From rec.arts.sf.reviews Sat Jan 5 16:00:10 2002 From: JoBlo Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: Impostor (2002) Approved: ramr@rottentomatoes.com Followup-To: rec.arts.movies.current-films Date: Thu, 03 Jan 2002 20:26:06 -0000 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Message-ID: X-RAMR-ID: 30696 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 275045 X-RT-TitleID: 1111378 X-RT-SourceID: 573 X-RT-AuthorID: 1021 X-RT-RatingText: 5/10 Summary: r.a.m.r. #30696 X-Questions-to: ramr@rottentomatoes.com X-Submissions-to: ramr@rottentomatoes.com X-Complaints-To: newsabuse@supernews.com Lines: 90 Path: news.island.liu.se!news.Update.UU.SE!puffinus.its.uu.se!newsfeed.sunet.se!news01.sunet.se!erinews.ericsson.se!erix.ericsson.se!luth.se!sunqbc.risq.qc.ca!falcon.america.net!news.gv.tsc.tdk.com!sn-xit-02!sn-post-01!supernews.com!news.supernews.com!not-for-mail Xref: news.island.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:2646 rec.arts.sf.reviews:195 IMPOSTOR RATING: 5/10 http://www.joblo.com/impostor.htm For more reviews and movie trailers, visit http://www.joblo.com/ PLOT: The year is 2079, the planet is at war with the alien race of Centauri and a brilliant weapons engineer is in hot water, as the federal security agency accuses him of being an alien. He refutes the claims and escapes their clutches, but in doing so, becomes a fugitive from the law. Is he an alien or just a guy with bad hair? Agency chase impostor. Impostor run, run! CRITIQUE: This movie reminded me a little bit of THE FUGITIVE, TOTAL RECALL and BLADE RUNNER, but without the originality, tension or overall entertainment value. I only found out later that it was actually based on a short story by Philip K. Dick, the man who's also responsible for the plotlines from the two latter films (as well as next year's Spielberg/Cruise sci-fi flick MINORITY REPORT). Hmmmmm, I guess there are only so many sci-fi ideas that one could toss around before they start looking the same, right? Anyway, here's a project that's been in the can for over a year now, a movie that the studio is releasing (read: dumping) in early January and a screening for which I was personally not reserving a lot of hope. Well, things started off on the right foot: decent special effects, cool little futuristic gadgets, Tony Shalhoub as the "best friend" and a pretty solid premise. Everything was hunky-dory so far. But it wasn't long before the film started dropping plot holes off at the doorstep (the man is secured in a high-security interrogation room and escapes through an open vent in the wall??), slapping slow-motion and strobe shots into every other scene and turning the rest of the movie into a lesson in dark filmmaking. It's one thing to make the film dark, but when you can barely tell the difference between the lame sets...gimme a break! Another problem that I had with this film was that everyone seemed to want to know whether or not this guy was an alien, but God forbid they conduct a simple "test" on the guy, which could apparently resolve the whole thing! The poor bastard tries to explain this to them, and even though he used to be a highly-regarded scientist only one day earlier, his word apparently means nothing anymore?? There's also the lack of any real tension during the whole "chase" part of the movie (which takes up most of it). Shalhoub and Stowe disappear for that duration and all that we're left with is Sinise (who we barely got to know before the run-around) and D'Onofrio (in one of his lesser impressive performances) playing tit for tat, without any real suspense (and shame on Fleder for slapping in a couple of "boo" scares instead). These doofuses are supposed to be the most highly-trained security personnel on the planet, but they routinely let Sinise escape through vents (which are everywhere in the future, apparently!), don't notice him when he literally bumps into them and mistake him for a little girl in another scene. I mean...c'mon!!! But without the pickiness of the believability of the chase, the film is still pretty coherent, does present an interesting dilemma for the future (if aliens can actually look like us...how do we fight and recognize them?) and the ending, seriously blew me for a loop! I won't give anything away here, but I definitely didn't expect it to conclude on that note and for that...I was pretty happy. Incidentally, this film was originally only slated to be a 30-minute portion of an anthology film, which might help explain some of the filler and lack of real development. In the end, this flick isn't horrible by any means, but it certainly isn't a good movie either. Feels like one of those sci-fi TV shows that you watch for an hour and then forget all about. Skip it if you're not into sci-fi at all, and check it out on video if you are...but don't expect much. Where's JoBlo coming from? The 13th Floor (6/10) - The Arrival (8/10) - Battlefield Earth (7/10) - The Fugitive (8/10) - Johnny