Wow! Such a good movie.

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Last year I loved the mix of intrigue and sexual tension which drove the beautiful-looking 'The Handmaiden'. It was this film that made me look to another film from Park of similar style, Stoker. Set in suburbia the film joins a family after the strange suicide of the father of the house. Quickly the mother has started sharing the house with her husband's estranged brother, while her daughter looks on in disgust. Within this dynamic tensions and secrets start to rise.Stoker is a beautifully shot film, with a consistently great look and shot framing. It is deliberately cold and crisp in a way that produces a frosty environment of tension and superficiality. On this front I liked the film a lot, however the content isn't there to match it. The cold nature of the film doesn't adequately hint and reveal at deeper, and the delivery of most of the film lacks spark and tension. The specific twists and violent moments in and of themselves add energy, but they come over like standalone episodes in some way. This feeling draws in the cast too, and I didn't think they made their characters work, in context or out of it, which is a shame considering the talent.Stoker is a handsome film in its construction, and it has dramatic moments, but mostly it doesn't work particularly, and lacks spark.

STOKER is proof, if proof were needed, of the old adage "you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear". It's a film directed by Korean auteur Park Chan-wook, a man responsible for such classics as OLDBOY and SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE, and he tries very hard here to breathe life and style into the material. It's a classically-shot film in which inventiveness and imagination are key in terms of the visuals, the music, and the like, but at some point I felt like Park was trying a little too hard to make his film ominous.The reason soon becomes obvious: this film's story turns out to be pretty poor, especially in the modern world. It might have worked in the 1960s or even the 1970s, but by the 2010s it all feels very obvious and all-too-familiar. It's a simplistic rip-off of Hitchcock's SHADOW OF A DOUBT; it feels an over-obvious storyline that feels dragged out endlessly and might have worked as a half hour short, but not at this length. And everything is so glaringly, blindingly obvious, I thought of half a dozen twists that would have made it a better film.The script was written by Wentworth Miller, best known as the actor in PRISON BREAK, and it's a definite case of "don't give up the day job". The dialogue is pat, the characters non-existent, the scenarios obvious from the word go. There are no real shocks or surprises to be found here at all. Matthew Goode is the best actor in it but has little to do other than be still and creepy, while Nicole Kidman is the usual Stepford wife. Worst of the bunch is Mia Wasikowska, who can inflect no character or feeling into her protagonist; she might as well be Alice in a brunette wig.

Chan-wook Park's English language debut has three Australians in the cast: Nicole Kidman, Mia Wasikowska, and Jackie Weaver. Jackie experienced a major career resurgence (and two Oscar nominations) after starring in Animal Kingdom.British actor Matthew Gould also features in this movie, so quite a multicultural cast on hand for this moody and atmospheric movie.If you're into fast and furious cars or mixed martial "arts", then Stoker isn't for you. Please give up your cinema seat for someone else who will appreciate the many layers of Stoker. There's no happy ending as such, so be prepared for the worst in people.

As soon as you watch Stoker, your opinion about family bonds will not be the same anymore.Since from the opening shot your eyes are pleasantly amazed by the stunning cinematography of this movie. Everything is surrounded by a dream-like atmosphere and once you discover more and more about the mysterious quiet India and her family you will understand why.Matthew Goode and Nicole Kidman, who respectively play uncle Charlie and Eveline, are both excellent at portraying their characters and the camera movements keep the audience's concentration high all the time. What many might dislike, though, is the script, which sometimes appears to be too predictable.I do not want to repeat myself, but the cinematography is wonderful, how the director manipulate the viewer through mirrors and light is a good lesson to learn for anybody interested in filmmaking.I encourage everyone that likes thrillers to watch this movie. You will not be disappointed.