| Al diavolo le critiche negative, abbiamo qui alcune recensioni POSITIVE  Contengono spoiler, a vostro rischio e pericolo.  In una dice che Julian rassomiglia a Hugh Jackman  Dal National LedgerCITAZIONE Premonition: Sandra Bullock Film Delivers a Few Surprises
By Lady Liberty
Mar 19, 2007
I like Sandra Bullock well enough, and I certainly enjoy a good thriller. From its trailers, Premonition looked like might might have a few thrills as well as the type of twisted plot I sometimes enjoy (provided it's written well, that is). Besides, there wasn't anything else opening this weekend that I had any interest in seeing. That's not exactly an overwhelming rationale for seeing a given movie, but it was just enough to convince me to buy my ticket.
In Premonition, we meet suburban housewife, Linda Hanson (Sandra Bullock). Just like many women with the same job description, her days are filled by caring for her two daughters, Megan and Bridgette (Shyann McClure and Courtney Taylor Burness), and a nice home. Her husband, Jim (Julian McMahon) works hard to support his family. Unfortunately, the pair have also settled into a marriage that's become as routine and unsatisfying as too many of their daily tasks.
Linda in particular is conscious of the distance between her and her husband. But all of that disappears in one devastating moment when a local sheriff (Marc Macaulay) knocks on her door to tell her that Jim is dead. In many ways, the slow loss of passion in her marriage only makes Linda's grief all the greater. With help from her mother Joanne (Kate Nelligan), Linda pulls herself together just enough to tell her daughters that Daddy isn't coming home. After that wrenching chore, Linda tries to find some solace in the memories of the once joyful union between Jim and herself.
Grief and exhaustion eventually overtake Linda's sensibilities and she falls asleep. Her escape is only too brief; when she wakes up, she instantly recalls that her husband is dead and she begins her suffering all over again. Because she knows that there are decisions that must be made and things that need to be done whether she's ready for them or not, she looks first for her mother. Joanne, however, is not to be found. Linda goes from room to room until she's shocked to the core by discovering not her mother but her very much alive husband!
As real as her memories are, Linda comes to the perfectly natural conclusion that she's had a particularly vivid dream. While she once again immerses herself in her daily routine, strange moments of deja vu begin to jar her emotions and jog her memories of the nightmare she's now sure she's had. Before she can shake off her feelings of confusion and doom, she wakes to another day only to find that Jim really has been killed and that she once again must pick up the pieces and find a way to go on.
It's awful enough, of course, that Linda starts to think she must be going crazy simply because she's been possessed by dreams that are so real they vie with reality in her memories. But when her best friend, Annie (Nia Long), her mother, and a co-worker of her husband's (Claire, played by Amber Valletta) begin to remind her of things she's said or done that she can't recall, she's almost certain that she's insane. Linda seeks help from a variety of sources including a priest (Jude Ciccolella) and a psychiatrist (Peter Stormare), but in the end, she begins to believe that it's up to her to decide whether life or death will win out.
Sandra Bullock is a capable actress. Though I usually prefer her in comedies where her talents are considerable, she's done just fine in some more dramatic roles (including the Oscar™-winning Crash and the underrated The Lake House). Her growing bewilderment in this movie is subtly and skillfully rendered; her wild eyes give her otherwise calm visage the razor's edge look of a woman clinging to sanity despite all of the clues that might lead her to slip over the edge.
Julian McMahon (best known for his role on the television series Nip/Tuck) has just enough chemistry with his co-star that we can believe the pair truly did love each other once. His present wary distance from his wife is entirely believable. Meanwhile, the supporting cast is all fine in relatively small roles (though I'd submit that Peter Stormare is miscast — his hulking screen presence and slightly scruffy appearance don't say "reputable psychiatrist" to me at all).
Premonition is only the second major release effort for both director Mennan Yapo and writer Bill Kelly. Yapo gives an especially good effort. Aside from the entirely appropriate performances of the cast, there are some wonderful camera angles and pans and a few truly inspired edits. At least one critic has sniped at Kelly's script for failing to measure up to what may have been the definitive film for a growing genre of time-jumping storytelling. In fairness to Kelly, however, I've yet to see any film of this type measure up to the brilliant Memento and I thought his script was perfectly fine.
There's nothing in Premonition that stands out in such a way that audiences will simply have to see this film. But there are redeeming qualities, too, including decent performances for characters you'll care at least something about, and a script with enough twists and turns that you'll enjoy at least a few surprises. It could very well be on any other weekend you'd choose to see some other major release. But if you decide to spend your money on a ticket for Premonition this week, you won't have wasted the money.
FAMILY SUITABILITY: Premonition is rated PG-13 for "some violent content, disturbing images, thematic material, and brief language." There are some uncomfortable moments in Premonition that range from a troubled marriage to an accident scene to...well, I won't spoil it for you, but it's fair to say that these and other moments of "thematic material" aren't suitable for young children. The initial confusion inherent in a script like this one also requires a more mature audience to appreciate or even to follow. I'd suggest that Premonition is probably fine for those of about age 14 and up, though I suspect that teen boys of any age are going to be less thrilled with the film than will their female contemporaries. I actually think this movie might best be seen by couples who can't possibly be hurt by a reminder of how an overt appreciation for each other is necessary to keep even the most loving of relationships from withering. Da Up&Coming MagazineCITAZIONE Movies are more meaningful, and generally, more successful, when there is a message behind the story that touches us as individuals and as humans.
Premonition does that.
Plenty of stories try to hone in on our spirituality - or lack thereof - and remind us to be better people who make better decisions.
