*** Official "PANIC ROOM" Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Alex Spindler]

Does anyone know how long this film is? Might be able to squeeze it in before LotR!

 

[Dalton]

I think it runs a little over an hour and a half(about 96 min i think).

 

[Martice]

I saw it today as well and I can tell you that I don't regret seeing this movie before Blade II and I'm a fan of the Blade movies. Panic Room doesn't waste any time getting down to it and once it starts it doesn't let you go. I can truely say that this is the first movie in a while that I found myself loosing control and quietly yelling at the characters and also I held off going to the bathroom for at least the last 40 mins of the film because of the constant twists and turns and I didn't want to miss one part of it. Jody Foster is a winner and would make Agent Starling very proud.

I will buy this movie when it comes out on DVD and I will gladly show it to guests who missed it when it came out in the theaters.

What a film. What a film!!

 

[Ryan Peter]

Solid thriller. Two big from me.

 

[Patrick Sun]

That is one of the strengths of this movie: it does engage the viewer in the fates of the characters. you will find yourself rooting for and against all the characters in the film. It did have a classic feel to it (the music had a lot to do with the feel of the film).

 

[Mark Pfeiffer]

Panic Room is a solid piece of entertainment but little else. Considering Fincher is directing and Jodie Foster stars, I would have liked a little more substance from what is a Rear Window-lite film. Not terribly memorable but enjoyable for however long it lasts. (I graded it out as a B.)

 

[Nick]

The movie kept everybody on the edge of their seats till the end. I didn't see anybody got up and go to the bath room. That should sum up my review. Had Nicole Kidman been in this movie people would start comparing her with her earlier movie " Dead calm". Jodie Foster did an exellent job.

 

[Jeremiah]

At the end when Whittiker had to let go of the bonds and we all see 22 million dollars just fly around all over the place was a bummer.

I am glad Kidman didn't do it, not that I think she would of done a bad job but Foster was perfect for that role.

I couldn't believe when Leto(?) was going to bail on his partners and just except the inheritance he was going to recieve.

Mark, what kind of substance would you have wanted? I don't know how the movie could of been better.

 

[Tom-G]

Jeremiah, you might want to place spoiler tags on that information you divulged. People tend to get little testy about reading the ending of a movie before they have a chance to see the film.
Panic Room was wonderfully suspenseful. Was it plausible to think that two people could hide out in a rather small room while three burglars were roaming the house? No. That didn't stop me from getting sucked in to the suspense.
I loved the way the film was sprinkled with dark humor. The three intruders were sort of cliched, but I really hated Raul and couldn't wait to see if he would meet his match.
The visual style of the film is one that is trademark David Fincher and it adds to the suspense and adds appropriate ambience.
I can't wait to see Panic Room again.

 

[Mike Graham]

While there were definitely some enjoyable moments, I have to say my expectations bogged me down. Yes, I know it's only supposed to be a popcorn movie, and its not meant to have me thinking afterwards. At the same time, there were some things (and characters) that I just couldn't get into.

Jared Leto's character seemed to get laughs everytime he spoke. Usually I scoff at the audience when they laugh at something they're not supposed to, but some of the ridiculous lines had a smile on my face as well.

The entire sequence involving the propane had everyone laughing constantly. Was the scene supposed to be played like a Three Stooges bit? When Foster phones 911, and the operator puts her on hold almost immediately, I knew she hadn't actually called the real emergency services, but the Hollywood - Policemen - Never - Come -Hotline. Also, was it just me or did Foster's husband, Altman, just seem a bit too old for her? Finally, when Yoakem was hit on the head with the sledgehammer, fell a story or two in a stairwell, then proceeded to attack Foster, my eyes seemed to be perpetually rolling. I found Max Cady's return after his first "death" in 1991's "Cape Fear" to be far more plausible then Yoakem's. Whew, sorry for the rant!


The credits were nicely done; Howard Shore's score was superb, and the dark cinematography of being able to see nothing in the dark while actually everything you're supposed to was masterful. They also did an excellent job of covering Foster's pregnancy; if there hadn't been so much press about it I never would have known otherwise.

