(2013-05-16 22:04:05)

Polanski - a GHOST of himself here

Yes, the so-called "sophisticated" viewers are falling all over themselves to pronounce this movie another Polanski classic. Nothing could be further from the truth! It's an absolute bore with "surprise" plot that's not much of a surprise, "suspense" efforts that's totally suspense free and characters that are caricutures. By the way, if you like Pierce Brosnon and expect great things from him in this movie, you'll be sorely disappointed. Ewan, much like in Cassandra's Dream (another dud by another famous director), basically repeats that role. This movie MAY have been an ok made-for-TV movie but to actually have to pay and sit through this mess, jeezz... It's unfortunate that Polanski have to live up to the high standard set with the "Pianist" so maybe I'm being overly harsh. You don't expect big box office success with movies like this BUT when this movies was dead on arrival at the theaters, it tells you something about how awful it is. What a letdown!

(2013-05-16 02:54:54)

Stellar Cast

This review is from: The Ghost Writer [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) Polanski at his best! Impressionist, taunt, finly crafted mystery, twisting plot, Roman Polanski doing his thing. Demands your full attention, from the first frame to the last. Only one man could pull this one off! Hat's off to The Master.

Movie_Muse_Reviews

(2013-05-15 18:58:56)

Polanski deserves some positive headlines for this slowly unraveling thriller

The giant gray cloud that hovers over the setting for almost theentirety of Roman Polanski's "The Ghost Writer" is like the film'ssuspense. The truly excellent mysteries in cinema are drawn out, almostat times torturous, hanging questions over our heads like -- giant grayclouds. I wouldn't say "The Ghost Writer" deserves comparison toPolanski's masterpiece "Chinatown," but it's very much in thattradition, only substitute private investigator for biographer. It'sthe story of the man who doesn't know what he's gotten into until he'sinto it and the audience never saw it coming but strangely we knew itall along. In a ten-film Best Picture category, a movie such as "The Ghost Writer"deserves to be bookmarked and reconsidered at year's end. Elevating itabove gimmicky thrillers such as this year's "Shutter Island" --excellently crafted, but gimmicky -- are the performances of McGregor,Brosnan, Cattrall and Olivia Williams that at times make the film feelmore parts drama than thriller. Then there's suspense that Polanskicreates by use of sheer storytelling, not throwing together a singleartsy scene that outwardly forces questions. It's the differencebetween demanding audience interest and earning it.McGregor stars as The Ghost, a writer hired to replace the recentlydeceased ghost writer of former British prime minister Adam Lang (atake on Tony Blair no doubt), a figure lately shrouded in human rightscontroversy. I, for one, went through the whole film thinking I missedThe Ghost's name, when it was never given. The effectiveness of thatdoesn't catch up to you until after the film's end. Much of the film isback-loaded, which is not ideal but it packs a heck of a punch. Anyway,The Ghost begins to uncover a mystery as he learns about Lang's lifeand Lang tries to quell a PR nightmare.Anchoring it all are great performances. Lang is easily Brosnan's bestdramatic role. I haven't seen some of McGregor's recent films, but he'sat his best since at least "Big Fish." His inner monologue is nice andsubtle, playing this "mystery protagonist" just right, never overdoingit in a role that with all the camera time would seem more importantthan it really is. It was also refreshing to see Cattrall in a rolevery far from Samantha that she plays with with class and Williamscontinues to put herself on the map, this time with a more enigmatic,intriguing role."The Ghost Writer" is the kind of film you could equate to a specificpiece of music. It has a distinct tone that creeps over you. Maybe it'sjust Alexandre Desplat's hauntingly perfect score that makes thecomparison easy to draw, but there's an undeniable feel to Polanski'sfilm. He's the kind of director that lets the story tell itself (easyto do when you have a hand in the writing), only allowing moments andimages to linger enough to arouse your suspicions. It's more greatcraft than excellent story, but it's a memorable (and overdue) effortfrom Polanski.~Steven CVisit my site http://moviemusereviews.com

carole

(2013-05-15 15:26:57)

Oh so predictable

If this movie were referring to the KGB it might have had some credibility. The fact that the CIA is portrayed as worse than the terrorists is typical Polanski.

(2013-05-13 03:30:30)

Good Movie

This review is from: The Ghost Writer (Amazon Instant Video) I enjoyed this movie. The performances were good. The filming was interesting enough for the genre. I was sufficiently amused.

