Charlie just being a ghost or something. I'm a big fan of twist endings as long as they are surprising and actually use some creativity instead of lazy writing. I started picking up on hints to the ending in Hide and Seek, but disregarded them because I thought that there was no way that the writer was going to reuse that twist since its been done so often in the last couple of years.

jaeufraser
01-28-05, 08:08 PM
Fanning isn't a bad actress, but she's entering that moment in her career when Hollywood is hiring her a bit too much becuase they're too lazy to find other child actors.

It happened to Culkin. Look at him now! He's awful.

If it were up to me, kids would only act once or twice, then move on. Agents and parents ruin that natural spark.

I don't really see the relation. Culkin was, in general, a kid who starred in kids movies. He was also a star, bigger than Fanning is, who was the headliner for a couple of films. He was never critically acclaimed though, he was the star of two of the biggest family films ever, hardly critical darlings. He got roles because he was marketable, simple as that. Plus, his disappearance from the film scene had more to do with his family than anything else I suspect.

He's getting some roles again, but he's just a side actor in small movies nowadays. He's probably still rich as shit anyway, so I doubt he's that bent out of shape over it.

scott shelton
01-28-05, 11:12 PM
I don't really see the relation.

I already assumed you wouldn't. But I can't help that now.

I'm not suggesting they were separated conjoined twins. I'm merely stating that Culkin and Fanning are the tops of the pops in the child actor department in their respective eras. When kids become tops of the pops, they tend to lose that natural spark that made them tops of the pops. It's happening to Fanning now.

Plus Fanning is second billed in HIDE AND SEEK. Name above the title, I believe. Don't tell me she's isn't semi-marketable like Culkin was. Why else would somebody request my death on this board when I questioned her future in acting? She's got a large fanbase.

And who mentioned anything about Culkin leaving the business? Did you even read my post?

necros
01-29-05, 12:53 AM
just got back from seeing it. I thought it was decent.. I didn't see any of the ads or reviews that gave the "twist" away but about halfway through the film i started hoping they don't do that. I was really hoping it would have been the neighbor or even the sheriff or the real estate guy.. but oh well. I thought the acting was great, the story however needed work. DeNiro was awesome and so was fanning.. I hate saying I like her though, cuz I feel like a pedafile or something saying it :), but I think as long as she stays away from drugs and stuff like every other kid 'star" gets into, she'll have a long and great career... but I guess we'll see what happens when she turns into a teenager and discovers partying...

bigsoos
01-29-05, 12:26 PM
saw it last night too, I was liking it up until I figured out how itd turn out.
then I was kinda pissed b/c I felt like it was just a combination of other movies.
I orignally thought that Charlie was the ghost of the kid next door or something. judging by the last picture, i hope there's not going to be a sequel

invisiblegt
01-29-05, 10:38 PM
Horrible, horrible movie. Relies on cheaps "scares" and one of the easiest to deduce plots of recent memory.

The "twist," if you can call it that, is hardly original and was amazingly obvious. The acting is what one would expect from a bad horror movie, and characters are cliches. I mean, the sheriff in the big hat?

One of the worst movies I've seen in a while (this coming from someone who saw over 100 movies in theaters last year, not to mention countless DVD's). De Niro has become a mere shadow of his former self, and seems to have a penchant for the terrible as of late...

Al Padrino
01-30-05, 01:15 AM
Wasn't bad until the last chunk of the movie. They had a real chance to make this more than the typical horror/suspense flick and they opted to take the more traveled path and go with cheap scares and predictable situations. Well-casted movie, though.

sixerb
01-30-05, 03:00 AM
She's the second coming of Macaulay Culkin: stiff, over-polished, and trying to conjure adult emotions when her range of life are ponies and trust funds.

Child actors should just be child actors. It drives me nuts when they achieve a certain amount of success, and suddenly they think they have "craft."

Fanning isn't a bad actress, but she's entering that moment in her career when Hollywood is hiring her a bit too much becuase they're too lazy to find other child actors.

It happened to Culkin. Look at him now! He's awful.

If it were up to me, kids would only act once or twice, then move on. Agents and parents ruin that natural spark.


I'm just glad that it wasn't up to you or we wouldn't now have a grown up Kristen Dunst!!!

scott shelton
01-30-05, 12:30 PM
I'm just glad that it wasn't up to you or we wouldn't now have a grown up Kristen Dunst!!!

