This is topic Murder By Numbers in forum Film Handlers' Movie Reviews at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.
To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://ft-forum.com/ft/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=4;t=000308
Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 04-20-2002, 07:41 PM:
04/20/2002, Regal Albany 7, Albany Oregon, #3, 1:00PM, flat, DTS. Attendance about 25. First visit to this theater. OK presentation, focus just a little soft. Whoever EQ'd these theaters must have been a bass freak - the subwoofers are VERY loud. Scorpion King was playing next door and its LFE was very audible. Not that I'm complaining. Would much rather have the levels too high than so low the subs are not noticeable at all (I MEAN YOU, CINEMARK!!).Small Calif. town. A couple of high school guys, one of whom is the popular one, the other a loner, have nothing better to do so they plan and execute a murder. The loner is bright, has studied police forensics, figures they can mislead the investigators by planting clues and thus get away with the plan. (They have a little more than this going on between them too.) Sandra Bullock and Ben Chaplin are the police investigators. One of the false clues was designed to lead to one of the kids, and his demeanor convinces Bullock that he is involved somehow. But she has to work through all their deceptions to get at the truth (and she herself is carrying a lot of emotional baggage).
I liked this move a whole lot. It worked for me as a very effective crime thriller. The audience is let in on a couple important clues that the police don't know about, and everything ties together at the end. The climax is a little much, but whatever, I bought it. Very well done.
Posted by Joe Beres (Member # 678) on 04-23-2002, 03:07 PM:
This was better than I expected, but not great. Sandra Bullock often annoys the hell out of me, but not so much in Murder by Numbers. It's a pretty interesting story and a decent script. Perhaps not worth a full price evening ticket, but good for a cheap matinee or 2nd run look.
Posted by Ken Lackner (Member # 1002) on 05-09-2002, 01:55 AM:
I saw this movie tonight, and I loved it. I love those kinds of crime thrillers. Even though the audience knows all along that the kids committed the murder, we did not know exactly how, or which one of the two kids actually pulled it off, untill the very end. I actually felt sorry for the loner at the end. Do you think he was the leader and convinced the other kid to go along with him, or vice versa? My opinion on that changed throughout the movie, but in the end, I think it was the other kid.
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 05-09-2002, 02:32 AM:
David, actually it is quite possible that the Regal systems were perfectly tuned. A lot of sound mixers use the sub channel and the low frequencies of the stage speakers aggressively, but you'd never know it the way many big chains cut back on the subwoofer level and roll off the stage bass that are worried about sound bleed-through from a poorly designed building. Without getting an RTA in there, you'll never know for sure.
Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 05-09-2002, 10:32 AM:
I freely admit I have no way of knowing for sure what is "right", can only judge them subjectively. They seemed out-of-balance with the rest of the system though. But as I said I will take them like that any day if the alternative is rolling them off so they're ineffective (talking Cinemark again). That Regal SDDS-8 house for Spiderman sounded very well-balanced to me. Brad, next time you're in Eugene, evaluate that theatre and see what you think. I'll treat you to admission and concessions. 