Genres

Visitors Review

socrates99 2012-05-23 16:50:30

Not what I was expecting, but a pleasant afternoon's pastime

George Clooney is immediately likable in most of his movies, but thistime he keeps his charming side subdued and under wraps. And it's allfor a good cause because this is essentially a drawn out morality playwhich isn't likely to appeal to just anyone, or even most. I especially enjoyed the parts where the mechanics of things werealluded to, and there's a memorable performance by Thekla Reuten as anassassin that was unusually impressive. But I know for a fact that manypeople are not going to enjoy even those parts. Some reviewers havementioned the cinematography but I didn't find it all that memorable.The location shots seemed more important to me but I'm just amoviegoer. The idea of the film I liked. What's being in this worldreally like? And there are several moments of dreadful suspense thatare conveyed quite convincingly. But this is not a flashy film like theBourne trilogy, it's far more mental and moody. Still I walked outentertained and I've no problem recommending it to serious moviegoers.

2012-05-22 20:32:42

Vapid by any definition

I just finished this movie and I can't remember about 80 of the 90 minutes of it. And even then, the ten minutes I do recall have mostly to do with how impeccably impeccable everybody's hair is.It's soooo serious. The dialog soooo short. Every camera shot is not just wide, it's soooo wide. The girls all soooo alike. And the movie, by result, is soooo boring. But he's a killer and the corridors are green at night, soooo it has to be interesting, right?George Clooney is a great deal more unbelievable in his seemingly twilight years take on Tom Cruise's assassin from Collateral. It feels as if Clooney is approaching this role as some off broadway workshop. He isn't "reserved," no he is completely nonexistent. Clooney made his name playing the likeable middle aged working stiff. The ladies man at night, but busting his butt for a dime. Don't mistake that for thinking he has "disappeared" in his role - he is completely forgettable, moving from one strangely out place sex scene to the next. He must have been watching a lot of Michael Mann when he took this one - because if he isn't trying to ape Cruise, he's mirroring, to the best of his meager ability, de Niro's dance in Mann's Heat. Only in Syriana did George stretch his limits, and even then appropriately so.But I'm being kind here. Most of the blame for this goes to Corbijn. If Clooney is anonymous on the call sheet, the director is MIA.Anton Corbijn's celebrity photography have done him no favors here. Why would they? Most of his portraiture lacked any real connection and this movie, he shows no interest, connection or insight into any character in the frame. But hey, they spent hours getting the gel balance right on all those night corridors. Though he directed a movie named Control - he obviously had none during the filming of this movie. It feels as if all the calls were from Clooney from beginning to end. Corbijn may have some photographic vision, but he has no perception on what it takes to guide a story in motion.At least he used a Hasselblad for his still work.

Alexia Verona 2012-05-20 21:54:28

could've been so much better

I've done my best to word my review in a way that will not spoilanything, but if you want to be on the absolute safe side, you shouldskip my review.first of all you should see this moviethere are 4 scenes that i love in this movie, the white butterfly scenethe beauty of the face and eyes of a deceased female lying on thegroundjack was quick, but not quick enoughjack's wanting a last look at the endthis is a good movie, but i think the movie lacked two things: not goodenough music and not enough emotion to pull the audience in. There is afinale in the end where if the director managed to establish moreemotion between the major characters, it would've been hugelyemotional. But as it is, it is still a very good movie. There are somestunning visuals, especially the white butterfly scene, you'll knowwhat i'm talking about when you see it.But it could've been so much better!

2012-05-20 10:38:18

the american

This review is from: The American (DVD) a good movie. not my favorite but i was glad i bought it to add it to my collection. good acting just a little slower paced than i thought.

2012-05-13 15:46:55

Slow unoriginal Italian Landscape

Simply boring. If you need to watch another movie and have already seen the others, then this will do.OR...if you want to see a beautiful young woman having sexual ecstacy and walking in the nude then this might serve. She gets 5 stars, but the movie not so much. Actually, maybe Solaris is a little better, but I remember it as being very slow as well.The Italian landscape and village areas are very nice...it's like an easychair visit to Italy so on a large screen it's very nice to see.

