Taking Lives (2004)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Thanks for the memories!

Simply A Masterpiece

One of my all time favorites.

Incredibly sloppy filmmaking with little to no original ideas. The amount of goofy screw ups is unreal and the film has aged very poorly. This is 100% Angelina Jolie worship with aspects of many other crime/murder/thriller movies thrown in as background noise. Watch Se7en or Zodiac instead.

"A serial killer is on the road, killing and taking over lives of his victims. Time is ticking down before he claims his next victim and identity"Right from the beginning, I liked this movie. The two actors who we're introduced to are Justin Chatwin and Paul Dano. Dano would go onto to play a role in the 2013 film Prisoners in a very similar role while Chatwin would go on to ruin my CHILDHOOD!!! Uhhhumm. Excuse me.The introduction to this movie lulls you into a sense of comfort but then violently shifts you into how a majority of the rest of the film will be played out. Starts with two great actors, great music and a real sense of out in the wilderness with no one around. The opening credits has a very Se7en feel to it and the introduction and some of the settings and dialogue that comes up in the first third of the film is very reminiscent to Silence of the Lambs.Basic premise of the movie is Asher (Dano) kills people he watches and stalks and assumes their identity. He keeps jumping from person to person trying to leave his former life behind. Angelina Jolie plays an FBI agent who is brought in to help profile and catch the killer. Ethan Hawke plays a character who is brought in for questioning after he witnesses someone being killed. After the first half hour/45 minutes, the movie begins to lose some of it's luster in my opinion with me. I understand that it needs to progress and the plot needs to advance but placing your number one witness in a club to lure out a potential serial killer isn't the best idea.The movie's false ending (Yeah, you read that right. If you haven't picked up on the twist yet, you're not paying attention) culminates with what appears to be the killer kidnapping Hawke's character and leading cops on a high speed chase which ends in a car accident where the killer dies. Everything seems like it is cleared up and Angelina Jolie falls for the victim. At the hospital, the killer's mother comes to verify the body but says the the dead person isn't her son. Hawke then murders his mother in an elevator and escapes. That's right, Ethan Hawke was the killer all along.The movie really ends with Jolie being kicked out of the FBI, pregnant with Hawke's babies and living on her own in Pennsylvania. Hawke tracks her down to rekindle their romance but ultimately decides to try to kill Jolie. He stabs her in the stomach but finds out that she really isn't pregnant when she removes the scissors and stabs him with them. She tells him that the past 7 months had all been a ploy to get him to come back out of hiding.I really liked the first half hour or so of this movie. As I said above, it felt gritty and dirty and something you could accept as the next chapter in the Hannibal saga. I really like FBI profiler and in depth agent movies like this, Red Dragon and Mindhunters where killers motives are questioned and they try to find out why it's happening but also find the killer at the same time.Something that is almost as good as that is Angelina Jolie. I never really thought of her as super sexy or anything but this movie has pushed me over to the other side. I have been missing out on her sex appeal and it was top notch in this movie. Thinking almost the entire movie "Man, she is super sexy" and "I'd definitely would want to get with her" we are actually paid off and she a nude scene with her around 1 hour and 11 minutes in (You're welcome!)What I didn't like was the ending. By about 40 minutes left, if you hadn't already figured out the ending for the most part, it is thrown right in your face. I didn't really like that they put a face on who you thought could be the killer. By casting Keifer Sutherland in a role where it looked like he was the killer and to do it so early in the movie cut out some of the intrigue. I loved not knowing who the killer could be. Asher took on so many identities he could be anyone. They even still played with this at the very end when the French Canadian Cop had that stick in his mouth and took it out seemingly to tie it in a fashion like Jolie found in Asher's mothers house.I felt like the ending should have been abrupt and left us shocked. Instead, it happened, then explained itself, then let that marinate and finally decided "Ok, now here's the payoff". In reality, we didn't need payoff. The Asher character was good because we 'didn't know' who it was and it could end up being anyone. He has for years been able to just slip in and out of lives without ever being caught and that's how I felt it should have ended. The actual ending is not bad and was even a good twist but in this movie, it didn't seem like it was needed.I'll say watch this movie if you're really into serial killer movies and like seeing their personality examined. Plus, you get boobs. Really hot and sexy boobs. Just saying.

An FBI profiler is called in by French Canadian police to catch a serial killer who takes on the identity of each new victim.What a great cast, including a more mainstream role for Gena Rowlands, who steals every scene she is in. We also have a relatively young Angelina Jolie and Ethan Hawke in one of his stronger roles (far predating his Oscar nomination for "Boyhood").Unfortunately, the film starts strong but then slows down, becomes plodding and predictable. Some have called it just another average thriller, and that is more or less what it is. Neither great nor terrible, but ultimately forgettable.

what a star packed lineup.. Ethan Hawke.. Mr 24 and the ever sexy Angela Jolie. the movie is about a young man we find hitchhiking, he get's a ride from a guy, they start talking,, car breaks down,, man changes tire, and our villain killer comments, hmm we are about the same size,, and pushes the man in front of an oncoming truck,, wow now that's vicious. he takes on his victims identities and it's on to the next victim,, enter Angela,, she is an FBI profiler, and this case interests her very much so she takes it on with a vengeance like a dog with a bone doesn't wanna let go. Kiefer did a great job in the movie as well,, Ethan Hawke's performance was very good I thought,, Angela Jolie was a great as ever,, and frankly never looked better. this movie is packed with tons of gore, suspense, mystery that will keep you guessing till the final climax.. a great thriller not to be missed.