Customer Reviews

The Number 23 (La Revelacion) [NTSC/REGION 1 & 4 DVD. Import-Latin America]

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(32)
2 star:		(26)
1 star:		(34)

 

 

When I saw the preview for NUMBER 23, I thought it was going to be a great film. The concept of the number 23 being part of some global conspiracy is a great idea for a mystery thriller. Also, Jim Carrey has done a great job of choosing roles that display the full range of his acting talents, not just ones that show his comic prowess and I was looking forward to seeing him in a mystery thriller film. But instead of a mystery thriller, I saw a hacked up film that barely qualifies as a mystery, has no thrills, and very little suspense.

Carrey portrays Walter Sparrow, and older man married to a younger woman named Agatha (Virginia Madsen) who works in a bakery. Walter works as an animal control specialist. Apparently Walter's job isn't all that exciting, but it is something he enjoys doing. At the end of the work day on his birthday, he gets bitten by a stray dog. He chases the dog until he looses him in a cemetery. The incident causes Walter to be late meeting his wife for dinner, which leads her to browsing a used bookstore, where she finds a self-published book about the number 23 that she buys for Walter as a gift. Apparently Walter was so late that Agatha was able to read the entire book while waiting for him. Walter must be a slow reader because it takes him over a week before he finishes it at the end of which time he finds himself going slightly insane, seeing the number 23 everywhere he goes and having dreams about murdering his wife. All reading and no play seems to make Walter a dull boy. Is Walter really going insane? Or is the book actually part of a larger story that Walter has become involved in? Dum, dum, dum, dum, DUM! (Look what I did, onomatopoeia and foreshadowing combined!).

I was really disappointed by NUMBER 23. The concept is so interesting and could be made into a great movie, but NUMBER 23 isn't it. Jim Carrey does a great job of playing both Walter Sparrow and the character of Fingerling from the novel, but he's not given much of a story to work with. Either is the lovely Virginia Madsen. She plays two roles, too, but neither has any real depth. In fact, none of the characters are very developed at all. Sometimes that's okay in a mystery suspense film, but not if you don't have much of a story to work with.

I will give the filmmakers credit, though. There are many people who will not like the ending of the film and even though I was disappointed, I'm glad they tried to bring closure to the whole story. Many times in mystery-thriller and suspense the films end ambiguously with no closure. As my parents used to say, "That's a dumb ending." NUMBER 23 doesn't have a dumb ending. Instead, it has a middle that doesn't make any sense. I'd most like to see a film that makes sense all or at least most of the way through, but given a mindless middle or a dumb ending I think I would rather take the dumb ending.

I feel I must correct a bunch of bad talk about this movie. First off, you have no clue as to how it is going to end, and is possibly the best movie ever created to keep your mind in question to the very last minute before it slaps you.

People have talked badly about the scenes where "Jim" is acting as a detective, but it is supposed to be portrayed in how a regular guy would see things happening, if he were imagining himself as the character in a book he were reading. It has the feel of a comic book to some degree, because it is portrayed in an artistic sense and not a literal, serious acting sense.

The story is one of the most brilliant I have ever witnessed, and all the acting was as it should be. Me and everyone I questioned agreed that Jim plays a more convincing "Mentally Insane" person than Johnny Depp even came close to in "Secret Window". Very surprising how well Jim Carrery did, in fact. If you like something that will really make you think, or enjoy a little bit of a challenge, and have an imagination, then this movie will be one of the best you will ever lay eyes on. A very artistic mind set in the making of this film.

Though I'd read reviews before seeing the movie, I decided to see Number 23 for myself. I like Jim Carrey more in serious roles and this one did not dissapoint. Though a bit predictable, I loved every freaking minute, especially the viginettes of Carrey's Walter character imaginaging himself as Det. Fingerling. A brilliant performance of a man coming unhinged by memories which may or may not be his own--and a wife who may or may not be a murderer. All in all, very clever and enjoyable.

Walter Sparrow (Carrey) is living a normal life, with a wife and son. One day, his wife Agatha (Madsen) buys him a copy of a book called "The Number 23". The book details the obsession of a detective named Fingerling with the number 23, and its appearance in everything around him. Walter feels a connection to Fingerling and becomes obsessed with the book, feeling someone wrote it about him. He begins to see the number 23 everywhere, leading him to spiral into madness.

In "The Number 23", Jim Carrey once again tries "serious mode", and is somewhat successful given the constraints of the film. It is nothing outstanding, but it gets the job done. The story itself is a bit of a disappointment though, having less to do with the number 23 than you would hope. Seeing 23 in daily life is the most interesting part of the movie, and for that not to have a larger part in the ending is a shame. The film has some interesting visuals when it comes to the reading of the book, but overall, "The Number 23" falls flat.