Yes, imagine a world without BRING IT ON, GET OVER IT, and WIMBELDON!

:lol:

Rival11
01-30-05, 12:44 PM
I already assumed you wouldn't. But I can't help that now.

I'm not suggesting they were separated conjoined twins. I'm merely stating that Culkin and Fanning are the tops of the pops in the child actor department in their respective eras. When kids become tops of the pops, they tend to lose that natural spark that made them tops of the pops. It's happening to Fanning now.

Plus Fanning is second billed in HIDE AND SEEK. Name above the title, I believe. Don't tell me she's isn't semi-marketable like Culkin was. Why else would somebody request my death on this board when I questioned her future in acting? She's got a large fanbase.

And who mentioned anything about Culkin leaving the business? Did you even read my post?

Here's the deal, it's really simple: Culkin has no talent and Fanning does and she will be around for a while because of it.

DVDHO
01-30-05, 10:27 PM
Culkin fell off because his parent's put him in crap role's,my bad any role,seems to me Fanning has been playing some pretty good role's,I havnt seen H&S yet though,comparing the 2 is insane.

danyanez
01-31-05, 02:25 AM
Anybody noticed that in a couple of times, Dakota Fanning's pupils were dilated? What was that? Why?

Trigger
01-31-05, 03:12 AM
I actually kinda liked it. Haven't liked anything DeNiro's been in in the past several years either. Even though I figured it out early on, I still liked the way it unfolded. The big turnoff for me was the last 5 minutes where:
charlie turns the light on and off and on and off and on and famke says "Hide and Seek" and then *BLAST* - so cheesey. Then the drawing at the end was kinda cheesey as well. The only real cop-out or 'cheat' was that they glazed over the mother's apparent suicide without providing any possible reasons why she did it. I know he actually murdered her, but it still would've been nice if Danny had some sort of answer in his mind to reconcile that... because he was a little too matter of fact about it really - as if her suicide being the reason he had to move was worth about as much emotional involvement as a nail on the road being the reason he has to change his tire.Apart from that and the fact that the beginning was kinda dull, the film did a decent job of building suspense and tension.

DonnachaOne
01-31-05, 03:46 AM
But that's what you get when you keep hiring the director of SWIMFAN.
I think John Polson gets the director gigs as retribution for having to kiss Russell Crowe.

Hmm, what next for the "split-personality killer" flick?
http://www.djfl.de/entertainment/djfl/1110/111453b3.jpg
Maybe a movie that follows a serial killer planning to murder someone, only to find at the very end that he's his own target? Too ridiculous? GREAT, then!

jaeufraser
01-31-05, 04:42 AM
I already assumed you wouldn't. But I can't help that now.

I'm not suggesting they were separated conjoined twins. I'm merely stating that Culkin and Fanning are the tops of the pops in the child actor department in their respective eras. When kids become tops of the pops, they tend to lose that natural spark that made them tops of the pops. It's happening to Fanning now.

Plus Fanning is second billed in HIDE AND SEEK. Name above the title, I believe. Don't tell me she's isn't semi-marketable like Culkin was. Why else would somebody request my death on this board when I questioned her future in acting? She's got a large fanbase.

And who mentioned anything about Culkin leaving the business? Did you even read my post?


I read yours. Did you read mine? I was saying, Culkin was never critically acclaimed, and I don't recall him ever being in a lot of roles that tried to play him off as some sort of special actor.

You said:
"She's the second coming of Macaulay Culkin: stiff, over-polished, and trying to conjure adult emotions when her range of life are ponies and trust funds.

Child actors should just be child actors. It drives me nuts when they achieve a certain amount of success, and suddenly they think they have "craft.""

While I think what you said applies somewhat to Dakota, it certainly doesn't apply to Culkin. I'm not sure where all these films he was in where he was showing off craft and trying to display adult emotions. He was in only two films that even tried to be anything more than just some silly kids movie, and only one where he was really acting like something other than a kid. The Good Son and My Girl. Every other film he did was some silly kids movie where he wasn't even attempting to be some great child actor. In fact, his last three films as a child were all kids movies. Don't tell me you think Richie Rich was him trying to be anything other than a regular ol child actor. Therefore, I don't see the relation. Then he disappeared. You then said look at what films he's in now...he's 20 something, and didn't come back to films until he was this age. That's why I mentioned his leaving the biz, because his return to acting has nothing to do with a child star, because when he returned to acting, he wasn't a child anymore.

