Robert W.

(2013-05-20 14:42:43)

Fun, gory, slick thriller

I wanted to see The Raven for a long time and finally got the chance!It does not disappoint. Financially it certainly did but that doesn'talways dictate what makes a good movie. The movie combines elements ofmystery, thriller, horror and action. At times it has a Robert DowneyJr.'s Sherlock Holmes feel to it, and it is certainly dark, twisted,gritty and just fun. It is obviously taking a fictional turn to a veryreal person (Edgar Allen Poe) but it also really tries to weave itsstory into the real facts about the legendary writer. It doesn't insulthis memory or his work but rather shows Poe as a troubled, torturedsoul but someone with emotion and imagination and I think even a desireto find retribution for things he believes he has done wrong in hislife. The film did not do well in theatres and I can sort of understandit. It is not a stone cold mainstream thriller, it has a different feelto it but I think in a good way. It's slick and intelligent with greatambiance and a very sold lead performance.I have always liked John Cusack. In some ways I think he's struggled tobe the lead actor, the Hollywood heavyweight, but I think he has greatcharisma on screen and he nailed the role of Poe. He made him such abelievable and empathetic character. I kept thinking I recognized LukeEvans but it turns out I didn't but he did a fantastic job as theinvestigating detective. I thought he was even a little underused and Ithought the buddy cop chemistry between him and Cusack was really goodbut unexplored. This is the second movie in a week that I've watchedwith Alice Eve (the first being ATM.) I think Alice Eve is stunning,just a beautiful woman and I love her for that but the girl never seemsto really impress in a role. She just looks pretty and smiles andreally never shows any true acting talent. She is a bit of an oddchoice for Poe's love interest and she isn't terrible but she fallsshort of the rest of the cast. Brendan Gleeson is also terrific in asmall role as Alice Eve's father.Director James McTeigue hasn't had a lot of experience as the main manbehind the camera but what he has done has been excellent. He has anamazing knack of creating a brilliant scene and setting like V ForVendetta and yes even Ninja Assassin and now The Raven. Perhaps heneeds a little more experience in really bringing out the most in thestory. However, for its few mis-steps the film is really an excellentthriller. I was even surprised (I didn't realize it was R rated or 18Afor Canadians) at the level of gore at the crime scenes and some of thereally twisted ideas in the film. I was only slightly disappointed atone particular torture scene that was literally lifted right from a Sawmovie but I can overlook that easily. Definitely worth checking out fora different sort of Halloween flick. 8/10

danyupu

(2013-05-20 02:53:57)

more & more Sherlock Holmes

yet again they did it ,first of all i'm a huge fan of the suspensemovies , the first ten minutes of the movie reminded me of the best(Sherlock Holmes) movies , but it is really a well made movie .the scenes , the sound effects and the acting was pretty good .there was some moments where i did held my breath due to the suspenseand the need to know what will happen , John Cusack Returns in his bestmovie since (1408)and did a really good job doing Poe's Rule , i reallyenjoyed the move and enjoyed every single moment of it .i am sure that you WILL like this movie and if you have the chance towatch ( please don't miss it ), if you love thrill movies then thismovie is for you ... 8 out of 10 in my opinion :-)

antoniotierno

(2013-05-16 14:33:16)

boring thriller saying nothing new about the writerГўВЂВЏ

The film sees John Cusack playing energetically the role of Edgar AllanPoe and that's probably the best element of the story, in addition toBrendan Gleeson's performance. The movie's a very conventional mysterythriller with Poe narrating his thoughts, fears and hopes. Whatdisappoints the most is an Edgar Allan Poe narrated in this flick whomight have been any other poet. In fact this film displays anything buta superficial interest in Poe's prose. The direction is fairly boringand unclassy, with the usual and foggy Nineteenth Century urbanproduction - very predictable - offering nothing more than the averageghost train. The final uncloaking of the is very illogical and quiterun of the mill.

gavin6942

(2013-05-15 16:49:33)

