Visitors Review

(2012-05-24 18:04)

Stone review

This review is from: Stone [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) Interesting movie, but I thought it was going to be a more interesting ending. Not a bad movie to watch, but not for more than $10.

(2012-05-24 11:41)

Interesting for cinephiles but not so for the general public

Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) Despite its lack of commercial success, I was attracted to this film for two reasons. After their performance in the 2001 flick The Score, I wanted to check how Edward Norton and Robert De Niro did in their second film together. Also, I saw the opportunity to appreciate the quality of Milla Jovovich's acting other than being the sexy action hero in the Resident Evil saga. The storyline is not very interesting, and sometimes it is close to weird, so not surprisingly revenues at the box office barely covered half the film's cost. The main value of the movie resides in the acting, so I think this might be an interesting flick for cinephiles. Jovovich does have a chance to do some real acting, but mixed with her sexy image and some nudity, I believe she did not get a fair chance to show us the full extent of her capabilities. Considering this limitation, she did a good job, but we still have to see her acting in a non seductive role. Edward performance delivered the most notable, and De Niro, well, nothing special, just his usual.

(2012-05-21 08:14)

I expected more...boring, depressing, waste of time

Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) First of all I would like to say that Robert DeNiro and Edward Norton are two of my favorite actor's. Both of them are very believable in their parts as I would expect from them. My problem with this movie has nothing to do with the characters or acting. The movie was just so incredibly boring that I could hardly finish it. About half way through it I found myself wanting to turn it off. There is nothing to get excited about and really no action at all. The whole story is just a dud in my opinion. I found it to be a huge disappointment considering DeNiro and Norton are the main characters. DeNiro and Norton were both in "The Score" and that was a fantastic movie so I guess I was expecting much more. This IS NOT a movie to watch with the kids. There is nudity and a lot of really nasty language, I mean a lot. Another thing that bugs me is the horrible scratching background noise throughout the movie. It really gets annoying after a while. The noise is supposed to be the noise that Norton's character is hearing in his head but it really got on my nerves. Not to mention that the ending is horrible and leaves you hanging and wondering. It's almost like the movie just stopped in the middle. At the end we were like that's it? I know that some will certainly disagree with me but this movie was a waste of time in my opinion and I wouldn't recommend it.

ankitgoyal7 (2012-05-20 15:36)

The rare film and a good story

The basis of the story is quite simple (read the synopsis), but themajority of the film's focus is in its character study. This is wherethe actors seriously shine. That seems to be the issue with most of thenegative responses the film received. Yes, it is slow paced. Yes,there's a lot of religious jargon thrown around. Yes, it is quite theanti- climactic film. But isn't that the point? De Niro, who I haven'tseen in anything memorable after Jackie Brown (okay, I'll exclude TheGood Shepherd), is marvelous as the underplayed Jack Mabrey. The subtlenuances he gives to a character so burned out of work, marriage-sidenote: Frances Conroy was amazing-, and life in general (the speechhe gives at his brother's funeral in the beginning comes to mind) arenothing short of astonishing. I can't stress on how great theperformance was, De Niro has definitely gone back on track.

matvej-kazin (2012-05-17 20:19)

Question of existence

Hard to review such a movie but I will try. This movie did to me whatnothing else does in our society anymore and that is bringing up thequestion of our existence, right or wrong, God etc. And the best partis it is not trying to answer those questions but is revealing the lackof understanding of what life is in life. What seemed to look likeanother mediocre movie about prison and cons, come up as a greatsurprise of a movie. And in the end it is hard to rate it because yougo through one hour and fifty something minutes with the same questionsin your mind as the characters and it is just way to hard.This movie was good.