Mmemonic (2/10) - The Matrix (8/10) - Men in Black (7/10) - Pitch Black (7/10) - The Running Man (6/10) - Total Recall (8/10) - Virus (5/10) Review Date: December 19, 2001 Director: Garry Felder Writers: Caroline Case, Ehren Kruger, David N. Twohy Producer: Gary Fleder, Marty Katz, Gary Sinise Actors: Gary Sinise as Spencer Olham Vincent D'Onofrio as Hathaway Madeleine Stowe as Maya Olham Genre: Science-Fiction Year of Release: 2001 ------------------------------------ JoBlo's Movie Emporium http://www.joblo.com/ ------------------------------------ (c) 2001 Berge Garabedian ========== X-RAMR-ID: 30696 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 275045 X-RT-TitleID: 1111378 X-RT-SourceID: 573 X-RT-AuthorID: 1021 X-RT-RatingText: 5/10 From rec.arts.sf.reviews Thu Jan 10 11:44:21 2002 From: Rose 'Bams' Cooper Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: Impostor (2002) Approved: ramr@rottentomatoes.com Followup-To: rec.arts.movies.current-films Date: Mon, 07 Jan 2002 22:45:32 -0000 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Message-ID: X-RAMR-ID: 30734 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 277294 X-RT-TitleID: 1111378 X-RT-SourceID: 447 X-RT-AuthorID: 3672 Summary: r.a.m.r. #30734 X-Questions-to: ramr@rottentomatoes.com X-Submissions-to: ramr@rottentomatoes.com X-Complaints-To: newsabuse@supernews.com Lines: 109 Path: news.island.liu.se!news.Update.UU.SE!puffinus.its.uu.se!newsfeed.sunet.se!news01.sunet.se!newsfeed.bahnhof.se!newsfeed1.bredband.com!bredband!diablo.netcom.net.uk!netcom.net.uk!nerim.net!proxad.net!freenix!sn-xit-01!sn-post-01!supernews.com!news.supernews.com!not-for-mail Xref: news.island.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:2680 rec.arts.sf.reviews:198 '3BlackChicks Review...' IMPOSTOR (2002) Rated PG-13; running time 96 minutes Studios: Dimension Films Genre: Science Unreality Seen at: Celebration Cinema (Lansing, Michigan) Official site: http://www.dimensionfilms.com/ IMDB site: http://us.imdb.com/Details?0160399 Written by: Caroline Case, Ehren Kruger, Mark Protosevich (based on the short story by Phillip K. Dick) Directed by: Gary Fleder Cast: Gary Sinise, Vincent D'onofrio, Madeleine Stowe, Mekhi Phifer, Tony Shalhoub Review Copyright Rose Cooper, 2002 Review URL: http://www.3blackchicks.com/bamsimpostor.html Four whole days. It only took four days for a movie to become the Worst Of 2002. I wonder what the other 361 days has in store for us. THE STORY (WARNING: **spoilers contained below**) In 2079, scientist Spence Olham (Gary Sinise) creates a weapon for the war that Earth is fighting against Mean Aliens From Somewhere Else. This action, of course, makes the Government suspect Olham of being an Alien himself. Well, more than suspect: without so much as a bit of verifiable proof - none that the Government is sharing, anyway [sound familiar?] - Major Hathaway (Vincent D'onofrio) takes Olham in for some pretty intense debriefing, much to the shock of Gary's wife Maya (Madeleine Stowe) and best friend Nelson Gittes (Tony Shalhoub). But Olham is having none of that: managing against all odds (and logic) to get away from Hathaway, Olham enlists the help of the mostly unwilling Kale (Mekhi Phifer) to help Olham clear his name and get his identity back. THE UPSHOT IMPOSTOR was so bad, it hurt my feelings. It looked ugly, the acting was completely laughable, the editing looked like a hatchet job, the writing was incredibly inane, and the directing was atrocious. It'll be quite awhile before I can forgive Vincent D'onofrio - a generally solid actor - for his ham-handed acting here. Not that Gary Sinese, also normally a fairly good actor, was any better. Tony "The Brotha" Shalhoub should thank his lucky stars for being spared the humiliation Sinese and D'onofrio suffered. Ok, so the sound was great; Celebration Cinema's excellent speaker system saved the day there. But I rarely go to a movie to check out the sound effects, no matter how sweet they are. The fault, as I see it, belongs squarely on the shoulders of director Gary Fleder. Hard to believe that with IMPOSTOR, he could make movies like TOTAL RECALL and THE 6TH DAY look Shakespearean by comparison. Fleder managed to liberally take standard Us Against Them science fiction concepts left and right from writers like Phillip K. Dick, without making them the least bit interesting to sit through for those 96 painful minutes. And no, overusing slow-motion effects does not make your film look kewl, dag! Fleder seemed to do everything within his power to make the entire audience look eagerly for the nearest exit. A few in our audience, exercised that very option. Oh, how I envied them. I should probably say more here, but the effort to Bring Meaning to the waste of celluloid that is IMPOSTOR, is far too great. Do yourself a favor: skip the fakers, and just check out Dick firsthand. THE "BLACK FACTOR" [ObDisclaimer: We Are Not A Monolith]: Do I want to spend a few more reviewing