Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-21 05:38:53

Diane Lane - unsexiest role ever

I personally didnt like this movie because it was so depressing (kinda like Saw was but not like Saw). All throughout I thought o man, these people are just screwed and going to die. Which is fine and all, but combined with the monotone nature of the whole film, it created a flatline movie watching experience for me. Didnt really care if Diane Lane got caught or not or if she died. She was just that boring in the movie. There were good points. Some of the movie was scary. The special effects/makeup guys did REALLY well in the torture scenes! I liked how the movie was shot (no fast moving camera/Cloverfield action so you cant really see what's going on). Back to bad points, I also didnt like that male cop guy's character - what was he even there for? I swear he didnt do anything important to the plot at all! Was he there for sexual tension with Diane Lane? Umm, it didnt happen. And we all know Diane Lane can bring the sexiness bc she did it with Richard Gere in Unfaithful (Full Screen Edition).

da_nikon 2012-05-20 21:17:06

Better then "The Net"

I saw this movie last week and i was very surprised. Diane Lane wasvery good in the acting and the "computer talk" was better then iexpected. Usually in this kind of movies the "computer guys" talk nonsense andwhen they type on a keyboard they never press the space bar. :) I really must say that this film is too intense for most audiences andi can't recommend it to some people.Overall the movie is "Good". The acting, the screenplay, the camerashots are all "fine". It is kind of slow at start, but i was not boredat all. Go see the movie.

smith-richard71 2012-05-17 22:46:08

Brainless

I can't believe I made it through this miserable pile of junk withoutmy brain leaking out through my nose. So, some loony's broadcastingkills on the internet, and is magically swapping IPs so fast that thewebsite can't be shut down. Why not just un-register the domain name?Problem solved. ALSO...the more people who watch the site, the fast thevictims die. Why not just stream the site to another site, or broadcastit on a public access channel? That way, all the voyeurs can enjoy it,and he gets no hits to his site. Duh.And she works for the cyber-crimes department, but doesn't have virusprotection on her laptop. Nuts to it, there are too many plot holes tolist, I can't be bothered. I really just wanted to give it a 1 to bringthe rating down because it's such a worthless waste of celluloid.

Lauro Lacorte 2012-05-17 01:05:45

Excellent Suspense

This movie brings out the same instinct to chase and action of TheSilence Of The Lambs, film consecrated by Hopkins and Jodie Foster.However, this is a new way of killing, live over the Internet. The moreviewers, more the victim suffers. A film of much suspense and action.You'll stay glued to the screen trying to understand why the guycommitting the crime and where he is planning everything. Over time,Jennifer ends up doing anything to solve the case. The psychopath doesnot care about the repercussions of the crimes, shows knowledge andexperience in dealing with murder. Unfortunately, will not be easy forJennifer to find him. One of the best movies I have seen. I recommendit!

pc95 2012-05-17 15:45:36

Forced Brainless wannabe "Seven"

Probably producers and studio execs thought they had a barn-burner ideawith supposed "internet" killings explained away with quasi-technobabble. The fact is though, what was Diane Lane thinking with thisproject? And how does such low-intelligence tasteless crud getgreen-lit for production by studios? Really at a loss at her beingassociated with this contrived filth. This sensationalist killings withinternet hits marks a new low in movie-making. The lack of common senseand forced scene after scene and break-downs in logic, place this moviefirmly in a category of awful and an utter waste of time. We employedthe fast-forward button to good use, but it didn't save us 4o min ofsetup time. I haven't checked if it bombed, but hoping so - ughhh, whatwretched gunk.

2012-05-16 16:23:55

Entertaining

This movie has lots of actions, tense, as you would expect from a cyber-movie. The main plot is about a psychotic man who uses his taser to get the people to his "dungeon" and display the torture online. I thought the plot was brilliant. The way he does his torture where the lights increases as the viewers increases which practically baked the victim; the use of chemical (forgot what it was) on the next person; and the voice changer so the psycho can lure his victim - I thought those were all unique and high-concept. Now adays, though, Feds can easily trace the IP address. In this movie, they have difficulty tracing the IP address of the user. I'm sure that is why the title is Untraceable. The computer forensic folks are a lot savier now. It would have added more mystery if the audience does not know who the person behind the keyboard. That would have given them something to solve.I laughed at the ending, though. When the heroin broke loose of her captivity where she was tied upside down, one of the users posted a question: "How can I download this scene." (something like this). I thought that was hilarious as it shows us our obsession with live Interent action.Again, this movie is entertaining enough in a different way. I would still recommend seeing it. Cold Eyes

2012-05-12 16:10:31

A lot of people didn't like this, but I'm not one of them.