Sharan S

(2013-05-12 10:57:42)

A Charming Thriller

It is a fact that most thrillers are gray and black. Adding thatthrillers are also accompanied by shrieking music and darker visualsand eerie characters, The Ghost Writer seems to be a pleasant one. It'sjust the way Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut was. We prefer shriekingmusic and heavy thumps when a thrill is introduced, but, Roman Polanskigoes for pleasant music when the ultimate thrill of The Ghost Writer isintroduced.Defiant of a luxurious life after being promised a pay of a quarter ofa million dollars, the nameless author decides to ghost write ex-British PM, Adam Lang's memoir. And as always intended, the predecessoris either dead or in coma. Here, the predecessor is dead and asintended to always, it's a mystery that his suicide be briefed in thefinal stages of the film. But, no, the death is unexplained. The onlydetail you receive is that it was more of a murder rather than suicide. The movie reminded me that these conceptualized screenplays could stillwork out in a humbug industry and the fact that having British peoplein Cape Cod is an unusual thing. Well, that's what you witness in thisfilm. Couldn't say more probably, I'd really call for a SupportingActor nomination for Brosnan. He's done well so far both in Remember Meand The Ghost Writer. McGregor is at his usual best. Polanski, being the trained accomplice of deception leads you into arun-on-the-mill type thriller which then turns rather serious. But,these kinds of political thrillers always end with the protagonistleaking out everything and reaping the benefits. However, The GhostWriter is nowhere in that line. It was very cheeky to explain that I'veseen a handful of movies where I could predict the ending and even theplot points. But, this flick made me wrong. There are times whenscreenplay is considered solid gold. This might be one of those.

brocksilvey

(2013-05-04 04:58:05)

The Ghosts of Writers Past....

A satisfying little thriller from Roman Polanski with one of the bestclosing shots I've seen in a movie in a long time.Ewan McGregor plays the title character, who's assigned the task ofcleaning up the autobiography of a former and much maligned Britishprime minister (played by Pierce Brosnan) when the original ghostwriter turns up dead. As McGregor works on the book, he begins touncover information about the minister that leads him to suspect thefirst writer's death wasn't an accident and that he may be in dangerhimself.Polanski is a king at creating atmospheres, especially brooding ones,and "The Ghost Writer" is no exception. Set in the U.S. but filmed inEurope, the film's predominant color palette consists of browns andgrays, and rain is incessant. But though the film's setting is gloomy,the film itself is not, thanks to Polanski's nimble direction; solidacting from a surprising ensemble that also features Olivia Williams,Tom Wilkinson (playing an American), Kim Cattrall (playing a Brit),Timothy Hutton and, out of nowhere, John Belushi; and an exciting scoreby Alexandre Desplat.And as for that last shot.....pure brilliance.Grade: A

(2013-05-03 16:27:11)

The Ghost Writer

This review is from: The Ghost Writer (DVD) This was a great movie! Also, the seller was polite, shipped fast and was really great! Excellent Movie!The seller is:candy102764 Storefront !!! Thank you!!

(2013-05-01 18:04:03)

Worst movie of the year?

This review is from: The Ghost Writer (DVD) An extremely weak cast, coupled with a confused and inconsistent story that wanders at the pace of a snail, leaves one with the question as to why it was made. The answer is that it is a not-so-thinly-veiled leftish trashing of the Bush-Blair era. Doubtless those on the left, known historically for their irrationality, will adore this film. More discerning viewers, who tire of Hollywood's histrionics, will go elsewhere.

Lizardo5298

(2013-05-01 08:52:27)

Truly Brilliant and Amazing

I went in to see this film without any prior knowledge of what it wasabout. I kinda like that when I see a movie... I only knew that EwanMcGregor was in it and that was good enough a reason for me. The firsttwo things that I noticed in this film was the cinematography and thescore. I thought that the cinematography was beautiful and the settingswere stunning. There was a reason why everything had a certain lookabout it. The opening music at the beginning was also another hint thatsomething is quite off through the whole movie. This isn't going to bea run-of-the mill mystery story; this is so much more.Without giving away anything, there is so much to see and speculate onwhen you are introduced to the characters. I didn't realize until thevery end of the film that you are never hinted as to ANYTHING about TheGhost. More than once I was going over in my head to try and rememberwhat his character's name was, but to no avail. Ruth's character issomething else completely compelling and curious. Truly brilliantcharacters in this story.I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone who is looking to gosee a truly amazing and cerebral film. It doesn't mess with your headin the way Shutter Island did, but it makes you think and it reallyleads you down every single road of the map, all at the same time.

