RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Features
  • | Columns
  • | Guides
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
News / Columns / Critics Consensus
Critical Consensus: "Hostel" Worth A Stay, "Casanova" Getting No Love
by Tim Ryan | January 05, 2006
Discuss Article
This week at the movies, we've got a bunch of madmen ("Hostel"), a notorious lover ("Casanova"), a dhampir ("BloodRayne"), and a dude who lives with his grandma ("Grandma's Boy"). Which of these movies will score with critics?

It's a story that's been told a thousand times: a group of young people stray off the beaten path, only to fall into the clutches of bloodthirsty crazies who inflicts torture upon them with sadistic glee. Heck, it was told a couple weeks ago ("Wolf Creek"). So what? Sometimes it's how you tell it, and the critics say "Hostel" is told very well. Yes, scribes say, Eli Roth's film is grisly, but it's also terrifyingly exciting and makes for some incisive social commentary. At 88 percent on the Tomatometer, this "Hostel" may be worth a stay, if you like this sort of thing.

Giacomo Casanova was the world's greatest lover, a man of endless appetites who led an impossibly colorful life (which was probably embellished in his autobiography, but is a classic nonetheless). So you couldn't go wrong with a movie about the notable rake, right? Right? Well, the critics say this period comedy romp, starring Heath Ledger and Sienna Miller, isn't quite as romping as it should be, and despite noteworthy visuals, the film is frothy without being particularly ribald. Worse, the man whose name is synonymous with cad-dom chooses monogamy! At 41 percent on the Tomatometer, this "Casanova" is getting no love.

The people behind both "BloodRayne" and "Grandma's Boy" must have made a new year's resolution to not screen their films for critics. Here at Rotten Tomatoes, we feel it's admirable to stick to your guns, when so many of us end up breaking our resolutions almost immediately. Unfortunately, the strategy sends a message to the world that perhaps these movies aren't very good.

Recent Heath Ledger Movies
-------------------------------------
88% -- Brokeback Mountain (2005)
67% -- Two Hands (2005)
39% -- The Brothers Grimm (2005)
53% -- Lords of Dogtown (2005)
54% -- Ned Kelly (2004)

Related Items
Movie: Two Hands
Hostel
Ned Kelly
Wolf Creek
Lords of Dogtown
Grandma's Boy
The Brothers Grimm
BloodRayne
Brokeback Mountain
Celeb: Eli Roth
Heath Ledger
Sienna Miller
Bookmark and Share
Comments (1-4 of 4 posts) | Reply
killthemall4444
killthemall4444 writes:
on Jan 06 2006 10:24 AM

No screenings bloodrayne that's a shocker. As for grandma's boy well i guess it is not very good.

(Reply to this)
lovelykeira
lovelykeira writes:
on Jan 06 2006 01:25 PM

I'm sure Grandma's Boy is probably not very good but I'm still going to go see it, what I'm really excited about though is that Munich is expanding, which I'm going to go see tonight.

(Reply to this)
synergyred
synergyred writes:
on Jan 06 2006 07:41 PM

I just saw Casanova. Perhaps it's because I have a weakness for a. period pieces, b. sword fights, and c. Heath Ledger, but I loved the film. It's not for everyone, but I found it highly enjoyable.

(Reply to this)
South_park300
South_park300 writes:
on Jan 08 2006 06:28 PM

Hostel was pretty good. The second half made up for the first half, which was like watching a Cinemax porn. Boobs really do wear off after awhile. I know it was all set up and character build up, but when the main characters are not sympathetic, you do not need so much character build up. But like I said, the second half more than made up for it.
I liked Wolf Creek better though! Go see that as well! That had character build up towards characters you actually care for, haha.


(Reply to this)
Read More Comments
Page | 1
Post Your Comment
You must be registered to post comments. Login or Register.

Related Links

Casanova
  • Pictures
  • Posters
  • News
  • Forum

Related Articles

  • Potter Part 5 Gets Production Underway (20)
  • CNN Film Critic Paul Clinton Passes (3)
  • Ohio Film Critics Offer Up Their Year-End Picks (6)
  • Critical Consensus: "Hostel" Worth A Stay, "Casanova" Getting No Love (4)

Most Discussed

  • 12 Facts About 2012 (132)
  • Total Recall: George Clooney's Best Movies (91)
  • Critics Consensus: A Christmas Carol Dazzles But Disappoints (43)
  • Ho-ho-horror! 10 Scary Christmas Movies (36)
  • Weekly Ketchup: Abrams eyes Micronauts, Aykroyd as Yogi Bear (29)
  • Friday Harvest: Prince of Persia, The Road, and more! (23)
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Christmas Carol Tops, Precious Rocks (19)
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview (14)
  • RT on DVD: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (0)

Latest News

  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Christmas Carol Tops, Precious Rocks (19)
  • Weekly Ketchup: Abrams eyes Micronauts, Aykroyd as Yogi Bear (29)
  • Friday Harvest: Prince of Persia, The Road, and more! (23)
  • Critics Consensus: A Christmas Carol Dazzles But Disappoints (43)
  • Ho-ho-horror! 10 Scary Christmas Movies (36)
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview (14)
  • RT on DVD: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (0)
  • Total Recall: George Clooney's Best Movies (91)
  • 12 Facts About 2012 (132)
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: This Is It Tops Box Office Worldwide (55)

Latest Interviews

  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview (14)
  • Richard Kelly chats about The Box (1)
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus (15)
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview (8)
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film (28)
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel (28)
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute (14)
  • Emma Stone talks Zombieland - RT Interview (40)
  • Michael Moore: The RT Interview (139)
  • Andrea Arnold talks Fish Tank - RT Interview (4)

Latest Features

  • Ho-ho-horror! 10 Scary Christmas Movies (36)
  • RT on DVD: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (0)
  • 12 Facts About 2012 (132)
  • RT on DVD: Star Trek Beams In (4)
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus (15)
  • Five Favourite Films with 24's Carlos Bernard (33)
  • Six Horrible Part Sixes (32)
  • RT on DVD: Land of the Lost and Hannah Montana (5)
  • Christopher Smith's Favourite Cult Horror Films (14)
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel (28)

Sponsored Links

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.