The Ring
Cast
Naomi Watts as Rachel Keller
Martin Henderson as Noah
David Dorfman as Aidan Keller
Brian Cox as Richard Morgan
Jane Alexander as Dr. Grasnik
Directed by Gore Verbinski
Rater #2 has description and review.
Rater #1
Has not seen movie.
Rater #2
8/10. Aren't you glad that they have DVDs now? In Gore Verbinski's The
Ring, viewers of a special videotape of seemingly unrelated shots get
a phone call saying "seven days", meaning they have seven days to
live. That's right. Mr. Budweiser Frogs and Mr. Mouse Hunt made this
movie. Quite a transition.
Naomi Watts, fresh from Mulholland Drive, plays skeptic newspaper
reporter Rachel Keller. She hears about the videotape at a niece's
funeral, and decides to investigate. And what does Ms. Smart do? She
watches the tape and she gets the phone call. Oy, she'll regret that.
The Ring, put in one word, is scary. It checks off the four ills:
chills, thrills, spills, and yes, even a few kills. There are many,
many tense scenes and scenes that make you jump (or scream, whichever
type you are). I'm the jumping type, but in some parts my mouth was
open. That's how scary it was. On the downside of the creepiness,
Verbinski made too many jump scenes. If he had concentrated on
putting on a few more sustained thrills, that would have helped.
Watts wasn't super or anything, but she was serviceable. Martin
Henderson, as Noah, a partner, was the same, nothing to write home
about. Their son Aidan, played David Dorfman, made me think of him as
a cross between Haley Joel Osment and a Disney cartoon. He had the
look (and at the funeral, was exactly the same way) and he had huge
eyes. And speaking of cartoons, I just noticed that Daveigh Chase,
from Lilo and Stitch and Spirited Away plays Samara, a very important
part of the movie.
In a small but important role, Brian Cox plays Richard Morgan,
Samara's father. He seemed to do like Donnie Wahlberg did for The
Sixth Sense, playing a small part but obviously working hard to
perform it. Cox seems to be the hardest working man in showbiz now.
The runtime could have been trimmed by a little, but The Ring still
kept engrossed me for two hours. It is the type of movie that will
either keep you up at night or give you nightmares. Or both.
The Ring doesn't really give you any characters to connect with.
There aren't many, but some of the time used unnecessarily could have
been used with characterization or time to feel for and with the
characters.
Rater #3
Has Not Seen Movie.
Rater #4
Has Not Seen Movie.
Rated PG-13 for scares, violence, ickyness, and some language.
Running time: 115 minutes
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