Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Freaktana A Major Disappointment

Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

sammybuzz-45443 This one is underrated but boy, this is one great movie! I'm not into western movies because I find them corny but, this one aside from having the great cate blanchett, made me watch from the first minute up to the last and I want more! It is that good that it will leave you so hooked. I commend the young girl who played the youngest daughter, she knows how to act. She's so natural. I thought, tommy lee jones is awesome too. I'm just not a fan of Rachel Evan Wood's character.

blanche-2 Ron Howard directs Cate Blanchett, Tommy Lee Jones, Evan Rachel Wood, and Val Kilmer in "The Missing," a 2003 western.Cate Blanchett plays Maggie Gilkeson, a medical woman in 1885 New Mexico, where she lives with her daughters and a ranch hand Brake (Aaron Eckhart), who is also her lover. One day, her father Samuel (Tommy Lee Jones) shows up after 20 years. She wants nothing to do with him as he left the family to go live with the Indians.He finally gets the message and takes off, only to become drunk in town and land in jail. Meanwhile, Maggie's daughter Lily has been kidnapped and Brake murdered, apparently by Indians. Unable to get help from the sheriff, Maggie reluctantly has her father released from jail and asks for his help in finding her daughter.Lily and other girls have been kidnapped with the intention of selling them into prostitution. The kidnappers are a combination of renegade Indians and whites who are working with them. Maggie, her father, and her young daughter, who refuses to be left behind, set out on their trail.Glorious-looking film that points up the brutality of life in the west, as well as the filth, and the strength that people had to have to survive. A woman had to be able to use a rifle, hunt, skin a deer, and do all the things that the men had to do.My understanding is that this film bombed; I'm not sure why. It has wonderful performances and no expense was spared, and also, as far as the violence, seems realistic.Cate Blanchett gives a magnificent performance as Maggie, a determined woman made of steel, who doesn't care what her father does for her - she still hates him. Tommy Lee Jones is a no-nonsense faux Indian (he might be part-Indian - this isn't made clear, but it seems unlikely) who knows his way around and believes in all the Indian lore. In one striking scene, Maggie becomes extremely ill -- according to Samuel, the brujo (Indian witch) put a curse on her. He calls in one of the Indians helping them to break the spell; meanwhile, her daughter reads the Bible out loud."The Missing" is reminiscent of "The Searchers" but here, the relationship between Samuel and Maggie goes a little deeper than thqt of Martin and Ethan. Maggie slowly moves from dislike to an uneasy alliance to a limited understanding of Samuel and finally, acceptance and gratitude, even if it's without total understanding. For Samuel, he is doing what he was told to do by a medicine man -- return to his family and protect them.Truly excellent film, an old-fashioned western in many ways, intertwined with a strong relationship story and suspense.

jsvedosh If you enjoy watching great actors at the top of their game, you will love The Missing. Cate Blanchette turns in a subtle, moving, powerful performance. She can convey pages of dia a moment's expression; she has a magnetic presence that glues you to the screen. Tommy Lee Jones also delivers an above-average performance, and for Tommy Lee Jones that is a great performance indeed. Evan Rachel Wood and Jenna Boyd are a solid ing cast. Ms. Wood has been precocious and promising for many years; each new performance turns some of that promise into solid accomplishment.This is not a great movie. The screenplay is weak. The story is trite, the roles are at best two-dimensional, everything is predictable. The great cast puts enough flesh on the thin dialog to make the characters plausible, complex, and interesting. But this is a tired Western tale. Indians snatch white girl. Mother and her champion go off in pursuit. (Stop me if you've heard this one.) The updated story is politically corrected -- here we have both good and bad Indians. Ron Howard does a credible job bringing it to life. There are some lovely shots and some nice cutting. The score is good. But the screenplay is as stale as a week-old pizza. Nothing will keep you from yawning through the climax.See this movie it for the acting. It's worth it.

jb0579 A brilliant, sweeping, almost epic film about a young, fiery independent woman who, despite living adjacent to hostile natives, seems to make due with two young daughters and a live in boyfriend. The boyfriend, when company is near, sleeps in the barn to give the impression that Cate Blanchett's character is "unsoiled". One of her daughters embarks on a journey with her mother's boyfriend and younger sister, and goes missing. Meanwhile, she has at her disposal the perfect person to help her recover her beloved - the problem is that person happens to be her estranged father, with whom she has had nothing to do for eons. Will she swallow her pride and allow her father to help, or will she continue to shun him and let out on her own to find her daughter? Brilliant cinematography (as always with a Ron Howard film), flawless performances by everyone (Howard seems to bring out the best in his casts), and a crackling, suspenseful, mysterious plot make this movie entirely watchable. Watch for Ron Howard's brother, who makes an appearance in all of his films, as the sheriff, and the Howard brother's dad, Rance, as the telegraph operator. Surprisingly, the most innocuous character in the entire movie steals the show in my opinion. Watch for Jenna Boyd, who plays the youngest daughter light up the screen with absolutely believeble emotion and unbelievable acting. I mean Haley Joel Osment quality in a smaller part. Had she been more of a central figure in the movie she's have been award worthy. You won't be disappointed - this is a must see!