[.ca] Skulls

From Amazon.com:
Think of the Skulls as a collegiate Freemason's society--an ultrasecret organization that opens the doors of power to a few lucky Ivy League students, including school rowing star Luke McNamara (Joshua Jackson), a poor kid with a misspent youth. "If it's secret and it's elite, it can't be good," cautions his journalist roommate, but the lure of lavish gifts and cabal-like ceremonies in torch-lit stone chambers is too much to resist--until his roomie is murdered and his own Skull "soulmate" Caleb Mandrake (Paul Walker) is the number one suspect. There's a campy kick to the initiation ceremonies, ancient rituals in dungeonlike alcoves filled with haze and shadow, performed by enthralled frat boys, but as Jackson flounders at the center of a Skull conspiracy it spins into ludicrous melodrama. See the college president become a thug for the Skull godfather! See street punks become high-tech criminal masterminds! See the conspiracy collapse under its own absurdity! Jackson is pretty much a dud as the well-meaning hero, but Walker, with flashing eyes under furrowed brow, is mesmerizing as a haunted rich kid torn between a ruthless, overbearing father (Craig T. Nelson) and his conscience. Director Rob Cohen drives the film at a galloping pace and fills it with foreboding images, but his humorless solemnity finally buries The Skulls in a heap of clichés. --Sean Axmaker

Well acted, but not much for guys to look at:
Joshua Jackson, best known as the eye candy on "Dawson's Creek," tries his hand at a dramatic role in this thriller loosely based on the Yale secret society that has reputedly been running the country to ruin through the mind-control of its illustrious alumni. Here the Skulls are involved in nothing so sinister: they just commit a few murders here and there, and Joshua avec girlfriend have to sleuth out the truth. There are a few suspenseful scenes, but if you're like most guys, renting this video mostly for the promise of some steamy shower or locker room bonding between Joshua and hunky co-star Paul Walker, be warned that pecs and biceps are in short supply.

Skull Shattering!:
SKULLOVE IT! I love this movie! I watch this movie like every other day! A sort of complicated story, it does very well!!

Not what I expected.:
I got this movie, expecting to see a thriller based on fact. What I got instead was a teen-flick that seemed more like Scream than a movie about the powerful elite that (purportedly) runs countries and continents. Don't get me wrong however, this movie is definitely a thriller but it isn't sinister enough. The Skulls seem more like a group of spoilt brats than a highly efficient secret organization filled with the best minds. The story was not very credible, how do a group of teenagers bring down such a secretive society that is said to span the globe? Surely the Skulls are not so incompetent as to allow a teen-journalist to enter their most sacred chambers with such ease and steal all their secrets. There must be better movies about the skulls out there because this one was a real disappointment. I can only recommend this movie to those who like thrillers, just don't get this movie if you are expecting an expose on the skulls. There was one reviewer who said he would have liked to see Jackson and Walker more physically involved with each other. It amazes me that there are such deviants who watch these movies to fulfill their perverted fantasies. The movie was about the Skulls not about homoerotic fantasies.

It's no mystery:
This film lacks any of the suspense or intensity that makes good thrillers memorable. Cohen claims it is a message film aimed at teenagers headed toward college. The message I took away from it is find a better script before you start making your movie or it will wind up like this -- hackneyed and predictable. There are plenty of implausibilities and downright silliness, not to mention groaners in the dialogue and some serious over-acting. But if you think this movie is bad, just check out the sequel...

A Star has risen from this movie:
I have been an entertainment critic for some time now and I dont think I started watching this movie with the intent to see an Oscar winning movie. I think in the end, with movies like this one, they have to be judged on whether the movie was entertaining or not; and this one was...just barely. What was surprising was that this movie was kept afloat by Paul Walker who plays more of a supporting actor rather than Joshua Jackson, the lead, who makes rather a mess of his role. Jackson has shown with this movie why he is usually restricted either to the small screen or to supporting roles on the big screen. Walker, on the other hand, turns in an inspired performance as a rich prep student that is torn between his own morals and conscience and his corrupted father. As said above, it is Walker who keeps this second rate "thriller" above water with his acting skills...there is much more to come from this young, talented and budding actor. Walker will be the one who will go on to play leading roles and graduate from the teen movie ranks while Jackson will be left wallowing in Walker's wake. Jackson's acting is one of the many pull downs of this movie. The movie ends with an unbelvievably cheesy scene and it is very irratating for the movie goer as he/she are left with many nagging questions...what happened to Walker's character after his attempted suicide? Not to mention all the holes of the story or the below mediocore acting of most of the cast or the dull directing of Rob Cohen or even the lack of development of any the characters...you barely know enough about any of them to evoke some sympathy. Despite the limitations of his character, script and directing, Walker, rises above all the dismalities of this movie and shines, and what makes the movie barely mediocore. The Skulls is just a stepping stone for better things to come for Paul Walker. Natasha Kaplinski...