View Full Version : The Gift
This is a supernatural thriller from Sam Raimi which stars Cate Blanchett,Keanu Reeves and Giovanni Ribisi. Annie,(Cate Blanchet)a fortune telling widow living in redneckville is struggling to feed her kids and pay her rent, so she does a bit of tarot card reading for money and stumbles upon a series of clues leading to the dissapearance of the local bike (Katie Holmes). One thing leads to another and Annie becomes involved in the manhunt. This film is not without the usual cliched "They're under the bed" moments and shows a striking resemblance to <i>Stir of Echoes</i> and <i>What lies Beneath</i>. If you enjoyed the aforementioned then I am sure that you will get a buzz out of this, not only for Keanu Reeves Mr T (Yes from the A-Team) Impressions but for the real air of eerieness which it oozes. Get snuggled up on the sofa and crank up the volume.
tj_director
16-01-2002, 23:14
there are moments in this film, just like Echoes and Beneath, which scarred ten levels of poo out of me -- It's just goes to show how effective 5.1 sound is!! And i agree on the great eerie atmosphere the film has.
A good film, also gets the thumbs up from me. (I love Cate Blanchete!!!) :D
Mr Flibble
17-01-2002, 09:07
Sorry guys but I have to disagree :(
Having been bombarded with trailers on the telly for this release I always meant to see this at the cinema, but never got round to a viewing. Anway, hired the DVD one evening and found it to be something of a let-down. I can't quite pin-point why - it just seems that after the release of Sixth Sense their was a deluge of supernatural movies that centre around someone who either 'sees dead people' or 'has strange visions'. I think the trailers show the main highlights of the feature and left me feeling a little dissapointed. I just couldn't take Cannoo seriously as his character. I also hated What Lies beneath too - but I know a lot of people love that movie too.
For me, out of these 'supernatural' flicks that are of late, Stir of Echos' is the best, a cast of relative unknowns in some part tell a cracking story, and the lack of hype helped it no end (if that makes sense).
Mind you, I will say this for The Gift - it's a hell of a lot better than the last film I hired 'Valentine' - god that was awful!
charlie angel
17-01-2002, 11:03
Originally posted by tj_director
(I love Cate Blanchete!!!) :D
You're going to have to fight me for her then...;)
Enjoyed The Gift a lot - a bit of a silly storyline, but well acted by a strong cast (I even thought Keanu Reeves was quite good)
Don't regret the purchase at all. :)
Cowboyjas
17-01-2002, 11:43
I thought it was a decent film to watch a few times. I wouldn't buy it as a 'keeper' though. And guys, you can fight over Cate Blanchett, just as long as you stay away from my Katie Holmes :D
I love this film, and everyone should watch it once if only for Giovanni Ribisi's stellar performance.
Imo it's light years ahead of What Lies Beneath, everything feels more gritty and real because instead of a ghost trying to warn someone, it's about a woman's perception of the frightening reality around her.
It felt like What Lies Beneath, as good as it was set out to shock and scare. Which is fine until you know where the shocks and scares are, then they become jaded with repetition.
What The Gift did, was to try to be disturbing aswell, which as far as I'm concerned puts it in a superior bracket.
It tries to do what The Shining did. Because that film's so disturbing, the shocks when they come are much deeper and more visceral. That's what The Gift attempted.
The dramatic scenes, like when Giovanni confronts his father, are dealt with so vividly, that when the supernatural elements occur the scares make you jump that much higher.
Kit_Taylor
17-01-2002, 19:38
I enjoyed greatly the bare breasts of Katie Holmes.
They were a pleasant bonus. :D
Boink!
Michael Mackenzie
18-01-2002, 11:26
Originally posted by Kit_Taylor
I enjoyed greatly the bare breasts of Katie Holmes. Those certainly made renting the DVD worth it. Snapped a few screenshots of those in PowerDVD! If it hadn't been for that scene, I'd have felt let down by the whole film. Seriously, that was the only good bit for me!
