Reviews (96)

One Of The Best Action Thrillers Of All Time
Before "Speed", before "The Matrix" or any of a half dozen other memorable films that Keanu Reeves has been in, there was "Point Break". For sheer action, adrenaline, and quick thrills, nothing compares to this cops and robber movie set in the surfer sub culture of southern California. Keanu Reeves plays a young FBI recruit (Johnny Utah) on his first assignment, and lands in the middle of a bank robbery mystery that has been unraveling for several years. A group calling themselves the Ex-Presidents, and wearing outlanding disguises as Ron Reagan, Dick Nixon, Jimmy Carter and Lyndon Johnson, have successfully been looting area banks, so far without shooting or killing anyone. Reeves' older partner, played masterfully here by Gary Busey, confides to Keanu that he believes the bank robbers are surfers, who hit banks to support their wandering lifestyles, following the waves.

Suddenly the stage is set for a masterful cat and mouse game between Busey and Reeves on the one hand, and a group of surfers led by Patrick Swayze, on the other. The movie has everything, from gloriously photographed scenes of surfing to outrageous action sequences which are choreographed so memorably that they become the coda for the movie. There are several exceptional chase scenes, including one that is run by foot through yards, houses, and streets. In the end, it is a powerful allegory regarding the meaning of contemporary life and the rules we all try to live by, but in the meantime it is also a hell of an entertaining ride on the rollercoaster that Reeves and Busey have to ride in pursuit of the Ex-Presidents! "Surfers rule, I swear to God". Hahaha. Inside joke that you'll understand after viewing the film. Enjoy!

Exhilirating, Artistic, Great Entertainment
"Point Break" is Bigelow at her best. It has wonderful artistic moments ,with the waves used by the villainous surfers, as well as a group parachuting scene with the hero and villains all holding hands in a circle in the air. The actors are well paired with both Keanu Reeve as the hero FBI agent who learns how to surf to catch the ex-Presidents bank robbers. Patrick Swayze, in his best role, plays a guru philosopher surfer who heads up the bank robbers, wearing a Ronald Reagan mask during the armed robberies. The bank robberies by the 4 surfers in their ex-presidents' masks verge on the hilarious. The final surfing footage with Swayze and Reeve in Australia is breathtaking. "Point Break" is well worth owning. Writer-director Kathryn Bigelow was a very talented painter before she went to film school to become a movie director. It shows in her work which is very artistic for someone primarily known to the action-adventure genre of filmmaking. She is a breath of fresh air in this genre, investing it with literate scripts and haunting imagery. Her most frequent producer is James Cameron (the action wonder king, "Titanic," "Terminator"), who is also her ex-husband. You can see his influence on her work as well.

Get Me Two!
This awesome action movie is the original 'Fast and the Furious' where surfers with souls are used instead of expensive cars and special effects. Keanu Reeves is perfect for the role as Johnny Utah,the cocky "quarterback punk" fbi agent who has to infiltrate the deep roots of a clan of surfers who rob banks. Garey Busey is a gem as the Utah's crazy partner, Angelo, and Patrick Swayze makes a perfect anti-villain, Bodi.

The action is never-ending, the surfing scenes are amazing (even if Keanu learns how to surf a bit too quickly) and then there's that great chemistry between Swayze and Reeves..two action junkies from completely different backgrounds but that same carnal desire for madness! This film is must for anyone who thinks Vin Diesel is a good anarchist with a spiritual side.. wait 'til you meet Bodi!

if only i could give it zero stars...
This movie is so freakin' lame! Keanu continues his streak of forgettable and unbelievable roles as FBI agent Johnny Utah. Besides the stupidity of that name, his acting is so reminiscient of his role in "Bill and Ted's" that I actually watch it when it's on TV just to laugh at the plot lines and dialogue. Are we really supposed to believe that he ended his career as the Ohio St. QB, went to law school and finished at Quantico within the time frame they purport in the movie? Uh, no. When they're surfing at night after that really great football game on the beach (...yeah, it really looks like he was a college QB in those scenes!) there are at least two sequences where you can see the sun on the horizon, yet this was supposed to be at night? Poor. Oh, and he followed Swayze all over Mexico, Sumatra and Fiji, but still found time to surf "every day?" Come on! "Vaya con Dios," Keanu. Your acting stinks and so does this movie! Good thing the movie also had Anthony Kiedis of Red Hot Chili Pepper fame, too. He did a good job of making faces like he was either constipated or stupid.

