Genres

Visitors Review

Bill Goodykoontz 2012-05-25 09:34:21

There are a couple of intriguing ideas floating around here and there, but that's all they do -- float around, unmoored by any sense of reality and, thus, suspense.

Mick LaSalle 2012-05-24 21:54:30

Neeson has a way of getting upset - a frantic purposefulness - that fills viewers with both empathy and anticipation: He's so miserable that we care.

bishtelli 2012-05-23 20:23:10

Lame from Liam

So I went into this movie expecting to have a really good time, afterall the movie was rated in the 8s when I entered and critics weregenerally raving about it. What I saw was a lame concoction of thebourne identity, the saint, and taken, put together in a blender, witha sprinkle of predictable, and a whole bunch of lame acting. Don't getme wrong, Liam played his role very well, but the whole plot around himwas too recycled and the dialog was mundane. January Jones actedexactly the same as she does in Mad Men, in which I think she plays thecold, naive, clueless wife role very well. Well, it doesn't work in allshows or movies, Jan. And Diane Kruger, whom I actually like, was alsodisappointing, and her case was not helped with the weakness of thedialog she had. Then there is your typical cheap thriller movies plotholes, characters that add little to no value, and unnecessary long"you're going to die" scenes. If you have nothing to do on an evening, and you happen to be in thetheater, and you're in the mood to NOT think, and there is nothing elseto watch, then I guess this movie is watchable. Go in there with noexpectations and you might actually enjoy yourself. But this movie isnowhere near Taken, the Bourne Identity, or even The Saint, for thatmatter.

MrGKB 2012-05-23 18:04:29

Destined to remain so...

...or at the least rarely watched, this faux-Hitchcockian thrillerhelmed by Jaume "House of Wax" Collet-Sera, with a script by twowriters of no renown from a novel by an author of somewhat greaterreputation, simply cannot transcend the weakness of its premise or theflimsiness of its characters. Act One trades on contemporary fears ofidentity theft, Act Two sends our hero and his gal sidekick (Diane"Inglorious Basterds" Kruger) in search of answers, and Act Threeunleashes a trick ending that fairly well beggars the imagination aswell as all credulity. Leading man Liam "all kinds of movies" Neesondoes what he can with the material, but none of it stretches his chops,and all sorts of other name actors take their paychecks as well, withthe only genuine standout being Bruno "Downfall" Ganz as an ex-Stasiagent conveniently brought into the nonsensical fray. All in all, it'smindless entertainment of a very pedestrian sort, and makes me thinkthat Collet-Sera's upcoming live-action version of "Akira" will be adisappointment. Next time, Liam, don't forget your suitcase, eh?

Philip French 2012-05-23 17:59:26

Enjoy it and then forget it...

2012-05-23 05:37:51

A Complex Murder Mystery

Unknown, 2011 filmThe story begins in an airliner high in the sky. A man writes notes. They arrive in Berlin, snow falls. The man checks his Blackberry. Was a suitcase lost? Can it be recovered? There is an accident and rescue. [Bad luck symbol?] Dr. Martin Harris lives! He can't remember a cell phone number. Four days have passed in a coma. Harris wants to find his wife, but he has lost his passport. He is impatient. "Do I know you?" says Liz. There is conflict. [A false note?] The police arrive. They check the Internet for his name. Whose picture is that? [Can you trust the Internet?] Harris leaves the hotel, the makes a telephone call to leave a message. Some man follows him, but he catches a subway train. His taxi driver has disappeared, but he finds her. Next he goes to see that German professor and finds his imposter there.The police arrive to sort things out. Harris is back in the hospital for his memory loss. Another medical test. Something goes very wrong! Who is after him? Harris gets away, he goes to see detective Jurgen (a former member of the Stasi) recommended by Nurse Gretchen. Does he know Liz's past? Ask enough questions and a man may change his story. Harris finds Gina the taxi driver, who is an illegal immigrant. Jurgen does his research on the Biotech Congress. But there is another threat! The intruders play for keeps. But Harris and Gina get away. There is a car chase in the streets that ends in an accident. They find refuge in a night club, both are in danger. Harris decodes a book code message. Prince Shahida supports the work of bio-technical research into food production. They watch a building. Harris watches the man watching Liz. Liz explains she is being watched, they are in danger. Mr. Kohl calls Jurgen for a meeting.Jurgen offers a drink to Mr. Kohl and tells about a secret agency that never fails. Harris and Gina recover his suitcase (ownership is proved by knowing the combination lock). Now Harris has his passport. [Foolish to keep it in a suitcase?] Should they wait in a café? That professor meets Harris. Gina sees the kidnapping. Another car chase for action. "There is no Martin Harris." It is a legend made up to get into the convention! "I'm really, really sorry." "Who am I?" Gina arrives in time to save Harris (and tidy up the loose ends). There is a big surprise in that suitcase! Harris begins to remember the past. He and Gina go to that hotel. Liz drops a tracking device into a professor's bag. The police are on guard. Can a person use a remote device to copy files?Will the police believe Harris and sound an alarm? Dressler was working on a strain of corn that would grow in any climate. Will things work as planned? Yes and no. There is another fight, only one survives. Will there be a happy ending? Dressler announces his donation of this corn to the whole world. [Stocks in agribusiness drop as a result.] Two people with valid passports leave Berlin. [You wonder what will happen to them next.]This story seems like partly from an Alfred Hitchcock movie and from "The Twilight Zone". The character of Gina seems derived from that girl with the dragon tattoo. Parts seems incredible. If that secret agency never fails how did Martin survive all those attempts on his life? It is overly complicated for an assassination plot, there are simpler methods (based on the recent news where an Iranian scientist was murdered). This is worth watching once for its interesting story and background.