seconds praising Mekhi Phifer for not completely Sucking when all around him was going quickly downhill? Nah. BAMMER'S BOTTOM LINE I don't know much about the man, but I'd bet dollars to donuts that the loud screeching sound you just heard, was the sound of Phillip K. Dick rolling over in his grave. Leave the man be, Hollywood; he earned his rest. IMPOSTOR (rating: redlight): Somebody, call the cops: IMPOSTOR should be arrested for impersonating a movie. Rose "Bams" Cooper Webchick and Editor, 3BlackChicks Review Entertainment Reviews With Flava! Copyright Rose Cooper, 2002 EMAIL: bams@3blackchicks.com http://www.3blackchicks.com/ ========== X-RAMR-ID: 30734 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 277294 X-RT-TitleID: 1111378 X-RT-SourceID: 447 X-RT-AuthorID: 3672 From rec.arts.sf.reviews Thu Jan 10 11:45:45 2002 From: Steve Rhodes Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: Impostor (2002) Approved: ramr@rottentomatoes.com Followup-To: rec.arts.movies.current-films Date: Mon, 07 Jan 2002 23:00:41 -0000 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Message-ID: X-RAMR-ID: 30742 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 277279 X-RT-TitleID: 1111378 X-RT-SourceID: 703 X-RT-AuthorID: 1271 X-RT-RatingText: 2.5/4 Summary: r.a.m.r. #30742 X-Questions-to: ramr@rottentomatoes.com X-Submissions-to: ramr@rottentomatoes.com X-Complaints-To: newsabuse@supernews.com Lines: 65 Path: news.island.liu.se!news.Update.UU.SE!puffinus.its.uu.se!newsfeed.sunet.se!news01.sunet.se!news-peer-europe.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.gtei.net!news.maxwell.syr.edu!newsfeed.stanford.edu!sn-xit-01!sn-post-02!sn-post-01!supernews.com!news.supernews.com!not-for-mail Xref: news.island.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:2687 rec.arts.sf.reviews:199 IMPOSTOR A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 2002 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): ** 1/2 Paranoia reigns supreme in IMPOSTOR, a sci-fi film based on a Philip K. Dick short story. The movie, by director Gary Fleder (DON'T SAY A WORD), has had a half dozen releases scheduled and then pulled over the past couple of years. Recut from its original R-rating, the PG-13 movie finally released is a long chase picture set in a BLADE RUNNER world in the year 2079. The movie was planned to be just one chapter in a three chapter movie. Stuffed with more filling than a Christmas turkey in order to make it stand alone, the movie lumbers along when it should be sprinting. The story concerns a scientist named Spencer John Olham (Gary Sinise) who has invented a bomb that might prove to be the definitive weapon in the interminable war against the aliens, but, like J. Robert Oppenheimer before him, Olham begins to have doubts about the ethical use of his own creation. Hathaway (Vincent D'Onofrio), a leader of Earth's security forces, has no such doubts, telling Olham, "This weapon is a godsend. It will ensure the preservation of our race and our faith." This is one of the few thoughts expressed in the film, which most of the time doesn't have a lot on its mind, save running, hiding and shooting. Actually, Olham may or may not be Olham. Hathaway believes that he is merely a robot clone with a U-bomb planted in his heart as part of a plot to kill the Chancellor (Lindsay Crouse). Olham tries his best to reassure his wife (Madeleine Stowe) and everyone else that he is still Olham. The plot has a heavily drugged Olham trying to get to the hospital to obtain the one and only test that will prove his identity, while Hathaway and his soldiers try to hunt him down and kill him. The movie, which telegraphs that some big ending twist must be coming, doesn't disappoint when the surprise finally occurs. The movie isn't bad, but it isn't particularly good either. In the end, our sympathies lie less with Olham than with the studio. They tried recutting the picture, but it didn't help. Mediocre movies like the IMPOSTOR are too good to go direct-to-video but aren't quite good enough to be released to theaters. What's a studio to do? IMPOSTOR runs 1:36. It is rated PG-13 for "intense sci-fi violence, some sensuality and language" and would be acceptable for kids around 11 and up. My son Jeffrey, age 12, gave it ***. He liked the plot, the special effects, Sinise's acting, and, most of all, the ending twist. The film is playing in nationwide release now in the United States. In the Silicon Valley, it is showing at the AMC and the Century theaters. Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com *********************************************************************** Want free reviews and weekly movie and video recommendations via Email? Just send me a letter with the word "subscribe" in the subject line. ========== X-RAMR-ID: 30742 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 277279 X-RT-TitleID: 1111378 X-RT-SourceID: 703 X-RT-AuthorID: 1271 X-RT-RatingText: 2.5/4 From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon Feb 25 15:42:16 2002 From: Eugene Novikov Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: Impostor (2002) Approved: ramr@rottentomatoes.com Followup-To: rec.arts.movies.current-films Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2002 20:04:58 -0000 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Message-ID: X-RAMR-ID: 31090 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 287540 X-RT-TitleID: 1111378 X-RT-SourceID: 610 X-RT-AuthorID: 1577 X-RT-RatingText: B- Summary: r.a.m.r. #31090 X-Questions-to: ramr@rottentomatoes.com X-Submissions-to: ramr@rottentomatoes.com X-Complaints-To: newsabuse@supernews.com Lines: 99 Path: news.island.liu.se!news.Update.UU.SE!puffinus.its.uu.se!newsfeed.sunet.se!news01.sunet.se!news.sics.se!uab.ericsson.se!erix.ericsson.se!luth.se!nycmny1-snh1.gtei.net!cambridge1-snf1.gtei.net!news.gtei.net!bos-service1.ext.raytheon.com!cyclone.swbell.net!cyclone-sf.pbi.net!216.218.192.242!news.he.net!news!sn-xit-03!sn-post-02!sn-post-01!supernews.com!news.supernews.com!not-for-mail Xref: news.island.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:2966 rec.arts.sf.reviews:214 Impostor (2002) Reviewed by Eugene Novikov http://www.ultimate-movie.com/ Starring Gary Sinise, Vincent D'Onofrio, Mekhi Phifer, Tony Shalhoub, Madeleine Stowe. Directed by Gary Fleder. Rated PG-13. There is a lot to suggest that Impostor is an atrocious movie. It was unceremoniously dumped into theaters in early January. It was originally intended as a 40-minute short and then expanded into a full-length feature. These two warning signs turned out to be enough for the film to receive a sound critical trouncing from those who actually bothered to review it. I'm not sure why. This is decent, perfectly watchable science-fiction, reasonably well-made and featuring a formidable cast. I could see indications of post-production difficulties -- major parts seem to be truncated, the pacing is seriously whack -- but Impostor is never a chore. It is the year 2079 and Earth is at war with a ruthless alien enemy. Dr. Spencer Olham (Gary Sinise) has invented a groundbreaking new weapon that will help humanity to victory. Shortly before the reception that will accompany its unveiling, Olham is apprehended by a CIA-type detective (Vincent D'Onofrio) who is convinced that the real Olham has been abducted and replaced by this impostor, a bomb in disguise that is set to explode when in proximity to this godsend of a weapon. An inch away from being executed (literally), Olham escapes and goes on the run, looking to prove that he is still human. His plan is to sneak into his old lab and do a complete body scan that will show that he is his old self. To pull this off, he needs to evade a large-scale manhunt by navigating his way through the city's underground maze. He enlists the help of tunnel rat Cale (Mekhi Phifer; strange to see him here after his tragic turn in O) by promising him a supply of drugs presumably available at the lab they would be breaking into. In the meantime, our detective is communicating via an overblown videophone with some sort of head honcho who threatens to shut down his operation. Impostor was directed by Gary Fleder, an experienced director coming off such high-profile projects as Kiss the Girls and Don't Say a Word. His work here, though appropriate to the material, is too frenetic and stylized; he is clearly trying to symbolize the descent into madness that his character is experiencing, but in doing so, he threatens to give his audience a migraine. The editing, which consists of jump cuts, jump cuts and more jump cuts, would have made Baz Luhrmann's head spin. Well, maybe not. Still, the filmmakers deserve credit for maintaining our interest in material that's not very original or inherently fascinating. The central mystery -- is he or isn't he? -- is too pedestrian to keep us in rapt attention (at least until the end) and most of the stars we really want to see are not given enough screentime (Tony Shalhoub, as Olham's best buddy, has what? Ten minutes? I'd like to see what happened in the editing room to make poor Tony deserve such treatment). The ending is surprising (though it may not surprise everyone) and ambiguous; I'd still like to know exactly what is the last line that Olham utters before the credits roll. Impostor doesn't end with your typical triumphant shootout, opting instead for a unique, rather grim denoument. Those comparing it with Battlefield Earth should at least consider that. Impostor will make a good rental in just a few short months, as it only lasted a couple of weeks in theatrical release. Like the ignored Ghosts of Mars last year, it's good, solid, trashy sci-fi, and nothing less. It's enough. Grade: B- Up Next: Ali ©2002 Eugene Novikov ========== X-RAMR-ID: 31090 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 287540 X-RT-TitleID: 1111378 X-RT-SourceID: 610 X-RT-AuthorID: 1577 X-RT-RatingText: B-