Others Movie Reviews

Signs is an excellent movie that most people commonly misintepret as a grotesque, creepy horror film. When in fact, it is a heart throbbing drama that is all about recovering the faith that you abandoned long ago. As signs appear in crop fields around their house, you have to stop and ask yourself, what do you believe. Are you the kind of person who sees signs, miracles. Or do people just get lucky. Or put it this way, is it possible there are no coincidences......That we are not alone

I enjoyed both of these films they are both very suspenseful they have a good suprise at the end but i dont want to give them away. i personally thought that signs was scarier than the ring. any one that likes ghost movies should see the others and people who love aliens should see signs. this is definitally a great DVD combiation.

Grace (Nicole Kidman) lives with her two children in a big house. Something has happened a few days ago and all the service is gone. Now, Grace has to deal with the house alone, plus a particular condition of her children, which make it even harder to live there alone. They suffer an ailment, which causes them blisters when they are exposed to light. Three people come to her door, and seem to come because of Grace's add requesting assitance. But, when Grace realizes that the mailman never came for the add, she starts suspecting that something is wrong. Besides, her daughter keeps telling these creepy stories and playing heavy pranks on her little brother... but as the movie moves forward, it is clearer that they might not be just pranks and creepy stories.
Alejandro Amenábar achieves a great movie through a clever use of environmental elements. The fog, the art of the house, the furniture; but the most fundamental part of the fear comes from Nicole Kidman's perfect performance as a stressfull mother, whose beliefs come to ground as the world of the living gets mixed up with the dead's.
This is a rich movie, with one of the most complex set of subtexts I've seen: metaphisical existence, war, love, motherhood, ailment, etc.

The Others is a riveting and darkly menacing thriller, yet, during the course of the film, not a drop of blood is shed and no one dies. It is a reflection on the talent of director Alejandro Amenabar that small things, like a door slamming shut in one's face or a ghostly hand upon one's cheek are far more frightening than any amount of special effects that films in this genre are increasingly becoming reliant upon. A sense of claustrophobia is introduced from the outset by the thick fog surrounding the house in which most of the action takes place, and also by the permanently closed curtains and doors that prevent sunlight from brightening the rooms.

In this house the light must always be contained, because the two young children (who live there with their mother) are photosensitive, and exposure to daylight will make them very ill. But it would seem that the family and their three somewhat mysterious servants are not the only inhabitants of the darkened house. Footsteps are heard, doors are opened, curtains are removed, but search as they may, nobody can find the perpetrators of these actions. And it would seem that whatever these beings are, they bear an ever-increasing amount of malevolent ill will towards the family.

The film's conclusion is unexpected, even for those viewers who have managed to second-guess an earlier plot twist prior to its revelation. The surprise factor is at least partly due to the outstanding performances by the cast; special mention must be made of Alakina Mann, who is a young actress with a very bright future. This film is an example of outstanding cinematic production, and to maximise its impact, it is best watched in a darkened room.

This movie is a breath of fresh air to horror/thriller movies. The only one as good in recent years has been The Sixth Sense.
The story is about Grace (an amazing performance by Nicole Kidman) who hires three servants to help take care of her huge mansion and two children who live in darkness because they are diagnosed as photosensitive (they can not be in any strong light). Grace's husband has been gone for quite a while, presumed dead in the war. So, at first, she is glad to have the extra help around, although her character always stays on the cold side. But after a few days of the servants living in her house, strange things begin to happen and Grace finds herself fighting for the safety of her children and to keep her sanity!

The twist ending to this movie couldn't be more perfect for the movie. It's the kind of ending, in the tradition of The Sixth Sense and Fight Club, when you slap your forehead and shout, "I should have known!"

The acting on all accounts is brilliant - even the children are amazing actors.
This is a must see movie! And a must-own for any DVD collector!!

The DVD special features are:
A look inside the others - a documentary
A Visual effects piece
"Xeroderma Pigmentosum": What is it? The story of a family dealing with the disease (The disease the children have in the movie)
An intimate look at the director
A still gallery of pictures from the movie
Theatrical trailer
Spanish subtitles
French language tracking
dolby digital 5.1 surround sound
Widescreen (1:85:1) - Enhanced for 16x9 Televisions

The movie runs approx. 104 minutes long

"'Two Brothers' and Two Others" is a DVD with three very different movies on aspects of contemporary gay life.

The feature film, "Two Brothers", is a micro-budget, black and white relationship drama with comic interludes set mostly in beautiful Vancouver, BC.

Producer, writer, director, and cameraman Richard Bell was took four actors, one voice, one editor (Dennis Tal), and one sound person (Paul Moniz de Sa) and $545 Canadian dollars to create this hour-long film. With these limited resources, one must overlook items like graininess, the spartan gay bar, and some stray street or airplane sounds and instead look to the script and acting. (The sound and music were actually pretty good, considering.) The money was so tight, even getting a pizza was worth a mention in the fine commentary track provided in the extras.

"Two Brothers" begins with younger brother Riley (21, played by Norbert Orlewicz) giving the eulogy at his mother's funeral. He settles the estate behind the scenes and then drives from Ashcroft, BC, to the apartment of his older brother Chad (Cody Campbell) in Vancouver. Along the way Riley picks up hitchhiker Gavin (Kevin MacDonald) who is also going to Vancouver. At Chad's place, Riley meets Chad's girlfriend Tobie (Karen Rae). We learn that Riley is gay. Later the group goes out to a gay bar where Gavin reappears and makes himself agreeable to Riley. Old family stories come out. When the brothers' strict father died, Chad moved away, leaving Riley alone to care for their sick, unstable mother. Gavin says he's eager and disease-free, but Riley has fears. Tobie acts as catalyst for everybody. Playful gay sex scenes; romantic straight ones. Twists, turns, and a mostly plausible ending. (The Riley-Gavin resolution needed work.) There is a summation in the voice of the dead mother Ruth Adamson (Wendy Vitter), taking a modified version of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 paired up with past scenes.