Tim Evans 2012-05-22 22:21:26

It's great fun - not as vicious as Taken - and Neeson shows just why he's the right man for the job; a rather nifty niche which he's now made his own.

2012-05-22 08:12:34

Strong Performances from Liam Neeson; Story Not as Original as It Looks

(Not to be confused with a 2006 thriller starring James Caviezel.)Barely saved from a near-death traffic accident in Berlin, an American traveler Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) returns to his hotel where his wife Liz (January Jones) stays. To his great surprise, Liz doesn't know him. Not only that; there is another Dr. Martin Harris (Aidan Quinn), who claims HE is the husband of Liz. Something must have happened while the "first" Martin Harris was in coma for four days, but what could that be?"Unknown," directed by Jaume Collet-Serra (a 2005 "House of Wax" an "Orphan"), starts with an intriguing premise, keeps us guessing for quite some time until the final chapter that is slightly underwhelming. To explain how underwhelming is really hard without spoiling much - be assured, no spoilers ahead - but all I can say is, though (or because) everything fits in the right place, the story looks too implausible, or silly at some parts, even by the standards of Hollywood thrillers. (Why didn't Liam Neeson's character just tell Liz where he was going? Or how about his briefcase? How could he be so careless?)As in a recent hit thriller "Taken," Liam Neeson delivers solid acting as the film's confused and disoriented hero. Supports from veterans Bruno Ganz and Frank Langella are also impressive, sharing a brief but tense scene of suspense, though Diane Kruger as a taxi driver is less convincing. There is one effective car chase scene though I am not sure we really need a car chase scene at all. Well-paced and well-acted, "Unknown" is a kind of rollercoaster ride that remains entertaining throughout, with actions and surprises, but once it is over, you may not be sure the thriller is really as unique and original as it initially looks.

Roger Ebert 2012-05-20 11:13:02

I felt involved in "Unknown" until it pulled one too many rabbits out of its hat. At some point, a thriller has to play fair.

Kevin Carr 2012-05-19 22:36:22

What makes Unknown work isn't that the filmmakers think they're smarter than the audience. Rather, it's told at such a pace that you don't care to figure it all out.

sol1218 2012-05-19 07:09:45

This! This is not Happening!

