Saturday, February 19, 2011

3. The Bone Collector


Title:        The Bone Collector
Year:         1999
Genre:      Crime Thriller / Serial Killer

Type:        A-Movie
Run Time: 118
Theatrical MPAA Rating: R-Rated

         Michael Rooker, Luis Guzmán 
Director: Phillip Noyce
___________________________________






______________________________________________________________________
Watch Movie



______________________________________________________________________
Trailer


______________________________________________________________________

Synopsis

He takes his victims’ lives and leaves behind mysterious pieces of a bizarre puzzle. And the only person who may be able to make sense of the serial killer’s deranged plan is Lincoln Rhyme (Denzel Washington), a onetime top homicide investigator. But after a tragic accident changes his life forever, Rhyme can only watch as other cops bungle the case...until he teams up with a young rookie, Amelia Donaghy (Angelina Jolie), who bravely searches out the clues that could help them solve the case.

But as the killer senses the cops closing in, Rhyme realizes that he and his partner are on the trail of a vicious, sadistic murderer who will stop at nothing on his deadly mission. And at any moment, Rhyme and Amelia could become his next targets — and their first case could become their last.

Alternative Synopsis
______________________________________________________________________
Personal Thoughts

In my quest to find a good article on The Bone Collector, I quickly became amazed over the amount of negative reviews I ended up stumbling upon. It appeared as though very few people took to this movie. I found one bad review after another ... and here I was, thinking I was recommending a pretty good movie.

First, it's probably important for me to mention that the Bone Collector is a 1999 film based on the 1997 novel of the same title, "The Bone Collector" by Jeffery Deaver. Many fans of the book believe the film version (like many other book-to-movie adaptations) fails in its attempt to properly convey the terror and mystery created in the novel version. So if you've read the book but haven't seen the film, then I should probably forewarn you that you may be in for a bit of a letdown. I personally, have not read the novel, though I'd like to at some point in the future.




Rainy gloomy city streets, dark & dingy crime scenes, a cold and calculating killer no one knows the identity of, libraries, clues and puzzles. If you're into movies like this, then The Bone Collector just may be the movie for you!

The main thing I typically hear people say about this movie is that they didn't like the ending -- strong beginning but weak finish -- and I do agree, at least to a certain extent. However, I felt, and still feel that the good far outweigh the bad. 

First, I wanted to make mention of the fact that Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie have exceptional performances in this one. In all, I thought the casting was good, the acting was good, the premise was good, and the atmosphere (mood, setting, cinematography) was good, which from my perspective, left plenty to be pleased about. Were there areas of the film's story where the writing could have been a little stronger, certainly. But as far as the plot goes, I still found myself liking more than I disliked. It's true, that the movie has some flaws, and that the ending could have been better, but with that said, I still consider the Bone Collector to be a good movie, which is not the impression one might get, reading some of the other reviews out there on the internet. 

Overall, I enjoyed this movie, and I'm not saying it's great or perfect. What I am saying is that, as a fan of 90's crime thriller flicks, I definitely found this one to be entertaining. In many ways, it reminded me a lot of the movie Se7en (the 90's had some very good whodunit crime thriller/serial killer movies).




The Bone Collector kept me entertained, it kept me on the edge of my seat, it kept me in an investigative mode (playing sofa detective, trying to piece together the clues and solve the puzzles) and it also kept me interested all the way to the very end, which is why I'm making this my third movie recommendation. It's a good one to watch if you missed it, haven't seen it in a while, or if you're stuck in the house on a cold, rainy day, with nothing better to do.



Review
______________________________________________________________________
 What I liked:

- The Acting (Denzel and Angelina Jolie give very strong performances in this movie)
- The cinematography, atmosphere ... and rain/gloom setting
- The "use your head to figure out the mystery" element of the film (libraries, turn of the century books, clues, puzzles, etc)
- The tragic back story behind Lincoln Rhyme (Denzel Washington's character)

What I didn't like:

- I'm not saying I hated the ending, but I was a bit disappointed with the ending
______________________________________________________________________
My Ratings

How good was it:             


How scary was it:        


How much did I enjoy it:


______________________________________________________________________ 
The Bone Collector Extras:

The Bone Collector Wikipedia
______________________________________________________________________
You May Also Like:

Se7en
______________________________________________________________________

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I loved The Bone Collector and I agree both Denzel and Angelina did a great job acting....ggreat post

jade said...

a onetime top homicide investigator. But after a tragic accident changes his life forever, Watch Collector

Post a Comment