Untraceable (Gregory Hoblit, 2008)Untraceable is a movie that made me vaguely uncomfortable, and I couldn't quite put my finger on why until I read the best/worst of 2008 lists at Dread Central, where one of the reviewers there handed it to me (never let it be said that I don't give credit where credit is due); he called it the hypocrisy of the movie, the idea that this is a movie about watching, and contributing to, evil while turning its viewers into voyeurs themselves. (He put it much better than I just did; I don't have the article to hand to directly quote.) That said, I think maybe that reviewer missed the point a bit; I got the idea that this was a conscious decision by director Gregory Hoblit (Primal Fear) and screenwriters Robert Fyvolent (his first credit), Mark Brinker (also debuting here), and Allison Burnett (Autumn in New York). The movie is the story of Jennifer Marsh (Diane Lane), an FBI cybercrimes investigator. During a seemingly unrelated investigation, she stumbles upon a website whose premise is revolting, yet fascinating--a person is restrained in some way, and destined for a grisly end, with the rate at which the person will die is determined by the number of hits the website gets. Everyone who logs on, then, takes part in the murder, albeit indirectly. Once she starts tracking the guy, he finds out who she is and begins tracking her as well, turning the investigation into a game of cat and mouse; which will get to the other first?I've been a fan of Diane Lane's for a long, long time (I first saw her in Lady Beware some two decades ago and was instantly captivated), and it's the rare Lane movie that I end up not liking. Such is the case here; I did find it an effective thriller, though some of its plot twists were all too predictable (you just know that a member of her team is going to end up in the chair at one point, because hasn't that plot twist been used in dozens of thrillers over the years?). The thing that truly makes it effective, I think, is exactly that aspect of the film that the Dread Central reviewer called hypocrisy; the idea that we film viewers are voyeurs, especially those of us who are drawn to the darker side of film. I thought the writers of this movie, adapted from an original story by Fyvolent and Brinker, were using that voyeurism idea to explore the concept that, perhaps, being drawn to darker thrillers, slasher films, and that sort of thing, which is usually viewed as a harmless, or cathartic, form of escapism is perhaps something more. It does tread a line that I find objectionable, in that it cleaves uncomfortably to the same mindset that allows people to charge that heavy metal music or Dungeons and Dragons or whatever leads to people killing each other (which is, despite its prevalence, just a ludicrous idea; if you lend it any credence, you can safely dismiss this review, as we're coming from opposite directions when viewing this movie). But I don't believe the script in any way goes over this line, and that makes all the difference. It's a clearheaded examination of this phenomenon, and I think the choice of the killer makes it relatively clear that the writers weren't trying to use him as synecdochic of an entire society (which would have been problematic, obviously, given the cause-and-effect argument I mentioned above). So, yes, there's an hypocrisy here, but I don't think it's an hypocrisy on the part of the writers; I think they were examining an hypocrisy that's endemic to our society and goading us to think about it.I liked it. I know a lot of people didn't, so I expect your mileage will vary, but I think it's worth a rental. *** ½

