The Forgotten

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Maybe I am the one who is crazy..., 2009-01-04
Can someone please let me know if I am crazy? Granted, the whole movie made me feel edgy and paranoid but I swear in the TV version I saw last night, the heroine's son, Sam, was reported to be "killed in a bus crash in Brooklyn". Several characters said those words, most notably Alfre Woodard's police investigator character. Yet in every review I can find, the writer of the review states that Sam died in a plane crash. Am I going nuts or was this alternate version of the movie different in other ways besides the ending? Anyone?

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Can Someone Help Me Forget This Movie?, 2008-08-11
No one remembers that a woman named Telly(Julianne Moore)had a child, Sam, who was killed in a plane crash except her; not even her husband (Anthony Edwards). She can't forget and not even her psychiatrist (Gary Sinise)can get her to forget. br / br /All of these problems are due to the U.S.government, of course. It is conducting one of its many conspiratorial "experiments" on its poor taxpayers again. The experiment is run by someone named Al Patelis (Lee Tegersen). He appears to be a cheap rip-off of the Terminator. Why he is robotic is never quite clear. br / br /Telly's lack of forgetfulness upsets the U.S. government's NSA no end and they send seemingly hundreds of agents, including Al, to catch her and make her forget. They spend the next ninety minutes ineptly trying to catch Telly and Ash(Dominic West), a father whose memory she refreshes about his daughter who was killed in the same plane crash as Sam. br / br /An ex-hockey player, the reason for Ash's forgetfulness of his daughter is never made clear. Is it due to the government experiment, or brought on by catching too many hockey pucks to the head before he retired? br / br /You may enjoy this movie if you are a runner since the characters also run endlessly throughout. You may find it amazing that a suburban housewife can out-sprint any number of macho government agents but it must be true because I saw it in this movie. All the running is probably due to the fact that it is a convenient way to avoid the necessity of writing dialogue br / br /The movie does have a happy ending unless you watch the extended alternate version. But why watch the extended version when the characters spend most of the shorter theatrical release exploding backward into tiny bits; thanks to the little computer geek ensconced in the studio who does these things via keystrokes? br / br /If nothing else, don't forget this. This movie isn't selling for a penny for nothing. br / br /