***SPOILERS*** In what looks like a combination of two Harrison Fordthrillers "The Fugitive, and " Frantic" Liam Neeson plays Biotech, whospecializes in plant life, professor Martin Harris who in a matter ofdays loose not only his identify but but his pretty blond wifeElizabeth, January Jones, as well.Attending a biotechnology summit at the Adlon Hotel in downtown BerlinHarris notices that he left his briefcase and all his papers anddocument at the Berlin airport and takes a taxi there to retrieve it.With the taxi involved in a smash up on the Berlin Bidge Harris isrescued by the cab driver Gina, Diane Kruger, who takes off before thepolice arrives! As we soon learn Gina is an illegal immigrant fromBosnia and fears that she may be deported back there if the police findout about her status in the country.It's at the hospital that Harris coming out of a coma senses thatsomething isn't right in finding out from the Berlin Police Departmentthat his wife Elizabeth never filed a missing person report on him withhim being hospitalized for four days! All that with him as well as thehospital staff, in that Harris didn't have any identification on him,not being able to contact her! It's later when Harris taking offagainst his doctors orders arrives at the Adlon Hotel to see his wifethat he finds her with another man , Aidan Quinn, who claims to be herhusband Martin Harris!In an effort to find out who he is Harris, or whoever he is, tries totrack down the cab driver Gina who by getting involved with him ends upputting her life on the line! In that Harris is now targeted forelimination by these two hit-men Smith & Jones, Oliver Schneider &Stipe Erceg, since despite his amnesia he knows too much about what'sreally going to happen at the biotechnology summit that he andElizeabth are to attend. It was at the hospital that nurse GretchenErfurt, Eva Lobau, tipped Harris off to where to get help in findinghimself by getting in touch with her good friend former East Germanintelligence agent Ernst Jurgen, Bruno Ganz. As it later turned outboth Nurse Erfurt and Mr. Jurgen ended up losing their lives in tryingto help Harris find out just who he is which in fact was by far thebiggest mystery in the entire movie!***SPOILERS*** Liam Neeson looked very uncomfortable playing a brainybotanically professor Martin Harris but really got into stride when hetook off the gloves and started kicking butt all over Berlin in himfinally finding out that he was in fact a plant, figuratively notliterally, together with his old lady Elizabeth put into thebiotechnology summit to assassinate Prof. Leo Bessler, Sebastian Koch.It's Prof. Bessler who had invented this new crop,that can grown in anykind of weather or environment, that will put the world's foodconglomerates out of business! What's even more shocking to Harris isthat he together with Elizabeth was the one who planted the bomb at thehotel some three months earlier to go off just when Prof. Bressler wasto give his speech in making his new wonder crop available to theworld's nations at no charge! This was to eliminate hunger as well aseliminating the profits of the major food conglomerates who are behindthe plot to murder him and everyone else at the summit!Getting down to the business at hand Martin with his memory nowcompletely recovered goes after those who are out to spoil the party,the biotechnology summit, by exposing both Harris, the impostor, andhis phony wife Elizabeth who together with their boss master spy andassassin Rodney Coal, Frank Langella, are out to turn it into a Germanversion of 9/11. We have two exciting car chases as well as aconfrontation between Harris and Harris at the Adlon Hotel with thebomb that Harris planted there that's set to go off at any moment. Inthe end Harris after taking care of business, Rodney Coal & his hoods,takes off for Canada with Gina who saved his life more then once in themovie where they can get away from all the dangerous spy andassassination business that they found themselves involved in Berlin.

Maitland McDonagh 2012-05-18 16:27:44

This glossy thriller takes off from a tantalizing premise...but squanders it on action scenes that detract from the nightmarish heart of the matter

2012-05-16 18:18:24

Unknown

This review is from: Unknown [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) The transaction and movie were excellent. However, it was not what I expected. It was a different twist. I would recommend the film to a friend.

Kine 2012-05-16 06:08:57

Like clever thrillers? Keep looking.

I'll admit that I didn't expect this to be my favorite movie to beginwith, but I did expect to be somewhat entertained throughout the movie.The first word that comes to mind is «pointless». The action sequencesare predictable, the script is flat, and the acting is uninspiring,which is sad considering that I really like Diane Krueger and find LiamNeeson to be solid. I won't make you read a novel here, so I'll just sum it up real' quick:Man gets in an accident and is struggling to make sense of who he is.This goes on for such a long time that I just stopped caring andthought: just get to the ending already. And yes, you guessed it, acouple of «mysterious» men are chasing him for an unknown reason, whichleads to the inevitable getaway chase and action scenes you've seen amillion times. And the average female cab driver turns out to be anatural killing ninja, pro fighter and an expert on high speed cargetaways. 'Cause you know, why wouldn't she be. And to top it off, theending is random with no previous clues to go on. I'm sure a lot of people will like this movie, but if you like yourthrillers to be clever and mysterious, I'd recommend another movie. Theonly thing I will remember from this movie a month from now is that Ithought it was a waste of time.

