WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Ava-Grace Willis Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

NateWatchesCoolMovies Robert Altman's The Gingerbread Man isn't the director's best, but it's worth a looky-loo just to see this solid cast cavort around in a sweltering Georgia atmosphere and play out a narrative that's part sultry seduction thriller and part hard boiled whodunit. I remember watching it and going 'meh, I've seen this type of thing a thousand times and this one didn't raise the bar at all.' I'm thinking now that perhaps my mindset was in the wrong space, and that Altman set out to simply bring us the romantic murder mystery in its purest form, without deviation or higher ambitions. In that case he's made a neat little potboiler with a suitably ludicrous ending, some truly effective red herrings and a really great troupe of actors, so,e going nicely against type. The multi-talented Kenneth Branagh plays suave Georgia lawyer Rick MacGruder, who finds himself in deep trouble when he has an affair with sexy, slinky and shady Mallory Doss (the very underrated Embeth Davidz). She's a good enough girl, but she has a backwoods nutcase of a father named Dixon (Robert Duvall being uber strange and loving every second of it) who is stalking and threatening her. Dixon is a bedraggled, cult-leading swamp rat and Duvall plays him to the frenzied hilt of uncomfortable ticks and unkempt theatrics. MacGruder, being smitten with Mallory, is of course compelled to use his legal and personal power to help her, and concocts a convoluted scheme involving a subpoena to Mallory's belligerent ex husband Pete Randle (a cranky Tom Berenger blusters about in the third act). This of course sets off all kinds of back door motivations and sweaty double crosses that are hard to keep track of until all is revealed in the final act, prompting a collective audience reaction of "huh??". It's all in good fun though and at times it seems like Altman is deliberately dipping into B movie territory just to shirk his high art mantle and spice up this gumbo with some trashy, lowbrow flavour. I say bring it, that's exactly the way to my heart. Writing this review I'm now realizing I probably like this film way more than my ending statement might suggest, but sometimes we need to hash it all out on paper (or in this case a cramped iPad keyboard) to reevaluate our perception of a certain piece. The cast gets juicier, with Robert Downey Jr. doing a quick bit as Macgruder's slick buddy who works as a private investigator for the law office, Daryl Hannah and Famke Janssen as Rick's jilted wife as well. It's based on a John Grisham novel, and Altman seems to be the first director to adapt his work with a ramped up style and personal flair that goes beyond the academic thrills on the page. This one feels heightened, sultry and oh so sweaty in the way that only a southern set thriller can be. Cool stuff.

LeonLouisRicci It was a Very Odd Collaboration. Director Robert Altman who Never Made a Mainstream Movie and John Grisham who Never Wrote a Novel Made into a Movie that wasn't Mainstream. This Uneasy Fit Managed to be Overshadowed by Altman whose Quirky Style and Mannerisms Knocked the Laziness and Pedestrianism of Grisham's Storytelling Every which way and then some.It's a Dark and Wet Neo-Noir with Strong Characters some of which are "A few beers short of a six-pack!" These are Southern White Trash Eccentrics and Fast Talking Lawyer Womanizers Spinning Around in a Web of Sultry Savannah Moss. Trying to Stay One Step Ahead of the Plot, the Audience is Given a Thick Atmosphere of Weather Bearing Down on the Climax.Robert Altman Fans might be Disappointed and John Grisham Fans might be Disappointed, but the Film is Less Than Disappointing and is a Fun, if Murky Movie that has Enough Colorful Characters Played by Big Name Actors. There is Kenneth Branagh Driving this Thing with Both Hands along with Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall, Darryl Hannah, and others. A Movie that was Abandon by the Studio and Shoved Disrespectfully on the Circuit with Bad Publicity and Little Regard. It Ended Up being Critically Accepted if not Acclaimed, but it Really is a Better Film than its Reputation and is Certainly Worth a Watch, for if Nothing Else its Artistery.

vincentlynch-moonoi This is a good example of a film that had potential...that went wrong. I understand that director Robert Altman blamed the studio for severe post-production editing. Sorry, but the problems this film has are far deeper than post-production editing. In fact, I have an idea the editing helped.However, this is not a bad film. This is a film you want to watch if you like suspense. It has it, and it is the one thing in the film that really works pretty well. Even there, however, there are a couple of flaws. Within the first 15 minutes I concluded that Robert Downey's character -- a private eye -- would end up dead before the film was over; very predictable. Within the first half hour it was pretty clear that Tom Berenger's character had some further use in the film -- perhaps as the bad guy -- when his early scenes gave him almost no screen time...something an actor who was doing pretty good at that time in his career wouldn't accept; so, clearly, his character was being saved for the climax.Another plus here is the setting -- Savannah, Georgia. It's different, even a bit exotic, although I'm not sure we needed to add in a hurricane.In terms of the acting, very uneven. I've always thought Kenneth Branagh was a very good actor; here he gets by. Embeth Davidtz is quite good as the daughter who is knee-deep in conspiracy; probably the best performance in the film. Robert Downey, Jr. was sleepwalking through this film; or perhaps staggering through it, since this was made during that low point in his personal life. I've always liked Downey, but here he's very disappointing, though it could have been a very good role for him. Tom Berenger has too little screen time; more of him would have been preferable, although plot-wise it works. Daryl Hannah...well, suffice it to say that this film highlights her limitations as an actress. If you're a Robert Duvall fan, here's a role (as a nut) he could have really sunk his teeth into...but he also seems to sleepwalk through the part.The suspense factor here makes me give this a "7", but it's very borderline. Not a bad film, but a definite disappointment. Watchable once. John Grishom...what have they done to you?

Jackson Booth-Millard From director Robert Altman (MASH, Nashville, Gosford Park, A Prairie Home Companion), the title I knew wouldn't be anything to do with the fairytale, so I was intrigued to try it. Basically Rick Magruder (Kenneth Branagh) is the divorced lawyer in Savannah, Georgia who stumbling out drunk from a party has a chance meeting with waitress and caterer Mallory Doss (Embeth Davidtz) who has apparently lost her car. So he drives her home, where seemingly her father has parked the car, and after a small argument she innocently undresses in front of him, and they end up kissing and spending the night together. He rushes to work after the one night stand, but he can't stop thinking about her, and he is surprised and glad to see her again at his office, she is asking to file a suit over her abusive father Dixon, nicknamed "The Gingerbread Man" (Robert Duvall), after he has been threatening her. Rick manages to indeed take Dixon to court and have him put on trial to prove these accusations, with the help of witnesses such as Mallory's ex-husband Pete Randle (Tom Berenger), and he is sentenced to a mental institution. But Dixon has a small group of friends who go to the institution and break him out, as well as a few other inmates, and of course he is after Rick and Mallory. Together, with his children Libby (Independence Day's Mae Whitman) and Jeff Magruder (Jesse James), their lives are in danger and they must find places to hide and people to help catch the nut-case again, and put him back where he belongs, or maybe even kill him. Also starring Robert Downey Jr. as Clyde Pell, Daryl Hannah as Lois Harlan, Famke Janssen as Leeanne Magruder, Clyde Hayes as Carl Alden, Troy Bailey as Konnie Dugan, Julia Ryder Perce as Cassandra and Danny Darst as Sheriff Hope. Branagh gives a not too bad performance putting on his Southern American accent he brought to Wild Wild West, and Duvall is fitting a psychotic father to the innocent Davidtz, I will admit the story went slightly downhill after halfway through, but all in all it isn't a boring thriller. Good!