Beautiful, Brilliant, But Miscast

When a madman begins committing horrific murders inspired by the worksof Edgar Allan Poe (John Cusack), a young Baltimore detective (LukeEvans) joins forces with Poe to stop him from making his stories areality.The idea of setting a murder mystery in Baltimore at the time of Poe,with Poe as a character and with his stories as the inspiration seemsgenius on the face of it. Indeed, he is a great character in a greattime and his stories are a great inspiration for murder (as we haveseen in the many film adaptations that were inspired by his work). Itdoes seem a bit weird to put a real man in a fictional story, but if wecan have "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter", I guess it is okay.If you have an issue with it, I understand your sense of accuracy andneed for historical continuity. It might have made more sense to putthe story after the time of Poe (say, the 1850s) and had the killer beinspired, with a detective who knows the tales well. Or have Poe tryingto solve another murder, perhaps one that even happened. You know, likeMary Cecilia Rogers, the "beautiful cigar girl".Some people had an issue with John Cusack's Edgar Allen Poe. I feeltheir pain. Although I loved Cusack's delivery of the lines, I neverfelt like he looked the part. He looked too much like himself. Ideally,they should have cast Jeffrey Combs. Combs not only looked spot on asPoe in "Black Cat", he did a one-man stage show. Combs eats, sleeps andbreathes Poe. And, as an added bonus, he probably costs less thanCusack.Luke Evans was great and stole the show with his incessant intensity.Every line was dramatic, and it worked. Evans kept the film alive forme, as did the beautiful scenery and cinematography. Whatever was lostwith Cusack was gained with the coloration and lighting. Great, greatwork. I could have used less CGI blood, though.

dsmeek40

(2013-05-15 02:27:17)

not Sherlock Holmes

It thought the movie was weak throughout. Cusack is another one ofthose actors (like Tom Cruise and Keanu Reeves) who can only playhimself. He is never the character, and this doesn't help the film atall because it isn't Poe we are watching; it is Cusack. He's notengaging like RDJ's Sherlock or even fun like Depp's Ichabod Crane(Sleepy Hollow). His character is hollow, and I didn't feel for himonce, even at the end. That said, the actress that played his love wasmuch more engaging, even though she was only half the love equation,the other half, of course, missing from an emotionally bland Poe.The settings were great and the action and suspense (and there is somegore) is pretty good, but because Cusack is so lame, one never gets thesense of urgency and despair about his love being kidnapped and perhapsdying. You don't get it from him; from her, you get a lot.Perhaps the best actor in the entire performance, is the villain, andthis is the real tragedy because you don't get to meet him until thevery end, and then it's over. He has his moment, and he is terrific,more engaging than even Moriarty opposite Sherlock. I think if we'dgotten more of this man throughout the film, it would have been muchbetter, or if we had had a better actor than Cusack, one who could sellthe part of a tortured soul, the movie would have been worthy of itsnamesake.

Raj Sahu

(2013-05-14 14:38:17)

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!

Transported me to the era depicted. If you like quality cinema, here isa movie which will impact you deeply. I felt this was made after highdegree of research and effort. Brilliant performances add to themovie's charm and effect. Flawless, sincere, endearing, mesmerizing,brilliant--- Saw it twice in two days :) Experience it to relish itsflavor! The movie has 'effortless viewing' quality-- so rare nowadays.Its one of those movies that you don't want to end! And honestly 90% ofthe movies that I see nowadays do not impact me sufficiently, and oftenI am left looking at my watch, wondering when will it end! But this isNOT one of those movies.Its very gripping and endearing.

Schuriken

(2013-05-14 13:43:46)

Edgar Kinda Boring....

I paused this film to go to the toilet, to go fix dinner, to feed mydog and update status on facebook. Every time I pressed play again themovie had the same boring aura that even the darkest scenes could notcreate some kind of a mystical or dark feeling to it.It was not a bad film but it could have given more. The ending could befollowed by the killer surviving that shot and ending up in Paris orLondon to continue his killings, most viewers would agree with me onthis.The super computer contemporary style graphics on the ending titles aretruly horrible,the guy who did those should get fired or something. Itlooks like an Iron Man 3 meets TRON movie ending or whatever, I thoughtI was watching another movie end titles....As for Cusack his role should have been more melodramatic and dark,instead we get a youngish drunk fella that everybody wants to beat upbecause of his financial debts and silly behavior. I'm not a Poe expertbut this looks like crap. Maybe there should be more scenes with Cusackdrinking his liver out and do drugs like the From Hell movie. Cusackgives the character a very light approach that should not be there atall.Also more scenes with ravens should have been added and much moreblood.Not the greatest movie I've seen but it stands out amongst the tons ofcrap produced during 2012 and 2011 and it is nice to watch this in atheater rather than your TV set.Soundtrack is almost zero, could have been much better.I give it a 4 skulls out of 10 on the Mike Enslin scale....

