Eyes Wide Shut

Pros: It had a thought provoking story line
Cons: The pace was so slow it lulls you into a dream state

Last night in the dark confines of my living room I turned on the last film directed by the great Stanley Kubrick. Mr. Kubrick made so many other fine films such as 2001 Space Odyssey that I wonder why he tried to make the 20001 Sexual Odyssey on his...

Pros: Nicole Kidman.
Cons: Script lacked cohesion; there was no real story here.

I remember when the whispers began about Eyes Wide Shut, a supposedly incredibly erotic and sensual dramatic film staring the husband and wife team of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. Rumors were ripe that despite being married, there was no ...

Pros: one of the best films of the 1990s
Cons: most people still don't realize this.

(Please note: this review was mostly written in 1999, though never before submitted to epinions. I've made a few changes and revisions, but a good deal of it comes from over three years ago (i.e. mention of Kubrick's 'recent' passing, etc.) Try not...

Pros: A morally serious psychological thriller with a strong lead actress and a sense of daring.
Cons: Major plausibility issues (dealt with below), plus a woefully miscast Tom Cruise and repetitive music.

This is, er, the 326th Epinion on Eyes Wide Shut, unless someone hits "Publish" on their new one before I finish. Reviews can serve two purposes, and for a few paragraphs (after the first row of asterisks) I'll serve any audience who has heard ...

Pros: An Excellent Film from Kubrick with Excellent Performances from Cruise & Kidman.
Cons: Incomplete In Some Spots & Chemistry Between Cruise & Kidman Lacks Spark.

Throughout the history of films, every filmmaker cites another filmmaker as an influential force in cinema. Whether its Orson Welles, Akira Kurosawa, Elia Kazan, and George Cukor to more recent big-time directors like Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, ...

Pros: Moody, introspective piece, good if you want to think about it for a while.
Cons: Most viewer will be left saying 'what?' If you're looking for titillation, don't bother.

This is a film about a blind man. Not in terms of actual vision, he can see as well as the rest of us, his eyes are normal, but he cannot perceive the world around him. Dr. Bill Harford can diagnose the ill, move through life doing the right thing,...

Pros: It's pretty to look at....
Cons: ....but don't touch!

Somewhere, beneath all the fatty layers of arty bloat, there is an interesting—possibly even intense—movie that is the real Eyes Wide Shut. This movie would be thoroughly engaging and unnerving. In its present state, however, it merely...

Pros: interesting and thought provoking, if you let it
Cons: bad acting

I must be one of the few people, but I liked Eyes Wide Shut. I was not expecting to even rent this, but the unusual confluence of my having a rent on get one free coupon and Nicole Kidman naked came together and I took a shot. I got my money's worth.
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Pros: A rich, murky, study of the difference between sexual fantasy and the marital relationship.
Cons: A stolid, incomplete presentation, due perhaps to the death of the great Stanley Kubrick.

Most of the critics, much of the public, including myself, were disappointed in EYES WIDE SHUT. Now, on video, it is hot again, as is frequently the case with big, constricted films. They overpower a small screen. The pictiles dancing along their...

Pros: They lived in a lovely home
Cons: Just about everything

Well, I like Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, so I thought I might like this movie despite the warning voices of the critics. I was wrong.

The suggestion panel advises to analyze the plot, not summarize it. OK - First tell me what plot? A...

Pros: Any pros are purely theoretical, apart from the look/direction.
Cons: Cruise and Kidman are hopelessly miscast.

Eyes. Eyes open. Shock. Alarm. Eyes open. Looking. Seeing. Eyes. Confusion. Eyes. Eyes open. Understanding. Learning. Eyes. Eyes wide open. Knowledge. Confusion. Eyes. Knowledge. Knowledge. Eyes. Searching. Learning....

Pros: wonderful artistry
Cons: demands quite a bit of "suspension of disbelief"

"Eyes Wide Shut" faces the challenge of realizing a Director's artistic vision, while using a medium that is not as pliable or forgiving as watercolor. It is a metaphor on film, and though judged inconsistent in its success, there is enough...

Pros: Incredible cinematography; good performances; intriguing storyline
Cons: Even for Kubrick, EYES is slower than arctic molasses in January

I really wanted to love Eyes Wide Shut, the much-hyped final film from the late Stanley Kubrick, and I'd hoped to use this review as a soapbox from which to praise and mourn one of cinema's most innovative filmmakers. I wanted to report...

Pros: Cruise haters will enjoy seeing him embarrass himself opposite Kidman.
Cons: The idea of enjoying anything involving Tom Cruise is a pretty transparent fantasy.

Because I was extraordinarily sheltered as a child, the first genuinely erotic movie that I ever managed to see all the way through was The Hunger. It's a terrible thing when the first taste of cinematic erotica that a boy gets is brilliantly...

Pros: Kubrick
Cons: Drags at times

If your gonna go out, why not go out with a bang. Or such Stanley Kubrick would say if he knew of his untimely death at the completion of Eyes Wide Shut, a movie I had the pleasure of seeing this wednesday night. Now to be honest I am a Kubrick fanatic,...