_The Number 23_ starring Jim Carrey as dog catcher Walter Sparrow is an extremely bizarre movie featuring a mysterious murder and a numerological obsession with the number 23. The movie offers a perplexing examination of delusion and madness, showing the power of obsession on the human mind. Numerology and the obsession with the magical power of numbers is an ancient discipline represented by such distinguished ancient thinkers as Pythagoras; however, as this movie shows such a discipline can often lead to unhealthy obsession. Many great thinkers have examined the phenomenon of synchronicity, including such founders of psychoanalysis as Freud and Jung; however, as is often noted there is a fine line between genius and madness. In particular, the alleged recurrence of the number 23 has played a role in the thought of such individuals as William S. Burroughs and Robert Anton Wilson (RAW). Indeed RAW devotes much of his otherwise pointless _Illuminatus!_ trilogy to an explication of the repeated occurrence of this mysterious number, 23. (This film must obviously have been influenced by the thinking of RAW and others, as we see reference made to the maverick psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich, theorist of orgone energy, and a noted obsession of RAW.) It is also well known though that numerological delusions frequently play a part in the ideation of schizophrenics and other disturbed individuals. Such a tendency to observe patterns where none are apparently present has been noted as a primary motivating factor behind both the delusions of the mentally disturbed and highly creative individuals.

This movie begins with Jim Carrey as dog catcher. He is having an otherwise ordinary day (February 2 (2-3) - his birthday) when he encounters a dog named "NED" who bites him in the process of trying to catch him. This synchronous event causes him to be late for a meeting with his wife, giving her ample time to peruse a book at a used bookstore called _The Number 23_. As it turns out, Carrey ends up purchasing this book, which begins his bizarre obsession with the number 23. As Carrey begins reading the book, he notices eerie resemblances to his own life, including similarities to his own family (which holds a dark secret). Ultimately, Carrey discovers that he must resolve a murder which can only be solved by unlocking the key in the book. However, this murder holds a dark secret linked forever to Carrey himself and the number 23. As the story continues, Carrey descends deeper and deeper into madness, until eventually he must make a profound choice which will alter his life forever. To understand the rest of the story you must watch the movie.

Unfortunately, the movie itself tends to drag in parts, and the ending is not very well done. I found myself imagining countless alternative endings, but was ultimately disappointed by what actually occurs. The movie does offer a good look into the mind of a madman, but it ultimately fails to be convincing in certain respects. At the end, I felt that several loose ends were not wrapped up, and remained largely confused about certain details. While the basic idea of this movie is interesting, it ultimately fails to deliver and becomes boring. Thus, I cannot say that I fully recommend it, despite the fact that the idea behind it is an interesting one.

First off, with all of the lousy reviews this movie is generating, I have got to ask this question to you all-Did we both view the same film as one another? I was absolutely amazed by this film. Granted, I will admit that I am a big Jim Carrey fan, however I don't like and enjoy all of his movies(Eternal Sunshine, The Cable Guy to name a few). But I feel he did an applaudable job with this role. I don't feel the need to tell you about the plot and synopsis of this movie, as I am sure most are already aware of the generalization of this motion picture. But with all of the negative comments I am reading from alot of people, I am just curious to what really keeps you entertained for a good 1 1/2-2 hours. Is your attention span too short to stay focused long enough to get the gist of the story? Granted, this movie might take a couple viewings to fully understand it and appreciate it(I had to rewind a few parts to pick up on the little subtleties), but it is well worth it. And the actual ending is a very nice way of closing the film, as the whole book Carey is reading(The Number 23....Duh!) is explained, and how his life is reflected in it is fully and finally understood and revealed. It's a real head scratcher at first, but is fully appreciated after you grasp the full understanding and concept of it all. Beautifully directed by Joel Schumacher, and brilliant performances by Carey and cast(who knew he could actually do anything other than comedy so naturally) make this a very memorable movie and well worth picking up. If you are still skeptical on purchasing this movie then at least do yourself a favor and rent it. I hope to see Carey casted in more films like this in the future. Very well done! You will not be disappointed!

When Agatha Sparrow (Virginia Madsen) has an extra moment at a book store while waiting for her husband Walter (Jim Carrey), she picks up a book about the number 23. Written by Topsy Kretts (I would have gone with something like Drew Peacock or Jacques Strap), it's about loose numerology, and connections between statistics that soon consume Walter's life. Before making it through more than the first few chapters, he realizes that all the important numbers in his life, his important dates, his address, his zip code, his in-seam (just kidding), and his IQ (not kidding) can all be easily manipulated to some variation of the number 23. Paranoia ensues.

Jim Carrey's dual-performance as Walter, and Fingerling, the sociopath detective from the book causing the paranoia, is masterful. Carrey shows his range as an actor, distancing himself from the rubber-faced contortionist act that made him a superstar. And Virginia Madsen as a cleavage-displaying, sex-craved Fabrizia, a woman into bondage, sadomasochism, and rape fantasies is equally jaw dropping. In fact, combining her character with the cameo by Rhona Mitra makes me wish there were a sequel.

