Thanks to KGA for posting this on the MB :)From Coming Attractions
Wow, we're confused. Before you read our first early review for Raimi's The Gift, know that one of our Hollywood friends saw an early screening of the picture too, and loved it. This scooper didn't have the same reaction, and here's their thoughts on Sam's next movie...
"Hey again. just wanted to say that i saw The Gift tonight, and as a Sam Raimi lover (well, excepting For Love of the Game) I was majorly disappointed. It's almost as bad as Silent Fall from a few years back (anyone remember that?) and makes What Lies Beneath (which has similar subject matter) look amazing in comparison (which i thought was only a B-). Blanchett is good, but has a flimsily-developed character. Katie Holmes is only okay, and is the provider of some really gratuitous nudity. The best performances, believe it or not, come from Keanu Reeves (utilized to the best of his abilities) and Hilary Swank (who is in all of about five minutes), but even then that's not saying much. Greg Kinnear and Giovanni Ribisi are not at their best. anyway, the film is nothing like the stellar A Simple Plan - it's just very shallow, and very, very obvious. I kept giving it the benefit of the doubt, thinking it could all turn around in another five minutes but it never did. Shockingly for Raimi, it's even poorly shot and edited (so many things don't match, there are strange time jumps, and many continuity errors). The whole project has the feel of 'Hey, c'mon down to the south, let's all make a movie together, here's the script but you can all do whatever you want and we'll see what happens,' and it just doesn't come off. There *are* some scares, except it's all just trickery, and not what Raimi usually excels at (there are nearly a dozen 'when I turn around someone will be standing there, and I'll scream' moments). C- from me. Once again, this is the worst year for films so far. I am worried for Spider-Man, now, as from Plan to this (through Game) is a pretty steep drop."
[Anonymous.]