cadfile 2012-05-12 04:32:08

Untraceable is a decent thriller that wants to be a slasher flick

I saw the film today and was relatively entertained by the thrilleraspects. I was turned off by the gruesome aspects.I think a film that tries to be everything for all audiences has to hitthe mark and I don't think this one did. The gruesome scenes justweren't needed. I have not seen nor do I want to see scenes similar tothe "Saw" series that some have compared the scenes in this film to.I saw this film for the star Diane Lane and once again she wasexcellent. I was good to see her in something other than a RomCom and Ialso liked the fact that she is the one that ends the murder spree atthe heart of the plot. It was a strong woman role and they got a strongwoman to play it so she was very believable.I also thought that Colin Hanks did a good job as the partner in theCyber Crimes office.I liked the plot and topic present - that some people like to see somesick stuff on the Internet. I also agreed with the issue of lawenforcement trying to stop a bad site when the Internet is world wide.It made one think about that issue. Personally I want the Internet tostay open and free but at the same time I hope police can stop murdersor other nasty stuff that shows up there.The film was pretty tight story wise through the first half as youfollowed the investigation and I sat there trying to piece thingstogether. However the last half was hobbled by a significant plot hole.Unlike some of the comments here I liked the ending as it was the onlyway for it to end and made Lane's character look even better.

Ric-7 2012-05-11 09:32:50

Not as bad as I feared

I was not bored and did not want to walk out in the middle of the film,but I guess this is faint praise. I thought the murders were a bit moregruesome than they needed to be, but perhaps that was necessary becausethe plot was the weakest thing in this film.The story moves along fairly quickly--there is no time to get boggeddown in a subplot. The quick pace does not allow time for thinkingabout whether the various plot developments actually make sense, andwhether there are just too many coincidences for the plot to becredible.And the film just sort of ends. The villain does not make surpriseencores at the end, nor do the survivors get together for apost-mortem. TG.The performances were excellent. Diane Lane had the right blend oftoughness and vulnerability. Billy Burke did the most he could with anrather underwritten character. Mary Beth Hurt was fine (and wasted) inwhat was just a bit part.This film will disappear from theatrical release soon (if not already),and then enter the home video/DVD market. It's not that horrible--justdon't expect The Silence of The Lambs.

nitestar95 2012-05-10 17:32:21

Beware foolish moves by victims....

It really is a shame that anyone likes this movie, and tells theirfriends that it's a good one. But, like so many slasher movies, it'sfor the idiots to watch. I fell for a recommendation from a co-worker,and rented this POS. The victims do everything that a killer could askthem to do, in order for him to trap them. I wonder if real serialkillers check people's high school I.Q. tests to find stupid victims;the way many of these movies are written, it seems like it's probably agood idea. Much like poking the sleeping monster with a stick to see ifit's dead or just sleeping, this movie relies on having stupidcharacters do stupid things in order for the killer to succeed. Sad.

2012-05-07 02:03:31

Great thriller, great characters but lack of development SPOILERS

I agree about the lack of relationship development, other than that i think it was a good movie and strongly represented its genre. Maybe I'm a sucker for romance, but I think they could have enhanced the scenes between Diane Lane and Billy Burke just a little because, as you said, they are both definitely workaholics. I know the kind of character they were trying to go for with the detective, but he was a little too numb towards Diane Lane, especially considering he knew her husband and said that he remembered seeing her (with a kind "i never forget a pretty face" nuance, but I could be reading too far into that). I checked out the DVD to see if there were any deleted scenes, but there aren't. And even though the film is jam packed, they could definitely have tacked a few minutes on for further personal interaction, even between Diane and her daughter and mother.I guess I am most interested in the Diane Lane/Billy Burke relationship because I honestly cant believe how gruff he was with her and abruptly he would leave her desk after serious conversations. And I guess there must have been some sort of 'change' in his attitude towards her when he came to see her in her hotel room. He was quite respectable, but he obviously slept in the same bed that she did (over the covers) when there was another twin bed right next to hers. That was, of course, never explored. And what ticked me off THE MOST was that it ended before he could come find her in the basement. Obviously I'm thrilled that she killed the guy herself and showed all those people on the net who was boss, but we didnt get to see them lock eyes or exchange ANY kind of emotion (i.e. i did what i had to do or i was majorly worried about you and im glad that youre alive). Obviously many will say thats cliche of me to want to see, but even if it didnt go down like that, there needed to be more closure, even if it was seeing her daughter again.What disappointed me more than that, though, was that she GOT BACK IN THE CAR AND DID NOT CHECK THE BACK SEAT! Really? Not only would I not go near the car in the first place, but I would definitely check the back seat before i even thought of going in. I feel that they could have had her abducted without making her look so stupid. Like a chase scene along the bridge or something. Not that I belong in Hollywood directing or writing professional reviews or anything, just my thoughts! :)All in all, the subject of this movie was far more profound and deeper than Saw (which it is compared to), it is not the slightest bit campy. In a couple of ways its a 'one of a kind'. The side kick (Colin Hanks) is well developed and even though you figure out hes going to get killed pretty early on, he lasted more of the movie than i thought he would. And I guess its also deviates because it pairs up two attractive, single workaholics who dont even share a smile, let alone touch, the whole movie (Im not kidding). So these are a few of the elements that set it apart from other movies it could be compared to (ie. Saw, The Net and I think its a little like Feardotcom too).It is special!If you've made it this far, thanks for reading!