Donna K 2012-05-16 05:05:20

SIGH

good plot, nice to see Liam Neeson, some character's acting horrible, very predictable. If you like fighting, running, car chases and smash-ups...it's for you. Otherwise, unless your movie theater is very comfortable, the pop corn is supreme and it's storming outside, don't bother.

Marcel Urena 2012-05-15 11:03:55

Unknown

Unknown"That he may discover the worlds inside love," a quote displayed inUnknown, insignificant to the movie just as Dr. Martin Harris (LiamNeelson) is in this film. Directed in 2011, by Jaume Collet-Serra(House of Wax, Orphan), Unknown follows the story of a Botanist, whotravels to Berlin with his wife (January Jones) in order to attend aconvention, though the excursion gets short-lived when Dr. Harris getsinto an accident, inducing him to a Coma and wakes up to find out hisidentity has been stolen. Filled with unpredictable yet foreseeableevents, this plot twisting thriller uses technique and symbolism knownas the Dutch tilt/oblique angle and foreshadowing.Even though the movie is shot in Berlin, Germany director JaumeCollet-Serra uses the Dutch tilt thrice in this film, to enhance thepsychological tension in all three scenes. The first scene expressesthe confusion Dr. Harris is feeling when his wife doesn't "know" who heis, the handling of the Dutch tilt in this scene suggests thedisorientation of reality that he is facing. A subsequent scene in thefilm unfolds a picture that the alleged Dr. Harris presents to LiamNeelson's character, to show proof that he is the "real" Dr. MartinHarris. Neelson's figure views the photograph, the Dutch tilt isslightly used to add the emotional effect of shock, and lead Neelson'scharacter to faint. The last use of the Dutch tilt comes in a scenewhen Dr. Harris (Neelson) is drugged by an unidentified man, whenHarris escapes his confines he starts to make his approach out of thehospital. What I like most about this specific scene, is as Harrishurriedly stumbles his way to freedom, the Dutch tilt is used to showthe drowsiness caused by the drugs inserted in him. The technique used to emphasize psychological distortion is well used,just as exceptional as the symbolic meanings in the film. Lookingcarefully, most thrillers and plot twisting movies throw in a bit ofsymbolism to allow the audience to play around with what could happenlater in the film. Whether the symbolism is the setting of season or acertain object in the film that could lead to foreshadowing. The seasonin Unknown is Winter, the season of death, which allows the audience toguess that a certain type of death or killing will be arising in laterevents. Matching the season is the white and light blue tone of colorthe film uses to apprehend the dull lifeless setting of the confusedDr. Harris. One aspect of foreshadowing is actually in the first tenminutes of the film, when a close-up of Dr. Harris' briefcase is shownalone in a luggage carrier, to suggest that he left his briefcase atthe airport and will go back and attempt to reclaim his belonging, inwhich he does.Captivating and mind twisting in every aspect, Unknown is an eyeabsorbing original thriller that everyone should witness, especially iflooking for a brain twister. Liam Neelson. yet again, gives a vigorousperformance leeching off of his hit movie Taken. Neelson may have ahard time trying to find his daughter and identity, but in the end itwon't be hard to find this movie on DVD.- Marcel Urena3.5/5

Hydek 2012-05-15 05:23:47

Another good review and this is why:

Thirty minutes into the movie and it'll be almost impossible not tostart thinking about how it might end, like with most conspiracytheorists everyone will think they know the answer but most will bewrong. Yes, the movie might be similar in many ways to many others because ofthe winter European atmosphere and the "guy against the world" feeling,but it keeps a good balance between the unrealistic things that younormally watch in an action movie and a plot that is both interestingand believable. If you add a great leading actor and two stunning actresses to thestory, it makes perfect sense that the difference between the gross andthe budget is of more than 100 million dollars.

thinker1691 2012-05-14 21:37:16

" A Spy is a spy with his realities in a black briefcase "