Ashman1977

(2013-05-13 21:21:02)

Brilliant- Must watch

I am a big fan in general of "WhoDunnit" movies, and I was keen to seewhat 'The Raven' had in store. I went in assuming that it would be likeany other 'Jack the Ripper'/19th century killer movie and that it wouldpredictable. I was right in my assessment, but inspite of theseclichГѓВ©'s the Raven was a brilliant film mainly because of thefollowing:- The movie was beautifully shot. It has a very 'sleepy hollow' feelingthroughout. - The use of Poe's work and the poetic climax wasexcellent. I enjoyed this bit a lot as it left me with things to thinkabout after watching the film, something which is testimony to the factthat the film made an impact. - Great character development of JohnCusack/Poe. Made for a dark, mysterious man with a twisted view of theworld. Exciting. - There were many tense moments, great chases andsmall pieces of puzzle solving( like in console games) making for smallmysteries within one large mystery, thus keeping you engrossed all theway.To summarise, the Raven was riotous ride through Victorian era typesettings, keeps you on the egde of your seat, the mini puzzles keep youbusy and the plot and character development( Poe) was excellent,Definitely worth a watch and an 8 out of ten for me.P.S. The film has gore so if you can't stand that, don't watch it. It'snot a Hostel or a SAW, but there is gore and blood.

MistyNoble1987

(2013-05-10 21:55:05)

Love you, Cusak, but I'll sit your next Poe installment out.

Let me start be expressing how much I love John Cusak. I have loved himever since I first saw him in Identity. So, needless to say, I was kindof biased going into this film. Perhaps if I knew more about the poeticicon Edgar Allan Poe I would appreciate this film much more then I did.However I knew nothing about him except that his work was dark.Compared to other Cusak movies I have seen, this was less thenthrilling. Cusak's acting was great, as always, however I found myselfdosing off during this less then exhilarating movie. If you're a Poefan and followed his career, then you'll appreciate the way thateverything Poe writes is played out in real life. If you're a Cusak fanand are looking for an exciting adventure packed movie, then keep onlooking… Perhaps pick up Identity.

Dharmendra Singh

(2013-05-10 08:22:33)

Ravenous

The great American literary critic and master of the macabre, EdgarAllan Poe, was scarily familiar with the dark topics he wrote about.Arthur Conan Doyle suggested that Poe was single-handedly responsiblefor inventing detective fiction, and Jules Verne regarded him as a keyinfluence. Poe's life story could itself inspire a film. His father abandoned himwhen he was young and his mother died shortly after, leaving him in thecare of the Allan family, of Virginia. He eked out a living purely bywriting – uncommon for his time. He could be elegant, but he was adrunk, sarcastic and didn't suffer fools. He married his 13-year-oldcousin, Virginia Clemm, who died of tuberculosis at 24, causing him tosink into a deep depression. His own death – at 40 – remains a mysteryto this day. 'The Raven' takes place in the Baltimore of the 1840s, where people arebeing murdered in meticulous and macabre ways. The investigatingdetective, Emmett Fields (Luke Evans), recognises the killings fromPoe's stories. Fields persuades Poe to help him catch the killer, andPoe has no choice when his wife Emily (Alice Eve) is the next target.So what we have is a game of wits, in a film full of twits (sic). As Poe, John Cusack is, at best, passable. No doubt his interpretationwas carefully researched to include Poe's various characteristics, buthe dwells on just two: testiness and oddness. Think of him in 'HighFidelity', but using Old English and you'll not be far off. Characters,such as Poe's wife, his father-in-law (Brendan Gleeson) and thedetective are under-used for good reason: they have little to do. You'll be reminded of such titles as 'From Hell' and 'Sweeney Todd',only because this film has no higher ambition other than to blend in.It's Gothic without horror, a whodunit without suspense, a period filmwithout elegance. I'm still trying to work out which is more absurd: Poe arguing with hiseditor about his material while his wife lies somewhere in a coffin, orwhy indeed he continues to write stories long after the killer stopsmurdering according to them. The raven motif is shamelessly overused,even though the film doesn't have a modicum of relevance to Poe's poemof the same name.I wasn't more impressed by James ('V for Vendetta') McTeigue's thirdfeature because of its seen-it-all-before quality, and also because Iguessed who the killer was way before I should have. Never a good omen,really. www.moseleyb13.com