2012-05-13 11:54:30

A total waste of cellulose

It is my desire from this review to save people from wasting theirmoney and time watching this lackluster film. Personally I love mostforeign films and offbeat movies, but this was horrid. The onlyredeeming factor was the scenery. The acting was unconvincing andamateurish. The plot was OK but not very refined, it could have been awinner with a few more twists and turns and a little more depth andreality. For example the assassin who tries to kill the protagonist hasher face blown off during an Italian religious festival almost in frontof the entire town and no one is shocked or even notices. The Americanthen blows away his CIA or Mafia boss, or whoever it is, on the samestreets and then casually drives away. I understand the producers aretrying to make the movie mysterious or leave some things to yourimagination but they failed miserably. Of course they had to throw inthe Priest with the illegitimate kid who just happens to have everypart needed to produce a sniper rifle in his automobile garage. I wishI could tell Clooney and the offending cast that "They just madeeveryone who watched this movie a little bit dumber"

John 2012-05-10 20:13:54

A plot without a reason

I have to say upfront that I was not impressed with this movie. It was slow and even the action sequences were less than exciting. George Clooney plays a disaffected assassin (Jack) who is tired of his life of killing... why? We never find out. Not even a hint as to why he is suddenly disenchanted with his exotic lifestyle of murder and mayhem at which he is supposedly so good. The opening segment shows Jack shacked up in a small snow bound cabin in Sweden with an attractive lady who seems to enjoy his company. But this idyllic interlude is quickly broken when an incompetent fellow assassin tries to shoot him from twenty yards away with a rifle and misses. So Jack efficiently takes him out with two shots from his trusty Walther PPK (James Bond couldn't have done any better). His female companion, being an unfortunate witness, (wrong time/wrong place) catches a .380 bullet in the back from Jack's pistol. Jack then proceeds to drop the hitman's partner with little trouble. Now, why were these two nimcompoops dispatched to dispose of Jack? We don't know and we never find out.From Sweden Jack travels to Italy and speaks with his "handler" who instructs him to lay low in a small Italian village. The movie drags on with lots of serious expressions and trivial dialog from Mr. Clooney and his fellow movie characters, but little is explained. He winds up being commissioned to build an automatic weapon to be used in an assassination for some female hitwoman... who she is supposed to execute and why? Well Jack doesn't care and I suppose we aren't supposed to either. Therefore he assembles a Ruger Mini-14 (in 5.56mm caliber), a weapon that virtually any assassin could aquire without the help of a weapons specialist like Jack. He also puts together a suppressor (not a "silencer") from components he finds in an auto garage (another implement that could be procured by anyone in the assassination biz without a problem). Along with this we are treated to some semi technical verbage about firearms, optics, and "suppressors" to show how knowledgeable Jack and his client are when it comes to the tools of the assassination trade.While in this small rural village Jack also becomes enamoured with a beautiful Italian prostitute and we are treated to some excellent R-rated nudity.The movie continues to drag on to an illogical and unsatisfying ending. While we do find out who put out the hit, we are never given a reason for why the contract was put out on him? Thus the audience is deprived of even the slightest reward for hanging in there to the end of this artsy character study.

Jason Clauson 2012-05-10 06:26:54

Very Predictable

I have just come back from a trip to NY where I saw The American.I wasprompted to go and see it by much publicity for the film on TV. Yes theaction that is in the movie is well done and convincing but therewasn't enough .. and the biggest problem was that I had worked out theending half way through. .. not good for a thriller!!! The tension andfeeling of mistrust was there but just not developed well enough. Justnot enough of a story for my liking, no real explanation as to why, noteven a suggestion as to why, Clooney's character is being targeted byanyone let alone the person who does {won't spoil it here} but thewhole plot was thinner than rice paper. Not great .. just OK

2012-05-09 13:20:41

What a drag...

This review is from: The American (Amazon Instant Video) Very slow. We almost turned it off in mid movie but hoped it would take a turn for the better; but found out we should have followed our first inclination and turned it off without further wasting our time.Beyond being a depressing film, some sections are subtitled (poorly). Half the time the subtitles were up, we couldn't read them because they were very small, white letters against a light colored background. You can get the gist of what they say but it is irritating nonetheless. I feel like I need to watch another movie just to lift my spirits.

2012-05-08 20:47:41

Ultimately Disappointing and Unimaginative

This review is from: The American (Amazon Instant Video) I too was mislead in thinking this was more a thriller that what it turned out to be. Yet that wasn't the problem with the film. Nor was the slow pace, scenic cinematography, the symbolism, occasional subtitles, the full frontal nudity, the minimal action scenes, the acting, the problem at all. It was kinda like a "Lost in Translation" of hired assassins last job movies. The script is what ultimately leads you astray from potentially a good film into a semi-predictable ending with some head-scratching subplots. Clooney was great in his stoic demeanor aching to break free from his life and actually connect with someone for a change. The smoking hot Italian prostitute he eventually falls for is his lifeline out of the nomadic solitude he leads. Yet the film makers throw some incomprehensible and unexplained actions along his way and never give the audience a proper payoff.

