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For starters, "Murder By Numbers" is not
'technically' a serial killer movie. Serial killer
movies give you evidence and clues to follow, forcing movie
goers to try and figure out who the killer is before the
investigators in the flick. This film, however, comes
right out and tell you who the serial killers (though they
really aren't serial killers because they only kill two
people) are, what they are planning to do, and how they
plan to get away with it. That is what makes this film
so enjoyable, yet so flawed.
Ryan Gosling and Michael Pitt are two classmates (one the
stereotypical rich kid and one the stereotypical nerd) who
plan and finally carry out a murder. That is the crux of
the film. The rest of the picture deals with homicide
detectives Sandra Bullock and Ben Chaplin trying to figure out
who the murderers are before they strike again. In fact,
the majority of the film deals with Bullock and Chaplin trying
to interrogate a confession out of the two boys. Those
scenes are nice to watch. The scenes I didn't enjoy were
the ones that were unbelievably overused and recycled from a
hundred different other films. Bullock's background
(straight out of "Copycat")--she barely survived a
brutal attack and can't seem to get over it. Wow, that's
original. There is even a scene in this film in which
Bullock is attacked and severely bitten by a large, aggressive
baboon--that's right, the primate kind. We could have
just seen the creature--we didn't need the attack--it was
totally unnecessary.
Despite the several flaws in this film, it wasn't too bad of a
flick. Michael Pitt was quite good as one of the teenage
killers, showing that he has the potential to become a very
successful actor. Ryan Gosling left much to be desired
in his performance, but Bullock was witty and sexy as the
detective everyone calls 'The Hyena' because female hyenas
have genitalia like male hyenas. It was also interesting
to see Chris Penn pop up as a porn addicted high school
janitor who sells marijuana to the students. He should
be in much better roles than that.
There isn't much killing in this film, so sorry gore fans.
The ending of the film is not very original and turns a little
sappy at the end with Bullock trying to teach a lesson on
life, implying in her speech that she too has learned a
valuable lesson from the incident. Do we ever find out
if she and Chaplin will hook up? No. So, it leaves
a lot unanswered, though I doubt there will be a sequel,
unless they plan on bringing the Michael Pitt character back
as a Hannibal Lectorish madman (he could probably pull it
off). Summed up, this is a mediocre film that can be put
off until it is released on video; however, I do suggest you
rent it when it comes out, because it is certainly worth
seeing. After you see it, maybe you can tell me
why--after she is viciously manhandled by a large, scary
baboon--Sandra Bullock decides to do the same thing towards
the end of the film, without even checking for rabid animals
first. Some people never learn.
-- Billy
Ray
( 2 1/2 out of 4 pops )
Talk
about this film with other Popkorn Junkies |
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Other Junkie's
opinions.....
James ( 2 out of 4
pops )
I don't know why I even went to this, but it's not that bad. I would
have to say that other than Sandra Bullock, Michael Pitt and the other
dude (can't remember his name) gave good performances and I now have 2
more actors that I know of.
Patsy ( 3 out of 4
pops )
I really enjoyed "Murder By Numbers". Sure there are
some things I could complain about (mostly the whole side story about
Sandra Bullock's character's appetite for love-- what does that have to
do with anything, really?) but overall I was quite satisfied with the
film. I thought the story was good, the acting was good, and the
sound (normally something I don't notice) was excellent. The movie
is suspenseful, creepy, engaging, and packed with twists and
turns. I think most people are dismissing this film solely because
Sandra Bullock is the lead-- but don't-- she's a good actress and it's
fun to see her in this role (although her character reminded me a little
of the one she played in "Miss Congeniality", maybe because
they were both tomboyish cops-- I dunno.).
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