The story is engaging, and the characters are appealing. Extras include a trailer, out-takes, photos, director (including Tal and Rae)'s commentary, and a making-of short. Norbert Orlewicz does an especially good job of making Riley the key figure with a deft mix of light and serious touches.

"Birthday Time" has a bigger budget, more cast members, and color. Gay Topher (i.e., Christopher, played winningly by Cory W. Grant) wants desperately to be kissed before he turns 18 shortly. He doesn't quite manage it at school and gets himself kicked out of the bathroom of a gay bar. When his mother takes a trip to Pittsburgh, a classmate's father, Tom (well played by Simon Wolley), arrives as babysitter. Topher had seen Tom at the bar. Unexpectedly, Topher finds out what a real daddy does. Dressing, showering, and fantasy scenes provide eye-candy. Nicely ambiguous, happy ending. There is a behind-the-scenes and a photo gallery.

"Cruise Control" is a six minute elaborated joke set in a gay bar. The film illustrates the notion that some men may be great to look at, but as soon as they open their mouths... The beefy hunk first attracts and then repels several guys, until one figures out the magic, storied solution. For me the highlights were the comments made by the never-attracted Flotilla Debarge and Hedda Lettuce, playing Stall Queens. There are no extras to this short.

After reading this play in class, I was excited to see that this play was available on DVD. I thought that this was a pretty good adapation of the play. It is slightly different because instead of the action taking place on a stage, the camera moves to different locations and scenes. The best performances of the play were probably by Meryl Streep as Leila, and the actress (I can't remember her name) who played Carter. I would recommend this play and production for anyone interested in good contemporary theatre.

This movie is probably not for all tastes, but it was definitely for mine. It is an investigation of the way our opinions about others are very often based upon their tastes, whether about lifestyle, music, humor, or art. The main character Castella's transformation from ignorance to interest is fascinating and sweet. Highly recommended for those who love nice slow character movies.

A successful businessman who lives a life of coinventional affluence falls in love with an actress and teacher who represents for him a world of art and interesting people that has always been closed to him. She rejects him, but he persistantly attempts to ingratriate himself with her, frequently becoming the [end] of jokes among her artsy friends as he repeatedly demonstrates his poor taste. A parallel storyline concerns the temporary friendship that arises between the businessman's driver and the bodyguard that an insurance company has engaged to provide security during an important business deal. Their conversations and differing approaches to women provide much amusement.

This film often reminded me of such Woody Allen films as "Hannah and Her Sisters" and "Crimes and Misdemeanors" as we watch a varied cast of interesting characters encounter and transform each other in different ways.

This is one of my favorite 2002 movies (that's when it arrived in my town). Here is a movie that will surprise you, slowly subvert your expectations and (is it possible?) make you feel good. Ostensibly a movie about relationships, billed as a romantic comedy, it's really a meditation on a collision between the world of art and the world of the bourgeois. Can a businessman be moved to his soul by a moment of art? Can an artist who is sensitive and open to the world also be blind? Lot's of good acting, interesting characters, and a nice slice of contemporary French life. In French with subtitles but the DVD would have an English track.

This movie is probably not for all tastes, but it was definitely for mine. It is an investigation of the way our opinions about others are very often based upon their tastes, whether about lifestyle, music, humor, or art. The main character Castella's transformation from ignorance to interest is fascinating and sweet. Highly recommended for those who love nice slow character movies.

A successful businessman who lives a life of coinventional affluence falls in love with an actress and teacher who represents for him a world of art and interesting people that has always been closed to him. She rejects him, but he persistantly attempts to ingratriate himself with her, frequently becoming the [end] of jokes among her artsy friends as he repeatedly demonstrates his poor taste. A parallel storyline concerns the temporary friendship that arises between the businessman's driver and the bodyguard that an insurance company has engaged to provide security during an important business deal. Their conversations and differing approaches to women provide much amusement.

This film often reminded me of such Woody Allen films as "Hannah and Her Sisters" and "Crimes and Misdemeanors" as we watch a varied cast of interesting characters encounter and transform each other in different ways.

This is one of my favorite 2002 movies (that's when it arrived in my town). Here is a movie that will surprise you, slowly subvert your expectations and (is it possible?) make you feel good. Ostensibly a movie about relationships, billed as a romantic comedy, it's really a meditation on a collision between the world of art and the world of the bourgeois. Can a businessman be moved to his soul by a moment of art? Can an artist who is sensitive and open to the world also be blind? Lot's of good acting, interesting characters, and a nice slice of contemporary French life. In French with subtitles but the DVD would have an English track.

LOOK OUT,
The review for this movie actually refers to the 2001 Kidman movie. This 1997 title of the same name IS NOT THE KIDMAN MOVIE. Be warned

p.s Have you seen Lost and Delirious yet. Excellent movie!

This film was a lot of fun, reminiscent of classic 80s teen flicks with a little bit of Grease thrown in. Most memorable is the soundtrack. Great songs!

LOOK OUT,
The review for this movie actually refers to the 2001 Kidman movie. This 1997 title of the same name IS NOT THE KIDMAN MOVIE. Be warned

p.s Have you seen Lost and Delirious yet. Excellent movie!

This film was a lot of fun, reminiscent of classic 80s teen flicks with a little bit of Grease thrown in. Most memorable is the soundtrack. Great songs!