(2012-05-17 10:16)

Yawn: A Stone DVD Review

Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) Stone, by John Curran, is the story of an inmate (Edward Norton) trying to be paroled. Jack Mabry (Robert De Niro), a parole officer, is days away from retirement and has to decide Stone's fate. Stone's wife, Lucetta (Milla Jovovich), gets involved and does what she can to aid the process.The DVD's special features include trailers and the making of the movie. The film is 105 minutes long, and offers Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, English and Spanish subtitles, and anamorphic widescreen presentation.This "superbly crafted, smartly acted, suspense-filled thriller" (Susan Granger) starts off slow and barely gains any speed. There was nothing likable about the flawed characters, nor could I relate to them. The storyline was predictable and dull; if this wasn't a vine review I wouldn't have even finished watching the movie. The talented and well known actors just couldn't save this film. If you are looking for a suspense filled thriller, look elsewhere.PROS:The case and packaging is recyclableCONS:Slow story lineUnlikable charactersPredictable and dull

M Eridion (2012-05-11 18:39)

Very impressive movie

Given the overall mediocre ratings, here on IMDb and in general, I'mreally asking myself if people's attention span is too short for movieslike these.It's basically a 100 minute portrait of spiritual transformation,dysfunctional coping, self-indulgence and lifetime-lies. People tend tosay "it has no plot", while in fact it features profound personaldevelopments, surfacing of inner conflicts, repressed dreams and fears. It's very un-black-and-white and gives you plenty of things to thinkabout; It's only superficially discussing religion, but at its heart amovie about how you see things determines choices you make or choicesthat are made for you.In Germany the movie got R-rated for a good reason (and it's not Millajovovich's breasts, 9 songs got an R-rating here too); If you actuallyimmerse yourself into the states of self-indulgence and self-righteousness the main characters provide, it can really be disturbing.If you expect an easy thriller, you'll probably be disappointed.

VampireLover (2012-05-11 04:44)

Great Cerebral Movie!!!

This is a religious movie for the thinking man, and like religion, has many interpretations. To me, it's a movie about connectivity and the mysterious way that God works. Robert DeNiro's charcter starts at one end of the spectrum while Edward Norton's character starts at the other and Milla Jovavich's character put these two men on the path that leads to redemption and Salvation. There are many nuances in this movie so it might warrant a second viewing, but it will leave you wanting to discuss it and hear other interpretations. I think my money was well-spent and Edward Norton remains an actor who hasn't let me down in a movie.

Jeremy Eagles (2012-05-10 03:40)

Very little action, a lot of existential questions

I watched this movie last night and I'm still thinking about it. A lotof reviewers gave negative reviews of the storyline or conclusion.However, there is a lot about human nature in this movie, without muchmoral whitewashing. Also, I think this movie needs to be reviewed notin terms of what is shown on the screen, but what is going on in thecharacters' minds and the consequences of their decisions. Somethinglike a book review. I always consider these questions first about theevents portrayed in a film or book: Is the narrator lying? Are thestory lines of the characters all from the same viewpoint? Did anythingimportant occur which the narrator / story does not tell us? What willbe the consequences after the end of the film?First, I am really interested in the existential questions dealt within this film. 1. Can a person ever repay a moral debt / make up for acrime? Notice that prison, a rigid environment of repetitiousschedules, is much like the rigid, unfeeling marriage of Jack andMadylyn. Stone was put in prison for committing a crime, both forpunishment, and because he is considered unfit for life in normalsociety. That is basically what prison is all about. Jack's rigidreligious practice, loveless marriage, and uncaring job performance area sort of self-imposed prison, probably created so that he and his wifecan suppress the memory of his previous behavior (mostly we are nottold about it), and to give some sort of structure to their meaninglessrelationship. A secondary question in this film is, how late is toolate to even try to make a change? 2. Are people defined more by the day-to-day, minutia of their lives,by single important events, or by the relationships they form withother people? Can a single event define a man's life? In most dramaticmovies, people are defined either by something that happens to them, orsomething that they do. While, in real life, actions have consequencesthat can be severe, and often people pay great costs for life-changingmoments, this film explores the difference between things that arelife-CHANGING and life-DEFINING. Jack fails. why? he is defined by hislife. For Stone, it is largely irrelevant whether he is a con man ornot. That is not what his character is about. He seems to have a realrelationship with his wife, he knows her, and she knows him. also, hedoes not seem to be defined by the events of his life, but by hisreactions to those events. 3. Examining the symbolism of Noise / religious ritual. In this movie,it is kind of hard to pin down the source / meaning of the overwhelmingbuzzing, head pounding, ears ringing, static that Jack, Stone, andMadylyn experience. It seems to me that this static is the internalconflict that a person feels when overwhelmed by the hopelessness of asituation, when the personal failures become the definingcharacteristic, and when you are somehow unable to see the essentialtruth of the situation. If you pay attention to the way the directorhandles Jack and Madylyn reading bible passages and the far rightreligious radio, it is presented as a similar type of background noisethat blurs the true situation. The religious "epiphany" that stone has should not really be taken soliterally, that he "found god" or whatever. Instead, he removed thenoise, and the anger, and was able to live with himself and the world.The story does not present him, after being released, as trying tocommit any other crimes. He could see the truth of things--that he wasnot so different from others, that he was not a special case. This is acommon misconception among alcoholics and career criminals, that theywere treated unfairly, or at least differently than others, and thatthings are especially bad for them compared to others. Also they feelfated to be the way they are. Another case of a life being defined bythe events and actions that occurred, rather than taking charge. ForJack, the deafening silence of the discordant crowd will not go away,it will only increase, until it destroys him, because he has not madethat single connection with another human being, to relate himself totheir circumstance.

