jessicafischerqueen The Ideal (2011)must be as close to an outright copy of The Shining as it could be without getting sued for making it.It also appears to have had a production budget of $1, or perhaps "around three fiddy."I almost stopped watching it six times during the first 20 minutes, but something kept pulling me deeper into the film. It's utterly without pretension. For example, the pretty, but dressed down, heroine has very attractive and very large breasts. Wisely, the filmmakers portray them in a naturalistic manner; they don't keep shoving them in your face. Not that there's anything wrong with that. All of the characters have a goofy kind of charm, and this ingenuous production may sneak up on you too, if you give it a chance. I'm glad I did.The film does introduce a central theme distinct from that of The Shining, involving an esoteric "interpretation" of time seen through the lens of Nazi Germany, Nietszche, and Kafka. I found this aspect to be quite interesting. I wish I had been given the chance to watch this film in Philosophy 104 instead of having to wade through desultory and truncated text books that were probably also published on a budget of $1.This movie is definitely not for those in a hurry. It takes time to get into this, but if you do keep watching the atmosphere becomes more and more creepy. The plot arc is just different enough from The Shining that I wondered how it was going to end. IMDb users give it a gaudy 3.8, but I give it a 6.5 and a thumbs up.

ginoraimondo Come on! Who ever wrote that review is seriously lacking in viewer talent. That's right viewer talent! I give the viewer enough credit to understand good from bad. This movie had the potential to be good and the actors destroyed it. I never stop watching a movie once I start but I had to with this one..thats how bad the acting was. I have been acting for 20 years and am stoutly character and story driving in my tastes. The cinematography was great, i concede that, but the acting had absolutely no peaks and valleys, you don't care about the characters and what happens to them. Alas that is the whole point! When you have a story, yes, very much in the vein of the shining and very well shot in that respect as well, then put in a cast of characters you don't care about. Don't care if they live or die..you lose me and the audience. Look, when a story has an "unknown" entity lurking int the background, the characters MUST pick up the slack to heighten the storyline. They absolutely fail here. Please audience. Watch this film and tell me who's right!

J T This is bad. Very, very bad. The story plays out as if written by children, with endlessly long and pointless scenes filled with wandering dialog and incredibly wooden acting. There is no atmosphere whatsoever, and no sense of plot, suspense, story arc, or any of the other most basic elements required of a film script. Yet as bad as the acting and story are, the lighting, camera work, direction, set design, and basically every other aspect of the production are worse. The lighting in particular is just awful. Every scene is difficult to look at.The reviews giving 8, 9, 10 stars are all written by people related to the film. Dead giveaway: every one of the fake reviews recites a list of credits. No real review would carefully note the names of some of the worst actors who will never grace the silver screen again.I challenge you to make it to the end of the film. I don't think it can be done. Truly terrible.

acavallo4 The Ideal is a hauntingly marvelous film. With obvious inspiration from iconic films such as "The Shining," this film doesn't fail to capture the audience's interest and attention throughout the entirety of the film. The suspense is wonderfully accompanied by a hauntingly beautiful, original soundtrack that does not go unnoticed. The eerie feel of film is not only attributed to suspenseful soundtrack and plot, but beautifully juxtaposed with outstanding imagery of the intricate and well crafted, rustic architecture of the high school where the film takes place. The building resembles an old fashioned castle both inside and out, and its structure is a crucial component to the film that is expertly captured through the cinematography. The performances given by supporting actors Todd Murphy, John Dean, and leading role Dennis Brito will leave you satisfyingly spooked and wanting more. The Ideal successfully brings forth a reality of an extremely intolerant world driven by madness and does this by blurring the lines of past and present.