There is a difference between the two. Culkin was there because people liked him and he was marketable. He was perhaps the biggest child movie star since god knows, Shirley Temple. Dakota may have her fans, but she isn't even close to the league that Culkin was as a movie star. I don't see her in the sole starring role of any movies. She gets second billing, which is damn impressive, but she isn't im my opinion of anywhere the same star power. Instead, she's seen as a good child actor, who's being placed in roles left and right, which I somewhat agree with your assessment there. But that description hardly applies to Culkin whatsoever. Haley Joel Osment might've been a decent choice for someone like her, a semi marketable child who got placed in some films where, quite frankly, they treated him as some great actor. Though he really didn't do very many movies and seems to have disappeared anyway.

harosa
01-31-05, 11:35 AM
Movie was ok but the "twist" could be seen a mile away, Anyone read over on Dark Horizons where they said 2 endings will be shown in theatres in Australia, none affecting the twist but having to do with the final shots, the one they reveal to be different from what we saw sounds more satisfying to me than what was shown in the US.

scott shelton
01-31-05, 11:55 AM
I think John Polson gets the director gigs as retribution for having to kiss Russell Crowe.

Hmm, what next for the "split-personality killer" flick?
http://www.djfl.de/entertainment/djfl/1110/111453b3.jpg
Maybe a movie that follows a serial killer planning to murder someone, only to find at the very end that he's his own target? Too ridiculous? GREAT, then!


NEVER TALK TO STRANGERS

Michael Corvin
01-31-05, 12:29 PM
There is a difference between the two. Culkin was there because people liked him and he was marketable. He was perhaps the biggest child movie star since god knows, Shirley Temple. Dakota may have her fans, but she isn't even close to the league that Culkin was as a movie star. I don't see her in the sole starring role of any movies. She gets second billing, which is damn impressive, but she isn't im my opinion of anywhere the same star power. Instead, she's seen as a good child actor, who's being placed in roles left and right, which I somewhat agree with your assessment there. But that description hardly applies to Culkin whatsoever. Haley Joel Osment might've been a decent choice for someone like her, a semi marketable child who got placed in some films where, quite frankly, they treated him as some great actor. Though he really didn't do very many movies and seems to have disappeared anyway.

:up: Exactly. Fanning(or agents) surrounds her with the best in the business and stars in more adult friendly fare than kiddie roles. This will assure her place in the industry when she is older.


If it were up to me, kids would only act once or twice, then move on. Agents and parents ruin that natural spark.

Then we wouldn't have Jodie Foster, Helen Hunt or the entire cast of Stand By Me. :(

scott shelton
01-31-05, 12:53 PM
I blame myself for this, jaeu. I really do. I forget how often these arguments dissolve into a battle of obnoxious minutiae. My fault.


While I think what you said applies somewhat to Dakota, it certainly doesn't apply to Culkin. I'm not sure where all these films he was in where he was showing off craft and trying to display adult emotions. He was in only two films that even tried to be anything more than just some silly kids movie, and only one where he was really acting like something other than a kid. The Good Son and My Girl. Every other film he did was some silly kids movie where he wasn't even attempting to be some great child actor. In fact, his last three films as a child were all kids movies. Don't tell me you think Richie Rich was him trying to be anything other than a regular ol child actor. Therefore, I don't see the relation. Then he disappeared. You then said look at what films he's in now...he's 20 something, and didn't come back to films until he was this age. That's why I mentioned his leaving the biz, because his return to acting has nothing to do with a child star, because when he returned to acting, he wasn't a child anymore.

Are you aware Fanning does silly kids movies too? Her filmography is peppered with a HANSEL AND GRETEL and CAT IN THE HAT here and there…

I’m not saying that their careers are <i>literally</i> parallel (this is where your problem is). But I do feel the two share the same trajectory. Fanning might not be the mega-star that Culkin was back then, but she’s the “cat’s ass” right now, getting all the Culkinesque work she can bite into. Hollywood as designated her the “it” kid, and I don’t think she’s all that strong an actor to handle some of these scripts – much like Culkin was when he blew up and took over.

Along with GOOD SON and MY GIRL, please put NUTCRACKER and GETTING EVEN WITH DAD with films that were meant to test Culkin’s range. I think Fanning has about the same number of films she’s toplined with heavyish material, if you want to really get technical about it. IMDB the names again and tell me they have wildly divergent careers.