To conclude, even though I didn't enjoy the film as much as I wanted to, I hope it makes a few tonnes of money, because I definitely want Fincher to be directing for many, many years to come.

 

[JessV]

I thought it was pretty good, but not great. Fincher seems to have a thing about tearing Leto's face up.
This is the second film in a row he's done that in.

 

[Brett Hancock]

In the words of a great sketch on Saturday Night Live starring Darrel Hammond and is President Clinton reviews Independence Day. "I loved this movie!"

I thought I would keep my review short and sweet. I can't find to many negative things to say about it. Just a wonderfully suspenseful movie. Whens the dvd coming out ??

A

 

[Scott Weinberg]

Jeremiah!!!!!
PLEASE go back and edit your post to include some spoiler tags! I'd hate to see even ONE person who has yet to see the movie glance at your post!
Thanks!

 

[MatS]

Scott,
why are you asking for spoiler tags in a movie that has now opened. This is the 'discussion' thread, if somone wants no spoilers they should go to the 'review' thread.
That being said, my comments may contain some spoilers
I echo a lot of Patrick's sentiments
great movie
what I did not particularly like
- movie asked you to suspend disbelief once too often
- played a lot like Home Alone
- Fincher's stylistic quality began to work against him..he relied too much on shots/camera movements he has used in the past
what I liked
- opening title credits
- the roller coaster did not slow down
- as much as his style seemed repetative..his style is still something to behold..great looking film
- did anyone catch that guy walking down the street early on in the movie when Foster has moved into the house..looked a lot like Hitch..was this paying homage to the man EDIT: MASTER??
- humor was well done, not over the top slapstick comedy
- long fade to black near the end (before epilogue)..people were probably expecting a Fincher trick, but he did not play that 'Game'
all in all
will buy the dvd upon release

 

[Scott Weinberg]

Scott,
why are you asking for spoiler tags in a movie that has now opened. This is the 'discussion' thread, if somone wants no spoilers they should go to the 'review' thread.

It's been my experience that even in Discussion Threads, people will use spoiler tags when discussing very specific details about a movie's ending. Your argument would probably hold water if we were discussing Planet of the Apes or Psycho, but Panic Room been in release for about 24 hours now.
I've participated in Discussion Threads for films I haven't seen yet, and I'm sure others have too.
Just my two nickels; they're only worth a dime.

 

[Mark Pfeiffer]

Jeremiah asked:

Mark, what kind of substance would you have wanted? I don't know how the movie could of been better.

Not that I think it's necessary to view the film through the filter of Rear Window, but Hitchcock's film provides an example of how Panic Room might have been meatier. (Besides being a terrific thriller, Rear Window is also an allegory for the moviegoing experience, with Jimmy Stewart standing in for the audience as voyeur.) I'm not saying that Panic Room should have been about the movies. It very well could have delved more deeply into the subject of modern isolation and paranoia (themes not unfamiliar in Fincher's oeuvre) than it does.

Fincher is a talented director, but the material here is almost too slight for his abilities. It's the sort of movie he could probably crank out half asleep for the rest of his career if he wanted to do so. Panic Room is equivalent to Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's 11, a film I enjoyed more, in that both are above the material they were working with. While both have made entertaining movies, I'd like to see their talents put to better use on more challenging films.

One other thing... Although there's a lot of nifty camera moves and tricks, it seemed to be a bit much after awhile.

I liked Panic Room and found it relatively engrossing for its duration. I just would have liked a little more.

P.S. Oh, the husband's name (Stephen Altman) was somewhat distracting since it's the name of Robert's son, who works on his father's films.

 

[Jeremiah]

Mark, I understand where you are comming from with wanting them to delv deeper about modern isolation and paranoia but Meg didn't even want the panic room there so I doubt she had trouble with isolation or paranoia. I haven't seen Rear Window so I will have to rent it soon.

Everybody I have now edited in some spoiler tags.

 

[David Oliver]

Well I didn't particularly care for this move, mainly due to the ridiculous things that happened. I will include spoiler tags, although I think that Discussion threads shouldn't need them.



1. Kid with diabetes, of course, I meamn that has to be the case in this kind of movie. And I am pretty sure the kid should have been in much worse shape than she was.