Portions of the cinematography are similarly ingenious. There are extreme color contrasts, with blacks darker than an eclipse battling bleached alabaster whites for the viewer's focus. The combination reminded me of aspects from Sin City.

Finally, the ending is interesting but a little predictable. If one allows themselves to delve into the story, it's quite easy to ignore the foreshadowing. For those who enjoy pointing out how a magician does something more than enjoying the magic, you may hate the ending.

As far as the actual point of the movie, well, that's pretty stupid. Forgive me, but it just doesn't add up. Jim Carey was born on Jan 17. If January is the number 1, and you add it to 17, there doesn't seem to be anything mysterious going on; it's only 18. But if you add the 5 times I rolled my eyes during the number theory explanations, wait, THAT'S 23!! What I learned from the movie are two terms I found to describe the plot. The first is apophenia, the experience of seeing patterns or connections in random or meaningless data. The second is known as the Texas sharpshooter fallacy. Basically, the idea comes from the idea of someone shooting several rounds into the broadside of a barn, and THEN painting a target in such a fashion to make it appear that the shots were on target. In other words, the conclusions are artificial.

Then again, I was born in 1976 (1+9+7+6=23)...

H o r r i b l e
8 15 18 18 9 2 12 5

8 + 15 = 23.

(18 * 18) + (9 * 2) / 12 - 5 = 23.5. If you round down that would be 23. It all adds up (pun intended). 23 is horrible. By the way, I know this is an annoying and pretentious way to start a review, but this review is about an annoying and pretentious movie, so I couldn't help myself.

Boring, predictable and abysmal are all words that spring to mind when I try to come up with a way to sum the plot up. This movie leans on pretty much every "thriller" cliché in the book (no pun intended). The whole time I was watching it I felt like it was a direct assault on my intelligence.

The character development was stunted, and there wasn't a single character in the movie that seemed believable to me. Their dialogue seems mechanical and by the end of the movie there wasn't a single character I was rooting for. In the "key scenes", or scenes where the characters were in peril, I just found myself not really caring what happened. I think the acting was actually pretty good at times, but it wasn't enough to breathe life into the characters in the story.

The pace of the movie was slow. Painfully slow. To give you an example, if 23 a good book, everything that happens in the movie would probably happen in the span of about one chapter. They had no plot or secrets to unravel, so it was pretty much like the movie rambled along with no point until it hit the end where it was like "by the way, this is what happened". And the only surprise in store for me at the end of the movie was how painfully obvious and uncreative the ending was.

Anyway, I love thrillers, and I love the horror genre. I can appreciate campy horror movies (the Evil Dead trilogy is my favorite, to give you an idea). The Number 23 is horrible because it committed the cardinal sin of taking itself too seriously. If they had embraced the fact that this is a bad movie with a horrible plot, it might have at least been entertaining.

This bizarre and, ultimately, sucky movie was brought to us by garbage-pusher Joel Schumacher, and stars Jim Carrey. Carrey is completely wasted in this boring, badly directed, badly written, badly acted snooze-fest. Leave it on the shelf, it'll just put you to sleep!

Plot-wise, it concerns Jim Carrey's growing obsession with the number 23, a murder mystery, and lame, yawn-inducing drama. You won't care, and each twist is as unimpressive as the last.

TURKEY!

If you ever needed a movie as an example about how NOT to make a psychological/ conspiracy theory type movie, the number 23 is definitely it. The pace of the movie is laboriously dreary and slower than a pull out of the troops in Iraq. The story is only mildly interesting which is very misleading thanks to the trailers. I was under the impression that the frequency of times that the number 23 comes up would be intvestigated in the movie with an answer or answers as to WHY (ala Davinci Code) but instead we're subjected to a paranoid man who only sees the number 23 everywhere. Oh and yeah, murders and ridiculous amounts of sex in a book that Carrey's character is convinced has been written specifically about his life. Turns out, the number 23 isn't even important after all, since Carrey's really just playing a sicko with an affinity for killing off people obsessed with...what else... the number 23. The end scenes where we discover that Carrey's our knife wielding nutter butter are done completely over, so we see scenes already acted out in the narration scenes as Carrey was reading the book, only now it's Carrey we see instead of the book's main character acting out the killings and lunacy, so we essentially see key scenes of the same movie twice, as if watching it ONCE wasn't bad enough. They could have easily done a snippet scene montage, which is the smart way to wrap up an already long seeming, slow moving sludgefest, yet the director seems to be taking pleasure in the fact that he's the boss and you just HAVE to watch the movie his way. If this film doesn't end Jim Carrey's acting career, as well as the careers of EVERYONE involved with the making of this film, then Hollywood really is the dumbest place for movies to be made. This movie deserves NO stars, just like the last really horrible garbagerie I wasted time on, Flightplan. Zero stars