Those are strong parallels, to me at least.

As for Culkin’s absence from cinema, you misunderstand me. The point I was after was that his child instincts for acting were ported over to his adult performances regardless of long absences or family troubles. Hollywood ruined that terrific UNCLE BUCK spirit of his back in the day by making him act like an adult when he wasn’t ready for that yet. Fanning is the same way. She’s coached up the wazoo, and it shows in her performances. That’s bugs me.


There is a difference between the two. Culkin was there because people liked him and he was marketable. He was perhaps the biggest child movie star since god knows, Shirley Temple. Dakota may have her fans, but she isn't even close to the league that Culkin was as a movie star. I don't see her in the sole starring role of any movies. She gets second billing, which is damn impressive, but she isn't im my opinion of anywhere the same star power. Instead, she's seen as a good child actor, who's being placed in roles left and right, which I somewhat agree with your assessment there. But that description hardly applies to Culkin whatsoever. Haley Joel Osment might've been a decent choice for someone like her, a semi marketable child who got placed in some films where, quite frankly, they treated him as some great actor. Though he really didn't do very many movies and seems to have disappeared anyway.



Compare the two actors directly, <i>literally</i>, and yes, there is a difference. One has a penis, the other a vagina, if you want to play it that way.

But again, Fanning is the Culkin of her day. Do you not agree? That’s the idea I’m going for here. As you say, Osment didn’t work enough to bring him into this.

It’s only a matter of time before she takes on a “look at me!” starring role. UPTOWN GIRLS was dangerously close. This upcoming horse film with Kurt Russell feels even worse. She won’t have a HOME ALONE-style film, mostly due to her sex, but that doesn’t imply she isn’t huge right now. Box office is only one step in the journey.

Maybe you’re a fan, and that’s why you’re so resistant to Fanning-bashing. Again, somebody wished death upon me. I know people love her. Yet I don’t feel I am as off in this idea and you’re trying to make it seem.

Again…

Culkin was there because people liked him and he was marketable.

And Fanning isn’t?

scott shelton
01-31-05, 12:59 PM
Then we wouldn't have Jodie Foster, Helen Hunt or the entire cast of Stand By Me. :(

Foster I will give you. Hunt still has to suffer for PAY IT FORWARD, as far as I'm concerned.

But STAND BY ME? One is dead, and the other three are Jerry O'Connell, Corey Feldman, and Wil Wheaton... do you know how much crap cinema we would've been spared if they quit when they were young? :)

Unless of course you're a fan of KANGAROO JACK and BIKINI BANDITS. I apologize if that's the case.

Michael Corvin
01-31-05, 04:36 PM
Foster I will give you. Hunt still has to suffer for PAY IT FORWARD, as far as I'm concerned.

But STAND BY ME? One is dead, and the other three are Jerry O'Connell, Corey Feldman, and Wil Wheaton... do you know how much crap cinema we would've been spared if they quit when they were young? :)

Unless of course you're a fan of KANGAROO JACK and BIKINI BANDITS. I apologize if that's the case.

The Stand by Me nod was tongue in cheek. I'd never put any of them next to Foster or Hunt. But since you named 'em, I'll give you those three, but Keifer Sutherland is the shiznit in 24. :)

jaeufraser
01-31-05, 05:40 PM
I blame myself for this, jaeu. I really do. I forget how often these arguments dissolve into a battle of obnoxious minutiae. My fault.


Maybe you’re a fan, and that’s why you’re so resistant to Fanning-bashing. Again, somebody wished death upon me. I know people love her. Yet I don’t feel I am as off in this idea and you’re trying to make it seem.

Again…


Well, I've stated why I think they're different. I dont' really agree with your assessment. Getting Even With Dad WAS a stupid kids movie, I saw it. And I don't agree with their trajectory being similar at all. Unless Dakota's career trajectory is straight out of show business once she hits 13 years old, it's not even close. Dakota is Hollywood's IT girl. Culkin, IMO, was not. He was a star. Hollywood didn't pick him to be a star, the audiences did when they made Home Alone one of the biggest films of all time.