One of the most enjoyable movies of the last 15 years
C'mon! Some of you dudes are, like, taking this flick waaaay to seriously, man. This is a great movie to put in if your bored or high and nothing's on tv or if your with some friends and you don't feel like going out. Instead you get a six pack, a pizza, turn the lights off and pop this movie in. The absolute most enjoyable thing about this movie is its complete indefensibility. How can anyone possibly defend a movie in which no five straight minutes are the slightest bit believable. But that's the genius of it. At every even slightly crucial point in the movie, the plot demands that FBI Special Agent Johnny Utah (Reeves) make the stupidest decisions, the most incompetent blunders and display the most irresponsible and morally wrong behavior humanly possible in a member of law enforcement. If he wises up at all, he figures out who the robbers are and sends about two dozen black and whites over to their home and the movie's over in about a half hour. Pretty anticlimatic end, huh? Rather, its about three quarters the way through the movie that the obvious occurs to him. Second in his class at Quantico...riiiight. Instead, we get two hours of surfing, skydiving, bank robbing, stunts, fistfights, gunfights, hot babes, one-liners and chases. Personally, I prefer all the running around to the realistic ending. Don't you? ... Read more

Reviews (125)

A well-done movie in a non-Hollywood way
I wasn't expecting to be enthralled when I went to this movie (it was husband's choice movie night), but after the first five minutes of the film, I was thoroughly hooked. I came out of the theater feeling like I'd actually seen one of the first above-average movies of the year.

In this movie, Harrison Ford plays a 1960s Soviet sub captain who is brought in to command the Soviet navy's new nuclear submarine after the original captain (Liam Neeson) is removed from the position for political reasons. Neeson stays on the ship as second in command, and Ford is forced to contend with the crew's loyalty to Neeson. Problems plague the submarine before it even leaves drydock, leading the men to begin calling it "The Widowmaker."

This movie isn't told from an American point of view, and doesn't restrict itself to American ideals. The drama is played out without being biased by Hollywood notions of hero vs. villain or a formulaic plot. It really seems like this movie was true to the historic event it was based on.

The characters were portrayed well by everyone in the cast, including Harrison Ford, who was cast against type. Ford turns out a really good performance as the domineering captain and manages to escape his celebrity and really descend into the character. I actually forgot I was watching a Harrison Ford movie. Liam Neeson is solid as well, and the crewmembers without exception turn out convincing performances.

Director Kathryn Bigelow delivers a strong and well done movie with "K-19: The Widowmaker". In a sea of forgettable fluff, this movie rises above typical Hollywood and achieves something special.

Flawed but decent submarine drama
In the sub-genre of submarine dramas, K-19, The Widowmaker doesn't compare with great films such as Das Boot or The Hunt for Red October. Based on a true story that isn't as gripping as those other films, it has limited potential to begin with. So, of course, the couple of serious flaws that K-19 possesses quickly undermines that potential.

K-19 follows the maiden voyage of the Soviet Union's flagship nuclear submarine, whose initial captain (Liam Neeson) is replaced by a new captain (Harrison Ford). During a series of drills, Neeson and the rest of the crew are leery of their new leader, but after a dangerous but successful test of their limits, the new captain earns the crews, (but not Neeson's) trust. However, when a radioactive leak is discovered and the fate of the ship is up in the air, no one knows whose lead to follow.

One of my biggest problems with this film is the first third of it, illustrating drill after drill with a loud, suspenseful soundtrack that tries to make the mostly harmless drills seem more dangerous. The film here seems to be preparing the audience for an inevitable attack from an enemy. All it serves to do in the end is to be misleading so that when that inevitable attack never happens, it proves to be a let down. Also, and perhaps even more annoying, are the poor Russian accents. Everyone, including Ford and Neeson, have wavering accents that are sometimes Russian, sometimes American, and sometimes something else entirely. In fact, without even a single word ever spoken in Russian, the film's authenticity suffers. You never forget that these are all Americans playing Russians. Perhaps if the casting director found more Russian actors for the supporting roles, and the director maybe placed some Russian dialogue in the beginning (such as The Hunt for Red October did), It would have been more convincing.

Still, the film is not without merit. Once the radiation leak is discovered the film becomes more interesting and well worth your time. It truly was a harrowing event and the tension finally begins to build here. It's just too bad it took an hour of false tension to get there. If emphasis on the drills had not been pushed as it was, and the atmosphere more authentically Russian, this could have been a solid four star film doing justice to the true events.

It's worth a rental as it is, but stick to Das Boot or other submarine thrillers to fill your DVD rack.

Great Movie!!!
This is a great movie and is far superb to U-571. The story is exellent and just about everything is exellent. I recommend this to any submarine movie collector or just a person who likes a good story.

An Exciting Submarine Movie
Veteran actors Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson star in this thrilling film about a Russian nuclear submarine and its crew during the height of the cold war. Ford stars as Captain Alexi Vostrikov, a by-the-book, bend and no break commander of the Russian submarine K-19. Neeson stars as Captain Mikhail Polenin. Polenin is the exact opposite of Vostrikov. He is well liked by the crew and is willing to take advice from them.

