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The Wicker Man

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The Wicker Man (2006)

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Reviews Counted:100

Fresh:15

Rotten:85

Average Rating:3.5/10

Consensus: Puzzlingly misguided, Neil LaBute's update The Wicker Man struggles against unintentional comedy and fails.

Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins

Genre: Dramas

US Box Office: $23,607,080

Synopsis: Neil LaBute's THE WICKER MAN stars Nicholas Cage as Edward Malus, a policeman thrust into some dangerous detective work by a series of strange events that begin with a horrific car crash. This... Neil LaBute's THE WICKER MAN stars Nicholas Cage as Edward Malus, a policeman thrust into some dangerous detective work by a series of strange events that begin with a horrific car crash. This incident leaves the cop haunted, with images of the accident replaying in his heavily medicated mind. Edward's hiatus from work is interrupted when he receives a mysterious letter from his ex-fiancé, pleading with him to help find her missing daughter, Rowan. Against his better judgment, Edward travels to the remote, privately owned island of Summerisle, home to a close-knit, secretive community with a clear dislike for outsiders. Considering Edward an intruder, the Sisters of Summerisle offer little information regarding the missing girl. Edward is at a loss, finding even his ex-love Willow to be little help. With vacant eyes and a strange, listless way about her, Willow should be the first of many red flags to send Edward running. But in firm horror-movie tradition, the seasoned cop throws caution to the winds, staying in the place longer than seems smart. This 2006 remake veers away from the 1973 film in several key ways. For one, it replaces the original's eerily upbeat folk soundtrack with a tasteful Angelo Badalamenti score. With a mild PG-13 rating, the 2006 version is relatively tame compared to the original. While the 1973 film freely mixed pornographic elements with horror themes and musical numbers, the new film confines itself to horror, abandoning that strange mixture of genres that made Anthony Shaffer's film a cult classic. While LaBute's film adds a back-story and romantic interest, it requires equal suspension of disbelief. Despite their differences, both films end in the same disturbing way, leaving an indelible image that may haunt viewers long after the credits roll. [More]

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Ellen Burstyn, Molly Parker, Leelee Sobieski

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Ellen Burstyn, Molly Parker, Leelee Sobieski, Frances Conroy, Kate Beahan, Diane Delano, Michael Wiseman, Erika-Shaye Gair

Director: Neil LaBute

Director: Neil LaBute
Screenwriter: Neil LaBute
Producer: Nicolas Cage, Randall Emmett, Avi Lerner
Composer: Angelo Badalamenti
Producer: Nicolas Cage
Studio: Warner Bros.

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Reviews for The Wicker Man

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41 - 60 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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...intentionally or not, in reimagining this classic he's created In the Company of Women without the satire.

Full Review Source: Seacoast Newspapers (NH/Maine) | comment Comment
09/07/06
Gina Carbone
Gina Carbone
Seacoast Newspapers (NH/Maine)

"Every time I turn my head," he sputters, "there's something that doesn't make any sense." Exactly.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
09/07/06
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

I don't know whether this remake is faithful. Did the original include a scene in which the leading man puts on a bear costume in an effort to infiltrate cultists?

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
09/06/06
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

Two train wrecks' worth of silliness and a couple carloads of nonsense.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
09/06/06
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Nic meets his ex-fiancé, Willow, whose submarine-sized lips seem to be gradually folding around her head like a collagen Venus Flytrap.

Full Review Source: MovieJuice! | comment Comment
09/06/06
Mark Ramsey
Mark Ramsey
MovieJuice!

The movie's depiction of an evil matriarchal society is so over-the-top...one almost wonders if LaBute is intentionally aiming for laughs.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
09/05/06
Ethan Alter
Ethan Alter
Film Journal International

Watching Cage karate chop Leelee "Made-for-TV" Sobiesky into submission is almost worth the price of admission. Well, assuming admission was free.

Full Review Source: Peterborough This Week | comment 1 Comment
09/05/06
Mike Sage
Mike Sage
Peterborough This Week

I'd look more kindly on Neil LaBute's profoundly silly movie... if I thought he meant any of it in jest, if any of it were winking at us even a little.

Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
09/05/06
MaryAnn Johanson
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher

Idiotic, presumptuous and definitely unnecessary.

Full Review Source: ÜberCiné | comment Comment
09/05/06
Gregory Weinkauf
Gregory Weinkauf
ÜberCiné

The Wicker Man is comically inept as a horror movie, unable to even manage an effective false scare, or sustain suspense for more than a beat or two.

comment 1 Comment
09/05/06
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

To his credit Cage plays it with an admirably straight face, even when mugging a woman for her bear costume. But then he must have known from the beginning he was backing a loser.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
09/05/06
Neil Smith
Neil Smith
BBC

The whole movie is a wicker doll %u2013 competently constructed and empty in the middle.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
09/04/06
Jesse Hassenger
Jesse Hassenger
Filmcritic.com

Unintentionally one of the funniest movies of the summer. Too bad it's supposed to be a thriller.

Full Review Source: Three Movie Buffs | comment Comment
09/04/06
Scott Nash
Scott Nash
Three Movie Buffs

LaBute's meandering and goofy-minded horror/suspense thriller Wicker will garner more spontaneous chuckles than an overactive feather tickling a sensitive underarm.

Full Review Source: Movie Eye | comment Comment
09/03/06
Frank Ochieng
Frank Ochieng
Movie Eye

Though downgraded perhaps in comparison to the 1973 original, this version is competent enough and holds sufficient suspense.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
09/03/06
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve

Ill-advised Hollywood remake.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
09/03/06
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

LaBute's art-house misogyny + Warner Bros' need for a late-summer horror flick + a niche mood exercise that doesn't exactly scream for the multiplex treatment = one big mess.

Full Review Source: Flipside Movie Emporium | comment Comment
09/03/06
Rob Vaux
Rob Vaux
Flipside Movie Emporium

Human sacrifice and a stringent lesbian cult…what’s not to like?

Full Review Source: FilmsInReview.com | comment Comment
09/03/06
Victoria Alexander
Victoria Alexander
FilmsInReview.com

...Burstyn simply should have known that any film that required her to make up like Mel Gibson in Braveheart and run through fields flapping her arms was a bad move.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
09/02/06
Laura Clifford
Laura Clifford
Reeling Reviews

Instead of maintaining a mysterious tone to follow its suspenseful opening scenes, 'The Wicker Man' soon turns into something almost laughable.

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
09/02/06
Betty Jo Tucker
Betty Jo Tucker
ReelTalk Movie Reviews
 
 
41 - 60 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
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