Bardlerx Strictly average movie
RipDelight This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.
Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
Abegail Noëlle While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.
Dan Franzen (dfranzen70) In Twixt, a "bargain-basement Stephen King" writer (Val Kilmer) visits a small town on a going-nowhere book tour only to find himself very much a part of a real mystery containing a haunted belfry, ghosts of dead children, and a corpse with a stake through its heart. It's a movie chock full of atmosphere and unease, and it's really well done. Good movie for this time of year.Kilmer plays Hall Baltimore. He drinks a lot. I mean a lot. At a quiet book g, the local sheriff Bobby Lagrange (played with absolute zeal by Bruce Dern) slyly mentions that he himself is a bit of a writer and would Mr. Baltimore care to collaborate? Why, Sheriff Bobby even has a story all ready to go. Has to do with missing and/or murdered kids, or maybe the aforementioned belfry (it's haunted!) and probably everything to do with those kids who live across the lake, the ones who look like they practice Satanism or some such.Meanwhile, Baltimore has money woes. His wife (played by Kilmer's real-life ex, Joanne Whalley) pressures him to get another advance from his publisher (David Paymer) so that she can pay off their mounting debt, even threatening to sell his priceless copy of Whitman's Leaves of Grass. This is kind of what gets Baltimore to agree to a sort of collaboration with the sheriff.One night, Baltimore has one heck of a dream. He wanders through a forest, where he is ed by an ethereal girl in braces (Elle Fanning). They converse, and their path leads them to an old hotel - one that's not open when Baltimore is awake. The girl refuses to go in; Baltimore does, and he learns some things about missing children and the secrets of the town. He wakes up. But was it a dream? Coppola strikes just the right tone with this movie, and the casting is superlative. Kilmer is fine - perhaps even better than usual - and Dern is terrific. Love that guy. Alden Ehrenreich (the new Han Solo, plus the guy from Beautiful Creatures) and Don Novello (yes, Father Guido Sarducci from SNL) are both a real treat. The ending both comes out of nowhere and makes all the sense in the world, just the kind of ending you want in a horror thriller.
David Robison This is my first review. I watch horror films. As often as possible. Daily, if given the choice. I would never post a review for a non horror film. I respect all sub genres of horror but I do not tolerate pretentious filmmaking. This movie is excellent. It has everything . Mystery, horror, cast, vision, emotion, humor, talent, etc... It feels like Coppola needed to get this film out of his system. There is no finer masterpiece than the shameless pent up aggression of a true master of film. It's a gem.I consider this true horror and true expression without worry. Coppola could care less about negative reviews of this film and it shows in a good way.
jon-not-john Coppola's exploration of the writer's process set against a vampire murder mystery evokes 1408, Twin Peaks, and of course the works of Edger Allen Poe. It is Poe's ghost that leads Val Kilmer on his dream world explorations of the underbelly of a small town "where people go to be left alone". In this blue-lit version of the town Kilmer meets Virginia, a porcelain Elle Fanning who may, or may not be the sole survivor of the town's serial killer. Eerie, pulpy and just a little great, Twixt is a modern AIP second feature. Another film demonstrating that film obsession can live through VOD.Also interesting is that the film was made almost entirely on Coppola's own property in the North bay.
Wizard-8 I first learned of this movie when digging through my local Wal- Mart's $5 DVD bin. When I came across a copy, I thought to myself, "A new Francis Ford Coppola movie? Why haven't I heard of this movie before?" There were some obvious clues I subsequently saw - not only was the movie a direct to DVD release, it starred the washed up Val Kilmer, who isn't exactly associated with quality productions nowadays. So there was no way I was going to pay $5 to see this movie. But I subsequently found it in my neighborhood video store available for less than $2, so I decided to rent it.I will say this about the movie: If Coppola was trying to capture what a dream or nightmare can be like, there are times when he does manage to recreate the feeling. And the movie is so strange, throwing in everything from vampires to Edgar Allan Poe, that you can't help but keep watching in order to see how things will be wrapped up. However, the wrap up is kind of a cheat, if you ask me, and it wasn't worth the wait. It doesn't help that Kilmer's character is kind of unsympathetic, which may explain why Kiler's performance as this lead character is unenthusiastic, to put it kindly. To sum up, I don't think the movie is worth anyone's time, whether they are a fan of Coppola or not.(P.S. - The "R" rating slapped on this movie by the MPAA seems a bit harsh. There is some bloody violence, but I think the movie deserves more of a PG-13 rating.)