' Cognito Ergo Sum ' . . . . 'I think, . . Therefore I am. ' This hasbeen a catch phrase which spells out the proof of a man. In this film,Liam Neeson, plays Dr. Martin Harris a bio-scientist who has animportant conference to attend to in Berlin, Germany. However, a seriesof small accidents conspire to rob him of his name, his wife and hislife as he knew it. Following an automobile accident in a frozen river,our hero discovers, he is missing four days and that who he thought hewas is no longer true. Instead, his wife states she has never seen himbefore and that she is really married to another Martin Harris (AidanQuinn). With that revelation, Neeson is challenged to learn who he is,why is someone impersonating and why are they trying to kill him. Withsimilarities to 'The Man who knew too much' and the Bourne Identity,This film is set on a fast paced Roller-Coaster ride, with harrowingcar chase scenes, serious drama and explosive excitement. This movie isa superior addition to our growing collection. Diane Kruger, JanuaryJones and Frank Langella as Rodney Cole make for a fine cast and aworthwhile endeavor. Well worth a trip to the theater. Recommended.****

estebangonzalez10 2012-05-14 04:00:45

An Unknown Liam Neeson

¨Do you know what it feels like to become insane? It's a war betweenbeing told who you are and knowing who you are. Which do you thinkwins?¨ I really wanted to like this movie after watching Liam Neesonsingle handedly conquer Europe in Taken, and I had my hopes up foranother one of his one-titled-European-action-thriller films. Unknownhowever is no Taken. Neeson plays kind of an opposite character thistime because he spends most of the time confused and helpless while inTaken he was always smooth and in control of the situation. He was sortof a James Bond, while in Unknown he is more of a Jason Bourne,although way less gifted. This film was directed by Spanish filmmaker,Jaume Collet-Serra (Orphan and House of Wax) and at some points duringso many twists and turns I think he loses the direction. I reallydidn't see the twists coming and thought the movie would take acompletely different turn, but each time I thought the movie was goingto go a certain way the film caught me by surprise again. For this Ihave to give the film credit, but the problem for me is that I didn'treally like the path Collet decided to take. Liam Neeson is a greatactor, but I enjoy him much more when he is in control of thesituation. There is something about him that just exhales confidence.Unknown is based on Didier Van Cauwelaert's novel: Out of My Head, andit was adapted by relatively unknown screenwriters Oliver Butcher andStephen Cornwell. I don't know how the story played out in the novel,but in the screenplay some of the dialogue felt a bit forced, and somesituations felt unbelievable.The movie opens as Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) arrives at Berlinalong with his wife, Elizabeth (January Jones). He's travelled for avery important scientific conference, and plans out his schedule inBerlin while taking a taxi to the hotel. Once there he realizes that hehas left a briefcase in the airport so takes a taxi back before gettinga chance to tell his wife where he's heading. On the way to the airporthe has an accident and the taxi ends up running off a bridge andlanding in the water. Martin bumps his head and is saved by the taxidriver, Gina (Diane Kruger). He awakens from a coma after four days andis surprised his wife isn't by his side. Doctors say that he wasn'tcarrying any identification so that they couldn't contact any familymembers. The first thing he does is go back to the hotel and look forLiz, but once there he finds her with another man claiming to be MartinHarris (Aidan Quinn). Liz says she doesn't know who this man is andsecurity officials escort him out of the hotel. Martin is still dizzyand confused, but he is sure of his identity and will stop at nothingto prove he is the real Martin Harris. He searches for Gina to see ifshe can help him and together they begin to work with a former EastGerman spy named Ernst Jurgen (Bruno Ganz) who is willing to helpMartin by looking at every particular detail of his situation. Themovie then takes several unexpected twists.Frank Langella also has a secondary role as Rodney Cole, a long timefriend of Martin who could point out he is the real Martin, but whocan't be located. It's always a plus to have someone like Langella in asecondary role because they can bring so much to a movie, but in thisparticular case he goes by unnoticed. He only serves the purpose ofrevealing to the audience an important twist the film will take. Ithought that entire scene was totally unbelievable. I really enjoysuspenseful thrillers, but I just wasn't pleased with this one becausethe pace of the film was to slow and the ending just didn't pay off forme. I don't have a problem with slow films as long as the wait pays offat the ending, but in this case it didn't. I was disappointed because Ireally like Liam Neeson and consider him to be among the best actors inthe industry, but this just wasn't the right movie for him. He wasmeant to play cool characters in control of their own destiny. I reallymissed the Neeson from Taken who destroyed entire cities in search ofhis daughter. In Unknown he is just lost, confused, and less scary.Unknown isn't a terrible movie, it has its moments and had me hookedfor a while. It's better than Jaume's debut film House of Wax, but it'sstill far from being a great film.http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/

Mark Pfeiffer 2012-05-13 15:30:35

As incredible as it may sound regarding an amnesia thriller, Unknown's plot isn't silly enough to merit where it ends up taking the main character.