Visitors Review

(2012-05-24 20:01)

Excellent movie

I was not sure from the beginning of the movie that I would like this movie however, it ended up being so powerful with an amazing ending.

coastdaze (2012-05-24 09:38)

Love those surprises...

OK, so I really like Denzel Washington and have seen all, I believe, ofhis movies. He's just a good actor and a good man...so I respect himand love to see him in movies.I figured this would be an exciting and good movie but what I didn'tfigure on is how poignant it was going to be. My eyes misted up at someof the lessons of this film. No, it's not preachy, but it's thoughtprovoking. I was (and love to be) surprised at the premise of thisfilm. The acting was good, very good and this is one of those moviesthat I think is a must-see on the big screen. The landscape is too bigfor a TV, well unless you have one of those HUGE TVs people havenowadays. But I love the big screen for this type of movie. It may be"rough" for some folks, but it's actually pretty mild compared to a lotof what's out there and to me, there was no gratuitous violence. I canreally see this happening - it's not so far-fetched as to beridiculous.Yes, I was impressed, entertained and moved by this film. I hope wehave more like this soon...good, meaty stuff that is eye & mind candy.

Jona1988 (2012-05-22 06:00)

They went way to far with the religious stuff

I was looking forward to this. A post-apocalyptic thriller like thegreat The Road. I'm not a big fan of Denzel Washington thinking heplays the same guy way to much but then again many actors do that. Thefilm starts kind of promising with this dystopian theme and really darkatmosphere. Not much happens for quite some time, just walking, slowmotion effects and some actually pretty good action scenes. But eventough the technical aspects are kind of OK the rest is mostly weak.Soon it starts to drag, because unlike The Road which is a long walkmovie one gets the feeling something more will happen in The Book ofEli. The acting is not bad but it feels just stale and the charactersare just completely uninteresting. Gary Oldman is the one that does thebest performance but that doesn't mean much sadly. I guess one shouldblame the directing and script. Which brings me to the story, the partthat one thinks would have something to give but is just so bland anddumb. It doesn't take long to get what kind of plot concept this ibuilding on. But the point that is to come is one that any viewer hasguessed ages ago, like shortly after it starts. The Book of Eli is amovie with dull characters, uninteresting story, plot twist thatdoesn't surprise and some dumb attempt at sending a message. Now tocome to the message, which really killed this movie for me, wtfreligious propaganda? Religious propaganda hidden under dark actionmovie is just a stupid idea and works even worse than it sounds. Ifthat is what they tried to do with this film the did not succeed wellbecause I was just like this is ridiculous. It is one thing to have anreligious tone and OK to give a positive view of faith if you wish,just like it's OK to be critic of it. But in this film they go to far.Thankfully one won't get that irritated by this propaganda crap becauseit's just so silly. Still I hate this movie! The Book of Eli is just rubbish, can't think of one reason for seeingis actually. Well the technical stuff like the action is kind of nicebut not nearly enough to keep this crap afloat. Maybe see it to anpleasant outflow of laughter over this dumb attempt of sending a hiddenmessage, and a really stupid message that is. 4/10 This sucks!

gratwicker (2012-05-21 19:05)

Great for sub-human teen boys

A human with with super-human or perhaps super-natural powers walksalone through the breadth of the United States after nuclear winter hasstruck. He must overcome many trials and does so using his formidablephysical skill. Better than Robin Hood with a bow, better than DavidCarridine with his hands, shooting straighter than the Lone Ranger andhaving reflexes quicker than Jack Rabbit, he perseveres through thedriest of deserts, the deepest of lakes, the swiftest of rivers. - Youget the idea. So did I after the first five minutes. Mel Gibson did in1979; there was no need for an updated remake. - There are two verybeautiful women in the film, Mila Kunis, and Jenifer Beals; but neithercould do better than take the director's direction--stand here, runthere, smile, cry... - Why a man like Denzel Washington, thought thisreplay worthy of investing his own money and time I cannot fathom.

bomarqu (2012-05-20 21:18)

?

