Avis sur le produitThe Number 23 (DVD, 2007)

His salvation lies in their hands

“The Number 23” can’t seem to figure out whether it wants to be a paranoid thriller, a kinky murder mystery, or an M. Night Shyamalan-style Hook Movie. In the end, it’s all of these things, but it’s not any one of those things long enough to matter. New Line has a history of mucking up movies like this. “Frequency,” the 2000 drama starring Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel, suffered from a similar problem. It started off as a heartwarming father-and-son time travel movie, and then morphs into a hunt for a serial killer. These kinds of movies are clearly not New Line’s thing. They would be better served sticking to genre flicks like the “Final Destination” movies and “Snakes on a Plane.”

Jim Carrey is Walter Sparrow, a dog catcher who’s late for a date with his wife Agatha (Virginia Madsen) thanks to a scuffle with a feisty dog. Agatha peruses a nearby book store while she waits, and finds a fascinating little book called “The Number 23” that she thinks Walter will like. Walter is instantly fascinated with the book; the tales of its protagonist, an investigator named Fingerling, draw so many parallels into Walter’s own life that he’s convinced that the book is about him. One of the story’s plot threads involves a girl that’s referred to as Suicide Blonde (Lynn Collins), who is obsessed with the number 23, convinced it can be found in literally anything and everything. Walter falls under its spell as well, and before long his life spirals out of control in near-perfect sync with Fingerling’s.

I’ve just explained the paranoid thriller part of the story. Seems pretty entertaining, even if the theory itself is complete bunk, right? By and large, that part is entertaining; unfortunately there’s not enough of it to go around. Director Joel Schumacher, a man who has a tendency to get lost in the spectacle of things (though not always, as “Falling Down” and “Tigerland” will attest), directs the movie with flair but keeps the proceedings as grounded as the source material will allow. He certainly directs Carrey with more authority than he did in “Batman Forever,” but then again, he did allow Carrey to actually say the line, “I’m a killer! I have killed someone!” And for that, he should be punished, as should screenwriter Fernley Phillips for writing the line in the first place.

Even at a short 95 minutes, I found myself checking my watch at the 50-minute mark, which is probably the moment when the movie shifted into kinky murder mystery mode. It never recovers from this point on, though even the murder mystery seems tolerable in light of the Hook Movie twist they throw at us at the end. They were clearly going for the surprise ending of a certain grisly ‘80s thriller that will go nameless here for fear of spoiling it for anyone, but suffice it to say that they didn’t come remotely close.

It’s easy to see why Jim Carrey was drawn to “The Number 23.” He didn’t have to be rubber-mask-faced funny man, and he didn’t have to be Overly Dramatic Man, either. These movies, however, are all wrong for him (assuming, of course, that they’re right for anyone else), and if he’s smart, he still has Peter Weir and Milos Forman on speed dial. His salvation lies in their hands, not the hands of some clumsy pulp fiction writer with a De Palma fixation.Lire l'avis complet...

The jury's still out

I saw a trailer for this over a year ago on youtube, and just recently ordered it from half.com.
I love newer Jim Carrey movies; the "funny" stuff doesn't appeal to me. It's a sort of complicated story but if you take the time to sit through it, you may like it.
Jim Carrey's wife (Virginia Madsen, NOT at her best) gives him a red book called The Number 23 for his birthday. He gets more and more into it, as this book tells the reader how the number 23 is in every single thing in the world. Every thing can be traced to the number 23. As he reads more and more, the story becomes a sort of reality for him, as he imagines himself and his wife as the characters in the book.
Pretty creepy. Good song (Tear You Apart, by She Wants Revenge) during a semi-hot sex scene. Check out Jim Carrey's silly tattoos that he had designed just for the movie. If you get the InfiniFilm version, you can learn a lot about the movie. Virginia Madsen is just terrible, playing Jim's wife and then the character in the book, Fabrizia (sexy name, but she does a horrible job. The wig looks totally fake and she's just unconvincing in every way.)
Give it a shot.Lire l'avis complet...

Wouldn't play

Sadly, as it is a used disc, issues can occur. For some reason this would not play at all in our PS5. It did play in my dvd player but it skipped quite a bit then just turned into pixels. The words as well as the picture broke up then it just froze. I could not watch any more of the movie. I will be returning this hopefully for a replacement as I really want this movie. Thank you. Lire l'avis complet...

