Passengers (2008)

You won't be disappointed!

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

My expectations for this film was not so high when i checked the ratings, however i enjoyed watching the movie ,its was good and better then the crap films of those days It's rather a mystery film with a little of suspense, and at times scenes don't really make sense, but they do as film moves on. The end of the films is spectacular ! its worth watching!

Passengers is a low key supernatural drama that came and went with little fanfare or attention back in 2008. Part of the reason for that could have been that it was marketed as a thriller, which is not so much the case. There is an eerie vibe to it, and certainly a paranormal component, but it's quieter and much closer to the chest than advertising might suggest. It wasn't reviewed very well, branded as predictable and derivative. Some of its plot devices have been used before in the past, to be sure, but I greatly enjoyed the film and loved the way in which it's story unfolds, told very well by its sturdy cast. Like Mark Pellington says, eff the people, that's why there's 31 flavors. Anne Hathaway is excellent as Claire, a grief counselor who is tasked with looking out for a handful of people who have survived a catastrophic plane crash. She's new to her profession, her eagerness laced with self doubt, yet she remains hopeful. All of a sudden, the patients in her cate begin to disappear mysteriously, and she starts to question the situation, as well as her own reality. The survivors are damaged and not fully willing to open up to her, collectively scared of some unseen threat. Claire has repeated run ins with a unknown and very distressed man (Andrew Wheeler, local vancouver actor and former teacher of mine) who has ties to the accident. It's all hush hush and quietly unsettling, until we slowly begin to realize what's actually happening, and the it changes gears and becomes very touching and thoughtful. Clea Duvall is great as one of the skeptical survivors, Patrick Wilson solid as always, and there's work from Dianne Wiest, William B. Davis, Andre Braugher and briefly David Morse. Sure, this type of story has been done to death time and time again, draining new efforts of some of their effect, but if one comes along that gets it right, tells it's story in a way that holds both my emotion and interest in its spell, I'm all ears. This one did just that.

...but I was very affected by this film. It was inspired by another film, but I can't give you the name as it will spoil the movie for you. You'll know if you watch it.Anne Hathaway is Claire, a counselor who is assigned by her boss (Andre Braugher) to help survivors of a plane crash. One of the survivors, Eric, seems not to have been bothered at all, but he makes an appointment to see Claire privately. For the others, she sets up a group therapy session.We see Claire as a dedicated career woman with a nosy neighbor (Dianne Weist), and she seems to be on the outs with her sister, whom she is trying to reach. Eric proves to be problematic. Since the accident, he's become quite the daredevil and encouraging her to be the same way; he shows up at her apartment late at night; and she's falling for him.Less and less people show up to the therapy sessions, and Claire wonders about the man hovering outside during the sessions, who seems to be from the airline. She begins to suspect a conspiracy - he is too interested in peoples' accounts of the crash, which differ from the party line, and she thinks he may have something to do with the passengers disappearing.This is a slow film, but stay with it. It's quite powerful. Anne Hathaway gives a lovely performance as Claire, and Patrick Wilson is effective and likable as Eric, resembling a young Paul Newman.I admit I shed some tears. Don't listen to the twenty-something year-old guys who populate IMDb (unless you're one yourself; then by all means, listen to them). Just enjoy the movie.

Painful...Another reviewer here used that word and I truly, TRULY feel that it fits most accurately. I usually scan through the reviews quickly before writing one and USUALLY I roll my eyes and get quite irritated at all the horrible reviews and comments about 'Worst movie', etc., etc... However, in THIS case I honestly had to agree when I saw the detailed comments about how some people here really did not like this film. The reviewer I mentioned, Moristang, stated some good points about the completely unbelievable acting, especially Anne Hathaway's, which is odd since she normally can be quite good. I FULLY agree with his comments about how her awkward, superficially phony nervousness and mannerisms were EXTREMELY annoying and totally unbelievable.It is not often that a film evokes such a strong negative reaction from me, since by now it seems that MOST people at least know how to put them together with some degree of competency. Sure, there are MANY movies that may leave me unmoved, or I find that they don't do much for me, or it turns out not to be a type that I normally would like. But, THIS time, I can honestly relate to Moristang's use of the word 'Painful', and even more so as the movie progressed. I mean, the premise certainly sounded interesting and mysterious; I'm SURE that the overall idea was good. But, GEEZ, the acting was SO dang awful, literally GRATING on the nerves the more the film progressed. Almost ALL of the interactions between characters, to me anyway, appeared to be forced, awkward, and TOTALLY unbelievable in ANY context. Sure, I understand that Anne's character had not interacted with actual patients before, but still, her amateurish manner was just about more than I could literally bear. Really...And, just to take one instance; the interaction between her and the supposedly 'Euphoric' guy was just about THE frigg'n worst I've ever seen, and I own and have seen a LOT of movies, let me tell you. All that smug, phony smiling and her little feigned, quiet, whispery little voice were almost enough to send me screaming through the house! Bloody AWFUL! Finally, there is the scene where she is going to meet him and there is this sudden gust of wind that blows a paper into her face and scares her causing here to give off a little scream. She looks up and the guy is right in front of her looking at her through a gate, very calmly and condescendingly, with this little DOUCHEY smirk on his face. Something that absolutely NO ONE would buy as any where NEAR a believable or realistic reaction in ANY way, shape, or form. That did it for me right there. I had to say to myself that that was quite honestly some of the worst acting (or perhaps direction) that I have seen in a very long time.So, all I can say is that I don't know if anyone else would be as sensitive as I am and react as violently negative as I did, but all I got out of it was cringing and pain. Pure and simple... Now, maybe others might not be bothered by these kinds of things and may be able simply to sit back and watch the story unfold and enjoy it. But, not me, let me tell you. When I say that I haven't seen anything so EXCRUCIATING and so poorly done in a long time, I truly mean it. With all my heart and soul...Like I said, maybe the idea for the story was pretty good; I was genuinely intrigued by the premise and there appear to be people in the movie that normally seem to be good actors, but for me personally, I could feel the nerve endings in my body singing shrilly in the utmost pain as I tried to watch this film.I RARELY ever take the time to write negative reviews; if you check mine, you will see that probably over 95% of the time I am writing at least somewhat of a positive review, usually to try to point out the good things in films where many others have P|$$ed all over them. I usually am EXTREMELY scornful of these jaded @ssholes claiming to be such authorities on film, and usually enjoy pointing that out. BUT... THIS time, I must sadly admit that the many detailed negative comments by others about this film appear to be quite true...