I am disappointed, Denzel ? This movie gets a minus 10 (what movie)Praise the lord, or Eli for that matter. Quite a shot with that bow andarrow for a blind guy. He probably thought that cat was a small deer.30 years after what? The big boom? If there were so many humans alivewhat happen to the other bibles. Funny how the only one left would bein Braile, owned by a Blind guy that can shoot moving targets out ofthe air with a bow and arrow. And P.S. Where was the Nuclear Winter?Looking forward to a good horror flick, as obviously to me this didn'tmake any sense, although, I'm sure my local pasture would love thismovie. Along with it's incredible miracles, I think my dog got more outof it than I did. This movie was so bad, it is hard to critique it morewithout becoming abusive, I would recommend it to someone who is reallypressed for time, sitting there patiently in their pressed time tryingto figure out what the hell this movie is about.Amen.

(2012-05-20 20:51)

Freezing

This review is from: The Book of Eli (DVD) This DVD for Book Of Eli freezes a few times during playback. The reason being that the DVD has a few deep gouges on it's surface.

(2012-05-16 17:25)

This "Book" Is A Very Slow Read

The Hughes Brothers, Allen and Albert, are not exactly the most prolific writing and directing team working in film. Their last film, "From Hell", is a criminally underrated and poorly timed release starring Johnny Depp and Heather Graham in an adaptation of a graphic novel about Jack the Ripper. It was released a few weeks after the 9/11 attacks and was all but ignored. Their new film, "The Book of Eli" is also based on a graphic novel. Despite a few interesting moments and a couple of good performances, the film is nowhere near as successful as their last effort. Given their track record, we have another seven or eight years to see if they hit the mark again.Eli (Denzel Washington) travels alone across a desolate landscape. As he rummages through abandoned and dilapidated homes and walks past the husks of rusted out cars, we quickly get the sense something bad has happened, something big that caused their way of life to change. As Eli makes his way west, we see he has two prized possessions. The first is an old IPOD he has jerry-rigged to a battery, to listen to music, to give himself an escape from the desolation around him. The second is a large leather bound book with a lock and a cross on the cover, a bible which he reads on a nightly basis. One day, he approaches a crumbling freeway interchange and watches as a group of motorcycle bandits quickly overtakes a man and a woman traveling together. They kill the man, take their possessions and begin to rape the woman. Eli watches, trying to decide if he should reach out, if he should get involved and help the woman. He decides to move on. Later, he comes to a town populated by a group of survivors and led by Carnegie (Gary Oldman). Carnegie lords over his people by controlling the food and water. He also provides alcohol drugs and women to the populous, operating out of a makeshift brothel carved out of an abandoned theater. Carnegie sends his teams out to scour the countryside looking for a book. When Eli arrives, he realizes the bike gang is in the bar and quickly takes them out with his sword and some fancy footwork. News travels to Carnegie and he wants to meet the new arrival. Carnegie wants Eli to work for him, to help him rebuild society. They are both survivors and know what life was like before the war thirty summers ago and they can both read. But Eli declines. Soon, Carnegie learns of Eli's bible, the very book he had been searching for. He sends Solara (Mila Kunis), the daughter of his companion (Jennifer Beals), a blind woman whom he adores, to visit Eli and spend the night with him. But Solara soon realizes Eli is different and might be able to help her escape. They reluctantly team up and continue west. But Carnegie isn't going to give up that quickly.When a film takes place in a different time or reality than our own, it has to work very hard to establish this landscape and to make us believe in everything that is happening. The filmmakers are extremely successful in one regard and less so in another. The landscape Eli travels is bleak, gray and desolate. As he walks through the gray, dressed in an old army jacket and a pair of wrap around sunglasses, nothing he passes looks like it was built recently and this fits extremely well with the back story we learn during the course of the film. A nuclear war happened thirty years ago and the survivors have been struggling to live ever since. People like Carnegie have power because he is able to control things like water and food. Most of the people surrounding people like Carnegie and Eli are younger and many have been born after the war. This means most are unable to read. Because of this, Carnegie realizes the power a bible might have and seeks to find a copy.When Eli first spots the lone couple pushing a shopping basket with all of their belongings, he stops and watches them. The bike gang quickly overtakes them, kills the man and rapes the woman. But Eli just watches from his perch high above, tentatively reaching for his machete. He decides not to interact. Yet, later, he cautiously approaches a woman sitting on the ground next to her overturned shopping cart, apparently unable to move. Why is he reluctantly willing to help one and not the other? Later, Eli talks vaguely about his journey and it seems like he is on a quest. But how can we believe in his quest when he reluctantly agrees to help some, but not others. As we begin to learn more about the extent and meaning of Eli's journey, this double standard becomes even more troubling and problematic to the narrative.Denzel Washington is always good and as Eli he brings the right amount of seriousness and conviction to the role. We get he has a serious goal for his journey and he won't let anything stand in his way. When he realizes the danger Carnegie presents, he simply walks away, trying to avoid further conflict. Of course, Carnegie can't let it end. When he has to help Solara, he does so reluctantly because it will impede his journey. But we get the sense that some part of his journey might be leading him to provide her with a hand.Washington is an extremely charismatic actor and he is just about always good, even when he appears in films that don't match his skill. Unfortunately, as one of the top stars in Hollywood, he continues to appear in films that don't match his skill. So for every film that reminds us why he is a star with great skill ("Crimson Tide", "American Gangster", "Devil in a Blue Dress"), he appears in an almost equal number of films that give us reason to question his skill ("Déjà Vu", "The Siege"). Washington clearly likes to work with the same people (he has appeared in a number of Tony Scott films ("Crimson Tide", "Man on Fire") but I have to wonder why he appears in so many films that don't live up to his ability. Is it the money? Is he anxious to make more films? If so, why doesn't he use his start power to make these problematic films better?Gary Oldman is good as Carnegie, the man who realizes the people, the few survivors, need to believe in something. He also realizes that if he possesses this, he will become more powerful and more legendary. He rules his kingdom with a quiet intensity. It is interesting to watch him interact with Claudia (Jennifer Beals), his blind lover. When the motorcycle gang brings back some shampoo, he eagerly uses it to wash Claudia's hair, thrilled to provide her with the luxury. But when he sees an obstacle in his way, he has no qualms about ordering his men to remove the barrier.Mila Kunis is less interesting as Solara. Carnegie initially orders her to spend the night with Eli and she is clearly not used to fulfilling such requests. But when she realizes Eli is not interested, she pleads with him to simply let her stay the night. If she is sent away, Carnegie won't like it and she will have trouble. Later, when they begin the quest, Kunis seems to be simply moving her character through the emotions. She is unable to really make us believe she shares the same intensity as Eli.Ray Stevenson (HBO's "Rome", "The Punisher: War Zone") plays Carnegie's security. Stevenson is always interesting to watch, he has a certain intensity about him which causes us to watch him, even when he is saying mundane things or unable to contribute to the narrative.There are a couple of interesting action scenes. Early on, Eli is confronted by a motley band of survivors who are looking to score something to eat (cannibalism seems to be common in this time). He gives them a chance, informing them if they continue they won't survive. They laugh and confront him. Eli moves under an old overpass and the entire fight happens in darkness, we are only able to see their silhouettes. He quickly dispatches the group, beheading more than a few of the attackers. In fact, this one scene has more beheadings than I have ever seen in a single film before. The scene is interesting visually and there are a couple of moments like this. But the rest of the film concerns Eli's slow journey across a barren landscape. It feels a bit like someone touched a fast forward button (for the fight scenes) a few times while watching a DVD of the rest of the film.There is a final "ah huh" moment. And it is interesting, but it unfortunately raises more questions and starts to make the viewer look more closely at the rest of the narrative, trying to spot any other problems, holes and poorly constructed bits. When this happens, the film has to be air tight, to withstand such scrutiny.And "The Book of Eli" isn't.