The K-19 is the newest is Russian submarine technology. Capable of firing missiles up and down the American coast, the submarine and its crew set off on their maiden training mission.
The crew successfully fires the test missile, but soon another problem develops. The crew soon realizes that their nuclear reactor which powers the ship has developed a severe leak which threatens to possibly destroy the ship.

Volunteers are chosen to go inside the reactor area to try to fix the leak by welding pipes to bypass the leak, but these men soon are suffering from radiation exposure. Meanwhile, an American destroyer has come upon the crippled sub and has offered assistance. Vostrikov is determined not to seek help from the "enemy" Americans, and the K-19 does manage to contact another Russian sub and the crew is transferred.

I thought this was a very good movie. Neeson and Ford do very good jobs as the Russian captains, although I didn't care too much for the fake Russian accents. The special effects, especially the underwater shots of the K-19 are excellent. I've been a fan of submarine movies for a long time, and I rate this movie alongside others such as "U-574", "Crimson Tide", and "The Hunt for Red October". It is full of excitement and will definitely captivate you throughout.

Sometimes reality is far worse than Hollywood
I became a fan of the "sub" genre after seeing movies like U-571 and The Hunt for Red October. While U-571 was sort of a pastiche of all the other submarine films that went before it, it made me an immediate fan. It also made me realize just how contrived spaceship movies are.

Unlike the other films, K-19 - The Widowmaker is about a real incident (like the supposed Red October incident) in which a Russian nuclear submarine's reactor nearly had a catastrophic meltdown just off the eastern coast of the United States in the 1960s. Scary stuff.

As a result of this gritty reality, K-19 is powerful in a way that Titanic was powerful. It doesn't matter if the movie isn't quite realistic - the events are so horrible that tension is rife throughout the film. Or at least, it should be.

K-19's initial launch is a debacle. In short, the submarine never has a chance to be successful - the men are inexperienced and costs are cut, such that K-19's crew is lucky that it even works at all. Add in the ship's doctor getting run over by a truck, the failure of the christening bottle to break against the sub's hull, and the firing of the chief engineer and it's hard to disagree with the notion that the ship is cursed.

The new captain aboard Alexei Vostrikov, played by Harrison Ford, pushes the sub to its limits. The tension rises as he forces the crew to do random drills, forces it to dive to near crushing depths, and rise right through the arctic ice. This by far is the most exciting part of the film - there is no enemy except Vostrikov, and it's nail biting after witnessing the poor construction of K-19. Ultimately, K-19 fires its test missile, signaling a message to America that the Russians could launch a nuclear strike if they wished.

Then the sub is pushed to its limits once again, beyond what even Alexei could have feared. They are to patrol the eastern seaboard, right near a NATO base. The ship's original captain, Mikhail Polenin (Liam Neeson) disagrees. Indeed, he disagrees with everything Vostrikov does because he puts the men at risk. I couldn't help but feel contempt for Polenin, who seems so attached to his crew that he no longer has the stomach for war. I'm not sure if that was the director's intent.

Unfortunately, the second half of the film drags. The ship's engines begin to overheat and the inexperienced chief engineer concocts a plan to pipe coolant into the system from the ship's freshwater tanks. Failure means a nuclear explosion "a hundred times worse than Hiroshima."

And so we have a long, slow, miserable, sometimes disgusting foray into the effects of radiation poisoning on the human body. The men who go in have naught but chemical suits rather than radiation suits to protect them. That is, they have no protection at all. So they are exposed for 10 minutes a time in an attempt to minimize the radiation poisoning.

Not only doesn't that tactic works, the radiation leak spreads throughout the submarine. Alexei's choice: accept help from the Americans and save the men or sacrifice his crew to retain Soviet secrets. This decision takes a loooong time to resolve. The movie loses a lot of its momentum, almost becoming a different film that's a lot more like The Andromeda Strain.

What was most striking about this part of the film was how it's been cribbed in other genres. I couldn't help but be reminded of Wrath of Khan, my favorite Star Trek film. Similar to K-19, an officer takes it upon himself to enter the highly lethal radiation chamber in order to "sacrifice the few to save the many." It's chilling to imagine that real human beings had to make that choice. It certainly changed my perspective on Wrath of Khan. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing.

Ultimately, the Russians on board were treated like traitors instead of war heroes. The men weren't fighting any enemy but the politics of Russia itself, and as such they could never leave the disaster of K-19 as heroes. The movie wraps up with what happened to them afterwards, after the fall of the U.S.S.R. At least 27 of the crew died from radiation poisoning.

