*** Official THE JACKET Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Shawn_KE]

Sounds like another Butterfly Effect or Jacobs Ladder.

http://wip.warnerbros.com/thejacket/

 

[Jack Briggs]

A former co-worker and colleague of mine reviewed this film last night on KCET-Channel 28's Life & Times. His take on filmmaking combined with his positive review of this one convinces me it's worth checking out.

 

[JonZ]

http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/movies/j/jacket.html

A Review

 

[Michael Reuben]

I agree that the territory is well-trodden, but I wouldn't cite The Butterfly Effect as a "better" effort. Leaving aside other differences, The Jacket has the one thing that The Butterfly Effect sorely lacked: a real actor playing the lead. The film may not be much more than a supernatural thriller, but it's better than any film that relies on Ashton Kutcher ever could be.

And unlike Jacob's Ladder, I think it treats the audience fairly by not offering a last-minute reversal that makes the entire film into an extended head-fake.

M.

 

[Craig S]

Well, I didn't cite TBE as a better effort overall - I just said it was better in dealing with time travel issues. My Ashton Kutcher comment should have clued you in to my feelings about his "talents" (or lack thereof).

I found TBE & The Jacket both to be mediocre films, and neither should even be mentioned in the same conversation with the much superior Jacob's Ladder.

 

[Holadem]

I very much enjoyed The Butterfly Effect, although I do believe the praise lavished on Kutcher's performance to be the result of extremely low expectations exceeded by a barely acceptable performance. The flick was off the beaten path, very well executed, and didn't pull any punches in the director cut. TBE that is...

--
H

 

[Alex Spindler]

I came away enjoying it. The actors were roundly good here and it tackled a time travelling concept in a way I found refreshing. In many ways, I think the film makes the case that Starks is less time traveling than communicating with his ghost in the future. He is, by every account, truly dead in 2007. His appearance in her car and by the shack outside her work really makes sense if he's a poltergeist that is haunting the people who had an impact on his life. You have to wonder if the orderly had been visited by others and that had led to his mental breakdown and commitment in the same facility he had worked at. When Starks last goes forward and still has his bleeding head wound, it's just like a ghost who still bears their cause of death. I'm so intensely glad that they didn't make Stark's future into a dream or anything.

Also, as a time travel movie, it touched on one of the more fascinating concept. I've called it sourceless ideation but it's knowledge that doesn't have a specific origin or logical path. Starks informs the doctor on the cure for the kid's seizures because he asks the doctor in the future how it was cured. It's in the vein of Terminator 2 in that respect in that Miles Dyson is inspired to create a technological revolution by looking at a distant cousin of his own creation.

 

[Michael Reuben]

-- The Jacket leaves everything open to interpretation while still providing a reasonably satisfying dramatic conclusion.

Just to be clear, I'm a fan of Jacob's Ladder, but I've always felt that the ending was a cheat. The film works in spite of the ending, because it has the same thing that The Jacket has: a convincing central performance (also by an Oscar-winning actor) that draws you right into the protagonist's terror and confusion.

M.

 

[Shawn_KE]

That doesnt make sense if it't true.

 

[Michael Reuben]

It makes perfect sense, and as noted in my post above, there are clues to that interpretation scattered throughout.

M.

 

[Martino]

I thought this looked interesting - until I saw something that makes no since to me - "finally loading them into a morgue drawer for a period of time"

Do they explain how someone can breath in a morgue drawer?

You think it would be air tight, so the smell couldn't get out? I think if you were locked in a morgue drawer, you would run out of air and die...

Maybe I am just reading too much into this...

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

So, did Kiera lose weight for this role? She's usually extremely hot. She was thin in Bend it Like Beckham but she's thickened up nicely since then.

As for my seeing the film, my devotion to Kiera aside, I think i'll wait for the dvd.

 

[Bobby*K]

I wanted to respond to this because it's responses like this that are simply un-called for. As if you are a movie making genious that knows what is and isn't a perfect movie. At least re-word your comments as how YOU felt in not such a matter-of-fact way. To me it sounds like you go into movies looking for ways to bash them without simply trying to enjoy it. And the fact that you (and many others here) even think of The Butterfly Effect after seeing this movie makes me believe you didn't wath it. Simply because it deals with a form of time travel doesn't mean it is anything alike. In fact, if you want to be technical, it's the exact opposite of TBE.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Bobby,
I don't see anything wrong with his post, he's merely stating how he percieved the film, that's all.

His post is no different than any other personal review posted here in the forum every day, so what's the beef?

 

[Robert Crawford]

This thread is now designated the Official Discussion Thread for "The Jacket" please, post all comments, links to outside reviews, film and box office discussion items to this thread.

All HTF member film reviews of "The Jacket" should be posted to the Official Review Thread.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter.


Crawdaddy