Владислав Трифонов

(2013-05-04 23:23:07)

Brilliant movie!

I have no idea why its rating is so low, and why people find it not soexciting. This movie is one of the greatest pieces of art I have everwatched. Its plot is very original and obsessive, and the actors playedwonderful, especially Cusack. His look and the way he played Poe areenough to watch it as it is outstanding. Before I see "The Raven" Ihave never heard of this actor, but he appears now to be one of myfavorite. There was something very human and deep in the storyline. Notjust the events but the description of all emotions and the way Cusackexpressed them as Poe. Moreover the direction was also incredible,every detail and every move were some kind of realistic andprofessional. "The Raven" is surely in my top 10 of the best moviesever.

kosmasp

(2013-05-04 10:37:13)

Another Poe

I think this movie might be appalling to Poe fans. I'm not thatfamiliar with everything concerning Edgar Allan Poe, so I might not bethe best judge, if you try to find out if this is anything like him orclose to what is known of him. But I don't think that matters much forthis movie. Quite the opposite, I really think this movie works as athriller (even with a heightened? Poe in it!).I like John Cusack in it and it does have a few scary moments in ittoo. The cast overall is good. And while the story might go where youexpect it to go (I don't think there will too many surprises), I stillthink it works quite fine. A nice little thriller, that might get hurtby the name it got or not. Another take that might be compared to therecent Holmes adaptations (by Guy Ritchie) ...

kdorsey321

(2013-05-03 20:41:52)

Detective Poetry

This review is on the movie "The Raven," starring John Cusack, LukeEvans, and Alice Eve. When I saw the previews for this film I wasautomatically hook. I haven't read any of Edgar Allan Poe's novels, butI have heard a lot of great things about them. The previews made themovie look real catchy with a writer (Edgar Allan Poe) going after amurderer that is mimicking his novels. Looked like a descent film and Iwas excited to see it.This film is about a writer (Edgar Allan Poe) who has an admirer. Theproblem with this admirer is that this admirer is willing to bring thedeaths in Edgar Allan Poe's novels to life. In the mist of this themurder starts to play a game and challenges Edgar Allan Poe in a battleof wits. To make sure he plays the game, the murderer takes somethingvery valuable to Poe.I thought this was a very good film. "The Raven" picks up themystery/thriller ball and doesn't get any scratches on it. I love theway John Cusack character was. I love his passion for his writing andhow he felt nothing anyone else was going was better than what he waswriting. I also like how just about everything Poe said was dipped inpoetic form. The screen writing was simply brilliant in this movie. Theending wasn't typical either. I liked that about this movie. There'snothing like a movie you can't predict. This movie was gruesome though.If your stomach doesn't do well with gruesomeness, you might want tosit this one out. This isn't a difficult movie to follow, but you haveto pay attention though. You may have to see the movie two or threetimes to fully understand how Poe and Fields (detective in movie)figure out the murderers scheme.Overall, I felt like this was a pretty descent film and I'm giving thisfilm an 8.5 out of 10. You have my blessing to see this film in themovie theaters. I will purchase this movie on DVD.

pyloudis-259-573001

(2013-05-03 14:55:34)

you have definitely better things to do !

What was the thing about the noise in this movie?--SOME Spoilers might be included---Almost every character screamed senselessly at least once. So muchnoise for no reason. Were was the suspense or the climax in that? Justcheap tricks to make you...well...scared? I'd say bored. The crimescenes were utterly disgusting or laughing stock even at times. Theplot was lacking gusto. Too clichГѓВ©d. As for the acting, it was the realhorror in this film. Except for Cusack sometimes.. everyone else waslukewarm, or truly non-believable. Poe's fiancГѓВ©e was totallyirrelevant. The detective...exaggerating it.Poe must be swearing in his grave LOUDLY about this! Do such filmcreators have NO mercy for literature? or US?