MLDinTN (2012-05-09 18:13)

slow paced, somewhat interesting, but the ending ruined it

This movie was OK till the final 10 minutes. I don't like it when amovie ends with no explanation and just leaves the viewer to guess whathappened. Did Jack's wife Madlyln have anything to do with whathappened or did the ex-con do something? But why would he do somethingwhen Jack recommended his release? And why do we see the ex-con, Stone,just walking down a street? But back to the beginning, the performances were pretty good. Robert DeNiro, plays Jack, someone whom goes over parole cases and gives hisrecommendation. He is close to retirement and likes to drink a lot asdoes his wife Madlyln, whom is very religious. One of his last cases isStone, played by Ed Norton, whom does a great accent as someone withlittle education and past drug use. Stone gets his hot wife, Lucetta,to make contact with Jack and play mind games. She acts like she'sreally interested in Jack, so he starts meeting her and it leads tomore. So, the question is does Stone get out of prison? The movie waspretty good leading up to this, but as I mentioned before it just goesoff grid for the final 10 minutes.FINAL VERDICT: Worth seeing because most of the movie is good.

chumbukket (2012-05-08 01:24)

A mis-marketed film that succeeds on a thematic level that many may overlook.

Perhaps having never heard of this film before watching it was anadvantage, because many of the complaints in other reviews have focusedon having very different expectations for Stone. It seems that thisthought-provoking character drama was marketed as some manner ofsuspense thriller, which it most certainly is not.Stone has, however, in these same reviews, been unanimously praised forits marvelous acting. Indeed, the cast deserves it: Robert De Niro asthe nearly-retired parole officer suffering from spiritualdisillusionment, Edward Norton as one of the last prisoners whose casehe works, and Milla Jovovich as Stone's seductive wife. Their roles arewell-acted, engaging, and in the case of De Niro and Norton'scharacters, against type (you'll be delighted at the sight of afoul-mouthed, corn-rowed Edward Norton talking street to an uptight,religious De Niro). These performances are key, and in this case don'tonly serve to create a strong aesthetic and believable characters.Stone is a movie that disappointed many with its apparently slow pacingand lack of action, but an open and analytical mind will note that theaction in Stone is of a different sort. The laudable acting is soimportant because there are no gunfights or explosions to supply theaction. Instead, the turning points, the twists and the climaxes areall in how we come to know each character and in the food for thoughtthat comes of it.Marketing will tell you that Stone is about a prisoner on review forparole who uses his temptress of a wife to attempt to con his religious(but conflicted) parole officer, but it is about much more than that.That description only applies to the characters as we are introduced tothem. Before long, Stone has turned to one of the many strange andgimmicky modern interpretations of religion, first as part of hisattempt to convince Jack, his parole officer, of his reform, but hequickly becomes a true believer. At the same time, Jack is quicklylosing his faith, thanks in no small part to his long-broken marriageand his seduction at the hands of Stone's wife Lucetta. Theirrespective spiritual epiphany and crisis, along with some strongmotifs, establish a pervading theme of ambiguity in religion, amongother things. Fortunately, this is done very tactfully and doesn't comeoff as either preachy or anti-religious. The effects of spirituality onthe characters are good in some cases and bad in others.Such things may be boring to some (though I get the idea that it's morelikely that they were missed entirely by much of the viewing public),but I personally prefer this particular character-driven rather thanevent-driven style of "action" and never found the movie to be slow.The mixed reception I've seen to this film shows that subtlety has itsrisks. However, for those who will pick up on it and appreciate it,Stone pays off with more than just A-list acting.

