Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

ThrillMessage There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

merklekranz Down the drain goes 110 minutes, totally wasted on this movie where everyone is questionable as to their motives. A real confusing story leads down various paths to nowhere, because in the end believability flies out the window, and the viewer is left holding a 110 minute bag. Mamet scored a true winner with "House of Games", and while "The Spanish Prisoner" may not be his worst film, it is so far from being logical, that I simply cannot suggest anything except to avoid like you would a rabid dog. I could go on and on about how characters suddenly appear out of thin air, simply to pile on another layer of nonsense that lacks both logic and believability. The way the conclusion is rushed in to tie everything together is laughable. - Merk

wawwazat This movie has hints of Secret Societies and agendas that could be real. The talk in the board room about making money off of Global Warming even though it is a bogus science, and that it would take the world 5 years to figure out the bogus science and that would give them time to make $30million? $30 billion?, $300 billion? We didn't get to see the amount on the blackboard. This movie was ahead of it's time. I saw many odd things like the poster in the office hallway that had a finger pointing and it said "Someone Talked". As if the Illuminati had a weak link and their agenda got out. Then the poster in Steve Martin's fake office that had 2 planes on it and said "New York". I'll have to watch it again, very good stuff. I think Mamet did 'Barfly', one of my favorite movie's, also 'Things Change'.

imdb-45 This movie features some of the most stilted dialogue and scenes I've seen. I'm not sure if it's intentional. For a first viewing years ago, I thought it was pretty interesting. Watching it again I realized why I never considered this a classic.To begin, it's so manipulative to be unnatural. I had a difficult time believing that the remarkable coincidences lined up like dominoes set up by design. The "revalidation" agreement was preposterous, set up so that the intrigue could continue, just like the bizarre set up with Jimmy Dell's sister kept continuing so that only the dumbest person in the world would not suspect that something was awry. And we are to believe that the main character is brilliant?And then there are huge holes in the dialogue, sloppy writing where characters don't finish off what you know they are supposed to say as a matter of logic and common conversation. If you pay attention you'll realize that this lazy, sloppy dialogue only happens in movie land. The ending of the movie is so awkwardly handled that it's hard to believe that anyone would actually believe that this is a clever movie. It's a twist within a twist within a twist that only keeps you invested out of curiosity to see where this lame effort goes. Not terrible, just not very good.

the_one-756-914381 There are many kinds of cinemas. This one is one of the top examples of story telling. You won't notice any camera work, any music (was there any?) etc. You are just absorbed by how well the story is told. Trust me, within 5 minutes (though you won't get to understand what's exactly happening there in such short time) you'll be absorbed. Even Steve Martin is watchable.Also perhaps the only movie (at least for grown-ups) with no swearing. At all. Except for a short scene showing a stabbed body, this is a film for everybody (if the youths can get it). In this regard, the exact opposite of "Glengarry Glen Ross".I find it very strange that the less people have to say, the more they shout and swear. As if even their ordinary words require some kind of 'strengthening' to be taken seriously. You can't just say something is good, because, you see, nobody would take that. However, when saying "something is f... good", you suddenly receive all the attention you've wanted, and they even believe you. Going further down that road, I suppose one day we have to kill our loved ones, to convince them that, indeed, we love them. Exaggerating? Really? Remember LOST TV series and its throughout gratuitous violence, like the scene when Locke, burdened with the memory of something bad in his life, being hit with the car by Desmond, so that he would let go? Figure that out: I care so much for my friend that when I see him troubled by something I hit him with my car (violently, by the way) so that he would let go and start smiling again.Back to the movie at hand, I'll have to warn you that after seeing this one, you won't anymore enjoy your daily movie rubbish. That happens, you know, when you have the courage to open up your eyes.In the same evening, I also saw 'Harrison Bergeron' (1995), another story-teller, and now I'm having trouble finding MOVIES (you know, the ones that you can watch beyond their first 10 minutes).So, if you're comfortably numb (as Pink Floyd put it a few decades back), stay away from movies like this one.