Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Illuminati secret symbolism layed out for the public to see...

This movie is highly symbolic, loaded with symbolism about and secrets used by the global elite. Which is why most people find this film somewhat puzzling. Go to http://www.kentroversypapers.net/ for details about the meanings within. Classic Kubrick. Also see a review about the highly symbolic 2001 (about secrets of Alchemy) at: http://www.jayweidner.com/kubrick.htm June 24, 2008

Another Kidman Laughfest

I won't go into the plot or major themes of this film, as other reviewers have done an adequate job of it. I truly believe actors make or break a movie. As such, this film could have been very good, but suffers deplorably from a lack of quality acting. Tom Cruise is not a favorite of mine, but does a passable job as the manic
spouse of a woman who shares her thoughts of infidelity.

I found Kidman's performance (as so often is the case with this highly overrated actress) substandard, to say the least. Gratuitous shots of her boney, barenaked assets (no less than three of them in the first third of the film with no context whatsoever) does not qualify as fine acting. The nauseatingly phony delivery she gives as a drunken party reveler at the beginning of the film sets the pace for the rest of the movie, in which she makes a miserable (and somewhat laughable) attempt at getting stoned in one scene and offers a pathetically false display of artificial emotion after relating a bad dream to her "husband" in another.

Other directors besides Kubrick have capitalized on Kidman's latent narcissism and tendency toward exhibitionism in order to mask the artificial quality of her acting. Cold Mountain and Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus are two recent examples that come to mind. Time and time again, Ms. Kidman makes acting choices that showcase her alleged physical "beauty" rather than reveal her true skill as a convincing and reliable actor. Eyes Wide Shut is no exception. Actresses such as Charlize Theron, Hilary Swank, and Cate Blanchett are exceptional not only because their physical beauty resonates on film when they portray "ordinary" women, but because they are willing to manipulate and transcend traditional images of beauty in order to explore other facets of female experience. Not ironically, Kidman finally received her prized golden statue when she dared to portray someone other than a shadow of her own superficial self in The Hours.

Personally, I found the subject matter of the film and the scenes involving the sex rituals to be provocative. Hence, two stars for a film that suffers from bad casting and unfilfilled potential but explores interesting
questions related to communication, trust, and fidelity among committed partners. June 23, 2008

Garbage. Bad acting. Dull filmography. Horrendous lighting. Kubrick's a loser.

I just watched this, and I don't know why. It was horrible. Cruise wasn't the only bad actor in this (Kidman did a good job of course), and he was BAD. The lighting is a constant red/blue warm/cold contrast that is more headache inducing than intriguing. Whoever was guiding the camera and setting shots was lackluster and just "got the job done." Kubrick, besides being a misogynistic f* with an adolescent appetite for his films' contents, really delivered nothing...and he took his time doing it.

This movie isn't bad because it wasn't sexy enough (I think it was sexy without need), nor because it was slow (I love slow, ponderous films), nor because there was no climax (same), it was because it was poorly directed and poorly written. The dialog is so often laughable. I was advised to see it as one of the creepiest films of all time. I never blinked. I felt like laughing at the attempts at creepiness though.

For people who want to point at the themes explored, it doesn't matter if a film brings themes up, it matters how it handles them. This did a poor, surface level job just in order that Kubrick could get his kicks out of using the F word and having nudity that isn't necessarily sexualized...oooo, how progressive!

I wasted my evening, don't waste yours. June 17, 2008

Minds Wide Open

I saw this movie in a theater, when it was premiered years ago. I found it haunting, dreamlike, and outside the normal realm of moviemaking. Most people did not like the movie then and I would assume most would not like it now. Its a movie that polarizes. I recently had the chance to view it again. Mesmerizing is the best way I can describe it. It pulls you into a dreamlike world and leaves you with many unanswered questions. The most chilling, riveting scene obviously is the "party". But what really gets to me in this scene is the deliberate striking of the piano keys especially the occasional but intentional off-key notes. It exudes forbodding and mortal anxiety. It is the quintessential cult scene. Kubrick created a movie that has aged well. Highly reccommended, but surely not for everyone. June 9, 2008

'Forever' Is A Scary Word

I have to give this movie five stars because of the lovely Nicole Kidman. But she's not the only gorgeous girl in the movie and there are none of those acursed artificial breast implants either. Stanley Kubrick really gave us something to cherish as his final work.

The movie starts out (and remains) strange and it has a sort of ghost like quality which is set around Christmas time. It touches on both the positive and negative aspects of sexually related issues and contains a lot of symbolism.

Alice has a few glasses of champagne at some rich guy's party which puts her more or less out of her mind and she starts talking in a trance like state and dancing with this guy who looks like Count Dracula.

Alice gets stoned and tells Dr. Bill about a fantasy she had about making out with this guy who she instantly fell in love with at first sight. I don't think this ever really happened but Dr. Bill thinks it may have and he starts visualizing these wonderful (but not to him) scenes in his mind. This is what causes him to start looking for love in all the wrong places as he also wants to experience that instantaneous and magical attraction.

I sort of relate personally to the Dr. Bill character (Cruise) although this may only be my imagination. Still I don't think think people would disagree that the movie contains some sort of hidden and secret message.

Dr. Bill and his wife Alice sometimes think about doing the wrong things but ultimately they are not truly evil people as most people aren't.

However Dr. Bill injects himself into a situation where the people are truly evil. To me this represents satanism.

In the movie Dr. Bill becomes a threat to that satanic cult because of what he knows about them. But in real life they rather become the threat when people are stupid enough to get involved with them and open that Pandora's box of evil. There comes a point where the box cannot be closed and Dr. Bill comes close to reaching that point.

There's a very important scene where Dr. Bill revists the castle where the 'party' happened and they hand him a horrible letter. People shouldn't write evil things in letters it's very dangerous.

Interestingly one of the people at the 'party' was wearing a mask that looks like the sun. The sun has been up there burning for a long time.

The evil spirits will first attack in the dream state which is exactly what happens to Alice.

Eventually Dr. Bill's reckless act threatens to destroy everyone that he holds dear in this world. This is not just fiction. It can happen.

Interestingly Cruise and Nicole were married when this movie was made I think. Sometimes a movie can mirror what's happening with the actors in real life.

Cruise joined the Church Of Scientology.

There's this old movie called 'The Wasp Woman' where this lady is somehow turned into a wasp. I heard somehow this really happened to the lady who played the part in the movie.

Jeff Marzano

The Shining [Blu-ray]

Irreversible

Human Trafficking

Horror Hotel

Possession

The Beast (La bête)

Images in a Convent

The Others (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) May 25, 2008

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