(2013-05-01 01:43:58)

No Tension, Predictable & Disappointing Film from a Great Director

What happened to Roman Polanski? If this film had been made by anyone else, they would have said it was a bomb. I was so disappointed by the lack of tension and the preponderance of cliches in this film. Pierce Brosnan was good as a Tony Blair-like Prime Minister, but Ewan McGregor gets my vote as one of the most bland and colorless movie stars out there. Kim Cattrell's character didn't make much sense. I didn't care for any of the characters and the denouement was interesting but the ending just fell flat to me (like McGregor's body). Some parts of the film dragged on to the point where I was falling asleep (Ewan talks. Brosnan talks. They talk some more. Then more talk.) Was Polanski too worried about his upcoming trial in the U.S. to make a good, suspenseful thriller? I felt he was uncommonly restrained in what should have been a nail-biting thriller. Oh well...I guess even great directors have bad days.

spadiva-981-779622

(2013-04-30 12:50:08)

Fascinating movie and concept

This movie fascinated me because I have a friend, Latham Shinder, thatis an author and ghost writer. Like the movie character, he is privy tohis clients life stories, business information, family connections,photos and more. The actors in this movie are among my favorites and Ienjoy their ability to portray their characters in a way that "suspendsbelief" such that they disappear into the film itself and I am nolonger seeing the actor. The people that employ a ghost writer have astory they want to tell, but the plot concept of the hidden story takesthis film beyond what might seem a vanity project into darker insightsfor both the protagonist and the antagonists and the viewer themselves.

(2013-04-29 05:26:12)

"The Ghost Writer" is excellent!

"The Ghost Writer" is excellent! This is how the story goes: When a successful British ghostwriter, The Ghost, agrees to complete the memoirs of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang, his agent assures him it's the opportunity of a lifetime. But the project seems doomed from the start--not least because his predecessor on the project, Lang's long-term aide, died in an unfortunate accident. The Ghost flies out to work on the project, in the middle of winter, to an oceanfront house on an island off the U.S. Eastern seaboard. But the day after he arrives, a former British cabinet minister accuses Lang of authorizing the illegal seizure of suspected terrorists and handing them over for torture by the CIA -- a war crime. The controversy brings reporters and protesters swarming to the island mansion where Lang is staying with his wife, Ruth, and his personal assistant and mistress, Amelia. As The Ghost works, he begins to uncover clues suggesting his predecessor may have stumbled on a dark secret linking Lang to the CIA -- and that somehow this information is hidden in the manuscript he left behind. Was Lang in the service of the American intelligence agency while he was prime minister? And was The Ghost's predecessor murdered because of the appalling truth he uncovered?The cast led by Ewan McGregor (as The Ghost) & Pierce Brosnan (as Adam Lang) is excellent! The directing by Roman Polanski (who also wrote the screenplay and produced) (who also directed "Rosemary's Baby" (1968), "Chinatown" (1974) & "The Pianist" (2002, which won him the Best Director Oscar, he also produced) is excellent! The screenplay by Robert Harris (based on his novel) & Polanski is excellent!The music by Alexandre Desplat (who also did the music to "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" (2009), "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button" (2008), "The Queen" (2006), "Julie & Julia" (2009), "The Fantastic Mr. Fox" (2009), the upcoming "The Tree Of Life" (2010) & "Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part I" (2010) is excellent! The cinematography by Pawel Edelman (who also did the cinematography to "The Pianist" & "Ray" (2004) is excellent! The film editing by HervГѓВ© de Luze (who also did the film editing to "The Pianist") is excellent! The casting by Fiona Weir (who also did the casting to "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" (2005), "Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix" (2007), "Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince" (2009), the upcoming "Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Parts I & II" (2010 & 2011) & "Invictus" (2009) is excellent! The production design by Albrecht Konrad is excellent! The art direction by Cornelia Ott (who also did the art direction to "Valkyrie" (2008), David Scheunemann (supervising art director) (who also did the art direction to "Inglourious Basterds" (2009) & the upcoming "The Apparition" (2010) & Steve Summersgill (who also did the art direction to the upcoming "The Apparition") is excellent! The set decoration by Katharina Birkenfeld & Bernhard Henrich (who also did the set decoration to "Valkyrie" & "The Bourne Supremacy" (2004) is excellent! The costume design by Dinah Collin (who also did the costume design to "United 93" (2006) is excellent!This is a excellent mystery-thriller that keeps you guessing and thinking and on the edge of your seat. This is one of the best movies of the new year. This is one of Roman Polanski's best movies in a while.

