SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Payno I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

reid-hawk Out of the recent trend of documentaries of actual films that portray real stories, which are not as confusing as they sound (like "Katie Plays Christine"), "Casting JonBenet" is the best. I think I should say that before this movie I had never heard of the JonBenet murder and subsequent case; maybe I've been living under a rock or something. I say this due to the fact that it may have enhanced my experience with this film, and that people who are not entering it blindly might not enjoy it as much. After I watched the film I went online to judge the reactions of people, and far and away most general audience members seemed to dismiss this film as garbage. Many people stated that it added no new information to the case or that it was boring. To those people I would say that they missed the point, as pretentious as it sounds. This was a seemingly world famous case, what new information could they provide? What makes movies like "The Thin Blue Line" or "The Jinx" so good is that they actual had some real impact on the world by adding evidence not previously seen. Other movies/miniseries, like "The Imposter" or "Making a Murderer" show us cases that we otherwise never would have heard of. This movie has neither of those luxuries, so instead it does something different. It films the people in the community that Jonbenet Ramsey lived in and tasks them with playing the parts of members of the Ramsey family. All the while, the camera crew is filming these people and gleaning their insight into what they think about the murder. Their opinions range from insightful to off-the- wall batsh*t insane (think movies like "Room 237), and I enjoyed every second of it. Parts of this movie had me and my friends rolling on the floor with laughter due to just how peculiar and funny these characters playing characters really were. Other moments, like the ending montage I wont spoil, had me sitting in silence completely engrossed at what was on screen. Being able to have moments like that within the film make this movie truly special, as well as the first amazing film of the year. My only issue with it is that it lulls at some points towards the final 3rd, but even then it is still a very watchable film. Don't let negative reviews online discourage you from watching this movie. Watch it for yourself and make your own mind up

enunezjr It's a bunch of aspiring actors with recollections of JonBenet's murder. The facts, though there, are difficult to decipher, especially to someone who isn't well versed on the facts of the case. I was hoping to learn about the case and what happened, guess I'll have to go elsewhere.

Katoo I saw this production last night. Although being European, the case of Jonbenet has been in our media substantially as well, from the moment it happened until this day. This is not a documentary and I don't review it as such. I find the concept of "Casting Jonbenet" very innovating and intriguing. I had to forego on all of my prejudices about what to expect of a documentary and what to expect of a movie, because it is neither.In the beginning, I was surprised about the approach and I found the presentation of the different versions of Patsy confusing. Then, I got the point and when gradually the other characters and actors were introduced, I felt more comfortable with the concept and really got into it. If you fight this concept, you won't be able to appreciate this production, so in my opinion you should watch it with an open mind.It was very confronting when I started to realize that all of these actors had a story of their own. Sometimes they had a connection with the Ramsey's through friends or work, sometimes they had their own traumatic experience that synchronized them with the character they were supposed to play or the crime itself. Somehow, for me, these private testimonies brought the whole case alive and present again.You should get past the uncomfortable feeling some of the amateur actors give you, like the SM-fetishist, the Santa Clauses (what was that??), or the guy that played the creepy pedophile. Sometimes it was funny how these people went into method acting-modus, how serious they took the job. Although I must admit, with some of them I wasn't sure if they were really ordinary people or if they were acting to be an amateur actor...The last 5-10 minutes of this production is a perfect ending to it: a long slow-motion shot of all of the actors, in one big scene, with all of the possible scenario's of that fatal night, all in one.The last we get to see is a vision of the perfect little girl Jonbenet was, in the spotlight, all dressed up. I think that was an appropriate tribute to the poor girl who must have suffered a great deal during her short lifetime as well as in the final hours leading up to her death.

Grace Fry I believe the earlier reviews here are trying to make this documentary into something it's not, and judge it for something it's not trying to do. This is not yet another whodunit, and we're not asked to reexamine the evidence or create new theories. I certainly did not see it as another exploitative money grab that this tragedy seems to attract. This was a look beyond the crime itself; it was a fascinating exposé on how the general public interacts with true crime by exploring -on set- the thoughts and feelings of unknown (and CO local) actors and actresses on one of America's most notorious murders in modern history. What makes this documentary so great is not the casting or acting by any means - it's the film's ability to grasp onto these people's stories and perspectives and allow us to see ourselves in them. There's a thousand theories about what happened that night, but rather than drag the viewer through another dozen of them, the viewer is allowed to see just how deep society's fascination with mysteries and tragedies goes. Rather than mocking or exploiting the death of this little girl, it encourages us to ask ourselves why we form such personal attachments to the losses of others and why we are so curious about the darkest, most deviant human behaviors.