vincentlynch-moonoi Problem # 1: This film only lasted 106 minutes. It just seemed like hours and hours. Honestly, this film was waaaaaaaaaaaay too long. It could easily have been cut to 90 minutes.Problem #2: I don't like films which have an ending which is not clear cut. And -- like much of the film -- even with the ending I thought where would this be going next? I guess you would call this a psychological thriller. It's definitely not a horror story.What I will compliment is the acting of the 3 main characters. Although he's an oddball actor, Sam Rockwell is very good...and he is here. Even better here is Vera Farmiga as the wife; wow...what a performance as she sinks into oblivion! And Jacob Kogan as Joshua (the young precocious son who may or may not be evil, but is certainly a manipulator) is superb.However, the fine acting does not make up for the story which simply drags, and as I say that as a film-goer who really like psychological dramas. This is 106 minutes I wish I hadn't wasted.

Chrysanthepop Ratliff's messy psychological thriller seems to have garnered quite some attention. Now there have been many movies centering around a sociopathic child. Most of them pretty much follow the same horror movie type formula where the child is terrorizing an entire family without them even noticing it. Unfortunately, 'Joshua' is no different. Firstly, the movie is filled with plot holes and unexplored questions. For example, why would Brad and Abby keep the video of Abby constantly crying when holding Joshua? Of course, not surprisingly, the psychologists and teachers are portrayed as caricature idiots (who think there's absolutely nothing wrong with this kid). I was also surprised as how distant the parents were from Joshua in the beginning. Perhaps they knew something was off but stayed in denial. The parents too are portrayed as being stupid. They didn't even question Joshua giving all his toys away to charity and disemboweling his teddy bear. Some responses towards this movie are quite disturbing. One reviewer even wrote that he found himself vouching for the kid. I wish there would be a movie that would at least do justice to the themes of a child sociopath rather than rely on clichés. Even the unexplored ending is very easily predictable and dissatisfying. The only non-clichéd angel is that director Ratliff refrained from using blood and gore but that doesn't make this a better movie. He tries to make it creepy by using typical shock tactics but they feel out of place. The so-called 'twists' are quite convenient. The behaviour of most of the characters is irrational. The only plus point of 'Joshua' are the performances. Both Sam Rockwell and Vera Farmiga are very good in spite of having to play poorly written characters. I really wonder why they chose to act in this. Jacob Kogan plays it by the formula. Celia Weston is adequate even though her character is conveniently annoying as hell.Overall, this is just trying to be a 'smarter' version of 'The Omen'. Other than Rockwell and Farmiga's performance, there's nothing going for it. Not even the slow pace.

gobanifar I cannot believe how good this movie was. I was riveted from the beginning. The blurb on the TV info compared it to Damien. I thought it was better. You must see this movie. The suspense builds slowly but completely. The actor who plays Joshua was very good. I wonder what he drew upon in his real life to make his character so believable. I often wonder that about young actors and actresses. Where do they get that feeling, like Patty McCormick in (can't remember the name) or McCauley Culkin (sp) in The Good Son. You are drawn in by how Joshua behaves. There are no spoilers in my review. Just watch the movie to see for yourself.

tomcantwell Admittedly, I didn't watch the whole movie. I wanted to like it but it was so poor I had to turn it off. The direction is very weak and the music is entirely inappropriate. The characters appear to have been purchased as a job-lot from StereotypesRUs and the script comes across as contrived and unnatural. The opening title sequence has really annoying music and you can't wait for it to be over. When it finally ends it feels like you stopped having your thumb hit by a hammer, but then you get Scene One. This is the most artificial first scene ever put on a screen. A domestic portrait of a family with the mother and baby, the grandparents, the uncle and the sibling at the piano, the father with the video camera. Everyone conspicuously 'acting' out the family portrait. The piano playing in the background re-inflames the nerve that the opening music had antagonized, and continues to do so. After what seems like an aeon the mother tells the kid to stop playing the piano. After this it starts again and if you don't switch it off at this point in utter fury then you're thicker skinned than I am. What an annoying load of amateur garbage. The rest of the movie may have had some redeeming features but I'll never find out because the first fifteen minutes is like having your eyes, eardrums and brain sandpapered.