Lee Eisenberg

(2013-04-28 15:33:24)

"ghost" muster

If Roman Polanski's recent arrest makes you weary about watching "TheGhost Writer", then it shouldn't. This is a very good movie, and veryrelevant.Ewan McGregor plays a young man hired to ghostwrite the autobiographyof a former British PM (Pierce Brosnan). The previous ghostwriterdrowned. The former PM is catching flack for complicity in torture. Asthe story progresses, it starts to look like none of the events areaccidents.Much of the movie has the feeling of the string of films in the 1970sfocusing on suspicion of the government ("The Parallax View", "ThreeDays of the Condor" and "All the President's Men"), but Roman Polanskiof course infuses it with his own style. He arranges the plot a littlebit like "Rosemary's Baby", where everything seems pretty normal for awhile, but then the horrific truth comes out. Needless to say,Brosnan's character has more than a few similarities to Tony Blair.Anyway, this is a movie that everyone should see. At the very least, itlooks at what has been going on in the world during the past few years,while also calling into question how well we know our supposed leaders.Very good.Also starring Kim Cattrall, Olivia Williams, Tom Wilkinson, TimothyHutton, Jim Belushi and Robert Pugh.

floatingdave

(2013-04-22 21:34:44)

Pedestrian at best

No comparison to the Ninth Gate, one of my favorites, is possible. Thismovie should be lost in the dust bin with the only redeeming featuresbeing the excellent location staging and cinematography.The plot is very tired, worse, the actions by the characters are notmotivated at all. There is no connection between the harebrainedactions of the characters and a real world person. Call me politicallytired and jaded, but after some 60 plus years of close cooperationbetween Great Britain and the US who would really care of a closerelationship between a PM or his closest aides and the CIA? "In thepocket of the CIA" "is an agent of" are only a meaningful plot deviceswhen such a concept is earth-shatteringly negative. What differencewould such a person really make between the US and GB? Each countryroutinely spies on friendly nations.Come'on Roman, red herrings does not make tension, timing, pacing,involvement, all bring tension; Ghost Writer is lacking in them all.The bigger story was the university professor acting as a CIA recruiterat Cambridge - who else did he recruit? How naive is the Ghost Writerin his actions? Is there really a professional writer who has neverread a spy novel? A high school student, reading any silly spy novelwould have never done half the stupid things which the Ghost Writeractually does.It all concludes with another stupidity. How stupid is the Ghost Writergiving the spy a note identifying her as the spy - given that the spyhad already caused people to die. It isn't even as interesting or asintelligent as Three Day of the Condor, where the paper (NYTimes) getsthe information... where is the intelligence? Stupid, stupid, stupid;but pretty.

nama chakravorty

(2013-04-22 00:45:26)

Polanski at his best...

Veteran filmmaker Roman Polanski is back with a bang with 'The GhostWriter'. A Terrific Film, with almost everything going on it'sadvantage. An adaptation of the Robert Harris novel The Ghost,Polanski's take on the subject is taut!When a successful British Ghostwriter agrees to complete the memoirs offormer British Prime Minister, his agent assures him it is theopportunity of a lifetime. But the project seems doomed from thestart—not least because his predecessor on the project, The formerPrime Minister's long-term aide, died in an accident. Thus, begins ajourney filled with twist and turns.'The Ghost Writer' gets it right from the very start. It's a terrificsubject, and comes up as one memorable cinematic experience. Plus, it'sculmination "the final twist' indeed leaves you awe-struck. It catchesyou by a surprise, and proves it's caliber of being a taut thriller.Polanski rocks. His direction and Screenplay both are fantastic. PawełEdelman's Cinematography is top-notch. Hervé de Luze's editing is good.In the acting department, Ewan McGregor is marvelous as The GhostWriter. He performs like never before! Pierce Brosnan in a brief, butimportant role, is suave. He has underplayed his charactereffortlessly. Kim Cattrall is excellent. Olivia Williams is in form, aswell. Timothy Hutton does well. Tom Wilkinson is okay. Jim Belushi, ina lone scene, looks bolted.On the whole, A Must Watch! Two Thumbs Up!

Joe

(2013-04-21 01:57:23)

Intriguing thriller on the modern political world....