2012-05-05 18:41:14

Waste of 2 Hours

I'm so sorry I wasted two hours on this movie. It was slow, boring and without plot. Holy cow. I went downstairs to switch some laundry around and told my husband to not worry about pausing it. Came back and, guess what? I didn't miss a thing. Clooney probably had 8 lines in the whole movie. He stares. He drives. He makes guns. He shoots people. He stares some more. What on earth was he thinking? SKIP THIS!

CesarP 2012-05-05 04:41:53

The American

How about The Ameri-can't. This movie was an extreme let down. SLOW is a word that is to fast for this movie. Don't spend your on gas, snacks , and tickets on seeing this moving, unless you are suffering from ansomnia and can't ,sleep because it will put you to sleep.

2012-05-02 16:17:44

Reminded me of 2001 space odyssey

Very little action just slow moving without (Much) Dialog. I kept wondering why I stayed watching this movie. 4 of us started watching this movie and my wife left 30 minutes into it and started doing chores pretty boring. Also had nudity for no apparent reason which sucks if you have kids running around the house.

2012-05-02 08:52:57

Excellent Thriller

This is an excellent, stylish thriller that doesn't scream at you but draws you in with each beautifully-shot scene. It is essentially a European film that happens to star George Clooney, who deserves kudos for delving in to this kind of material with understated ease. But that should not scare anyone who is expecting a typical Hollywood shoot-'em-all. The hero is a lot more believable than any Jason Bourne type, an assasin in the twighlight of his career, paranoid and looking for solace in the Italian countryside. I truly enjoyed this movie.

2012-05-02 00:00:38

Not your everyday action, but don't let the low star rating fool you

This isn't your typical shoot-em-up action/drama filled with rainbows and unicorns. What it is, is a story of an efficacious hit-man who is tangled up in a difficult situation. It offers a deep-seeded plot, centered within reality (well, as close as you can get to reality in entertainment). So, no high-voltage action, or steamy sex scenes, but a well thought out and admirable movie.

priyantha-bandara 2012-05-01 11:59:59

Silent

I think the best way to start to review 'The American' is to saySILENT. The whole movie is filled with unbearable silence whichprovokes intense solitude luring around the main character Edward ormaybe Jack. Jack (Or Edward!) is a professional assassin cum weaponsmaker (I assumed he is an assassin but actually it's not really evidentin the movie). He is solidly precise in his line of work and takes jobsfrom a contact named Pavel. His profession brings him a vast lonelinesswhich it seems like taking its toll. Jack wants to have contact withwoman and starting to feel like he has arrived at the edge of hiscareer. And his previous job ends not very smooth and taking hisgirlfriend with it, he decides to leave for good. After falling in lovewith a prostitute in a far small town in Italy and finishing up hisfinal job, Jack finally believe that he can lead a normal life. But thecircumstances proves otherwise.What I truly like about 'The American' is its story telling. Like Imentioned at the beginning its very silent. Slow too but not severelyslow. The story don't stall in boring conversations or unwanted scenes.There is no background score at all. Which is a very hard stunt to pulloff in a movie but 'The American' does it really well. In fact that'swhat makes the movie so silent and even the little sounds of flowingwater or feather cluttering of a bird make so much sense.And If I don't praise the cinematography of 'The American' I will becheating downright. Every scene of the movie is pure art. Justwonderful capture of landscapes, cityscapes and architecture. And eventhe human elements are so wonderfully used in every scene. And I wish Ican spend my life among those wonderful landscapes of Italy in thatlonely small town right about now. It is that perfect. Those scenestruly make you forget that you are watching a movie about a coldassassin and things are about to get messy.Acting vice George Clooney is the only mention worthy actor. The storyas such that all other actors are supporting and has minor rolls toplay. Clooney no doubt does his role very well. Being a movie withsmall dialogues, impressions are the key factor. And by looking at hisfacial impressions the whole of his soul pours out in front of you.Don't watch it thinking it's gonna be a Jason Bourne ride. If so Youmight get bored in 10 mts. But there is something more deep in 'TheAmerican' which you will feel once you realize what it's truly about.

2012-04-30 08:00:52

Excellent movie

This is one of the best movies I ever saw. As others had already pointed out, it is not strictly an action movie. But it a suspense movie that maintain your attention untill the end. The exact plot is not totally understandable, but the important thing is that we feel that life is a so fragile and virtual thing if compared with guns. Guns are forever, they last much more than butterflies. To be alive is a potential risk and a real danger: this is your sensation during the film, the sensation that something will happen, tragically and unexpectedly.

archiecm 2012-04-29 22:32:32

I needed more than this.