Anyway, I'm done with this discussion. I don't mind debating silly little things like this, but for some reason you're exceptionally defensive about someone disagreeing about this subject, for God knows what reason, and it kind of takes the fun out of it. So, I'll just say we disagree and leave it at that.

scott shelton
01-31-05, 10:47 PM
Anyway, I'm done with this discussion. I don't mind debating silly little things like this, but for some reason you're exceptionally defensive about someone disagreeing about this subject, for God knows what reason, and it kind of takes the fun out of it.

I didn't realize we were debating. This never felt like a debate. This last comment kinda points that out. Too late to take the high road now, jaeu.

As for the cheap defensive comment, please to meet you Mr. Pot, I'm Mr. Kettle...

DRG
02-02-05, 04:12 PM
Anyone see the new TV Spot for this movie? Totally spoils the movie. I was quite shocked, I hadn't even seen the movie but could tell the commercial spoiled it. Pathetic marketing techniques.

I saw this one for the first time last night, about fifteen minutes after I got back from seeing the movie. It really is desperate marketing, trying to squeeze out some last minute cash at the expense of the movie itself. I mean they proclaim something along the lines of "You won't believe the twist ending!" while actually showing a major clip from that twist! I hate when they announce a twist anyway, but this one totally blows it! They even have Robert DeNiro looking all creepy saying "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

As for the movie, it was okay, and it has some real creepy energy for about 3/4 of the movie. But as soon as the twist is revealed, all that creepiness is pretty much all for naught, and it sort of spoils the movie. I mean, you build an entire movie around a *seemingly* supernatural threat, and then reveal the threat isn't supernatural, then all that building is instantly wasted. It's like you're pretty much re-starting from scratch, suspensewise. Which is a shame because I actually thought they were doing a good job up until that point.

jaeufraser
02-02-05, 04:42 PM
Ha, Scott, much thanks for including me in your sig. I feel so loved.

Geofferson
02-02-05, 04:50 PM
I heard yesterday that DeNiro walked out of the world premiere of this held a couple weeks back. :lol:

dolphinboy
02-02-05, 10:16 PM
I didn't realize we were debating. This never felt like a debate. This last comment kinda points that out. Too late to take the high road now, jaeu.

As for the cheap defensive comment, please to meet you Mr. Pot, I'm Mr. Kettle...

I just call you Mr. WRONG.

scott shelton
02-03-05, 01:29 PM
I just call you Mr. WRONG.

Nice. Well played.

Josh H
07-06-05, 02:50 PM
Rented and watched this yeasterday.

I enjoyed it, but knew the twist due to having seen the above mentioned tv spot that gave it away.

But it was still creepy throughout and the acting was pretty good. I might pick up the DVD when it's under $20 bucks. Decent disk with four alternate endings (just different last scenes) and 14 other deleted scenes.

Ghostface180
07-07-05, 12:30 AM
Can anyone who has seen the alternate endings please describe them? I saw the movie in the theater and didn't like it, but I'm still curious to see the different endings. I don't want to rent it just to see 5 minutes worth of footage though.
Thanks

Fincher Fan
07-07-05, 02:42 AM
Just watched this and wow, what a piece of rubbish! There was direct dialogue and imagery that telegraphed the ending. If it wasn't for the cast, this could've been sent direct-to-video, which is where DeNiro seems to be aiming for these days.

matome
07-07-05, 02:39 PM
Can anyone who has seen the alternate endings please describe them? I saw the movie in the theater and didn't like it, but I'm still curious to see the different endings. I don't want to rent it just to see 5 minutes worth of footage though.
Thanks

I watched it last night and the four endings are all pretty similar with minute differences (so small I can't remember two of them). Here are the two I remember:


a) The exact same ending as the theatrical except when you get the final pan over Dakota's drawing you see a single head over the kid instead of two. That was called "Happy Ending" on the menu.

b) Instead of Famke rushing Dakota out to school, you get a shot of her tucking Dakota into bed. She gets up to leave, begins closing the door and Dakota asks her to leave it open. Famke says "you know I can't do that". As she closes the door you see it's one of those institutional doors with the little reinforced window on it. Famke walks down the psych hospital hallway talking to another doctor saying "I'll check back with her next week" or something along those lines. Switch to inside the room, Dakota does the hide & seek count-to-ten thing, gets up opens the closet and we see her blankly looking at herself in a mirror, then fade to credits.

The other two endings were similar to the second one with Famke saying something else to the doctor, like "I'll keep coming back everyday till she's better" and I don't think it cut back to Dakota going to the closet. This is the ending I preferred.