Allen J. Duffis 2012-05-06 17:40:14

We Have A Mentally Disturbed Generation Of Film Goers!

First of all, even with a scant few trivial character actions that werea tad bit questionable, this film is absolutely - EXCELLENT! How can Isay that? Well my wife and I usually get through our bag of popcornwithin the first quarter of a film. This time, however, when the filmended we had almost a half bag left - uneaten.No, it wasn't disgust from anything depicted in the film, it was simplythat the film grabbed our attention and virtually never let go.Now, who am I? Well, I am a scientist and my wife is a British midwife.Yes, we are computer competent and that may be a key element. We arealso in our sixties - that may also be another key element.However, it is my opinion that most of the reviews written here (withthe bare exception of the first one), were written by a generation thatdoesn't really know what terror is. They have been raised by so muchsimulated on screen violence and fake blood, that virtually nothingscares them anymore.However again, as a technical consultant, I have traveled to over 30countries and worked in some brutal and godforsaken areas and witnessedincredible brutality.Trust me people, there are very scary things and situation in the realworld and this film reveals, quite brilliantly, the rapid evolution ofone of them within our own society.For those of you who were not a "bit" frightened, what the hell filmdid you view?

2012-05-04 04:03:10

Neat Crime thriller...

Many 'reviews' here are very misleading in comparing this to Saw, Silence of the Lambs, Hostel, porn, etc. This is a neat detective thriller about finding and stopping an obviously demented killer. Unsuitable for pre-teens, it's rated R for violence, images of torture and some f-words. There is no nudity and certainly no under the cover action, so why the porn reference? It's not great, but worthy of a rental. I liked it.

tubs_is 2012-05-03 17:46:37

interesting and thrilling

good plot concept, taking in the new age of the communication networkswhich posses a reality to the plot. always in the back of the viewersmind that it is all possible to happen in real life and this is one ofthe aspects that helps to create a good thriller and keep the viewer onthe edge of the seat as they are never sure what is going to happennext.the twists and turns in the plot are well organised and carried outwithout spoiling the film by over complicating things. keep the filminteresting all the way through overall good, exciting and well worthwatching

2012-05-02 08:58:59

Weak and predictable plot

Diane Lane in an uninspiring role as a cyber cop. Like this hasn't been done before on TV by one of the myriad crime shows. Acting was pretty bad. As I watched the movie, I kept saying to myself "I know what's going to happen next." It was comical hearing them referring to trojans, netbots, and all the cyber mumbo-jumbo. I was really impressed (he said, tongue in cheek). Because the storyline became so predictable, you don't care for the victims. Just a stupid movie.

2012-05-02 00:05:23

Nightmare Low on Extrapolation and Tension

Novel in its approach, 'Untraceable' asks interesting moral questions about a plausible technological nightmare. A disgruntled man kidnaps select victims to torture and kill, adding more of a given hazard as the numbers of people log into his website. As his online broadcast is made known, FBI agents (headed by Jennifer Marsh [Diane Lane]) try to keep the situation under the radar and bloggers off the website. Savvy for obtaining a Russian domain for his website, the perpetrator renders the crew unable to pinpoint much less stop the website until they can locate him at his hideout. Sometimes a grizly update of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum," the film is often reminiscent of 'Silence of the Lambs' with eerie surveillance scenes. Somewhat cynical and far less tense, 'Untraceable' often remains more educational than entertaining. (2.5 *'s)

sandydawber 2012-04-30 01:22:32

Dark and brooding. Very recommended. A cool thriller and the new "Seven" or "Silence of the Lambs".