(2012-05-16 09:40)

Religiosity

I guess I should have deduced from the title that this was a religious movie, but I didn't, so this review is for those who do not wish to watch a strictly Christian film. The lighting, the cinematography were great, but it really stopped there for me. Take out the Christian thread, and this movie has been made over and over and over again. Denzel Washington is good, but the plot and the dialogue were so heavy handed, the overall effect was insulting. As well, the idea that this man can kill others in the name of defending religion (a book nonetheless) is a little disturbing, but certainly not new. All in all, a good movie for those who'd like to see a playstation version of Christianity. Otherwise, don't waste your time.

teiresia (2012-05-15 22:32)

Enough

I gave this movie a 10 because it really deserves it. This isunfortunately not the post-apocalyptic world, but the spiritual worldthe western civilization lives in now. Hollywood produces a myriad ofaction packed adrenaline full of sex without even forgetting the pornindustry and the way music clips look like nowadays and for some peopleto have the courage to complain that once in a blue moon Hollywooddecides to produce some decent art it is incomprehensible. Watch the movie, I'm not saying it will change your life, but watch itat least twice so that it can sit in. It is not a fanatic Christianmovie, quite the contrary the movie is about life and death, aboutmeaning and distortion, about good and evil.

grimmtw (2012-05-15 16:34)

Very Powerful Movie...

