pete-711

Unfortunately this ranks alongside the worst films I have ever seen. I thought it was going to be good based on the impressive cast with Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, and Bill Murray etc. The crits were good. The film was described as being darkly humorous and quirky. It was even nominated for an Oscar. So I sat down and started looking forward to smiling or laughing or at least being entertained in some way. I struggled on for forty minutes as the characters were introduced by the painful narrator. I couldn't stand it any more and had to stop watching but felt that I ought to persevere as things must surely improve. So I alternated between ten minutes of snooker and ten minutes of the film and managed to get to the end eventually. It was such a relief when the credits appeared and I knew I had to endure no more. I felt that not only was the family dysfunctional but the film was also. I know a lot of people thought it was wonderful but unfortunately this film didn't do anything for me.

This ranks amongst the worst films I've ever seen. I bought the DVD based on the plot summary which sounded interesting and because William Hurt was one of the actors who normally features in great movies. After about 15 minutes, when we got to the gangster scene at the back of the hotel, I had to check the back of the box to see if it was a comedy rather than a "thriller with more twists and turns than the streets of Amsterdam itself". The ridiculous story line and the ham acting were making me laugh. I persevered to the end of the film in the desperate hope that there would be a great point or message but alas this film had absolutely no redeeming features for me. Truly awful. It says on the back cover "When you can't scream you can only run..." but I figured out another two options, cringe or howl with laughter.