"Phone Booth" (movie)

[you_idiot]

Wondering if anyone's seen this flick yet?

Great suspense thriller... can't remember who plays the male lead, but not really that important. Great storyline, and wonderfully pulled off.

Forest Whitaker, as a police chief in New York City (where the film is set) is excellent-- and man, can Kiefer Sutherland play a heavy, or what?

Saw it earlier tonight, I highly recommend others to see it. Very emotionally captivating...

And I'm usually not one for these types of movies, which is saying something.

I'll just say that you don't want to blink for a moment, and my heart was in my throat for a full half-hour after Jen and I got out of the theatre.

[jod23]

Im hanging out to see it and will do so soon.

[thehardaway]

Colin Farrell plays the lead. Suprisingly, was the shoe-string budget the film was made for (something like $1.2 million, everyone was on the bare minimum) and it took only 12 days to film. It was filmed in November 2000, so it has taken a long time to come out as well.

[wagstaff]

Originally posted by thehardaway
Colin Farrell plays the lead. Suprisingly, was the shoe-string budget the film was made for (something like $1.2 million, everyone was on the bare minimum) and it took only 12 days to film. It was filmed in November 2000, so it has taken a long time to come out as well.

It was originally intended to get released late last year but was delayed because a series of sniper shootings in America were occurring and it was seen as releasing the film at that time as inappropriate.

As for the film itself, I saw it last Thursday and was pretty impressed overall. Definitely a film that should be seen on the big screen (especially with its split screen efforts in the first half of the film). It had two features that are rare for a Hollywood film these days - it had a good central idea and plotline and it wasn't overlong; pretty sure it went for under 90 mins.

And it managed to hold one's attention throughout - it was well-constructed and managed to use the hook of the main character (Colin Farrell) not being able to leave the phone booth for virtually the entire film as a suspense builder instead of a tedious contrivance.

And Farrell played the lead character well - you sympthaised with him as he changed from being a self-involved jerk in the opening minutes of the film to being a desperate, emotionally shattered individual as the film moved on.

The way the film wrapped up was slightly unsatisfying and left some questions hanging in the air - and I doubt it will stay in the mind like great films do.

But I'd recommend going to the cinema to see it.

[NICK THE PIE MAN]

Loved it.
Very suspenceful.

Colin Farrel was brilliant.

[aggels]

I saw it yesterday because there was nothing else at the time I wanted to see a movie. I didn't go in expecting too much - I'm generally not into that sort of film, but it was really quite decent for what it was. It was certainly good with the suspense thing. I normally move around so much in a movie, whether I like it or not, making everyone around me think I'm bored, but yesterday my friend commented that I didn't move once, I was that sucked into it. It wasn't fantastic, nor did it pretend to be, but it was certainly worth seeing.

[you_idiot]

Originally posted by wagstaff
It was originally intended to get released late last year but was delayed because a series of sniper shootings in America were occurring and it was seen as releasing the film at that time as inappropriate.

True, due to all the sniper shootings going on in the Washington, D.C. area at the time, in addition to all the other post Sept. 11-related sympathies.

Originally posted by wagstaff
As for the film itself, I saw it last Thursday and was pretty impressed overall. Definitely a film that should be seen on the big screen (especially with its split screen efforts in the first half of the film). It had two features that are rare for a Hollywood film these days - it had a good central idea and plotline and it wasn't overlong; pretty sure it went for under 90 mins.

I noticed another "rarity" in a Hollywood production-- did you notice that there were no opening credits, or at least very few of them?

This, I think, gave the movie a bit more of a real-time substance...

Originally posted by wagstaff
And it managed to hold one's attention throughout - it was well-constructed and managed to use the hook of the main character (Colin Farrell) not being able to leave the phone booth for virtually the entire film as a suspense builder instead of a tedious contrivance.

And Farrell played the lead character well - you sympthaised with him as he changed from being a self-involved jerk in the opening minutes of the film to being a desperate, emotionally shattered individual as the film moved on.

This is what I got out of the movie as well, that Stu (the character played by Farrell) metamorphised right before your eyes from a scum-of-the-earth type of character into a real person who has deep feelings and emotions spilling out of him by happenstance of the situation he's be thrust under.

Not a sympathetic character in the beginning, but he becomes one rather gradually...

[Nic]

Top movie. I love Farrell, he's a great actor. It was exactly the right length, if it went for any longer it would have lost something.

[clucas91]

Joel Schumacher ****.

I refuse to see it, good or not.

I still have not forgiven that **** for killing Batman.

[wagstaff]

Originally posted by you_idiot


I noticed another "rarity" in a Hollywood production-- did you notice that there were no opening credits, or at least very few of them?



Yeah, I noticed that too. But I think the practice of not having credits at the beginning of a film (or very limited ones) has become more common in Hollywood films in the last decade or so.

Until then, 99% of Hollywood films opened their films with a full credits sequence which didn't just list the title, main actors and director of the film, but all the technical crew and other contributors.

I think this trend is a good thing as why have credits at the beginning of a film when they're going to be displayed in full (I think by law) at the end of the film?

Alternately, an irritating trend is films where the credits at the beginning of a film continue through the opening couple of scenes. It's unnecessary and irritating and is usually a sign that the film isn't much chop.