Thought the movie was pretty good and better than I expected.

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- With what the patient did for the Doctor that she even thanked "the uncle for" - shouldn't she have told him the truth about the death as it was an accident.

- Also, as the Doctor was told about the future and even went on that trip with him - shouldn't she have known or maybe have known something could have been up. I just thought she played it like she didn't know anything when there should have been stuff going through her head. Just pointing this out.

Saw this film last night. Pretty good stuff. Not great in the slightest, but it's the second best thing i've seen thus far this year (behind Constantine), so i'd give it a passable recommendation. Most of the performances are great, except for Knightley who hams up just about every scene she's in. I've never seen one person completely act with their mouth before. The direction is solid, if not rather generic with lots of quick quts and jarring sounds. There are some nice shot compositions, but I was expecting more in this department. A film like this would have been better suited in the hands of a more restrained filmmaker. The vibe coming off of John Maybury is kind of Darren Aronofsky-lite, and a style more like David Lynch would have fit this film better. The weakest aspect of the film is the script. It has a great idea going here, but it can never really get it rolling. The characters are also as cliche and paper thin as could be. I'm being pretty hard on the film, but it actually wasn't that bad. Like I said, most of the performances were terrific, and it plays with some really good ideas that it unfortunately doesn't capitalize on. Overall, it's a decent thriller that ends up being a lot more generic than it should have been. I give it a B-.

{Hey! I posted this review this morning - or did I? Maybe I'm in the drawer! If so why am I posting reviews at KJ's when I could be travelling into the future to make love with Keira Knightley!?! Or maybe the website just had a small meltdown...}

Anyways, I have seen The Jacket (...and the "drawer"... and Keira Knightley topless(!)) and it was a very pleasant surprise! Some of the local reviews I'd read were pretty discouraging if not hostile, so my expectations were low - but as it turns out there was no need - this is a solidly crafted little time travel mystery. And I pointedly use the word "crafted", because although the story on it's broadest level might be considered workmanlike, it's implementation and most especially it's logic (which is so critical to the time travel genre, and also so often faulty), was very precise and wonderfully done. The storyline took a bit of time to develop a head of steam, but once it got chugging along, it was emotionally resonant and pretty darn romantic. All of this positive review, and I haven't even had to mention how little I have enjoyed Adrien Brody's performances in the past (most notably, of course, his overblown work in The Pianist) - but wonder of wonders - I wasn't irritated by him at all today - as a matter of fact he did quite well with a role that required some finesse to pull off. Plus the aforementioned Miss Knightley (Nightly, please!), and an assortment of great supporting actors such as Kris Kristofferson and Jennifer Jason Leigh. As with any of these kinds of movies, I highly recommend you read as little as you can about it, if you plan to see it - especially some of those sour grapes reviewers who seem to feel justified in spoiling it with their sarcastic commentary.

Yes indeed, this is one nifty little time travel romance - an underpopulated genre combo. Hooray!

4 out of 5.

We've been having server problems. All is well now, though.

Oh, and you're tortono (or something like that) from BOM, right? Welcome. You were always one of my favorite posters over there because of your... shall we say unique taste in films.

Despite the low BO gross, I still thought The Jacket would be pretty popular here. Guess I was wrong. Did anyone else see this?

I felt it took a little time, but by the end I was thoroughly wrapped up in the story and its characters. This is a bittersweet film about mortality and second chances and I got more emotionally involved in it then I had anticipated. I've really liked Brody in everything I've seen him in (especially Summer of Sam) and he is great again here. Knightley didn't bother me at all with her accent and I was kind of happy to see her playing a character unlike those I have seen from her in the past. I can see how one could think the romance moved a little quickly, but I guess I just loved the actors so much that I accepted what little spark was offered up in the script (Brody making sandwiches ) and went with it. It's important that you believe in it somewhat, as the emotional core of the movie hinges on it.

I give it a B+.

On the romance moving quickly, maybe, here are some reasons.