K-19 is a depressing movie that is torn between being an action submarine flick like U-571 or a disease epidemic battle for survival like Andromeda Strain. It's not as good as either film, but the fact that it's based on real-life events leaves a chilling reminder that sometimes reality is far worse than anything Hollywood can dream up. ... Read more

Reviews (80)

Excellent Example of Using Film to tell a Story
Strange Days is an excellent example of using film to tell a story given the high-caliber actors (Ralph Fiennes, Angela Bassett, Tom Sizemore and Juliette Lewis) and the realistic/futuristic production design (LA 1999). Everyone I've recommended this movie to has enjoyed it! The story of a lovesick ex-cop, turned virtual-reality junkie and civil rights advocate is a delightful "what if" scenario. Also, I'm not surprised that James Cameron's production company is involved, I'd have to say that he is the "King of the "What If" scenario!" (For instance, "What if" In order to change the future, a robot is sent back in time to kill a specific person.(The Terminator)) It is unfortunate that this movie wasn't promoted more and I feel lucky that I came upon this movie accidently on HBO. Although I am a fan of thrillers and sci-fi, a good story (giving the viewer a range of feelings and emotions) regardless of the genre is what truly sells to a wide audience. I believe that Strange Days is a good story told extremely well by the director, Kate Bigelow, using film.

Strange days is one of the best movies out there
Strange days,which stars ralph fiennes,juliette lewis,angela basset,tom sizemore,michael wincott and many others,is a stylish,cool,and wild movie.The plot is about an ex-cop(fiennes)who stumbles into murder involving his ex-girlfriend(lewis)and his best friend or so he thought(sizemore)along with the murder of a rap star by 2 corrupt cops,one of them played by the brilliant actor vincent donofrio.Ralph fiennes play the role of lenny nero brilliantly and superb.And tom sizemore is great as the crazed killer.The ending is awesome..in fact the whole movie is excellent.It is one of my favorite,not so in the distance future,thrillers.Right up there with escape from new york and blade runner.Katheryn bigelow,who directed,is an excellent filmaker(point break).If you enjoy the movie,you should also check out the soundtrack.It has great tunes by peter gabriel,deep forrest,lori carson and many more.This film is an instant classic.Great casting,great score,great filming.Great movie.Billy from new jersey....

Terrible Movie
This movie is absolutely horrid. There is constant violence including sexual assaults against women. I agree with another viewer that found it odd that a woman would choose to direct this type of film. If you enjoy watching nothing but violence and seeing women hurt, then this film is for you. I wonder what James Cameron was thinking when he wrote this piece of garbage.

Brilliant Days
One of the sci-fi masterpieces of the nineties, "Strange Days" is a movie that has a bit of everything and ends up being a terrific cinematic experience. Set in a near future, the story deals with classic themes like virtual reality, thought control or the share of memory, providing and exciting and engaging cyberpunk adventure.

Director Kathryn Bigelow creates a futuristic LA that manages to be both sophisticated and believable, avoiding the over-the-top, utopic and not very realistic depictions of future societies presented in other sci-fi films.

Although "Strange Days" is basically a thriller, it is way above many run-of-the-mill movies of its genre, as it suceeds at combining its key elements perfectly. The direction is dynamic, unique and fast-paced, adding style and energy with an excellent sense of rythm, flow and tension.

The acting is also a plus, since Ralph Fiennes is unforgettable as the flawed anti-hero Lenny and Angela Basset shines as his sister-in-arms Mace. This duo makes for an odd, yet original and memorable couple, delivering some enticing and moving scenes. It`s also interesting seeing the female character protecting the male for a change, making for a clever reverse of the predictable and typical scenario of most action flicks. Juliette Lewis is also convincing as the dark and feral femme fatale, especially when she sings a P.J. Harvey song to perfection (one of the many excellent and remarkable moments of this movie).

"Strange Days" is much more than a futuristic thriller, providing a rich cinematic experience that brings issues such as isolation, trust, friendship, love and life in general. Every scene is compelling and intriguing, and the plot is very well developed, culminating in a tense, dynamic and huge finale with a superb climatic ending. Kudos to the soundtrack, by the way, especially the Skunk Anansie live presence during the last scenes that adds a lot of edge, mood and atmosphere to that peculiar chase sequence.

Overall, this movie is definitely an underrated classic and a must-have. Forget overrated stuff like the boring and very flawed "Blade Runner", since "Strange Days" is a much more compelling and solid sci-fi masterpiece.

Highly recommended.

Can't watch this more than once..
Amazon has had this DVD listed as a featured recommendation for me for the past couple of weeks.. but Strange Days is one of my least favorite films so I feel compelled to review it and say why. I saw this film in the theatre and was immediately turned off as the setting was a completely unrecognizable LA of the future -- set just a little over four years away. Um, the world doesn't change that quickly.

I tried to ignore that and I admit the story got a bit more interesting.. but then I was completely put off by not one but TWO scenes depicting sexual assault. I'm no prude but these scenes were repulsive. So just a warning before you buy or buy this as a gift: if the MPAA had any sense whatsoever this film would be rated NC-17.

