|
| The Forgotten | 
| Category: Movie
This item is no longer available
Avg. Customer Rating:  278 reviews
Sales Rank: 7288
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: Video On Demand
Running Time: 95 minutes
ASIN: B000T4349G
Theatrical Release Date: September 23, 2004
Release Date: November 25, 2008 (New: Last 30 Days)
|
| Customer Reviews:
 A promising beginning -- then pap. October 7, 2004
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
The Forgotten rings true to its name, with a stunningly lame and forgettable ending that makes your regret having invested even a small amount of time giving it a chance. What begins as a strange and reasonably provocative melodrama of a woman who remembers a child that everyone else believes is a figment of her deranged imagination turns into "Plan 9 From Outer Space" silliness about a emotionally immature group of emotionally maladjusted aliens who engage in silly experments on a group of generally mediocre actors.
Save your self the money and the time.
Memento meets X-files? I think NOT! October 5, 2004
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
This was a somewhat intriguing movie...for about 5-6 minutes, after that it turned into a very badly remade cliche.
Not only most of the metaphysical stuff involved in it was just pointless and probably stupid (though I do see some resemblance between agent Scully and Moore's character, that stubborness is sure there for a reason), but also turned a something that could have been a blockbuster into a semi-finished wannabe nothing.
Apart from the cheesy storyline, the acting wasn't really great either: excessively emotional Telly portraying an image of a more womanly woman than anyone else in Hollywood and a constantly drunk hockey player person (what's his face) that, apart from occasional manly brawl, seemed a bit out of place... What else does this movie offer (or doesn't)? Well you get a quickly developing story (that's a con by the way)...so about 10 minutes in the movie and you already know STUFF AIN'T RIGHT.
You get a miserable attempt to explain the unexplainable and answer philosophical questions by using X-filesish elements of "we don't really know how to explain it better, so there, aliens did it". You think that's a spoiler? NO! It's a headache saviour - which is what you'll get when you realize how pathetic an explanation they give in the movie (if any) is - so it's better to know in advance. Overall: avoid unless you, like me, are very fond of Moore's beautiful red hair (does she dye it? I bet she does!) and her Irish features. What else to see there? Umm...well they show a smart cop in there...that's rare.
No Complete Satisfaction October 5, 2004
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Ever walked out of a movie thinking that the premise was amazing, some execution of the premise was amazing, but left with a feeling of "That could have been . . ." ? Yeah, that's what I felt leaving the theater from The Forgotten.
Julianne Moore is Telly, a woman who finds her life dissapearing before her. Noone believes her except for a man who is going through the same situation. And yanno, Moore did what she had to do, and the pretty "snatched into the air" shots we saw in the trailers did what they had to do (although not enough of it). Everything else? It was minor. Let's take the characters for example. Almost all but Moore's character were introduced to get snatched or have no other meaning but to chase people around. Even a major character is carelessly disposed of. This would be okay if the characters were there JUST for that, but they make us believe they'll give us some sort of depth to these characters. Such a tease.
Yes, that's what this movie is. A complete tease. It gave me some good (premise, Moore, snatching), but everything else left much to be desired (other characters, mm-hm premise here too).
 Not bad if you first calibrate your expectations October 3, 2004
108 out of 120 found this review helpful
I've heard the critics and I've read the viewer feedback and I'm still scratching my head. The most common thing I've heard was that people expected it to be a different kind of movie and were let down at what it turned out to be. Obviously these people either didn't see the trailer or didn't give it any thought.
The trailer sets up the premise, and the only way someone seeing it could imagine it playing out would be as either: 1) a psychological thriller, 2) an alien abduction movie, 3) a supernatural thriller. Given what's revealed in the trailers, those are pretty much the only options. If you go to the movies often, you probably saw the trailers more than once, in which case it doesn't take any great deductive powers to figure out exactly what it's going to be.
From this point on, there may be spoilers!
OK, a bit more on the trailer(s)... We see that Julianne Moore's character has lost a son and that people around her have apparently forgotten he ever existed. Next we see that pictures have been altered. At this point, the options are still open. Next we see her ripping the wallpaper and revealing to Dominic West's character that he, too, had a child who apparently died. A few moments later, we see her in official custody with him shouting through the window that he remembers. Since we have two people with shared memories of people who weren't supposed to have ever existed, the psychological thriller plot line is eliminated. This has to be some sort of conspiracy, whether supernatural, alien or pod people. The shots in the trailer aren't creepy enough for a supernatural plot, so that pretty much leaves some sort of aliens. Duh!
Knowing this, I went to see it with suitably calibrated expectations. As with all such plots, there were holes and lapses in logic, but surprisingly fewer than I would have expected. Julianne Moore gives a typically excellent performance and the other parts are well cast and performed. I must admit my wife had the nature of Gary Sinese's character nailed while I was still undecided about him.
Altogether, not a great flick, but certainly a lot better than many people have given it credit for. I enjoyed it, my wife stayed awake through it (a major endorsement!), and I left without wishing for my money or 96 minutes back.
A missing child? October 3, 2004
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
"The Forgotten" is a forgetable tale surrounding the apparent death in a plane crash of a weepy Julianne Moore's 9 year old son Sam. In the 14 months since the tragedy Moore has spent her time doting over her beloved son's memory, unable to let go.
Things start heating up when items such as pictures, newspaper accounts and videos chronicling Sam's existence begin disappearing. Moore, of course gets frantic because she's the only one that can acknowledge these vanishing items. Her husband played by a gruesome looking Anthony Edwards is unsympathetic calling her delusional and claiming that there never was a son. Moore's shrink played blandly by Gary Sinise agrees threatening hospitalization.
Moore thinks she's psychotic until she hooks up with acquaintaince Dominic West, an ex-hockey player whose daughter also apparently perished in the same plane crash. He unfortunately cannot remember his daughter but with prodding from Moore his memory returns.
It soon becomes apparent that there is some sort of clandestine government plot as West and Moore are being pursued by federal agents. This seems to be orchestrated by a mysterious stranger played by Linus Roache who is imbued with supernatural abilities.
This flick represents 96 minutes of uninspired movie making. The plot is never fully explained and outside of a few startling moments is boring. The acting is unremarkable except for veteran actress Alfre Woodard who plays a sympathetic New York City detective.
My advice is to pass on this one.
|
|
|
Wildlife, nature and the Environment
Sponsored Links
Learn how to get your own Amazon Book shop | |