2. Supercop, able to discetrn something wrong with "If there is something you want to tell us, but can't, you can just blink" Way to go Columbo! Of course she says nothing, but he still decides, with barely anything to go on, to show up with the SWAT Team. Because he is Supercop. But that ignores the fact that she could have told him! The closed circuit TV had no sound and she knew that.

3. Bad Guy #3, gets his hand crushed and two fingers chopped off, which normally would mean he would be practically uncoscious from pain and blood loss. But hey I can believe that he is toughing it out. But then he gets nailed witha sledge hammer and sent over the railing to the floor below about 20 feet). Yet he rremains conscious, and has the strength to ascend the stairs and overpower our protagonist. Jason from {i]Halloween[/i] was even going "C'mon!" when that happened.

4. Foster is knocking out all the cameras. "Why didn't we think of that?!" Really? Because it a bad script with a myriad of plot contrivances.

5. Flashing light was working great as a distress signal, hey let's stop that and yell through this small pipe, through a driving rainstorm acorss a courtyard to a guy standing behind a closed window about 50 yards away. Oh he didn't hear us. But yes he did, and he called the cops, unbelievable, hearing like a bat!

6. Jared Leto only pulled the downstairs phone out, not the main line to the house. Yes, we are supposed to believe he is that dumb. Well we know he is dumb because he dosen't know how long it takes to close the sale of a house. And then Foster manages to jerry rig another phone together. I guess this is possible,not sure about that one.

7. Of course, there is the ubiquitious extra guy for the job, you know the loose cannon who no one was told about until they actually get to the job. I remember this from Shanghai Noon as well, but that was a comedy.



Those are just a few. But the credits were pretty cool.

 

[Ben Motley]

Great flick! Oh, sure, you can find holes in this one, enough for it to resemble swiss cheese, but who cares, it was hella fun! There are some things that just wouldn't happen, but hey, the direction, the tension, the camerawork, oh man, the camerawork! Yeah, I recommend it heartily.
The credits, yeah, me and my frindes kept lookin at each other, pointing at the screen, lookin back at each other... really cool titles here. Very professional and classy.
That's so funny how many people are mentioning Home Alone, as I thought the very same thing while watching it, but in a good way. This is like some serious, violent, gory, no-cheesy-slapstick-comedy-but-some-damn-good-black-humor Home Alone.
One thing I missed... Why the hell was the money there?? I totally have no clue.
Chalk it up to my bad ears. :frowning:
Oh yeah, and the crew definitely at times resemble the three stooges, but not like you may think. It's very subtle, not over the top at all, like in Raimis Evil Dead movies. It's just in a few shots you see the guys wondering just what to do now, and they look so hilarious.
And good God I still love Jodie Foster! Yes, there are some very strategic shots that had me thinking of nothing other than hot Jodie cleavage suffocation... um, sorry. :b But aside from just that, she does look great.
Um, I feel an obligatory requirement to mention Ms. Foster's acting here. Okay okay, calm down here... Okay, she did great, with what she had to work with - both her and the young actress. They had a good chemistry together too... uh, I mean as Mother and daughter, you pervs.
Leto, Whitaker and Yoakam? I think they all did great. I've always liked Yoakam, even though he's not a great actor. Leto just rocks, even if he's spouting unrealistic dialogue. And Whitaker? Well, he surprised me. I don't know what it is with him, but I just groan when I see him. It's like I just know how he's gonna play a character, you know? Well, he did damn fine here.
As a matter of fact, none of these parts give any of the actors much to really shine on, but they all do a damn fine job with what they were handed.
Good show.

 

[Tom-G]

Fincher's stylistic quality began to work against him..he relied too much on shots/camera movements he has used in the past

I respectfully disagree. Camera movements are sometimes a director's "trademark." Look at films directed by Martin Scorsese and Stanley Kubrick. They use(d) a lot of the same camera movements in their films and it was never to the detriment of their films. Same thing with Fincher. He has a style that I love. Moreover, I believe you are referring to some of the shots that looked very much like the ones in Fight Club. There were a few lifted right from Fight Club but it defintely wasn't working against either film.