The Jacket (2005)
Ok, a while ago I decided to start putting movie reviews on my LJ. And after watching this movie for the first time tonight, I have to make IT my first! So, I already thought of a format for these, and it's gonna go like this. I'll do the Subject as you see it ... with the Title and the (Release Year). Then here in the entry at the beginning, I'll fill it with some interesting statistical data from IMDb. Then I'll give a Spoiler Rating between 0-5, and for most movies, it will be low as I, like most movie-goers don't want to be spoiled ... then I'll have an lj-cut link to the rest of the review. So ... on with the first review!
The Jacket (2005)
Director
Writers
Producers
Cast
Adrien Brody as Jack Starks
Kiera Knightly as Jackie Price
Full Cast List
IMDb's Rating (09/10/05) = 6.7/10 (5,714 votes)
Vixen's Rating (09/10/05) = 8.7/10
MPAA: Rated R for violence, language and brief sexuality/nudity.
Runtime: 103 min.
SPOILER RATING = 1
O ... M ... G ...
I was expecting a fairly cheesy but well-acted Thriller that was more Horror than anything ... which was how the movie seemed to be advertised. Heck, the movie's tagline was "Terror has a new name." How much more vague and generally uninspiring can you get?
Yet, hidden by the fact that four famous and skilled actors participated in this gem, is the story and the script. Without giving much away, I can tell you this without ruining the story:
Adrien's character, Jack, is a Gulf War Vet from the 1991 War who is shot in the head, but lives. Due to his brain-trauma, the military doctors believe Jack's belief that he died already is just his damaged brains way of deluding him so he can cope. But Jack knows better.
He is released and soon finds himself entangled in a murder trial where his lawyer has pled him "Not Guilty, By Reason of Insanity". Jack is found Insane and sent to a small mental institution where Kris Kristofferson's character, Dr. Becker, begins a radical and barbaric treatment for his condition by wrapping him up in a full-body strait jacket and sliding him into a morgue-style drawer.
There, in the dark, Jack's past haunts him for hours, until he suddenly wakes up to find himself standing on the side of a road outside a Dinner when a rather beautiful girl walks out and offers him a ride out of the cold on Christmas Eve. Within hours of what Jack believes is just a peaceful fiction his mind has created, Jack soon discovers it is real, and the year is now 2007. But then he slips back to 1992 and back into the Jacket.
And, that's just what happens in the first twenty to thirty minutes. The movie is a THRILLER. It thrilled me for over an hour, and I loved it for that. It suprised me, and while the ending was predictable, at least for me, I still loved the ending. Now, sitting here, writing this, the movie immediately makes me think of "The Butterfly Effect", although instead of travelling back through time, Jack is travelling forward, although still through the power of his mind.
If you've read this now, and HAVE NOT seen the Jacket. I would extremely recommend you to go and pay the three bucks to rent this sucker! It is so very much worth it. But ... I also say, watch it in the dark, and don't watch it alone ...
But I say that about every movie! :)
The Jacket (2005)
Director
Writers
Producers
Cast
Adrien Brody as Jack Starks
Kiera Knightly as Jackie Price
Full Cast List
IMDb's Rating (09/10/05) = 6.7/10 (5,714 votes)
Vixen's Rating (09/10/05) = 8.7/10
MPAA: Rated R for violence, language and brief sexuality/nudity.
Runtime: 103 min.
SPOILER RATING = 1
O ... M ... G ...
I was expecting a fairly cheesy but well-acted Thriller that was more Horror than anything ... which was how the movie seemed to be advertised. Heck, the movie's tagline was "Terror has a new name." How much more vague and generally uninspiring can you get?
Yet, hidden by the fact that four famous and skilled actors participated in this gem, is the story and the script. Without giving much away, I can tell you this without ruining the story:
Adrien's character, Jack, is a Gulf War Vet from the 1991 War who is shot in the head, but lives. Due to his brain-trauma, the military doctors believe Jack's belief that he died already is just his damaged brains way of deluding him so he can cope. But Jack knows better.
He is released and soon finds himself entangled in a murder trial where his lawyer has pled him "Not Guilty, By Reason of Insanity". Jack is found Insane and sent to a small mental institution where Kris Kristofferson's character, Dr. Becker, begins a radical and barbaric treatment for his condition by wrapping him up in a full-body strait jacket and sliding him into a morgue-style drawer.
There, in the dark, Jack's past haunts him for hours, until he suddenly wakes up to find himself standing on the side of a road outside a Dinner when a rather beautiful girl walks out and offers him a ride out of the cold on Christmas Eve. Within hours of what Jack believes is just a peaceful fiction his mind has created, Jack soon discovers it is real, and the year is now 2007. But then he slips back to 1992 and back into the Jacket.
And, that's just what happens in the first twenty to thirty minutes. The movie is a THRILLER. It thrilled me for over an hour, and I loved it for that. It suprised me, and while the ending was predictable, at least for me, I still loved the ending. Now, sitting here, writing this, the movie immediately makes me think of "The Butterfly Effect", although instead of travelling back through time, Jack is travelling forward, although still through the power of his mind.
If you've read this now, and HAVE NOT seen the Jacket. I would extremely recommend you to go and pay the three bucks to rent this sucker! It is so very much worth it. But ... I also say, watch it in the dark, and don't watch it alone ...
But I say that about every movie! :)