- the girl, for whatever reasons, felt alone with her mother dying and connected quickly with the guy.

- also since the guy looked the same, the girl unconsciously might have felt closer to him and fell quicker for him.

...bump...

With this quality movie sinking fast at the BO, I thought I'd give this a bump in the hopes that a few other WOKJer's might be lucky enough to see it in the theatre this weekend...

The movie was surprisingly good. With an excellent story, good performances (though, I was a little disturbed by Adrian Brody's big honkin' nose), and some chilling moments, we have ourself a decent, and very overlooked, thriller. I loved the story, and the ending was also great. The movie wasn't great or anything, but a fine way to spend the night. If you want to see a decent and intriguing thriller, The Jacket is what you need. B-

Definitely a great movie at times, but it does get a little slow at some parts. I'll definitely considering buying it, but probably not at full price. Grade: B+

I really want to know why so many people hated this film so much. I loved the story and while it is a bit like DONNIE DARKO, which is probably why it's compared to it so much, I liked it much more. To me, DONNIE DARKO was okay but it was overrated. The performances were fantastic, Keira Knightley especially surprised the hell out of me. Sure, she wasn't in the film that much but she was a crucial part in the film. I never thought she was that great of an actress but I thought she was fantastic. I'm really happy I blind bought THE JACKET, I thought it was a great film, the best film of the year thus far and everyone should give it a chance.

10/10 (A+)

An excellent dramatic thriller that was actually very interesting and intriguing. Keira Knightley is great here and pulls off an American accent with ease. Adrien Brody also does an excellent job. Overall, I enjoyed this more than THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT and MEMENTO and highly recommend it.


8/10 (B+)

A-

It's a bit slow, but that's the only thing stopping this from becoming a perfect film. The Jacket isn't really a horror movie at all, it's more like high concept sci-if/thriller. I'm a sucker for these types of films, so go figure I was into this one. It's actually more similar to Eternal Sunshine and Donnie Darko than any recent horror. The story and screenplay was ingenious, it's the #1 of the year in that department for me. They really did have a brilliant concept set-out, and they handled it without the fantasy/lala-ness that ES ended up stuck with. The acting with Adrian Brody and Keira Knightly was superb, and the general cinematography and editing of the film was well-enough done. Again, if it had a bit more fast-pace and excitement, the film would've made a run at #1 of the year in my books, the storyline and etc. was just that good.

A

Great performances by Brody and Knightly. Loved it.

An interesting concept with some very cool ideas that never really reaches its potential. Instead of exploring the implications of time travelling, the film sidetracks into a very rushed and hasty romance, one that never really makes sense. The scenes in the mental hospital add nothing new to the stock stereotype, and the ending is telegraphed a mile away. There are a few interesting ideas on time travel that are bandied about, but they ultimately go nowhere, and the military scenes at the beginning seem to serve no purpose for the rest of the movie. The story is flawed, but it's still interesting, the performances are great, and the visuals are kinda cool but nothing outstanding. An interesting concept turned into a decent film.

The thing that bothered me most was the entire point of Knightley's character Jackie. At first I just thought she'd be a sign to Jack that he's time travelling, but then she ends up helping him and being the love interest? How'd that happen? There's a rather large leap from her throwing him out of her place to her going out of her way to help him. It felt like there was a scene missing. In fact, all the scenes in the future seemed to ignore continuity and logic altogether. It was a bit disjointed, even for a sci-fi movie.

The ideas brought up by this movie on time travel have been discussed much better in other films and works of literature, so the film doesn't add much more to it. The movie's a decent watch, never causing you to lose interest, and the pace is perfect for this kind of film. It just doesn't seem to add up to anything special. It actually could have used a bunch more depth to it, to fill out the characters and inject some emotion and realism into the film. Still, it's an interesting movie, at the very least.

The Jacket is also notable for featuring a juicy supporting role for the new James Bond, Daniel Craig...

I noticed that. I thought he was quite good. Not Bond material, but still a good actor. He's more a character actor than a leading man.