Being John Malkovich 1999

Roger Ebert, At the Movies: Either Being John Malkovich gets nominated for best picture, or the members of the Academy need portals into their brains. Read more

Janet Maslin, New York Times: Mr. Jonze's film, with a terrific original screenplay by Charlie Kaufman, is not the first to explore the prospect of being able to sneak into the mind of another person. But Mr. Jonze's version is definitely the most fun. Read more

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader: This outrageous comic fantasy may not sustain its brilliance throughout its 112 minutes, but it keeps cooking for so much of that time that I don't have many complaints. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: It may not be clear just what that means, but like the rest of the Malkovich experience it's a lot of fun going down. Read more

Jeff Millar, Houston Chronicle: It is hard to mix moods -- the film is manic, subtle, comic and vaguely sad -- but [Jonze] does it masterfully. Read more

Keith Staskiewicz, Entertainment Weekly: Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: The most excitingly original movie of the year. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: Wonderfully inventive, wickedly funny, and thoughtful enough to keep your mind on full alert, it's a square peg in the round world of genre films. Read more

Peter Rainer, New York Magazine/Vulture: Dazzlingly singular movies aren't often this much fun. Read more

Andrew Sarris, New York Observer: By the time the tunnel worthy of the likes of Gulliver and Alice becomes a freeway clogged with bit players, a big chill has descended on all the characters. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Unlike most comedies, which go for laughs without worrying about depth, Being John Malkovich has both. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: A hellacious ride. Read more

Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle: It's tremendously entertaining, and probably worthy of repeat viewings. Read more

Jeff Strickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune: It's clever, witty, dark and, most importantly, unwaveringly bizarre. Read more

Time Out: This must be seen to be believed, a hundred carat cult item -- and all credit to Malkovich for playing along. Read more

David Rooney, Variety: Devilishly inventive and so far out there it's almost off the scale. Read more

J. Hoberman, Village Voice: Highly original script. Read more

Desson Thomson, Washington Post: Full of creativity. Read more