One of my all time favorites.

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

This wasn't all bad, but it didn't seem to know where it was going. First of all the lousy music. This was intrusive, too loud and in places even drowned out the dialogue. I found myself reaching for the remote to lower it every time the nutter came on. He was accompanied by crazy music to let us know he was crazy. Then you had to turn the sound up again to catch the next bit of dialogue. The music was terrible, and sounded as if it was added at the last minute to change the direction of the movie in post edit. Then I realised what had happened. The original comedy movie had been made into a 'dark comedy' after shooting was over. The cannibalism, mutilation, kidnapping, murders and beatings were a little too much for the review audiences, so it had to become a thriller. The Woody Allen style poetry group and the presence of so many comedy actors, Rickman, Danson, Steenburgen, De Vito surely meant that this began as a comedy, but someone (one of the 5 producers ? ) decided to change tack. Was De Vito originally meant to be more enhanced role and he was cut down to practically a cameo ? Why was Danson given only a few cutting lines as the University Dean ? Given Benny Hill style music, or even a decent rock score, but hey they have to be paid for, the whole film would have been better. Why did this go straight to DVD here in the UK, and then be given away in a newspaper ? I think a fine cast was let down here by a too many cooks effect and a corporate writing and editing debacle.

i was expecting this to actually be good because of a positive review by a critic who knows film and writes for my local paper. i'm surprised at just how bad it is. first off, the lighting leaves much to be desired. it's far too dark throughout the film. i'm sure this is on purpose, for some reason. second, the editing. lots of scenes in this film are shot like a music video, with quick editing and electronic music playing over it. it also doesn't cover up the flat direction that i believe is at the heart of this film. third, the music again. it's not just played in the quick-edit montages but throughout more static moments in the film. it does not help the film, in my opinion. also, i don't believe that it adds the sense of excitement that i think it is probably intended to. although with a film this uninvolving and flat i don't know that there's any music that could have helped. but the electronica seemed a bad choice. also, there's little to no character development. i really didn't care what happened to any of the characters after a while, so i stopped watching. all in all, i found this film to be a sub-mediocre disappointment of an attempt at quirky black comedy. i give it a 2 because it has some good-to-decent acting despite the uninspired, flat direction.

Somehow I expected this to be a bit of a long shot and wasn't anticipating much. However this was way off. With some great acting (Alan Rickman) as the Nobel Prize winner and each of the other main characters. A real gem which I am having trouble with describing, without giving anything away. The story revolves around the son of the prize winner and his kidnapping which has been cleverly planned. The events take some unexpected twists and turns and ends with a bang or a pop. A great film throughout and a brilliant ending with some super actors. Watch this if you get a chance as its one of the best thrillers I've seen this year. Enjoy

I thoroughly enjoyed this film, from beginning to end. The superb acting of Mary Steenburgen, Alan Rickman, Bill Pullman, and Danny DeVito, was icing on the cake of an already fantastic movie. My adrenaline was pumping throughout the film with a great soundtrack by Paul Oakenfold. It's nice to go to the movies and see a truly independent film made with such a wide release, and such a great cast. Randall Miller, who co-wrote, and co-produced with Jody Savin and also directed and edited this film, did a wonderful job, and deserves great respect. Every scene was captivating and fun with Bryan Greenberg and Shawn Hatosy proving themselves in starring roles. While movies like Revolutionary Road, and The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button are getting all the credit for such moving performances and so on, but this film deserves great recognition for the true genius of every second of this film. Truly the unsung hero, underdog, and most underrated film of the year. Don't miss out on any chance to see this film.