Boyd

(2013-05-01 04:29:16)

Great idea . BUT . Dull and completely lacking in atmosphere

I feel sorry for the actors when I see a piece of boring drivel likethis ... The idea was there and could have made a good film but itfeels like it was written in an evening by someone they dragged in offthe street The CGI was embarrassingly bad and although the whole thingis shot adequately it has absolutely no atmosphere ... It feels like itis missing a decent score and sound design ... It is just so flat Wasthis project even finished because it feels like it wasn't ... Nowonder it didn't even make it to the cinema over here in the uk Don'twaste your time this suffers from the same Hollywood ineptitude as thehopeless John Carter

trashgang

(2013-04-30 16:18:59)

just an ordinary murder mystery

This is a hard one to review because I have mixed emotions about it.First of all, I do like Poe's poems and the movie is full of it but onthe other hand I just didn't find it a horror. On that part it failedcompletely. It reminded me so much of Sherlock Holmes (2009). Okay, itdo has a serial killer who likes sentences of Poe's poems but where arethe killings. The only one that was worth watching is the "Pit and ThePendulum" murder. But if you look then you see that it was a mix of CGIand effects and from that point I was a bit disappointed. One slashingdid look great but it was all too late. Still, it's worth watching forthe customs and all that. But when they involved Poe in the search ofthe killer and the search of his fiancГѓВ©e it even became weirder for me. It has nothing to do with the 1963 version of The Raven also looselybased on Poe's story. There is a raven to see here in this flick doingstuff in a coffin. But it was, personally spoken, more a thriller thena horror although it was published as a horror. Or to give it aspecific title, a murder mystery a la Agatha Christie.Gore 1/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 3/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5

jeddjong

(2013-04-29 01:08:04)

Never Say Nevermore

In National Treasure, America's founding fathers were the guardians ofa secret treasure stash. In the Men In Black films, Elvis, StevenSpielberg and Sylvester Stallone (who is coincidentally planning hisown Poe biopic) are aliens. The Brothers Grimm fought mythicalmonsters. Here, Edgar Allan Poe is roped in by Baltimore's finest tosolve a series of murders based on his stories. This may not seem asimpressive, but taking into account the legendary author's darkimagination and famously macabre stories, the crimes are prettygruesome. This is the guy credited with the creation of the modernhorror and detective stories, after all. There is tremendous potential in the idea of Poe pitted against akiller who takes direct inspiration from his tales. Unfortunately, mostof it is squandered in favour of unsophisticated slasher movie fare."People love blood and murder", Reynolds (Kevin R McNally) thenewspaper editor tells Poe. And in that respect, the movie delivers –the most gruesome murder happens relatively early on in the movie,where the victim is cut in half by a lowering bladed pendulum,something out of a Saw film – though Poe did it first in The Pit andthe Pendulum. Problem is, more people are likely to have a Saw filmthan read Poe's story. John Cusack's Poe is quite a disappointment. He's portrayed as thetypical eccentric artist, and there's no mystique or danger, especiallygiven the enigma the real Poe was. Cusack also doesn't fit into theperiod surroundings at all; one would half expect him to lift a ghettoblaster over his head. At its worst, it brings to mind Nicolas Cage –not a good thing. Inspector Fields, as played by Luke Evans, is earnest, hardworking,dedicated – and absolutely one-note and boring. The interesting dynamicthat might have existed between the author and the policeman is all butabsent. The inclusion of Alice Eve as Emily Hamilton, a love interestfor Poe, is done rather lazily, considering that he had a wife but wasfamously asexual and apparently only loved her platonically. But thatwould have been too difficult to portray and would have gotten in theway of the pulpy thrills now, wouldn't it? And so, she's quickly put injeopardy as a motivator for Poe, and to force Poe and her disapprovingfather (Brendan Gleeson) to work together. When the identity of the killer is revealed, it is more likely toinduce an indifferent "meh" as opposed to the desired "gasp!" Andthat's the cardinal sin when it comes to whodunits. Director JamesMcTeigue also delights in heavy-handed faux-symbolism – just becausethe title of the movie is "The Raven" doesn't mean one or more of thebirds have to flutter into frame in every other scene. However, the artdirection and the re-creation of 19th Century Baltimore are generallypretty good. So, this is pretty much average Poe.

