Billie Morin This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows
Payno I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
punishmentpark A man focuses on the audio of his surroundings, which is for him a way to deal with a (audio related) trauma, which inevitably must reveal itself to him. At some point he re what he had been trying to forget, the killer inside him breaks loose and he kills his wife. That's about all I could figure out about it.Again (after 'The Machinist') Anderson deals with the human psyche and how it can fool itself and others up to a morbid point. There is a lot a psychological 'messing about', combined with classic thriller elements reminiscent of Hitchcock. The problem here is that it is somewhat overdone; at some point you get the gist of it and it is time to move along. At the same time the story isn't as gripping as the one in 'The Machinist' - even if the premise is just as, or even more loaded.And then, Chris Bauer is no Christian Bale; even if he did play an excellent role in the more down to earth drama of 'The Wire' - a lead role is still a different thing. The TV-movie look and feel of it don't help either.5 out of 10.
gavin6942 A man with unbelievably wonderful hearing (Chris Bauer, "8mm") begins to go nuts when he cannot cope with the death of his son Michael. His job, his marriage and his entire world begin to fall apart.Executive producer Andrew Deane approached Brad Anderson, gave him various short stories to choose from, and this was the one picked out.Like "Chocolate" in season one, those who want traditional horror are going to be disappointed. There is no maniac with an axe or ghosts or demons or aliens. Just a man with uncanny hearing who can no longer adjust to the world in which he lives. The story is actually very good if you enter it from the right frame of mind.The episode comes from the relatively unknown director Brad Anderson, who made the infamous "Session 9" as well as one of the better movies I have seen, "The Machinist" (with Christian Bale and Jennifer Jason Leigh, two of Hollywood's best actors). If you have seen one or both of these, you know Anderson's specialty is presenting his audience with mental illness. "Sounds Like" is no exception to this trend.Anderson notes in the commentary that most of his work, with the exception of "The Machinist", has some sort of therapist character, which is a bit unusual given that Anderson himself had never been to a therapist. What does this mean? Probably nothing, but all his films -- even "The Machinist" -- definitely rely on more of a psychological horror than outright violence.The strength of this episode is that on many occasions, we are presented exactly what the main character can hear. And it is awful! Some of the most annoying noises you will ever hear, which is like some of the most gruesome images you will ever see... but different. (If you want images, we do have maggots and baby rats, so that might work for you.)I enjoyed this film, although it seems to have very little replay value. With the low expectations I'm having with season two, this comes out as something enjoyable and I would recommend you give it a shot if you like Anderson's other work. While I would hardly consider "Machinist" or "Session 9" mainstream, his work is becoming known and it will not be much longer before they give him something huge...
altec91 Solid episode. Well directed and acted.If you have worked in a corporate environment, especially in a customer service hell pit; you'll laugh at some of the familiar bean-counting and eavesdropping of employees practiced at the tech center where the main character works. Of course, these sort of operations are more likely now to be found in Bangalore or Delhi, India, but I digress.A normal-seeming family man with very acute hearing manages a tech- center well, but his special ability becomes more pronounced, and then becomes a curse that worsens as the episode progresses.One can see the story was getting a bit thin in the 2nd half, but still this defect doesn't detract too much from what is otherwise one of the best episodes so far in the series.
dean2900 This has to be the longest 57 minutes ever. The story was right out of the Twilight Zone about a man who could here everything. He could hear the sounds that a fly made, the sounds of earthworms crawling underground, and these sounds slowly drive him to madness.There is ZERO suspense in this episode and it really is a waste of time.The surprise ending is dumb and a morality tale about grief and loss could have been more interesting in a thousand ways.This has to rank as one of the bottom 2 episodes.I have not given up on this series yet but I am afraid that the six episodes aired already this year might be enough to kill off any interest. Showtime would have been better of not airing this episode.