I do not write movie reviews professionally, but I think those that doreally need to re-evaluate how the rate movies.... At the end of theday, the true measure of a movie to me is whether I enjoy it or not. Ithoroughly enjoyed this one. I didn't see any good reviews on thismovie before I went to see it, but despite what the "professionals"said, I went to see the film anyway. In a setting 30 years past anuclear war (never stated whether it was or not, but hinted as such), aman is traveling because a divine spirit told him to. He is travelingto deliver a book somewhere to help restart civilization - as opposedto the existence most are seen to be living in the movie. It trackssome of the things he encounters along the way and things he is forcedto do to survive. He avoids what he can, but acts when circumstancesrequire action. Whether some of the scenes could really happen or notis irrelevant; that's why it is called a MOVIE rather than real-lifeevents. Denzel Washington portrays a character that is given a missionto accomplish under extremely austere conditions, and does so in afashion that embodies what parents tell their children -- if you applyyourself, you can accomplish anything. Great job in a difficult role!!

jorler1 (2012-05-15 12:57)

I really don't understand some peoples review of this movie

The Book of Eli was one of the most enjoyable film's I've seen in atheatre in years. It wasn't the action, it wasn't the dialogue, it wasthe scenery and/or the thought of the chaos that would ensue if therewas a major nuclear war.Obviously some reviewers didn't watch the movie, as in they completelydidn't see the scene in the woods DURING THE FALLOUT OF THE BOMBS,which was absolutely stunning IMO. The flakey ash like stuff that wasfalling in the woods was Nuclear Fallout. So right there you all wouldhave seen that in fact there was a worldwide nuclear war (God didn'trip a hole in the sky). It wasn't necessarily a religious war (althoughit may have been) but the war decimated the earth and very fewsurvived.I wont go into many more details, but obviously the book he wascarrying was the King James Holy Bible. Eli was on a mission to travelwest with the book, where to he didn't know. Obviously as you will seeEli was touched by the Holy spirit to complete this task.I'm not a overly religious man, but I am baptized a Catholic and themovie really really made me think about a lot of stuff....which a goodmovie should.I HIGHLY recommend this movie to anyone. Great cinematography, thefallout scene sent shivers down my spine. 2 of the best Actors inHollywood and some nice hack'n slash action. As I stated this moviewill make you think.....which all great movies should.

(2012-05-15 10:12)

Absolutely One of the Best Movies I have ever seen

This review is from: The Book of Eli (DVD) The Book of Eli is an interesting twist on the post apocalyptic scenario. I won't give anything away but the end of this movie will leave you in absolute amazement. You really cant see it coming until you go back and watch it again after knowing how it ends.

(2012-05-14 12:03)

surprised

This review is from: The Book of Eli (DVD) I knew that it was going to be intense; but it was much more introverted than I thought it would be.Not as action packed as the other reviews led me to believe, which was fine. It was just very deep and very dark, even though they completed the mission, to me it wasn't completed. After all that, I did enjoy it. Denzel Washington was great in it.

uwanttoknome (2012-05-13 15:34)

A Fantastic Film (with a great message)

Almost perfect. A so so script is covered up by a great story andstellar acting. The movie is mysterious and leaves you to do a lot ofthinking. It leaves you to discover things on your own. Something thatrecent movies do not seem to do. They seem to think we are slow andpoint out every plot point right in front of us. The acting is great.When has Denzel not been great in his role. The movie can suck but itwill still be entertaining just because of him. Gary Oldman finallygets to be bad guy after being our favorite from the Batman films andHarry Potter. He does great in this role and helps us make ourselveshate him. Mila Kunis does well but she doesn't do anything to special.The weakest part of the movie is probably her walking away into thesunset. They tried to make it a cool ending setting it up for a sequelbut I just heard myself saying, "Who cares about you?". The movie putsus into a new world a world after a nuclear war and the movie puts manythings into perspective. Things we take for granted we start to careabout more and understand how important it is and how much we need it.Maybe I am biased because I am a Christian and maybe you are biasedagainst the movie because you are not. It delivers a great Christianmessage but hides it in an awesome action movie that the rest of thepublic can also watch and enjoy. That is what is so great about it. Ifyou are not a Christian and take out the message it is still an awesomeaction movie with cool explosions and fun performances and maybe itbecomes a 7 instead of a 9 but I loved this movie. I hope this reviewhelped if you would like to talk to me about the review send me anemail at uwanttoknome@aim.com or send me a message on IMDb. Thanks.