I think I went in with the wrong mindset. I head the name "Sam Raimi", and went in expecting something along the lines of Evil Dead, which I guess was a bit stupid of me. But that doesn't change the fact that I found it tedious, and doing nothing to grip my attention apart from a few of the dream sequences.
tj_director
18-01-2002, 23:44
Originally posted by Kit_Taylor
I enjoyed greatly the bare breasts of Katie Holmes.
I think that goes without saying... a pleasant suprise!! :nuts:
davey1970
22-01-2002, 20:45
was an ok film, not bad at all, but the most effective section was the first about half hour before anything supernatural happened - i thought it had a v menacing atmosphere in the bit, to do with the wife beating etc....
the rest was ok!
d
On the subject of Katie Holmes, has anyone seen "Wonder Boys"??? if so what did you think??
Cheers
Paul
Brian_JD
29-01-2002, 14:50
I rented The Gift this W/E, and thought (as most have said) it was
worth watching and have to agree with Nana's comments
regarding "Giovanni Ribisi's stellar performance" Which made it all
the more watchable for this standard fare!
Cirrus888
04-02-2002, 01:07
Available on R3 for about a fiver, and jeepers creepers is available for 4.50 on R3 also.
Ask the usual R3 stoickists for a quote.
This film was a big let down for me. I found it interminably dull, it didn't build up the tension enough. Sorry to disagree guys, but after A Simple Plan, this should have been great. Raimi lucked out on this one.
Watched it for the second time this weekend. Very disappointed on my first viewing, mainly due to what I thought was an astonishingly clear telegraphing of who the killer is. I thought the supposed red herrings were pretty limp. On second viewing I enjoyed many more factors peripheral to the actual narrative - lovely sense of mood and menace, fabulously realised sense of place, great cast. Particularly in the last hour, my wife was watching from behind her hand, a similar reaction to others I've spoken to. I'd just never considered it might actually be scary !
Anyone else see parallels with - wait for it - To Kill a Mockingbird ??
Watched it last night and was pleasnatly surprised. Not fantastic and mega-scary but yes atmospheric and some great cameos. I was really impressed with Giovanni's acting having only seem him as Phoebe's brother in Friends previously (and even then thought he waas out of Green Day :D). I will keep it but it definitely needs some fermenting on the shelf before a repeat viewing. As for comparisons with Mockingbird, my wife assures me yes but I will find out this week when I watch it for the first time - yipee.
Cirrus888
06-05-2002, 02:15
Saw this last night and like above I don't have anything good to say about it but it was not wholly disappointing either and I don't know why.
Whats good about it? Cate and giovanni ...
Its unoriginal but so was 'the others' but it had no twist ending ... Its basically a murder mystery with a bit of psychic hocus pocus thrown in. Keanu makes a good 'bad' guy.
I don't know if its the actors, the script or even raimi that is to blame for a very average film with nothing new to add to the genre but its still worth watching once ...
weird that.
Tiffany Bradford
06-05-2002, 06:15
Originally posted by Mr Flibble
Anway, hired the DVD one evening and found it to be something of a let-down. I can't quite pin-point why -
Quite possibly
The early realisation of who the bad guy is
Keanu's very bad redneck accent (though he receives high marks for intensity)
Hilary Swank's unsympathetic character
The good news
Cate Blanchett
Giovanni Ribisi
Beautiful cinematography
Katie Holmes' breasts (for those so inclined)
And last but most definitely NOT least
Buddy's idea of family counseling/revenge
I thought Keanu Reeves gave a very convincing performance. He actually played a really good A-hole/badass.
Katie Holmes' Rack = *****
Great film!
Pike Bishop
07-05-2002, 08:32
I thought Katie Holmes' breasts gave a very convincing performance. Must have been quite chilly the night they shot That scene. Finest pair I've seen in a long while (sorry to lower the tone of this thread).
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