Cate Blanchett Movie:

				Salesrank: 270616
		Used Price: $14.69
		MPAA Rating: R (Restricted) Media: DVD

Editorial Review:
Take a pinch of psychic phenomenon, add a dash of Southern gothic, stir in a sharp cast of talented actors, and you'll come up with The Gift, director Sam Raimi's ingenious gumbo of a thriller. It doesn't hold together as well as Raimi's earlier A Simple Plan, but the two films are stylistically connected--The Gift was cowritten (with Tom Epperson) by A Simple Plan's costar, Billy Bob Thornton, who in turn draws from the Deep South milieu that informed his own Sling Blade and his earlier collaboration with Epperson, One False Move. A similar sense of mystery permeates The Gift, in which a small-town Georgia psychic (perfectly played by Cate Blanchett) is tormented by tragic loss and visions connected to the murder of a local vamp (Katie Holmes) whose schoolteacher fiancé (Greg Kinnear) is a prime suspect.

Other suspects include a hot-tempered bully (Keanu Reeves) whose battered wife (Hilary Swank) is one of the psychic's regular clients, and a traumatized local (Giovanni Ribisi) who is tenuously stabilized by therapy and antidepressants. While this trio of potential killers keeps the mystery alive, the requisite red herrings don't add much to the film's low-level suspense. Instead, Raimi is far more effective in creating an atmosphere of anxious dread that wells up from each of these finely drawn characters, starting with the widow psychic's extended mourning for her lost husband, the agonized terror of a beaten wife, and the percolating anger of a cuckolded spouse. All of this makes The Gift a worthy showcase for its esteemed cast, even as its plot twists grow increasingly familiar. --Jeff Shannon

The Gift [Region 2] Reviews:
cost
2009-12-16 - not a bad movie---but--i just bought this at walmart for five dollars---why pay more here???

Poor Video Quality
2009-09-25 - I won't go into detail about the movie as there are plenty of reviews about it already. What I don't see however, are reviews about the quality of the film itself visually wise. Even though this movie is large enough that it is distributed in a dual layer DVD disc, the quality of the film is atrocious. There is not a single clear picture in the film. This may be the reason why this film is not offered on blu-ray. Would earn a full 5 stars if it weren't for the video quality.

Great Great Movie
2009-09-18 - Great cast.Great director-Sam Raimi.Great story.Some of the other reviews here will give you the details.

'Gift' Courtesy of Katie Holmes
2009-07-25 - Annie (Cate Blanchett) is a widowed mother with three sons to support. In order to make ends meet she reads the futures of residents in her Southern town. Among her regular clients are an abused wife (Hilary Swank) and an unstable man (Giovanni Ribisi) living in paralyzing fear of his father. Annie has her share of enemies and skeptics, the worst being a man named Donnie Barksdale (Keanu Reeves). Donnie is the abusive husband who soon redirects his anger towards Annie and her kids. Things are just as volatile at the boy's school where the oldest is always getting into fights. A concerned teacher (Greg Kinnear) reaches out to Annie to offer support. He is engaged to a young woman (Katie Holmes) whose father is a local businessman. When Annie pays him a visit she meets his fiancee. She receives a troubling vision regarding the girl but keeps it to herself. The next day the girl goes missing and both the teacher and the police appeal to Annie to read for them, hoping to find out what happened to her. As the police search for her, Annie continues to be haunted by visions that grow more violent. The film is stylishly directed by Sam Raimi and the script is co written by Billy Bob Thornton. The performances are solid with Blanchett excelling as Annie. Swank, Kinnear, and Ribisi provide solid supporting work. Holmes lays on her Southern drawl pretty thick but there's no denying she looks good doing it. Future 'Spider Man' alums Rosemary Harris and J.K. Simmons provide memorable turns in smaller roles. 'The Gift' is a well made piece of Southern Gothic.

Great Acting in a Murder Mystery
2009-04-14 - When you first begin watching this movie, you may be thinking this isn't going to be a very good movie or this isn't your kind of movie, that's what I thought at first. You've got to give it a chance though, it's slow to start but eventually becomes an edge of your seat thrilling mystery. The acting in the movie is great, normally the movies with a lot of stars aren't well put together and the acting looks bad but not in this movie. This movie was well written and well played out. It was interesting to learn upon watching the special features this movie was written partially by Billy Bob Thorton. This movie brings out the best in some actors and actresses, specifically Keanu Reeves.

Don't let the certain terms used to describe this movie fool you into thinking this is just a horror movie or movie about some tarrot card reader because it's far more than that and the story goes much deeper.

Last but not least there is an added bonus for us guys, particulary the guys who like beatiful & sexy women and that would be the topless scene with Katie Holmes.

Overall I give the movie an A.