(2012-05-12 18:22)

Outstanding

This review is from: The Book of Eli [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) The movie was wonderful and service was great. thank you for getting the product to me in the desired time. looking forward to buying from this company again.

(2012-05-11 21:07)

THE BEST MOVIE OF ALL

THIS IS THE BEST MOVIE. LOVE IT. I RENT IT AND NOW I AM GOING TO BUY IT TO WATCH IT AGAIN.

Unicorn-9 (2012-05-06 16:44)

For once, the bad guys win

Lots of spoilers ahead: don't read if you don't want to know whathappens in the movie.In a post-apocalyptic world destroyed by religious warfare where thesurvivors have quite sensibly destroyed all religious books, Satan(Malcolm McDowell) sends mental messages to blind schizophrenic Eli(Denzel Washington) telling him to find the last surviving Bible and tobring it to San Francisco so he can use it to restart the world'sglorious history of religious hatred.Eli, being blind and crazy, takes thirty years to cross the country,but I guess even Satan can't get the staff these days. Though that'sodd because despite the country being a burnt-out desert, Eli canbarely go for half an hour without running into other survivors rapingand murdering or being raped and murdered, and there are various townswhere people continue to live life like a 1980s Duran Duran video.The good guys, led by Gary Oldman, try to save the world by killing Eliand keeping the book out of Satan's hands, but Satan makes Elibulletproof and allows him to murder pretty much everyone who opposeshim (except the rapists and murderers, who are all Satan's children,after all). Eventually after a big shootout where the camera movesaround seemingly at random just because it can, leaving me to wonderjust which character was supposed to be running in and out of the houseand jumping through windows for no apparent reason, Satan decides tohave a bit of a laugh; he rewards Eli for his decades of devotion byletting Oldman shoot him and take the book, laughing so much at thedumb humans that it causes a sudden lightning storm, except, ha-ha,there's a funny twist here so I won't spoil it.Despite being shot in the guts, Eli uses Satan's magic duct tape tohold his intestines in place, and completes his quest. Satan cackleswith glee as he puts the Bible on his bookshelf between the Torah andKoran, and sends his first convert out into the world to spread theWord of God with machete and shotgun. Hurrah!

luminousdreams (2012-05-06 04:18)

religious propaganda and a very poor excuse for a film.

the one is for some interesting and different camera-work and a decent(if simple) soundtrack.other than this there is nothing to this movie but some christiansdesperately trying to get the message to an audience. poor excuse for aplot, anti-climatic ending and a very average performance from the maincast. films (in the uk anyway) now come with warnings such as "containsmild peril". personally i think this film should warn against"religious propaganda", it is something a think people who are notreligious should be given a chance to avoid if they so wish, icertainly would have done if i'd known what the films message was.

(2012-05-04 22:22)

Edge of your seat

This review is from: The Book of Eli (DVD) This movie is very deep and makes you think about yourself. When you watch it the second time you pick up so many more things you missed the first time. The movie parallels our lives on a deeper level with checks and balances.

SiilentMiike (2012-05-04 10:59)

The Look of Shut-Eye

One of the biggest let downs of twenty ten was The Book of Eli, also amovie I had the highest expectations for. It might have been it'sscenic resemblance to my favorite video game ever, Fallout 3, or DenzelWashington as the leading actor in a post apocalyptic word. Thecombination of a great actor and a favorable world was not enough tokeep this movie afloat, even with a few fun action sequences packedinside. Such the case with many films, it started off stronglydisplaying a world that was dirty, destroyed, abandoned and lookedexactly like the world of Fallout, but with the films originalitydissolving away, the film was now dependent on story and acting, bothof which caused to film to collapse. At times the movie was lacking somuch in story and acting that you were left focusing on how niceSolaras designer jeans were, despite the circumstances. The Book of Eliis in my opinion one of the worst films of 2010 because it was such alet down.-SiilentMiike (SiilentMiike.com)(http://www.youtube.com/user/SiilentMiike)