No, I didn't expect a Bourne Identity kind of film. I doubt Clooneywould be in such a film. I did like the story line--I was caught up inEdward's job, who he was working for and who wanted him dead. Thosequestions went unanswered for the most part. There were too manyunanswered questions for me. The other critics saw a budding love story with the prostitute. Ididn't see it at all. He never told her anything. Hardly even had funwith her outside of the sheets. They were so formal with each otherthat she felt awkward accepting a restaurant rose because "people willthink we're a couple." I never saw a bond. Edward thought there was onebecause he asked her to go away with him but I chalked that up toextreme loneliness. He didn't even know her. Also, he photographed hertalking to two thugs or so they seemed. He must have been starting tolose it because he never even asks her what that was all about. And ifhe is falling for her . . . isn't it a sign of real love if you feelyou can ask your partner about something that's bothering you? Healmost shot her for God's sake!The best scenes for me were with the clergyman. The latter seemed tosense the trouble Edward was in. But Edward wasn't about to change hisways. And come on! Everyone knows you can't "get out" of a trade likethat . . . . especially if YOU ANNOUNCE that you're leaving. That'ssuicide.But the biggest disappointment was the new hand-built rifle. We're allwondering who it will be used on. It turns out it was almost used onEdward . . . . and used by the very woman who ordered it. It would havebeen ridiculous if the gun was meant to kill HIM all along. Guess I'llhave to read the book and see if the original target is disclosed. Butwhen Edward announced his plans to quit HE became the new target. Andthe order to kill him was by Edward's white haired boss. So whathappened? The redhead gets shot from behind before she can finish offEdward but by whom? It can't be by the white haired boss who'd justordered the hit. That would make no sense. But after this mysteriouskilling of the redhead, the white haired boss and Edward kill eachother. Where is the person who shot the redhead? I cared whom it was.Wasn't I supposed to? I know Roger Ebert saw a zen tale of efficiencyhere, done in by love. I didn't see it.

Red-125 2012-04-24 17:18:08

Clooney does very well portraying a loner

The American (2010), directed by Anton Corbijn, is a vehicle for thetalents of George Clooney. Clooney is too tough, too handsome, and toomuch the strong, silent type to do well as a gentle, caring humanbeing. Accordingly, director Corbijn has typecast him as a professionalassassin.Unfortunately for his character, Jack, "the Swedes" are after him. Thefilm begins in a beautiful Scandinavian location where Jack avoidsbeing killed, and kills his would-be assassins. Unfortunately, thiscauses him to commit an inexcusably violent crime against an innocentperson. The attempt on his life also causes him to hide out in a smallItalian village, where he is "The American." In the village he meets three people. Two of them are pretty much fromCentral Casting--a kindly priest, played well by Paolo Bonacelli, and ahooker with a heart of gold, the beautiful Violante Placido. The thirdperson's role is more surprising--Thekla Reuten, as Mathilde, surelythe world's most attractive female professional assassin.The plot isn't terribly creative and, in fact, it's somewhat confusing.However, the movie is worth seeing, in my opinion, for the excellentacting that Clooney brings to his role. He is a man who is never atease, never at rest, and clearly no longer comfortable with his role asa hired killer and gunsmith for hired killers. He is always (literally)looking over his shoulder, and probably will be forever. Not a happyprofession, and not a happy life.Reviewers have remarked about the beautiful scenery in this movie,which I did not appreciate on the small screen. However, the acting andplot come across well enough on DVD. The film isn't worth seeking out,unless you have a particular interest in this genre. However, it hassome episodes of intense action, and it's never boring.

margussa999 2012-04-24 07:10:11

Probably one of the worst films of 2010

OK, I have no idea who is writing this 9-10 star reviews here, but Iwould not be surprised if they were all fake. By which standards canthis 2 hours of utter boredom be considered a great film?! No,seriously.Can a film without a logical story, bad unbelievable and shallowcharacters (which are portrayed in the most stereotypical fashionpossible- beautiful hooker, fat cheating Italian priest, hunkyassassin, ugly assassin's boss) and terribly long pointless scenes evenconsidered a proper film? Call me old fashioned, but I want to see astory, not some BS that someone thinks is art.If you are a film maker your priority should be trying to tell ussomething about the characters. This film just showed us lots ofextremely slow and pretentious "artsy" scenes that did not tell usabsolutely anything. We do not learn about who is the assassin Clooneyplays, what he thinks or what is he doing in fact. Only thing thathappens is that we see this so called "assassin" doing mundane everydaytasks that the viewer can not relate to (putting together a machine gun?!) or does not understand (who kills who in the end and why?).The only thing I could understand in the film was that the maincharacter was obviously unhappy and was looking to retire as a pro. Butto make a film about someone being unhappy without any explanation orhints why it may be, now come on.... The director obviously thoughtthat he could fool us by trying to wrap up this terrible excuse for afilm as artistic exploration of human sole, but this was nothing ofthis sort...Simply a very dull shallow waste of time and definitely not worth the7£ I paid for it.