Premonition does that, too. But the way it does it is ultra-confusing.
Starring Sandra Bullock as Linda Hanson, Bullock's latest role since The Lake House, Premonition's plot is interesting but complicated.
The story starts off happily enough when husband Jim Hanson (Julian McMahon) surprises Linda with their first home - a giant 1920's wood-frame house. Fast-forward 10 years, and the couple has two young daughters and the house is now a home. From there, the story quickly spirals into a confusing yet intriguing mental and spiritual puzzle.
A police officer pays Linda a visit to tell her Jim died in a freak car accident.
She is in shock. The camera gets fuzzy to show us she isn't thinking clearly.
Linda prepares to tell her kids the bad news and calls her mother (Kate Nelligan) and best friend (Nia Long) for support.
She mopes through the house, cries a lot and falls asleep on the couch clutching their framed wedding photo
She wakes up the next day, in bed, and walks down the stairs to discover Jim at the breakfast table, about to go to work.
It was all a bad dream, right?
Wrong.
The next day, he's dead again.
Then he's alive.
It makes you wonder why she would fall asleep at all.
Because Premonition is told in a Groundhog Day-meets-The Sixth Sense kind of way, each new scene was like a high-voltage jolt of mixed reaction - "what's happening this time?" coupled with "oh, not this again." The audience is never quite sure if the story is being told in the present or the future tense, or if Linda is reliving the same day in different ways.
Naturally, Linda is perpetually scared, confused and full of doubt. What day is it? Has so-and-so already happened or is it a dream? Is she going crazy?
Jim starts off lovable but winds up a much less sympathetic guy as it is revealed he has an adulterous heart. Add mysterious injuries, a mysterious doctor, mysterious financial motives - all these elements certainly add layers of tension and suspense, but viewers may find themselves getting dizzy and, like Linda Hanson, questioning their own sanity.
The only thing for sure is that Premonition is a chick flick designed to scare girls, but not too much.
The forward-flashback, future-present method of storytelling is certainly a different and curious way to get the point across, but it keeps butts in the seats until the end, and in this case, the story ties itself into a satisfactory ending.
Model Amber Valletta makes a few brief appearances as Jim's sexy coworker, and her career as a catwalk-strutter somehow taught her how to be a decent actress. It must be all that time posing for cameras.
Bullock and McMahon have an amazing onscreen chemistry, to the point where it is seems absolutely possible that they are actually married.
McMahon, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Hugh Jackman, shines in this role, and his movie career looks bright.
Perhaps since her marriage to chopper overhauler Jesse James, Bullock's roles are more maternal and complex than action and adventure. Bullock is certainly the acting rock and center of this film. Her character is almost unbelievably sympathetic and truly, Bullock didn't act the role of Linda Hanson - she was Hanson.
Although few critics praised or even liked the film, it tried to be unique. There were several unexplained and unexplored worst-case-scenario premonitions that unfairly evoked every ounce of pity and empathy for Bullock's character. Despite Bullock's strengths as an actress, the confusing, unfocused story line coupled with gaping plot holes ultimately sank Premonition in the eyes of critics nationwide. Da Fullerton College HornetCITAZIONE Bullock is Back in Action
Avoiding a death in the family drives a new suspense filled thriller.
Summer Rogers
Issue date: 3/21/07 Section: Entertainment
"Premonition" is a great thriller that keeps the audience on edge, guessing and trying to solve the mystery before the heroine does.
The film revolves around stay-at-home mom Linda Hanson (Sandra Bullock), who, seemingly, leads the perfect life. She has a beautiful house, an attractive husband, Jim Hanson (Julian McMahon) and two beautiful daughters.
The film begins on Thursday, with Linda and her family going through their monotonous weekly routine. She drops the girls off at school, does the laundry, cleans the house, etc. However, this is no ordinary Thursday. That afternoon, a sheriff pays Linda a visit. He informs her that her husband has died in a terrible accident. Then the thrills begin.
The next day, which should be Friday, turns out to be Monday. Linda wakes up to find Jim alive and asleep next to her in bed. This transition leaves the audience confused at first, until it is established that Linda is reliving different days of the week to solve, and, perhaps prevent the death of her husband.
The cinematography is used to the advantage of the film. The cinematography perfectly transitions between days. It helps establish that each day is not in order and it's a different day for Linda to figure out what happened and what will happen next.
It's good to see Bullock back in a thriller, which she hasn't done since her film, "Murder by Numbers" (2002). She always knows how to play a woman of action. This was McMahon's second film after "The Fantastic Four" (2005). He is best known for his role as plastic surgeon, Dr. Christen Troy on the TV series, "Nip/Tuck." His character of Dr. Troy, the attractive ladie's man, is a total 180 from his character in this film, proving McMahon has the talent to transfer from TV to film.
Screenplay writer Bill Kelly has certainly made a name for himself with this film as opposed to his first screenplay, "Blast from the Past," starring Brendan Fraser. This plot was much more complex and sophisticated, not to say "Blast from the Past," wasn't in the least bit entertaining, it was just sophomoric compared to the complexity of "Premonition."
This was German director Mennan Yapo's first American film, which he did a tremendous job on. He perfectly utilized cinematography, lighting and music to emphasize the story and drama of the situation.
The culmination of Linda's premonition has a twist with a touch of sick irony and a life lesson: Sometimes things are just meant to be and people don't have control. |
, non ho letto la recensione per il solito motivo 
mi scuso, ma per evitare di leggere spoiler sulla finale, non leggo le recensioni e mi limito a riportarle 