Saad Khan

(2013-04-28 17:17:54)

Almost Dreadful...

The Raven – TRASH IT (C-) I don't know why I decided to watch johnCusack movie" The Raven" as far as I remember I never liked a JohnCusack movie in my life unless if he was in some 90s movie I don'tremember at this time. The Raven tried to capture the imagination ofTim Burton's Classic Sleepy Hallow and failed miserably. You may haveslightly created the same atmosphere but The Raven was too loud, toocrud and too much filled with obnoxiousness of John Cusack's character.The best part has to be the ending he …., wow I was so happy. JohnCusack is terrible from beginning to end. Alice Eve tried her best tobring some humanity to the movie as a girl buried in the cascade. LukeEvens is always wasted in supporting roles, I think it's about time togive him a lead role to see what he can bring to the table. On thewhole, it's terrible though at times time pass but way to loud to beenjoyable.

afh179

(2013-04-22 23:43:31)

Cool atmospheric thriller, I was impressed

This movie had the potential to be really good or really bad. To begood, this would need three things: for the set design,costumes,andcinematography to be on point, for the acting to be exceptional(especially from Cusack), and for the story to be smart and uniquewhile paying homage to the legendary Edgar Allen Poe. Fortunately, thismovie did not lack any of these three things, and this made for anentertaining and worthwhile trip to the movies. We'll start with the best thing this film has to offer: an awesomeperformance from Cusack. He plays the troubled Poe pretty close toperfection, and proves his versatility as an actor. As if hisperformance wasn't enough to merit a viewing, the brilliant set design,costumes, makeup, and cinematography are four more reasons to checkthis one out. The aftermath of the killings are just brutal, the makeupteam did an excellent job with this one. The movie's creepy, dankatmosphere owes much to the beautiful cinematography and brilliantcostume and set design. The period is captured perfectly through thesemediums, and make this movie that much more realistic. The originality of the story line should also be noted. While at first,the Edgar Allen Poe influenced murders may seem gimmicky, they actuallymake for an interesting and unique plot. It's also a treat as a Poe fanto watch some of his greatest stories come to life. Don't write thisoff as just a gimmicky, quasi-horror film, because it shouldn't beconsidered anything close to a horror film. What it is is anatmospheric historical thriller, and a very good one at that. Overall: 7/10

Bollywood_Chewbacca

(2013-04-22 05:46:27)

Poe had no beard, but Shaggy does!

As a grownup in my mid-40s, I am not even close to any of "ScoobyDoo"'s key demographics, but I was pleasantly surprised by the filmthis afternoon; so, I could tell, were the pair of sixtyishsilver-haired ladies down the row from me. The older man who left thetheater just ahead of me specifically praised the film to the 20-ishfemale usher (who said she'd seen the film the previous evening andquite liked it).More to the point, however: In the row just ahead of me, there werenine -- count them, nine -- ten-year-old girls lined up next to eachother, passing popcorn and hot dogs and candy back and forth andgiggling through the previews.Once the film began, they promptly settled down to watch........and didn't so much as peep till the closing credits began to roll.This is not a perfect film; it doesn't quite pay off its high schoolsubplots, it's not quite confident enough of its own tone, and itsthugs are just a hair too far over toward critically inept at times.But the adaptation of the source material is essentially respectful,the plot hangs together fairly well, and it treads deftly between thesins of excessive cheesiness and excessive modernization. Last but notleast, John Cusack carries the movie with startling grace -- AliceEve's superb timing notwithstanding, this is John Cusack' movie, and hepulls it off beautifully. His Poe is very much the direct ancestor ofShaggy, and the film is also a lineal descendant of Jodie Foster'searly and underrated "Candleshoe".In today's marketplace, it's a rarity: a family movie that respects itsviewers' intelligence. As such, it won't be to everyone's taste -- butfor what it is, it is the best movie of its kind in decades.