ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

The Couchpotatoes I would say The Lodger is a good mystery/thriller but only for television. Just relax in front of the telly and try to figure out what is happening. I thought I had it figured out after twenty minutes but I was wrong and that is what I like about mystery/thrillers. The actors are okay in their roles. They might not be the best actors ever but they are certainly worth a watch. There are enough turns and twists to keep you guessing in what's going on. Some people might think there are too many but I thought it was fine. I was only a bit disappointed at the end. I thought it was just a bit too confusing. But other then that The Lodger is an okay movie to watch once or if you have nothing else to do.

Samiam3 As a neo-noir, The Lodger is pretty familiar material, but If I'll remember it for anything, (and that's a big 'if') it would be the body count, which is among the highest of anything I've seen in this genre. The story concerns an LAPD detective in search of a killer recreating JAck the Ripper's legacy.I'll give the Lodger a bit of credit for its ability to keep you guessing, but that's just about all that the film is committed to doing. The story is shallow, and much of the dialogue sounds recycled. The acting isn't very good either, and screen time which should have been spent on more intellectual character interaction is wasted on unnecessary montages of time-lapse photography which looks like something from television. Overall, the movie is watchable, but it could've amounted to more.

jotix100 Marie Belloc's novel, serves once again as the basis of this 2009 treatment that doesn't go anywhere. Partly, the fault lies with the treatment of its well intentioned writer/director, David Ondaatje. His inexperience, perhaps, was the factor that this movie probably went into DVD right away, as it appears the commercial run didn't go anywhere since it must have come and gone without much publicity, or word of mouth.The locale of the story has been changed from London to a rainy Los Angeles, seen mostly at night. The serial killer who is killing prostitutes in a seedy part of town is following in the steps of Jack the Ripper, the famed English killer. This sick man finds digs in what appears to be an uninhabited garage in the back of a house that has seen better days. The mysterious lodger catches the landlady's fancy; this woman is stuck in a bad marriage. She looks as though she is not dealing with reality, but the attraction the new renter has upon her proves to be too much.When the dead women begin to surface, detective Chandler Manning has to face guilty feelings because the present killer has the same M.O. as the man he has sent to the electric chair a short time before. Manning has a suspicion the murders follow the same logic as the ones committed almost a century ago in London. His obsession gets the best of him, making him lose perspective.The picture fails because the way Mr. Ondaatje presents the story. There is no suspense in most of the action. If the viewer happens to be a fan of the genre, he would notice things that will spoil the fun for him. The director doesn't create enough atmosphere to do justice to what he tried to do.The talented cast is totally wasted. Alfred Molina and Hope Davis are excellent actors, but the way they were asked to portray their characters is not believable. For one, the detective of Mr. Molina, or the vapid landlady of Ms. Davis, will not add anything to their brilliant careers.

MichaelRAllen "The Lodger," now on DVD develops a storyline involving a tenant living with a lonely landlady and serial killings in the West Hollywood area of Los Angeles. The film seems to involve two separate stories, with different characters who meet in the final climactic finish; however, no closure is given to the story as the killer within "The Lodger," escapes capture. Alfred Molina, the lead in the film begins the story at the scene of a grisly murder and the picture revolves mostly around this character's attempts at tracking down an anonymous serial killer. The settings are primarily shot in the downtown Los Angeles area with several scenes from an urban neighbourhood contrasting the busyness of the city. The characters and lives of Detective Manning (Molina) are given an early initial reveal while the back stories of the landlady and the lodger are not given even a partial reveal until midway into the film. Near the end of the film the life of the lodger is given a partial reveal, which seems slightly disappointing.The original musical score that haunts the picture throughout really adds an entire dimension to the film that enhances the movie watching experience. The soundtrack begins early in the film, subtly and hovers in the background during many of the scenes. Composer John Frizzell produces an excellent composition that adds to the overall intensity of the film while highlighting certain climactic scenes. The musical score, while not taking center stage in the film makes "The Lodger," a more fulfilling visceral experience.Lighting, acting, and story development are each well done, but director David Ondaatje's use of Los Angeles city streets, in fast forward mode seems overly mysterious in tone. The movie begins with a CGI image of blood, in veins that transforms into the city streets of Los Angeles, and during the film several shots of traffic moving exceptionally fast break up the pacing within "The Lodger." Possibly symbolic of the transitory nature of the killer the streets of Los Angeles are shown throughout the movie to ease the pacing at certain key points in the film. As well, overhead shots of the sky, with clouds are meant to show the transition of time, but their symbolic interpretation seems ambiguous. On the acting side the portrayal of Rachel Leigh Cook as a somewhat distraught, lonely housewife is done with subtly and a flair for the under dramatic, that keeps the viewer's attention on the believability of the story. Other actors including; Alfred Molina as an over-worked detective, and Donal Logue as a potential suspect are especially well done and deliver realism to the story. In addition, the lighting, which takes place primarily in natural daylight, gives "The Lodger," an eerie feel as shots of alleyways and streets are shot in partial darkness.Director David Ondaatje, nephew of writer Michael Ondaatje delivers a strong film, surprisingly after only directing two previous feature films. Ondaatje switches often between the use of stead-cams and a hand held 35mm to display various shots of the Los Angeles landscapes and characters within the film. Often using medium shots at the beginning of a scene and then slowly rotating left or right as the director moves in for a close-up, Ondaatje's manages to keep the visuals interesting while keeping character interactions short. Many of the dialogue scenes between the landlady and tenant are kept to less than a minute, and often to less than thirty seconds. The quick changes between scenes and characters can be somewhat distracting, but Ondaatje is quickly moving the story along as the killer's vile habits are slowly given a reveal. Focusing on the killer's view or a knife blade the killer utilizes a mysterious quality, which while frustrating at times does manage to make the film slightly more intense. Another directing quirk from Ondaatje seems to be his love for filming feet as several frames are shot exclusively of women's feet and rarely of the killer's.The sets, actors, and filming techniques each do their part in delivering an excellent psychological thriller, that while overly sparse on the action scenes manages to hold the viewer's full attention throughout. The light musical compositions along with experienced actors are a bonus and both elements are able to develop a very intriguing story that delves into the motivations of a serial killer. "The Lodger," from relatively new director David Ondaatje does not give closure to the story, but the film, overall is very entertaining to watch.7 Creepy Skulls out of 10.