Commandements

Fine film about a man who lost his wife, and as a result begins to question the motives of God. He has all these emotional problems while his arrogant brother-in-law is doing fine while totally ignoring any religious commitments; which the brother-in-law makes his relative very aware of. However, in the end things do not remain the same for arrogant in-law. Nor for the man who lost his wife. This film may bother some Christians at first, but in the end I think this film will be accepted as giving a positive message about theology. The ending was surprising and gratifying.

One thing I can say for Courteney Cox, she really got hotter with Kurt Russel in 3000 Miles to Graceland than she did with Aidan Quinn here. Not that she wasn't hot, but Kurt got the better deal.

This was a quirky black comedy about a man who lost his reason for living and decided to damn god and break all his commandments. Well, damning god is breaking one of them. Hooking up with his sister-in-law was just one of the ten, but what kept you interested was how he was going to break the "Thou Shalt Not Kill" one.

Good support by Anthony LaPaglia as Courtney's husband, Harry. "I break 5 or 6 commandments every day before lunch." Not a good man, but, you know how that karma thing works. It all ended well.

This movie is really good. However, be warned, you will probably not like it if you are extremely religious, as it is about a man who tries to break all ten commandments. You will probably also like it better if you're a fan of one of the actors in it, as the plot is very strange and different, as well as dark. It has mostly romance and drama but also some comedy. The only part I really didn't like about this movie was the extremely unrealistic ending. However, that kind of added a sort of irony to the movie, and dry humor. So, in a nutshell, you should see this movie because it's good. Oh, and there's a dog in it too.

There's good work being done here by the principals--I can't decide which of them I like the most, really, although Anthony LaPaglia's noirish everyday scumbag is the best-written of the three. While the story has its weaknesses, it works fine enough for this sort of unassuming film that tells a story in its own meandering way. Courtney Cox finally comes out of her shell, finally playing a likable character, and she proves a worthy receptacle for most of the camera's adoration. All around, a good date rental for those who won't be put off by the sacreligious plotline.

Aidan Quinn ("Legends of the Fall") stars as Seth Warner, who recently has suffered one major setback after another: the tragic disappearance of his wife, the destruction of his house, and the loss of his job. And, for good measure, his dog is crippled by a bolt of lightning. Assuming that God himself has it in for him, Seth determines to get even by breaking all 10 of the Commandments.

Written & directed by Daniel Taplitz ("Breakin' All the Rules"), this dark comedy-drama is savvy enough to ask some pertinent theological questions, and has some good moments, but for this viewer, it didn't come off as well as I would have liked. Part of it is that I would have liked to see it get even darker, and go into more detail as the unhinged Seth broke those Commandments. Instead, it gets sappy & romantic as Seth falls in love with his neglected sister-in-law Rachel Luce (Courteney Cox, the "Scream" series), whom he initially just wanted to use re: the "thou shalt not covet thy neighbors' wife" Commandment.

The film has an effective offbeat quality, but Taplitz just doesn't follow through that interestingly on a grabber of a premise. It's too bad, because he does get solid performances out of his cast, with Anthony LaPaglia ('Without a Trace') rounding out the star trio as Rachels' slimy husband Harry, an investigative journalist. The character is amusingly scummy, and LaPaglia pretty much steals the show.

While such a film may initially bother some who are religious, it ultimately has enough going on that it could provoke some pertinent discussions afterwards.

Six out of 10.