In the cinemas in recent years, we've been fortunate to see a spate ofquality films that are commentaries or satires on politics. On the backof "Frost/Nixon" and "In the Loop" comes this feisty film, "The Ghost",which is like a cat amongst the pigeons. A very thinly veiled attack on the British government's perceivedsycophancy to the US, the film follows an unnamed "Ghost Writer" (of apolitical biography) out to investigate the death of his predecessor inthe same role. The biography is of a former British Prime Minister andhe uncovers some serious issues that could be publicly explosive. Theformer Prime Minister comes over as tortured by the criticism over hisdecision to go to war and their tactics on the war on terror. This filmstrives more to critique his mentality and satirise those around him.Ewan McGregor gives his best performance in a long while as theintelligent and inquisitive "Ghost Writer" whilst Pierce Brosnan as theformer Prime Minister slips in well as the tormented former leader.Ably assisted by a fine cast (which includes a good number by KimCattrall), the film flows well (despite its long length) as theensemble piece the intricacies of the film together for us to make ourjudgements and discover what is going on behind the scenes.The film-making doesn't rely on elaborate big sets or over dramaticmusic, with the story being the main focus. Saying that, the settingsare wonderful and the homes & hotels lush. It's a great lesson formodern film makers who really are shown that you don't need giantbudgets and spending to create tension and excitement. Kind of athrowback to Hitchcock in some ways.Overall, a very good film which most will enjoy and find intriguing.

dreamc

(2013-04-20 09:40:00)

Very well made thriller

The life of a ghost writer (someone who writes books, speeches orlyrics for others) isn't easy. No one is allowed to know that you areresponsible for something and you'll never get any respect from thereaders, someone else will however. The only thing you'll get is a bagof money and you will have to start looking for your next job. EwanMcGregor (whose character doesn't have a name and is called The Ghostin the credits) is such a writer and has been asked to write thememoirs of English prime minster Robert Lang (Pierce Brosnan). He has avery short time to finish it. Lang already had a ghost writer, but hewas found dead and it's up to The Ghost to finish the book. He iscaught up in a political web when Lang is mentioned in an internationalcase about the treatment of some prisoners. The Ghost starts searchingfor some answers.The Ghost Writer is a very exciting thriller. Although The Ghostsometimes is not very careful in the things he does it did not distractfrom the story, which was good from start to finish, including someunexpected twists. When you watch the movie you'll swear it was shot inAmerica. With Polanskis legal troubles they were not able to do thisand most of it has been shot in Germany. They did this by changingsigns, electricity wires, using American cars etc. It's all veryconvincing. The beach house was created in the studio and green screenswere used to show the ocean. I didn't notice it at all. The book onwhich this movie has been based was written by Robert Harris, apolitical writer and journalist who opposed the decision by Tony Blairto go to war in Iraq. Any similarities between Lang and Blair are nocoincidence.What I really liked was that the movie manages to keep the suspensehigh all the way till the ending, without an actual constant threat.Ewan McGregor is very convincing and really carries the movie, helpedby a very well written story. If you are looking for an excitingthriller which will have you watching on the edge of your set, look nofurther as this one is highly recommended.Score: 8

(2013-04-14 04:41:20)

Instant Film Classic!

This review is from: The Ghost Writer (DVD) Roman Polanski has succeeded in making another brilliant and beautiful film that stands along "Rosemary's Baby" and "Chinatown" in a cycle of breathtaking film. His films hold up during repeated viewings and this one actually improves with each viewing. Ewan McGregor is always a standout and this is to-date his best performance. Pierce Bronson has excelled himself also in this gorgeously photographed and edited film. Again the truly great films never seen to win awards - but they last and this will stand the test of time.

Surfin_San_Diego

(2013-04-13 21:30:43)

Intriguing Story for Mature Viewers

So many reviews here are written by cynical and, may I say, snottypeople who think that their opinion somehow is important andpersuasive. Just because a film may not meet the viewer's tastesdoesn't mean that it is a "bad" film.Don't get me wrong, there are "bad" films but as I read the reviewsabove I was constantly having to jump over political and social viewsto see if the reviewer could provide some level of objectivity. In mymind, they failed.Rather than try to match arguments, which is futile because one can'targue with someone whose mind is closed, I will second the findings ofsomeone who has proved that his reviews ARE important and persuasivefor nearly 40 years: Roger Ebert.His review puts it simply "This movie is the work of a man who knowshow to direct a thriller. Smooth, calm, confident, it builds suspenseinstead of depending on shock and action." Ebert continues "The GhostWriter" is handsome, smooth and persuasive. It is a Well-Made Film.Polanski at 76 provides a reminder of directors of the past who wereraised on craft, not gimmicks, and depended on a deliberate rhythm ofediting rather than mindless quick cutting." Ebert concludes "The filmimmerses you in its experience. It's a reminder that you can loseyourself in a story because all a film really wants to do is tell it."The "Ghost Writer" is a cerebral study of character and circumstance.It's not "Shrek" or "Harry Potter" or "Twilight". It is a grown upmovie for mature fans of Hitchcock and suspense thrillers.