Yar, you be here: Being John Malkovich > Customer Reviews

Being John Malkovich Customer Reviews (28 - 30 of 67 Reviews)

Enigmatic Masterpiece.
As Spike Jonze's feature film debut, I was expecting something completely original and off the wall before I even step foot in the theatre, famous for his videos and commercials, and now MTV's "jackass," I was far from dissapointed. The movie takes a very slow pace, but adds in enough detail to keep it interesting the whole way. The big name stars in this movie, Cusack and Diaz, are directed in such a way that you don't recognize them as themselves, so the only real focus on celebrity is Malkovich himself. After finding a portal that allows one to possess John Malkovich for a time, Cusack sets up a psuedo business selling trips into him. Using his experience as a puppeteer, Cusack finally decides to possess Malkovich and stay there, having learned how to physically control him. There are many other elements to the story, of course, but they are best discovered by the viewer. Not a movie for all tastes, but an original masterpiece none the less. Fans of Terry Gilliam will probably like this film.

The Best Movie in a Year of Good Movies
Its hard to imagine a movie that is this off the wall, utterly hilarious, and strangely philisophical was ever written, much less actually made. Charlie Kaufman's script is so amazingly creative, blending screwball humor and existential philosophy so well that you either laughed or pondered you existance throughout the entire movie. The acting was equally impressive. John Cusack has long been one of my favorite actors, and this may be his best, most developed performance yet. Even when he was doing greedy, selfish things, I still sympathized with him. Cameron Diaz was perfect in an against type role (a friend of mine didn't know it was her until he saw her name in the credits). Catherine Keener certainly deserved her Oscar nomination, and John Malkovich himself was hilarious as the man trying to figure his way through this "metaphysical can of worms". I'm so glad that Spike Jonze directed this move, having been a fan of his since the days of the Girl/Chocolate skateboard videos. Jonze really came through with the perfect mix of subdued cinematography and wacky visuals. 1999 was a really good year for movies, Bringing Out the Dead, Magnolia, Three Kings, The Insider, and The Limey will all be remembered for years to come, but Being John Malkovich was the best and most memorable, without a doubt.

The Most Brilliant and Inventive Film I Have Ever Seen
Being John Malkovich is a masterpiece. Not only is it the definite best movie I have ever watched over and over, but it is also just a twisted piece of film. Spike Jonze was already my favorite music video director, and now he is my favorite director, period. He is inventive, strange, scary, and he makes you think. Malkovich tells a very twisted story. It's about a puppeteer (John Cusack) who can never get payed because people don't understand his shows. His pet freak wife (Cameron Diaz) lives with him and supports him. He begins looking for work elsewhere eventually. He looks in the newspaper and finds a filing job on the 7 1/2th floor of a skyscraper downtown. There he meets his beautiful office-mate (Catherine Keener) and his adventures begin. He finds a secret door leading to a tunnel into John Malkovich's (John Malkovich) brain and devises a plan to sell tickets to visit his world. Although there are various sub plots and sub meanings, the basic point of this film is the fact that we are afraid to be ourselves so we will do anything we can to be someone else. It's about moving on with life and falling down when it falls down. The DVD is great, the film is amazing, and it is a must see for everyone into odd films. Spike Jonze is a genius.

Previous Page

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

Next Page