(2012-05-07 14:27)

Reviews

This review is from: Stone [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) Great movie, kept me in suspense for quite a time. great service, movie arrived ahead of schedule, everything was perfect..

Barry (2012-05-05 08:12)

Good film and well worth your time.

Odd story of a prison psychologist Jack (Robert De Niro) and one of his prisoners Stone (Edward Norton) and the way they effect each others lives. I like this film and think De Niro , Milla Jovovich and Frances Conroy are great but Edward Norton comes in with these god awful corn rows and this freakish way of speaking that totally throws me off. As the movie go's on we see Stone (E. Norton) change his whole look, way of speaking and out look on life, all for the better. Jack changes also as the movie go's on and it is not a good thing as his house of cards starts to fall. I recommend this film for those who like to think about there lives and what decision's you make can do to those around you. Good film and well worth your time, but be warned, this is not a feel good movie and left me rethinking parts of my life.

(2012-05-04 21:59)

Decent Title

Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) Stone is a film starring Edward Norton, Robert De Niro and Milla Jovovich, about a man who is nearing his parole hearing and attempts to manipulate the system so he is guaranteed freedom but along the way undergoes a spiritual epiphany.The film opens with a young couple who live a modest life somewhere in Midwest America. Right from the start anyone can tell that there is something missing from this family and that namely is joy. The husband sits still in his chair mindlessly watching a golf tournament on TV not bothering to notice anything his wife does or says. His wife, obviously miserable is coming to a realization about the life she is leading. In her attempt to signal to her husband that she wants out he makes a truly horrifying and desperate attempt to keep her from leaving and it works.Years later we see that same couple now in the twilight of their years. Jack Mabry, played by De Niro, is a parole officer who is on his way to retirement and only has a few months to go. He is in the final stages of wrapping up his case files but happens to start up with one last inmate, Gerald "Stone" Creeson, played by Edward Norton. Norton, who has over the years proven over the years that he is one of the most diverse actors of our generation, comes full force with his portrayal of this character. He delivers the dialogue with a low scratchy sound that you almost wonder if he was spending his off camera scenes shouting to achieve such an affect.As their interviews get under way you can tell that Mabry has seen and heard it all from the inmates over the years so he doesn't expect much from Gerald initially and like all inmates nearing their parole hearing Stone does his best to convince Mabry that he has reformed and should be allowed to integrate back into society. Once the film has established the relationship between these two people it begins to show the contrast in their lives as they go about their day. It's clear from the start that Stone, besides giving Mabry what he wants to hear, is willing to do whatever it takes to guarantee his parole, even so far as to enlist his wife. Stone's wife, Lucetta, played by Milla Jovovich, does a phenomenal job coming off as someone who clearly does what she wants when she wants.Things become even more complicated though when the hardship of prison life finally has a profound effect on Stone's mental state. Witnessing a prison murder causes Stone to begin to see the life around him in a new way. This causes complications with the plan he and his wife have enacted even though she is willing to follow it through to the end. She seduces Mabry and in doing so manipulates him into tweaking Stone's file so it when it goes before the review board he will be paroled. While this is what Stone initially wanted he now looks at his own life in a different light and with that comes new realizations about himself.The stands out performances here really are Jovovich and Norton. Norton, as always, is able to make a character convincing, scary, sad and somehow familiar all at the same time. Jovovich, who mainly has action films to her credit, shows more depth than what we're used to. She takes a simple character and adds a level of deviousness that is unexpected. De Niro on the other hand doesn't really bring much to his role, for the whole movie he just comes off as very uninterested or interesting which makes it difficult to watch as he plods along through each scene.Overall though his performance doesn't detract from the film on the whole; the only real drawback is the conclusion. You have to wonder if perhaps the writers had trouble coming up with a more rounded ending which is why they went with an open-ended one. Regardless, Stone is an entertaining film about the consequences of our actions, and faith in the idea that there is a larger purpose to life.

