Murder by Numbers (**)
review by Ken Gumbs

Some crimes are not just acts of violence or rebellion against society. Some crimes are meant to say something, to have deeper philosophical and moral reasoning. Murder by Numbers is about two teenagers who plan a murder for those same philosophical reasons…I think. Well that is what this movie was trying to say…I think. Well, I’m sorry but I just can’t tell you what this film was trying to say. And
don’t worry it is not one of those artistic films tackling society’s most important issues; films that are meant to keep your head scratching long enough to raise questions about yourself and the society the
film was trying to represent. Murder by Numbers is not one of those films, it just one of those bad films.

Now this reviewer is not simply going to stand on his soapbox and make blind accusations about another
Hollywood suspense film that just falls short of any real suspense. This reviewer will stand on his
soapbox and tell you what was wrong with this film. Ok, lets start at the top with Ms. Sandra Bullock.
You know old Sandy from all those bad movies and then from Speed and then from all those bad movies again. Sandy is Hollywood’s answer to Julia Roberts; unfortunately the question is “we don’t have the money to get Julia Roberts, who should we hire?”

Bullock plays a hardened detective fighting past demons of spousal abuse while trying to solve a murder
mystery. The killers are a couple of high school smarties that think they can get away with murder…I
think. The movie really gives little background or reasoning for why this murder takes place and why we
should care about the bitchy detective or the bratty rich kids. While bratty and rich, the two teenagers
steal the show from Ms. Bullock. While their characters lacked background or any sort of development, the acting of the two youngsters (Ryan Gosling and Michael Pitt) shows promise for future roles. In the end, everything is solved and back to normal…I think. For a film that never starts as normal, ends just as ambiguously. But don’t worry once it’s over you won’t care anyways.

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