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Love v.s. cold analytical thought, 2008-07-25
Written by Gerald Di Pego and released in 2004, "The Forgotten" relays the story of Telly (Julianne Moore), a mother who discovers all traces of her deceased 9 year-old son have been erased, including photos, videos, documents and the memories of other people. Her psychologist (Gary Sinise) and husband tell her she's delusional, but she KNOWS otherwise. Thus begins a thrilling search for the truth where she teams up with Ash (Dominic West) whose daughter seems to have been erased from memory as well. They end up tangling with National Security Agents and more. br / br /I almost missed out on "The Forgotten" because of the very conflicting reviews. Two reliable reviewers gave the film 5/5 Stars, whereas other intelligent reviewers give it 1 Star. The reactions couldn't be more opposite, which isn't necessarily a bad thing since some of the best artistic items polarize opinion. In any event, I'm glad I decided to give it a chance because this is a powerful picture. br / br /In style, "The Forgotten" is very similar to "The Mothman Prophesies;" so if you like that film, you'll likely appreciate this one. There are similarities to The X-Files with the two protagonists, including a female redhead, searching for the truth in what is essentially a sci-fi/mystery tale. I've seen over a handful X-Files episodes in my day and I can honestly tell you that "The Forgotten" blows those segments out of the water. Don't get me wrong, the show's okay, just a tad overrated and boring IMHO. Gillian Anderson was the only noteworthy part of the show to me. (If you're a fan of the show, I'm not here to argue with you. People have different tastes). br / br /I'm not a super Julianne Moore fan, but I'd take her rather than leave her. What really works is her team-up with Dominic West. These two have phenomenal chemistry together. br / br /Because of the highly mixed reviews I was watching the first 15 minutes only half-attentive, but when Telly (Moore) confronts Ash (West) and subsequently teams up with him my attention immediately perked up. Ash is an ex-NHL player who's given up on life and turned to alcohol to drown out his sorrows. What tragic event happened that would cause him to throw in the towel and turn to the bottle? I'll leave that to you to discover. br / br /Anyway, remember the great masculine actors of the past, like Charleton Heston, Clint Eastwood, Burt Reynolds and even Marlon Brando (of course Brando's in a league of his own)? There was just something about them that set 'em apart and made you take notice when they were on screen. Dominic West is such an actor. He's very reminiscent of James Remar (remember him in "The Warriors"?) This was my first exposure to West and it's my hope that he moves on to bigger and better things. He's that good. br / br /The subplot of Ash's drunkenness struck a chord with me because I know people -- incredibly talented people like Ash -- who've essentially given up and given in to alcohol, wasting their lives away. Not to mention the fact that I've been seriously tempted to give up as well at times (albeit not to alcohol). I can relate and I'm sure you can too. br / br /As noted, the film is a sci-fi/mystery tale and therefore the explanation (no spoilers) is rather outlandish, but not necessarily unbelievable. 2005's "Flightplan" was a similarly-themed film; although its explanation was not outlandish it was totally unbelievable; hence, it's not worth seeing as far as I'm concerned. So, anyway, if you can't handle outlandishness I suggest you forget "The Forgotten." br / br /Why do I say the outlandish explanation of the story is not necessarily unbelievable? Well, let me put it this way [POSSIBLE SPOILER, but not really]: If you were able to communicate with rats, would the rats believe you if you told them there were superior beings who wanted to use them to conduct important experiments? It's true whether the rats believed or not. Let's not be arrogant and think we're the all-and-end-all of the universe. We may be, but -- more likely -- we're not. That's all I'll say. [END SPOILER] br / br /"The Forgotten" is essentially a story of love v.s. cold analytical thought. Personally I fall right in the middle between these two forces. This conflict is what made the character of Spock so fascinating. Remember the Star Trek episode "This Side of Paradise" where he was able to walk free of his strict adherence to logic and experience the warmth joy of love for the first time? At the end of the episode he sadly states that it was the first time in his life that he was truly happy. br / br /"The Forgotten" is a story of tortuous struggle and potential triumph, for both Telly and Ash. br / br /Although logic is important, love is more powerful. Not to mention warmer and joy/life-inducing. br / br /The film is short and sweet at a mere 1 hour and 26 minutes before credits. The dvd features an extended cut with an alternative ending wherein the possible conspiracy is less malevolent. Watch the theatrical cut first and then simply go to the deleted scenes section and watch the two deleted scenes and the alternate ending (unless you want to watch the ENTIRE film twice, that is; it's just not necessary). I'll say this, the kissing scene should have never been omitted. It works. But perhaps the filmmakers didn't want to paint Telly as a potential adulterer, which isn't a bad thing. br / br /Don't listen to the grumps who didn't 'get' "The Forgotten." The reason they didn't 'get' it is because their pendulum veers too heavily toward cold logic, but they don't have to stay that way. :) br / br /GRADE: A-

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Good acting in a mediocre movie, 2008-07-05
Julianne Moore rarely gives a bad performance. It's amazing to watch her in this film brilliantly rejuvenating crappy dialogue and stupid plot turns. Dominic West does a decent job as well. The chemistry between the two is established nicely. Along with the performances by the film's stars, some of the special effects are truly great. "The X-Files" could have learned a lot from this film in the effects department. Otherwise, this is an easily forgotten movie. br / br /The film starts off with a great premise: A woman mourns the death of her son through emotional rituals lasting over a year. Shortly into the film, she is told that she never had a son, that her memories of him are made up. Sounds like I'm giving away the movie, doesn't it? I would be if the film actually followed such an interesting story. But no, get ready for some conspiracy theory weirdness and a totally out-of-this-world-stupid plot.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

The Forgotten is forgettable, 2008-05-09
I can't say much about this film as it is just a real dud. The plot is totally unbelievable although it has a clever premise. The acting is strictly by the numbers, the direction pedestrian at best, and the effect were just average. Maybe I'll rewrite this review when I'm in a better mood, but for now, this is film is one to forget renting or buying.