One more criticism: the camera cuts so much during the finale that the scene is barely watchable. For all these reasons, I just don't understand why anyone would put themselves through Strange Days more than once. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The word "vampire" is never mentioned in Near Dark, but that doesn't stop this 1987 cult favorite from being one of the best modern-era vampire films. It put then-unknown director Kathryn Bigelow on Hollywood's radar and gave choice roles to Aliens costars favored by Bigelow's ex-husband James Cameron: Lance Henriksen is the leader of a makeshift family of renegade bloodsuckers, nocturnally seeking victims in rural Oklahoma; his immortal gal pal is Aliens and Terminator 2 alumnus Jenette Goldstein; and Bill Paxton is the group's deadliest leather-clad ass kicker. Fellow traveler Jenny Wright lures Okie farm boy Adrian Pasdar into the group with a love bite, and he's soon turning toward vampirism with a combination of frightened revulsion and relentless desire. With Joshua Miller (River's Edge) as the youngest vampire, Near Dark is Bigelow's masterpiece of low-budget ingenuity--a truck-stop thriller that begins well, gets better and better (aided by a fine Tangerine Dream score), and goes out in a blaze of glory. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (79)

Great Movie, Great DVD!
Near Dark is one of those great movies that it seems no one has seen. I hope this deluxe DVD will change that.

Near Dark suffered in it's initial theatrical release due to it's resemblance to The Lost Boys. They share a storyline (Hapless young man falls for a girl who turns him into a Vampire, and he's forced to deal with her crazy running buddies.), and even a release date; Lost Boys blew Near Dark right out of theaters, but Near Dark found an appreciative audience on video, and deservedly so. The cast is uniformly great, especially Lance Henrikson and Bill Paxton as the lead Vamps. The script, by Director Kathryn and Eric Red, is perfect- we learn little tidbits about the history of the Vampires, but we're always kept at arms length from them. We see them as alien and threatening, and they see us a food. Bigelow does a great job, especially considering it was her solo directorial debut. The only gripe I had is the Vampirism "Cure" which seems like a Deus Ex Machina, but that's a small quibble. The Tangerine Dream score also made some scenes seem really cheesy...FAR from their best work. I think an orchestral score would have been much better, but budget constraints....

The 2-DVD set is beautifully packaged, with a die-cut inner package inside the box, and a great looking (and informative!) booklet. The film looks great; As usual, Anchor Bay does great work on their DVD transfers. It also has a commentary track from Director Bigelow, which is kinda dry and technical. Disc 2 has tons of storyboards, a weak deleted scene, a new 47-minute documentary, cast & crew bios (Very extensive!), still & ad galleries, and tons more.

Near Dark is one of those films that has flown under the radar for FAR too long, and I can't recommend it highly enough!

An undiscovered gem
Released at the same time as The Lost Boys; Near Dark was seemingly doomed to cult status obscurity. However, Anchor Bay decided to go all the way with the release of the film on DVD, and now has never been a better time to see this undiscovered gem of a film. When Oklahoma boy Caleb (Adrian Pasdar) falls for sweet Mae (Jenny Wright), he gets much more than he bargained for with just one kiss, and one bite. Soon enough he's in over his head with her and her crazed running buddies (including Lance Henriksen as the group's leader and Bill Paxton in one of his best roles as the group's deadliest member) who drink fresh blood and avoid the sun at all costs. I know what your thinking, but in Near Dark the "V" word is never mentioned; not once. In fact, most of the usual mythology that goes along with the vampire genre isn't featured here; instead the film is part horror, part western, and thanks to director Kathryn Bigelow (Point Break, K-19: The Widowmaker), the film works. All in all, Near Dark is a true undiscovered gem of a film, and is definitely worth checking out.

An underrated classic of the 80's!
Somewhere in the southwestern heart of America, a young man named Caleb ( played by Adrian Pasdar) falls for a gorgeous young woman ( played by Jenny Jones) who leads her into her clan of vicious vampire outlaws where he becomes one of them looking for people to kill and blood to drink.

A shockingly original and brilliant vampire gem from 1987 which came out during the same time like " Lost Boys" but this has became a cult hit on video and on DVD now. The casting is great especially having Aliens, Titanic and Terminator stars Lance Henrikensein, Jennette Goldstein and Bill Paxton as the bloodsuckers, great acting and gore. The 2-disc DVD set is great with awesome extras like commentary by the director, interviews, documentary, poster-and-still gallery, deleted scene, and storyboard gallery.

This movie truly belongs in every horror movie lover's library.

Also recommended: " Vamp", " From Dusk Till Dawn", " The Hills Have Eyes", " Demons", " 28 Days Later", " Lifeforce", " Fright Night", " Fright Night 2", " Vampire Hunter D", "Underworld", " Van Helsing", " Interview with the Vampire", " Freddy Vs. Jason" and "Re-Animator".

a new perspective
I must strongly recommend this film. I can easily overlook a few minor storyline problems because the premise of this film is absolutely intriguing - the transition from humanity to the world of being a vampire.

