Film Filter: Off- Unlike the norm, I actually read this book before the movie. I have a theory that, if you read a book AFTER watching the movie, you'll never be disappointed because the book is almost always better. I broke my cardinal rule in this case, though, and it didn't really matter all that much because both were quite good.
Pros- Having Leonardo DiCaprio on board as a leading actor pretty much slates your movie as incapable of doing wrong...unless it's the Beach. But, Leo again does not fail to put forth yet another amazing performance in his Bahston accent as Federal marshall Teddy Daniels. Mark Ruffalo also does a perfect job as his simpleton sidekick, who seems to just be along for the ride.
The story line itself is a good one, but the movie does a good job of bringing it to life. The cinematography is pretty good, and the scenery is believable. The pacing of the story, like any book to movie transition, is a little choppy and leaves parts out. Again, the movie does a good job of seaming together the important parts so that the audience won't even notice the little gaps in the plot.
The music selection for the film is ever so simple, but it WORKS. I liked the low, minor string selections. The job of movie music in my mind, provided it's not thematic like Star Wars or other John Williams scores, is to be such a good fit that you hardly recognize it's there at all. Just like special effects, they should be there to enhance the film, but shouldn't be the forefront of it. Kudos, music team, kudos.
The ending. I can't give the movie credit for that, obviously, but I can give the movie credit for the things they did well to set up for the ending. Much like Inception, you really need to watch this movie twice to fully appreciate what has been done.
Cons- I will say that some of the flashback scenes become awkward at times. I can't really pinpoint why, but there's something about them that doesn't flow smoothly to me. Keeping in mind that they're either dreams or flashbacks, it's a very nitpicky statement because I'm sure the director deliberately affected the scenes to make them stand out as "not reality".
Wrap up- This is a fantastic movie to watch, but it's definitely an intellect's horror film. It's not the knid of movie to just pop in for a quick scare, but one you really have to pull apart and think about. Great cast, good dialogue, awesome carrying out of a well written story, and a great ending.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Monday, May 14, 2012
Film Filter: Off - 7 Below
Film Filter: Off- This movie looked very promising. It included Val Kilmer in the cast, who I feel hasn't done a hit movie in eons, and an enticing story line about a century old house where a family was slaughtered. All in all, I feel like you can't go wrong with that plot...but somehow they did.
Pros- My only pro would be that the Latina woman was hot, but the problem was that she facially favored Eva Mendes and let's face it- this girl didn't even come close to that level of gorgeousness. For the first time I can remember, I have zero pros for a film. Cue slow clap.
Cons- Okay, here's the shortened version of the plethora of things wrong with this film. I'll break it down via the interrogative words lesson I learned, circa 3rd grade.
Who?- Val Kilmer. Fat. Enough said. I kid, but really, the former Batman leading man has let himself gooooo. Plus his role in this film is pretty douche-y, and he is only featured in it for a grand total of about 11 minutes. False advertising. Also, Ving Rhames is in a weeeeeeird role that I don't really think anyone could do justice with but thanks for playing, Ving. The rest of the cast is pretty much a collection of no name actors that even IMDB couldn't scrounge up any information on. Tsk tsk.
What?- What the $&#? is more like it. This film is SO poorly done that I don't even know where to begin. Let's start with really bad, unbelievable acting of TERRIBLY constructed characters with zero depth, and lack of believable relationships between characters which, let's face it, can't really happen well if your characters suck to begin with. Throw into the mix poorly done and highly predictable death scenes and pop out moments and you have yourself the most boring, translucent horror film that I've seen in a while. If I hadn't forced myself to blog about it today, I would have forgotten so much of it I wouldn't have been able to write about it at all.
When?- This story takes place 100 years after a family was slaughtered by their possessed son. So, now everyone has to die? Really? That's dumb and makes no sense.
Where?- I don't know. Some mid-western state that starts with an "M". It could have taken place in my living room and I still wouldn't have found it entertaining.
Why?- Good question. I keep asking myself the same thing.
Wrap-up- This has got to be, hands down, arguably one of the most terrible horror movies I have ever seen. At least with other busts they attempt some iota of a story line that works, and you can at least find some humor in the stupidity of the film. This one is just frustrating! The dialogue is awful, the characters are lack luster, the plot is disjointed and the ending is anti-climactic. There is nothing about this film worth watching. End of story.
Pros- My only pro would be that the Latina woman was hot, but the problem was that she facially favored Eva Mendes and let's face it- this girl didn't even come close to that level of gorgeousness. For the first time I can remember, I have zero pros for a film. Cue slow clap.
Cons- Okay, here's the shortened version of the plethora of things wrong with this film. I'll break it down via the interrogative words lesson I learned, circa 3rd grade.
Who?- Val Kilmer. Fat. Enough said. I kid, but really, the former Batman leading man has let himself gooooo. Plus his role in this film is pretty douche-y, and he is only featured in it for a grand total of about 11 minutes. False advertising. Also, Ving Rhames is in a weeeeeeird role that I don't really think anyone could do justice with but thanks for playing, Ving. The rest of the cast is pretty much a collection of no name actors that even IMDB couldn't scrounge up any information on. Tsk tsk.
What?- What the $&#? is more like it. This film is SO poorly done that I don't even know where to begin. Let's start with really bad, unbelievable acting of TERRIBLY constructed characters with zero depth, and lack of believable relationships between characters which, let's face it, can't really happen well if your characters suck to begin with. Throw into the mix poorly done and highly predictable death scenes and pop out moments and you have yourself the most boring, translucent horror film that I've seen in a while. If I hadn't forced myself to blog about it today, I would have forgotten so much of it I wouldn't have been able to write about it at all.
When?- This story takes place 100 years after a family was slaughtered by their possessed son. So, now everyone has to die? Really? That's dumb and makes no sense.
Where?- I don't know. Some mid-western state that starts with an "M". It could have taken place in my living room and I still wouldn't have found it entertaining.
Why?- Good question. I keep asking myself the same thing.
Wrap-up- This has got to be, hands down, arguably one of the most terrible horror movies I have ever seen. At least with other busts they attempt some iota of a story line that works, and you can at least find some humor in the stupidity of the film. This one is just frustrating! The dialogue is awful, the characters are lack luster, the plot is disjointed and the ending is anti-climactic. There is nothing about this film worth watching. End of story.
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