Achat vérifié :  Oui | État : occasion | Vendu par : second.sale

Absolutely Perplexingly Horrific !! 5-STAR !! *****

In case you weren't aware, there's a real-life longstanding belief that all incidents and events can be directly connected to the Number 23. (Ex: 9/11/2001, take Month 9 + the 2 & 1 off 2001 = 12; 12 + Day 11th = 23 !! Oklahoma City and Atomic Bomb happended on the 23rd !! Etc....) - Part phenomenon, part cult, it's spawned quite a bit of literature, lots of conjecture, and now a major motion picture.
"The Number 23" (UNRATED) is the first-time screenwriter Fernley Phillips and Director Joel Schumacher have teamed up to create an eerie, absorbing, massive over-the-top thriller that swiftly reaches an unfathomably unnerving conclusion. - As an Animal Control Officer who finds himself sucked into a weird vortex of paranoia and obsession and HELL upon reading a vorasciously disturbing book called "The Number 23", Jim Carrey makes for a completely effective lead choice. He brings a dramatic and edgy-irony to a very serious role, impressively handling a wide range of emotions as an ordinary Joe caught in an extraordinary evil web.
Carrey plays Walter Sparrow, a loving husband and father who slogs through his thankless job rounding up the town's wayward animals. One day, his wife Agatha (Virginia Madsen) randomly buys him a copy of "The Number 23" from a used bookstore, intrigued by the tattered old novel after a quick read. Though Agatha finds it a noirish story of a brooding Detective fixated on the "Hidden Power" of the Number 23, Walter takes the book seriously. He begins seeing signs of the mysterious digits everywhere. (We're talking everywhere). From his birthday (2/3); to the day He and Agatha first met (the 23rd); to the number of letters in his full name (23); to every other date, address, parking space, and room number he sees, one way or another it all adds up to the same strange thing.
What's worse, Walter finds that "Number 23" parallels his own life — from childhood on up — and becomes convinced that the books passages are telling him something. The fact that the novel abruptly ends at Chapter 22., adds to his anxiety. He's sure the missing final chapter holds the key to his own future; a matter of life and death.
Increasing frenzy ensues; over what he believes is more than just numerical happenstance. Eventually prompting the downward spiral that spawns Walter's desperate search for the novel's author, the oddly-named Topsy Kretts (say it slowly...)
Walter's downward spiral is so well done. Carrey has gone where only someone in his caliber could take such over-the-top material., yet derive a horror fulfilled story. (Leaving his stereotyped comic genius behind).
He remains sympathetic, despite a slew of shadowy possibilities. This helps keep Carrey's performance more human and grounded as he separates from his family, for fear of doing something "he might regret"; as madness creeps in. Madsen provides solid support as the wife, who only wants the best for her decent husband; with Danny Huston also credible as a professor friend who may or may not have alterior motives.
Stylized visualizations of the book's various passages, as imagined by Walter as he reads along, provide graphic paralyzing fear. These recreations feel heated and vortexed; as you travel the spiral downward with Walter., and amidst the horrors awaiting the shadows behind the truths., of "The Number 23".
A MUST SEE !!!! Cannot Disappoint !!!! Standing Ovations to Jim CarreyLire l'avis complet...

Skips and breaks up

It has skips and breaks in the last 30-45 mins of the movie. Was not in "very good" condition but sometimes this happens when buying used dvds. I did take it to a friend and played it on their player and it skipped in that player also. They are accepting my return which I appreciate.Lire l'avis complet...

Achat vérifié :  Oui | État : occasion | Vendu par : second.sale

Number 23

This was a good movie. Another great role by Jim Carrey! Really had ya thinking! Its kinda cool how they come up with the things they do to equal 23. The best part is the author of the book that the wife finds and gives him as a gift, his name is Topsy Kretts (Top Secrets). Very suspenseful when you find out who the author really is! Just goes to show you what the mind can do to protect itself. You'll definitely enjoy this movie.Lire l'avis complet...

Pretty good movie

I love Jim Carrey in his dramatic roles! I purchased this because I had another copy of this that was scratched and wouldn't play. This disc played perfectly.

Achat vérifié :  Oui | État : occasion | Vendu par : amheckma_0

The number 23 - good, but not good

I gave this movie two stars because I thought it was a stupid story line and some of the things in it were totatlly ramdom. The only reason I didn't give it one star is because SOME of the things were interesting. Like 23, 2 divided by 3 is .666(repeating decimal), he number of the devil. Or like the 9/11 thing. 9 plus the 2 and 1 in 2001 =12 + the 11 in 9/11 is 23. Creepy, but perplexing. Other than that, everything else was quite stupid and illogical. Like you acn take any sets of numbers and probably come up with any number, like 23. For example, oh, my birthday's on the 23. Big deal! Nothing bad happens! Or, I have to go on a plane at 11:12 sharp! Ohh! 23 11+12. Nothing bad is going to happen! You can do it with mostly any number. Also, the story line was very random and idiodical. That is what I rate this movie. I wouldn't suggest seeing it, but I wouldn't not suggest it because of SOME of the interesting things. Thanks for reading!
--greatstuff95Lire l'avis complet...

Thank you so much! I've literally bought this same movie 4x and yours was the only one that worked correctly. I was starting to think theovie or I was

Thank you so much! I've literally bought this same movie 4x and yours was the only one that worked correctly. I was starting to think theovie or I was jinxed! Thanks again for a working copy of this excellent movie. Lire l'avis complet...

Achat vérifié :  Oui | État : occasion | Vendu par : alpretail

Never have seen this movie, but my husband saw it on an advertisement, so he had me order it. Hoping it's good. Came early, well packaged. Thanks!

Never have seen this movie, but my husband saw it on an advertisement, so he had me order it. Hoping it's good. Came early, well packaged. Thanks!

Achat vérifié :  Oui | État : occasion | Vendu par : second.sale