This film is beautifully filmed and edited. The acting is strong, and the story holds you from the beginning to the end.

Certainly, the bar room scene is a classic; it, alone, makes the film worthwhile. But, don't get me wrong, the entire film is masterfully handled and should be applauded. If nothing else, it has some of the greatest one liners ever spoken in a horror film.

Near Dark deserves to be seen. I can't believe I never heard of it before. I just happened to see it in Wal Mart and picked it up. This film is definitely one of my best impulse buys ever.

You won't be disappointed.

Definitely a Classic
Man, I remember watching this movie when I was like 6 or 7 years old and I thought it was great. I Had forgotten all about it until my dad mentioned, the other day, about the "vampires that drove the motorhome." All of a sudden, I knew what he was talking about, even after all of these years. We couldn't remember what the name of it was so I did a massive search because he caught my curiosity. I can't wait until it comes in the mail!! My little brother (well, he's not so little anymore) is gonna trip hard core! Just wait until (if) I find the movie "The Dolls" on DVD. ... Read more

Amazon.com

This complicated mystery, directed with passionate intensity by Katherine Bigelow (Near Dark), deserves better than the paltry distribution it received in theaters. Granted, it's a tough sell:a contrast between the emotional unrest in a group of modern travelers and a hundred-year-old murder case on a desolate New England island. A photographer (Catherine McCormack) is researching the old case, and we flip back and forth between time periods as she uncovers new clues. The parallel-story structure is often tricky to pull off in movies, and Bigelow, working from the Anita Shreve novel, doesn't entirely solve it here. But the old mystery, set in a strict Norwegian community, is compelling, and the cast is stronger than the material:Sarah Polley and the late Katrin Cartlidge are stand-outs in the 1873 scenes, and Sean Penn (believably insufferable) and Elizabeth Hurley flirt naughtily in the modern. --Robert Horton ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Talk about films that tick you off
This movie really upset me. The Weight of Water is a film within a film. One storyline takes place somewhere on the East Coast in the 1800's. The other story takes place in modern times. The story that took place in the 1800's is much better than the modern story. Why you may ask? Storyline development. The modern day story is about Sean Penn and his journalist wife and his brother and the brothers hot girlfriend, Elizabeth Hurley.

The film never explains why Sean Penn's wife has a British accent and Liz Hurley also has a British accent in this film. So at one point, I was wondering, what is the deal, I mean what was the purpose of casting two British actresses? Was this integral to the storyline? Were the two women linked?

Another thing about the modern storyline, many "could it be?" scenarios are introduced but never resolved. When the film ends, you really don't know what happened to the people in modern times, whereas the 1800's storyline is clealy resolved.

It's not a bad film, but not well resolved.

Bigelow: Artistic, Literary & Haunting
"The Weight of Water" is the most artistic and literary of Bigelow's film, the furthest from the action-adventure genre. Although it has thrilling moments of disaster at sea, it is primarily a character study. There are 4 people aboard a yacht, the most pivotal being Sean Penn, playing a writer whose writing days are mainly in the past because they were all based on an early tragedy involving the loss of the love of his life. He's married to someone else now but has serious relationship problems which are exacerbated by having another woman on board who has captured his sexual interest (Elizabeth Hurley). Where this film really gets interesting though is unveiling a whole other story of a woman who used to live on an island in these waters over a century ago who may, or may not, have murdered two other women. Sarah Polley does a wonderful job playing her. The underwater sequences during the storm at sea involving this woman's ghost and our present day people are the most artistic and stunning of Bigelow's career. I saw this as a rental and immediately wished I had bought it instead. This is Bigelow at her best as a filmmaker, artist and storyteller all rolled into one (based on the source Anita Shreve novel). Writer-director Kathryn Bigelow was a very talented painter before she went to film school to become a movie director. It shows in her work which is very artistic for someone primarily known to the action-adventure genre of filmmaking. She is a breath of fresh air in this genre, investing it with literate scripts and haunting imagery. Her most frequent producer is James Cameron (the action wonder king, "Titanic," "Terminator"), who is also her ex-husband. You can see his influence on her work as well.

Horrible
One of the worst movies ever. Trust me, it was so boring that I don't even remember what was it all about. What more can I say?
Underestimate this review and watch this movie - then you'll get to know what I was talking about.

Half of a Gem Found in Heavy Water
Katherine Bigelow's "The Weight of Water," is a compelling story unraveled through seemingly parallel tales, one in the present, the other set in 1873 on an off-shore New England Island. The 1873 tale is intriguing and has all the elements of a fine murder-mystery. The thing that stops this film from raising above the merely good and talented fray is that the two tales are unbalanced. Though the modern day tale of Sean Pean as a writer, his wife as a photojournalist, Josh Lucas as Penn's brother, and a deliciously played coy Elizabeth Hurley as Lucas' girlfriend and a literary groupie to Penn makes for complicated interactions played interestingly by a fine cast, it simply does not live up to the history behind the mystery.

