Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Secret Window

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Posted by Nate Lehrke (Member # 1460) on 03-03-2004, 05:02 PM:

I think it’s listed as a thriller but there wasn’t anything thrilling about it. If I didn’t like Depp, I don’t think I would have lasted through it.

You know the ending 35 minutes in, so you have another hour of just watching it happen.

I f you can make it through the very slow [sleep]

moving first 45 minutes than you won’t be too upset. Overall, I’m glad I saw this film but 10 seconds after I left the auditorium, I was thinking about something else.

A solid 2 star film.

Posted by Shane Hoffmann (Member # 1620) on 03-12-2004, 03:26 PM:

As a Stephen King fan, I watched closely, waiting for the story as I know it to be butchered. I was very satisfied after watching this film, however. I wasn't ready to say it was a good adaptation until it was over, learning from Dreamcatcher last year.

I knew how it was going to end, so I can't relate to guessing what it would be 30 minutes in. I did speak with some other people, though, who were surprised by the ending.

Johnny Depp never fails to entertain me, and I don't know that too many people could have pulled the role off. His quirky mannerisms and witty remarks were a nice escape from the suspense of the movie.

3 out 4 stars

Posted by Jennifer Pan (Member # 2035) on 03-14-2004, 11:59 PM:

*Spoiler*

I definitely agree that it was very slow moving. It leads you to one point of view for so long that you can't help but expect a twist of some sort at the end. And when the twist happened it made complete sense that the character was really messed up.
As I was waiting for the people to leave the theater, a couple of teens were saying that it was hard to understand and confusing. I didn't find it confusing at all, I found it to be a stupid movie.
I'm wondering why Depp wanted to do this picture in the first place because it obviously wasn't very good.

1.5 out of 5

Posted by Joshua Burnham (Member # 1640) on 03-16-2004, 02:54 PM:

You stole my review.

2 stars

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 03-22-2004, 03:05 AM:

I guess Depp wanted to play this role for the challenge of portraying the schizophrenia. I didn`t find it very boring, but I wasn`t too excited about the movie either. The ending sucks enormously. If they suspected him of having murdered 4 people, they would surely have dug up his backyard, wouldn`t they?

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 03-27-2004, 11:30 PM:

I recall buying a hardcover copy of Steven King's new book "FOUR PAST MIDNIGHT' at an airport news stand in Chicago to read on my long flight back to Hawaii many years ago and I recall not being able to put it down until I finished it about a day and a half later. The book consisted of four stories marked by the first four hours of the day The first marked 1:00 AM , "THE LANGOLIERS" was my favorite of the four and it was made into a very good ABC TV mini series many years ago. 2:00 AM, was "SECRET WINDOW" and it was this story that was adapted into the current film now playing in theatres. I also remember enjoying it when I read the book and when I saw a man wearing a wide brimmed black hat tell Mort Rainy played by Johnny Depp "You stole my story" in the theatrical trailer, I immediately remember reading the original novel and was happy it was made into a movie. After reading all the negative comments here and elsewhere, I thought they screwed up making a good movie from the book and was not going to see in a theatre. Having nothing to do this afternoon, I decided to take a chance and see "SECRET WINDOW. Yes, I know my name is not Phil Hill who enjoys all the movies Brad and many of you dislike. Probably like Phil, I enjoyed the movie very much. [Smile]

Because it has been years since I read the book, I only remembered the line "You stole my story" and totally forgot the plot and that was good because I was able to enjoy it all over again. I thought the movie was well made and it kept me at the edge of my seat and unlike most of you, I liked the ending very much. Another element I enjoyed in the film was the music score by Philip Glass. I saw the film at Pacific's Kapolei 16 in SRD and the recording was excellent with aggressive use of discreet surround sound from all of the auditorium's speakers.

3 out of four stars

-Claude