Being John Malkovich

Irresistable, nimble and very funny.

Devilishly inventive and so far out there it's almost off the scale.

The most excitingly original movie of the year.

A clever and outrageous piece of whimsical fantasy that is unique, unpredictable and more than a little strange.

So jaw-droppingly out there, so bracingly bizarre, and, much of the time, so fall-over-funny that even its flaws don't matter. Easily the oddest movie of the year, it is also one of the best.

The most offbeat studio comedy since "Rushmore."

The story keeps reinventing itself (some of the later plot twists are among the funniest), but a little goes a long way at 112 minutes - maybe 25 minutes more than this sporadically pointed conceit really needs.

Being John Malkovich is deffinantly one of if not the strangest thing ever put to film. There is no way this film should work if you wrote this out on paper and showed it to someone this would happen. They would laugh and ask "Is that really a thing?" in which you would have to answer with "yes". Being John Malkovich has a flare to it the handheld style adds a sort of grounded reality for something so crazy. Which it deffinantly needed, the acting is great all around you believe all the characters and there actions. While they might not be likable they still are believable and I mean it. The soundtrack is amazing it adds so much to this film which an amazing soundtrack is supposed to do. A quick little bit Charlie Kaufman is insane and Spike Jonez is either a god or a wizard to be able to make this one of the best films I've ever seen.

The film explores identity, its fluidity and the way it can be passed on, it also touches on fame, manipulative relationships and manipulation itself. It had a lot of potential, but the characters’ actions and behavior ended up disappointing me. I never felt aligned with any of them. On top of that, there are a few plot gaps that make you wonder: “What’s the origin of it all?”

Being John Malkovich is a truly bizarre film, and the concept is certainly a unique one, but the unlikable characters and scattershot plot meant I found it to only be a mildly entertaining movie experience.

Absolutely awful in every way, shape and form. No likable characters, a scatterbrained story, and just mean-spirited. Avoid at all costs. Please, for your own sake, avoid this movie!

Now, if you want to see a movie that takes horrific cruelty and wraps it up in quirky comedy wrapping paper from Wal-Mart, grab a copy of Being John Malkovich. But don't watch it. Instead, burn it. Burn them all. Because Malkovich takes the torture-wrapped-in-comedy genre to such a far degree that just thinking about it makes me sick. I no longer like seeing John Malkovich, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, or John Cusack on screen in anything. I'm not exaggerating here, just seeing one of them makes me shudder. This movie is such a perversion of film and the human mind that I want my memory erased after watching it. I want to forget how this movie made me feel. I'm not holding back. Here's everything I haven't successfully repressed: John Cusack is a creepy and depressed guy who lives with his creepy and depressed wife. Their entire existence and atmosphere in the film is miserable. Everything about it is uneasy. Cusack is a puppeteer, and in the film's opening, he makes two puppets bang while a young girl is watching him perform on the street. The film's best part occurs when the girl's father punches him in the face and destroys his display. Oscar for Best Supporting Actor goes to **** Guy. I f**king mean it. Give that guy a career. So Cusack joins this creepy company, and there's a door leading into John Malkovich's brain, where you can see through his eyes for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, you magically appear on the turnpike just outside of New York, conveniently a few miles away. Why? Who cares!? The film is quirky! It doesn't need logic, or thematic elements, or quality in general. Cusack and his creepy and depressing coworker sell 15 minute excursions into Malkovich's head for a while, until they realize that they can control him if they focus hard enough. So they start doing that, and they replace Malkovich's conscience (John Malkovich plays John Malkovich, a flat character who is... creepy and depressed. Great.), and in the end, Malkovich must consciously sit by as this dirty creep controls his mind and perverts his body, destroying his soul. No one is happy. Nothing good happens. Nothing intelligent happens. Malkovich just gets **** on, Cusack locks his wife in a cage. It's creepy and depressing. It's disgustingly cruel, and it insults us by pretending it's all a joke. "Come on guys, we'll laugh about this someday." said Spike Jonze as devil's horns emerged from his forehead. Hey, you hear that? Sounds like the cries of the damned to me. If Jonze's 2013 romance film Her hadn't been such a masterpiece, I'd probably hate him. He redeemed himself for this one, so I can let him off with a warning. Every director ever: making films like these is like putting the Boogie Nights disc in What About Bob's box. Stop selling these as comedies. Please, god, stop. This really must be the most unbearable film I've ever watched. Jesus, take the wheel. My cinema hurts.