(2012-05-03 16:04)

Not for "Piranha" fans ...

Two great actors, with Milla doing a good job. It's about manipulation, the madness and the objectives of the religions. Religions and all the bad things they make to people.The movie has no action, but go into yor head. It remembers me the Deep Purple's song "Into the fire !!!". And NIN when Trentz says "Your God is dead and no one cares!". Believe in your mind and in the sciences, forget religion. An excellent movie and a good Blu-ray.

(2012-05-03 08:39)

Another Masterpiece from John Curran

This review is from: Stone (DVD) As if The Painted Veil wasn't already a cinematic achievement, English-born Director John Curran comes up with a film that hardly had any publicity, and yet,showcases one of Robert De Niro's finest performances. Edward Norton HASN'Thad a bad film yet and this is no exception. Forget the almost complete silenceaccorded this film by critics and film distributors. This film is a masterpieceof acting, plot, cinematography, editing, sound-nearly perfect in every sense.It also a profoundly sad film that will leave you awake at night wondering aboutjustice, family, intimacy, lust, religion, profligacy and everything else thatexists in our material and non-material world. In a sense, I am half-glad thefilm industry ignored this film-the misunderstood hype and over-used public metaphors would have nearly ruined a magnificent film.

NickCageLover (2012-05-02 12:26)

I could hardly watch this mess!!!!

This movie is NOT worth seeing. There is absolutely no plot. The movieis supposed to be an action/thriller but quickly turns into a boringslow paced train wreck about religious transformations. Edward Norton'scharacter is intolerable. The dreads,the crying,the whining, thestrange southern/thug accent, and the fake scratchy voice was insanelyirritating!!!! Jovovich is awful in this movie. Her character is moreannoying than Nortons. De Niro seems to have just showed up and read ascript out loud. There are several sex scenes that are absolutelyunnecessary in making the movie more entertaining or developing thecharacters and plot. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME ON THIS FILM!!!!!! There isnothing about this film that is worth seeing.

(2012-05-01 22:56)

what a bad movie

if you gave this movie more than 2 stars you have no clue to what a good movie is. what a total wast of time. not worth the power to run the t.v.

(2012-05-01 11:36)

Wish I could give 0 Stars

One of the top 5 stupidest movies of all time. Great cast, but the most boring, pointless movie. Only rivaled by a few movies, including things like "The New World," or "Memento."

(2012-04-30 14:06)

*********SIGH****************

Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) With a boring storyline that is woefully predictable, the iconic Robert DeNiro plays a corrections official...Jack Mabry....who makes recommendations to the parole board regarding whether or not an inmate should be released. Edward Norton costars as Gerald "Stone" Greeson, the inmate whose life is in the hands of Mabry; he needs to convince Mabry that he is reformed, and is ready for life on the outside. When it appears to Stone as though he may not be convincing the seasoned Mabry that he has indeed turned his life around, he enlists the help of his wife Lucetta (played by Millie Jovovich). Lucetta uses her feminine wiles to help Jack Mabry to see the light....I just had the feeling that I'd seen it all before....or maybe it was just the predictability of the storyline. Whatever the case, 3 stars only....and that's primarily because of the awesome actors and acting throughout.DYB