The two tales are attempted to be interwoven but aren't connected skillfully like similar cinematic anachronistic parallel tales like "The Hours." Don't miss this as a rental; you will be captivated, intrigued, frightened, but its not one to own unless you are a big fan of Penn or Hurley. The water indeed gets weighty but it's only half deep.
--MMW

The Weight of Editing
While there are many interesting things about this movie, the ending sinks the drama. While I was convinced that Thomas drowns, my wife thought he didn't; so any film that leaves you with that large of a plot hole sinks from the weight of editing.

"The Weight of Water" was introduced in 2000 at the Toronto film festival and then not released for 2 years. Katherine Bigelow who has directed "Point Break" and "K-19: The Widowmaker" with Harrison Ford does a good job of filming two parallel stories, although they don't really have any relationship to each other.

The actors do turn in some interesting performances and are a joy to watch even if the film doesn't completely make sense. British actress Catherine McCormack who was so memorable in Mel Gibson's "Brave Heart" and also appeared in "Dancing at Lughnasa" with Meryl Streep and "The Tailor of Panama" gives an edgy performance as photographer Jean Janes whose marriage is on the ropes. She does a splendid job of being attracted to her husband, her brother-in-law, being frigid, and worrying about her husband's attraction to the oh-so-topless Adaline playing with an ice cube on the deck of the boat. Perhaps a tad less nervous, this is the type of performance that Jane Fonda used to nail.

Elizabeth Hurley who gained fame as Hugh Grant's girlfriend while he was cruising the streets, gives a seductive, albeit one-note performance, as a poet groupie.

Sean Penn didn't add to his 3 Oscar nominations ("Dead Man Walking," "Sweet & Lowdown," "I Am Sam") with this film, but does an interesting job of portraying a troubled poet with a haunted past.

Josh Lucas isn't as memorable as he was in "Sweet Home Alabama," nor does his performance have neither the meat of "An Incredible Mind" nor the entertainment value of "The Hulk." However, he looks great on the boat and seems to have some emotional variety in the scene where he swims out to check on his sister-in-law.

The past story that is edited back and forth with the present also boasts some interesting performances. Most notable is Sarah Polley as Maren who appeared in the very confusing beauty & the beast-type tale "No Such Thing." I don't know what she'll have to do in the upcoming "Dawn of the Dead," but here she gives a multifaceted performance as the lonely, isolated wife of a fisherman who was banished from her home for getting a bit too close to her brother. The scene where she also gets a bit too close to her brother's wife played by Vinessa Shaw who got a bit too close to Tom Cruise in "Eyes Wide Shut" is an eye opener.

The late Katrin Cartlidge does an excellent job as the straight-laced judgmental sister Karen who should've kept her mouth shut and winds up as one of the 2 corpses. Ulrich Thomsen plays husband John Hontvendt is a less than memorable role. Danish soap star Anders W. Berthelsen plays Maren's beloved brother. Irish actor Ciaran Hinds from "The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover" plays Louis Wagner who is accused and executed for the murders.

This is an interesting film to watch for the performances, although the editing and the ending may leave you scratching your head to figure out what went on. Taxi! ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Talk about films that tick you off
This movie really upset me. The Weight of Water is a film within a film. One storyline takes place somewhere on the East Coast in the 1800's. The other story takes place in modern times. The story that took place in the 1800's is much better than the modern story. Why you may ask? Storyline development. The modern day story is about Sean Penn and his journalist wife and his brother and the brothers hot girlfriend, Elizabeth Hurley.

The film never explains why Sean Penn's wife has a British accent and Liz Hurley also has a British accent in this film. So at one point, I was wondering, what is the deal, I mean what was the purpose of casting two British actresses? Was this integral to the storyline? Were the two women linked?

Another thing about the modern storyline, many "could it be?" scenarios are introduced but never resolved. When the film ends, you really don't know what happened to the people in modern times, whereas the 1800's storyline is clealy resolved.

It's not a bad film, but not well resolved.