This is a very dark and brooding movie that has a very unsettlingatmosphere. It sets up the stage well and the story is well told andpacey. The pace never sags but it isn't rushed either. I never gotbored. The "death scenes" wore pretty horrific especially the heatlamps. Ouch! I loved Diane Lane in this movie. She was very vulnerableand yet strong and resourceful. I think she is a great actress and thiswas a cool strong female role.The production values were very high and the director obviously knowswhere to point the camera as every shot was filled with imagery. ThePortland setting was very well presented.The killer in this film is very VERY creepy and after the who-dun-nitset-up it switched very well to a why-dun-nit. The action scenes wereintense and at times you are holding onto your chair and gritting yourteeth. While it is a very engrossing and intense movie it is also veryentertaining. The acting is top notch and the ending was very welldone.Very recommended. A cool thriller and the new "Seven" or "Silence ofthe Lambs".

sithwargod 2012-04-29 22:52:02

Great Story , Great Characters, Great movie

Good Horror movies are really hard to find these days , this one isgreat, i know i said it 3 times already but i mean it.i read some onecomplain about them revealing the killer too soon, that doesn't matterit's not that type of movie, its not a masked slasher movie. this moviefreaked me out just because i think people are really like that(meaningthey would go to a web site to see someone being killed even if the website said this person will live if nobody watches, if thats confusing ,I'm sorry. A Fantastic MOVIE , BETTER THAN SAW. BECAUSE ITS MORE REALAND THATS SCARYwith all the junk Hollywood dishes out(remakes and sequels andprequels) its nice to see an original idea for a change

falicethemalice 2012-04-27 15:47:17

unwatchable

OK first of all I was very disappointed that the killer is revealed noteven halfway into the film,I prefer the killer's identity to be keptsecret until the climax or the ending. I was deceived by the previewsof the film thinking this was a who done it thriller but unfortunatelyit was not. This film like all others is filled with predictableclichés that we've all seen in thousands of other movies before. A goodfilm or good thriller usually has a unique plot,an original story, goodacting, good suspense, and a good film score. I must say diane laneplays her role very well and knows how to get in touch with hercharacter, colin hanks does a decent job in this film as well. The filmsoundtrack is very well composed and creates a nice suspenseful moodfor the film. As for the plot and storyline not very original and notvery unique I can tell it didn't take very much effort to make thisfilm, don't get me wrong it's not terrible but it's certainly not goodeither, you can see things coming a mile way at least I did. overallthe film just didn't interest me, the fact that the killer was revealednot even halfway into the movie didn't help either. I'm going to haveto give this a 4/10 for it's lack of originality,and lack ofsuspense(with an exception for the soundtrack)

2012-04-26 19:57:44

UNTRACEABLE BRUTAL AND ENTERTAINING MOVIE-DIANE IS GOOD IN IT!!

untraceable is a very good movie to check out. the story plot is interesting that serial killers is killing people by using the internet as their tool of method. how do they do it---the killer place the victim in a device that will kill them but the catch is the number of hits or times they visit the site they more they are quicker to die. as one character said in the movie we are the weapon by visiting the site you will kill the victim. so you are thinking why dont they shut the site down, their ip address and place them under arrest well its not that simple because the title of the movie says it all...they are untraceable. they make it hard for you to catch the killer. i thought the most chilling scene was the ending where the message is very clear about the worlds obsession with live action internet or the internet in general. how many times have you visit youtube to check out a clip of something happening in the world and made a comment on it or visit a live site to see something so crazy that you spread the news to your friends. the point is that untraceable does show you how crazy our obsession for the internet can be. so this killer use the people to kill their victims for being curious to see how the person dies. so i thought the idea for the movie was very good. diane lane was very good in this performance. she wasn't oscar worthy or anything like that but she was very good in this role trying to take down the serial killer while trying to maintain her family and her sanity. so check out the movie its at a great price. i am sure you can find it for a penny because there are a lot of sellers on here who can sell it for you for a penny. so if you like movies like bone collector, switchback, copycat...its more like copycat but just add the internet age to it. and i almost forget colin hanks was very good in this performance too. i like the way how he died in the movie. it was kinda funny lol