David Holt (rawiri42)
A thoroughly enjoyable movie. As usual, Michael Caine clearly demonstrates his worthiness of his knighthood (not to mention nomination - sadly unsuccessful - for this part for the leading actor Oscar).However, much has already been written on IMDb about this excellent movie so I won't waste additional space by simply repeating it all again. My reason for this posting is to ask the question that is its title - Did anyone else notice... the mystic script in the flames? Let me explain. Whilst watching the DVD, I was interrupted by a telephone call and so I paused the film. As it happened, this occurred just as Michael Caine was walking past the gas heater-cum- decoration in his hi-tech home. When I returned to restart the film, I was immediately amazed to see that the flames, when frozen in stop- motion, appeared to spell out words. Had I not paused the film, I doubt very much whether I would have ever noticed this phenomenon. The words "Animation" and either "sublimation" or "substitution" seem to appear and disappear as the film is advanced frame-by-frame. Other words come and go and, whilst discernible, don't appear to spell out a specific sentence or phrase. Since first noticing this, I have examined each frame and am now left wondering if this is nothing more than a freak of nature or was it purposely digitally placed there by Kenneth Branagh and, if so, why... OR... am I hallucinating???The really weird thing is that, even though I have examined the film frame-by-frame, the message that I saw when returning from the phone hasn't been nearly as clear as it was then. This is spooky! So, I return to my original question, has anyone else noticed this and, if they have, can they explain it or, at least, throw more light on it? Someone PLEASE comment.
OllieSuave-007
I haven't seen the original movie, but I thought this one was OK. Michael Caine stars as Andrew Wyke, a famous author who lives alone in a high-tech mansion after his wife Maggie left him for younger man Milo Tindle (Jude Law). Tindle wants Wyke to divorce his wife; however, Wyke seems far more interested in playing mind games with him and lures him into a series of actions he planned to seek revenge.With only a cast of two (not including the cameos of actors who appeared on the TV), this is an interesting movie with plenty of twists and turns and surprises, sending your mind in a frenzy to comprehend the mystery. Both Caine and Law did a pretty good job in their performances, displaying sardonic and witty remarks against each other and emotionally showing the manipulation, scorn and mind-reading of their respected characters.The movie starts off a little slow (with quite a lot of fillers), but then picks up when the suspense of pitting the characters against each other and the little bits of action ensue. An interesting little detective movie overall.Grade B-
Hollywoodfun
The movie Sleuth is an amazing movie that I enjoyed watching the whole way through. The suspense kept building, and the final result was not easy to determine. Kenneth Branagh directs an incredible mystery thriller that is very entertaining to watch, as the movie keeps your eyes on the screen at all times. The dialogue in this movie is so intriguing that having just two characters in one house the entire movie works out very well. And then, what really makes the movie is the incredible cast: Jude Law and Michael Caine. These two people are the centre of all the action in this movie. The talent portrayed by both of them is mind blowing. I especially loved Jude Law's performance as Tindle and the level of wit that he portrayed through his role. As usual, he delivers an amazing performance that was one of the best performances from a male actor that I have ever seen. Overall, two wonderful performances from Jude Law and Michael Caine that contributed to the amazing movie that this was.The script in this movie was also well-written, for the dialogue between the two characters was always full of wit and words that can keep an audience's eyes on the screen at all times. But of course, two incredible actors were needed in order to well-portray what the screenplay was about. A combination of screenplay, directing, and acting all contributed to making this movie the fantastic one that it was.I would recommend this movie to all viewers who enjoy mystery, wit, and suspense in films.
Catwings
After watching the just first minutes of the film, I feel confident that this film would be one of the best movies I have seen in a while. After watching it, I feel strongly that this is a great film in terms of the screenplay, production and storyline. As a movie, it had an interesting approach stylistically. If anything, I think that it may be suitable for the stage.There are only two characters: Andrew Wyck and Milo Tingle. And the setting is only a few rooms and the entrance of a grand house. Wyck, who is played by Michael Caine, is an old mystery writer with several successful books. Tindle played by Jude Law is a struggling actor as well as a detective. Tindle is in love with Wyck's wife, and visits Wyck's house in London to broach the subject of Wyck's divorce from Maggie. Wyck tries to convince Tindle to abandon Maggie, since she is a money- spender and a poor man like Tindle cannot complete her happiness. Wyck makes a proposition to this poor man who refuses to give Maggie up. He proposes that Tindle steals 1 million pounds worth of his wife's jewels from his house and sells them to get money. Wyck would not lose his money as the jewels are insured. And so both would be happy with this result.The psychological warfare that goes on between the mystery writer and the actor within a limited setting is well worth a watch. It is difficult to take your eyes off the backtracking storyline with its witty, provocative tone and its excellent acting. Because of the limited space of the film, I developed a sense of emotional involvement with the characters within an hour and a half.This film is a remake of Sleuth in 1972. The opinions of those who have watched the original film may be divided on this remake. Since I have not watched the original one and I had no such prejudice, I found it to be a greatly entertaining film.
AD