Bigelow: Artistic, Literary & Haunting
"The Weight of Water" is the most artistic and literary of Bigelow's film, the furthest from the action-adventure genre. Although it has thrilling moments of disaster at sea, it is primarily a character study. There are 4 people aboard a yacht, the most pivotal being Sean Penn, playing a writer whose writing days are mainly in the past because they were all based on an early tragedy involving the loss of the love of his life. He's married to someone else now but has serious relationship problems which are exacerbated by having another woman on board who has captured his sexual interest (Elizabeth Hurley). Where this film really gets interesting though is unveiling a whole other story of a woman who used to live on an island in these waters over a century ago who may, or may not, have murdered two other women. Sarah Polley does a wonderful job playing her. The underwater sequences during the storm at sea involving this woman's ghost and our present day people are the most artistic and stunning of Bigelow's career. I saw this as a rental and immediately wished I had bought it instead. This is Bigelow at her best as a filmmaker, artist and storyteller all rolled into one (based on the source Anita Shreve novel). Writer-director Kathryn Bigelow was a very talented painter before she went to film school to become a movie director. It shows in her work which is very artistic for someone primarily known to the action-adventure genre of filmmaking. She is a breath of fresh air in this genre, investing it with literate scripts and haunting imagery. Her most frequent producer is James Cameron (the action wonder king, "Titanic," "Terminator"), who is also her ex-husband. You can see his influence on her work as well.

Horrible
One of the worst movies ever. Trust me, it was so boring that I don't even remember what was it all about. What more can I say?
Underestimate this review and watch this movie - then you'll get to know what I was talking about.

Half of a Gem Found in Heavy Water
Katherine Bigelow's "The Weight of Water," is a compelling story unraveled through seemingly parallel tales, one in the present, the other set in 1873 on an off-shore New England Island. The 1873 tale is intriguing and has all the elements of a fine murder-mystery. The thing that stops this film from raising above the merely good and talented fray is that the two tales are unbalanced. Though the modern day tale of Sean Pean as a writer, his wife as a photojournalist, Josh Lucas as Penn's brother, and a deliciously played coy Elizabeth Hurley as Lucas' girlfriend and a literary groupie to Penn makes for complicated interactions played interestingly by a fine cast, it simply does not live up to the history behind the mystery.

The two tales are attempted to be interwoven but aren't connected skillfully like similar cinematic anachronistic parallel tales like "The Hours." Don't miss this as a rental; you will be captivated, intrigued, frightened, but its not one to own unless you are a big fan of Penn or Hurley. The water indeed gets weighty but it's only half deep.
--MMW

The Weight of Editing
While there are many interesting things about this movie, the ending sinks the drama. While I was convinced that Thomas drowns, my wife thought he didn't; so any film that leaves you with that large of a plot hole sinks from the weight of editing.

"The Weight of Water" was introduced in 2000 at the Toronto film festival and then not released for 2 years. Katherine Bigelow who has directed "Point Break" and "K-19: The Widowmaker" with Harrison Ford does a good job of filming two parallel stories, although they don't really have any relationship to each other.

The actors do turn in some interesting performances and are a joy to watch even if the film doesn't completely make sense. British actress Catherine McCormack who was so memorable in Mel Gibson's "Brave Heart" and also appeared in "Dancing at Lughnasa" with Meryl Streep and "The Tailor of Panama" gives an edgy performance as photographer Jean Janes whose marriage is on the ropes. She does a splendid job of being attracted to her husband, her brother-in-law, being frigid, and worrying about her husband's attraction to the oh-so-topless Adaline playing with an ice cube on the deck of the boat. Perhaps a tad less nervous, this is the type of performance that Jane Fonda used to nail.

Elizabeth Hurley who gained fame as Hugh Grant's girlfriend while he was cruising the streets, gives a seductive, albeit one-note performance, as a poet groupie.

Sean Penn didn't add to his 3 Oscar nominations ("Dead Man Walking," "Sweet & Lowdown," "I Am Sam") with this film, but does an interesting job of portraying a troubled poet with a haunted past.

Josh Lucas isn't as memorable as he was in "Sweet Home Alabama," nor does his performance have neither the meat of "An Incredible Mind" nor the entertainment value of "The Hulk." However, he looks great on the boat and seems to have some emotional variety in the scene where he swims out to check on his sister-in-law.

The past story that is edited back and forth with the present also boasts some interesting performances. Most notable is Sarah Polley as Maren who appeared in the very confusing beauty & the beast-type tale "No Such Thing." I don't know what she'll have to do in the upcoming "Dawn of the Dead," but here she gives a multifaceted performance as the lonely, isolated wife of a fisherman who was banished from her home for getting a bit too close to her brother. The scene where she also gets a bit too close to her brother's wife played by Vinessa Shaw who got a bit too close to Tom Cruise in "Eyes Wide Shut" is an eye opener.

The late Katrin Cartlidge does an excellent job as the straight-laced judgmental sister Karen who should've kept her mouth shut and winds up as one of the 2 corpses. Ulrich Thomsen plays husband John Hontvendt is a less than memorable role. Danish soap star Anders W. Berthelsen plays Maren's beloved brother. Irish actor Ciaran Hinds from "The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover" plays Louis Wagner who is accused and executed for the murders.

This is an interesting film to watch for the performances, although the editing and the ending may leave you scratching your head to figure out what went on. Taxi! ... Read more