Film Filter: Off- I had seen parts of this movie a long time ago and remember it being the first film in which I had seen Robert Downey Jr. I saw it on Netflix and thought it might be nice to have a refresher on it.
Pros: One of the things that I found very interesting with this film was the cinematography. There were many scenes that took place in a dream-like state in an orchard, and they did an excellent job of making the scenery have an eerie feel to it, but also a sense of wonderment and mystery.
This movie also has a lot of symbolic color to it, using red quite frequently. They even go as far as to name the character in peril "Ruby". Add that to the red hair of the antagonist, the red dress seen in the dreams, and the constant references to orchards and apples and you have an abundance of the rosy hue. I'm not sure what the direct relationship with red is in films with symbolism, other than the obvious representation of blood. There have been many films that have had this common theme, and not just gory ones. It could possibly represent control, as red is a majestic color and is also seen as a power color.
As I mentioned, this is the first film I had seen Robert Downey Jr. in (minus Weird Science...but who counts that one in his repertoire?) and I have to say I didn't have a great first impression. Not because of his acting ability, but because he creeped the hell out of me in this role. He plays a very mentally unstable adult who was clearly mistreated to a foul degree as a child. He seems to have issues identifying with his sexuality as a young boy, but seems to be pretty clever when it comes to escaping from and covering up his deviant activities. Overall, having now been able to compare his roles in various films from his career to this one, I have a much greater appreciation for him as an actor. I think the true testament of a good actor comes when/if they have to play a crazy person. To do the job justice takes an extreme amount of dedication and patience, but the outcome usually justifies the means, a la Heath Ledger.
Cons: Annette Bening? Yikes. There were about four times that I thought she did a good job in this film and that's saying something, as she was just about in every shot. I can't really put my finger on what was irksome about her performance, other than she seemed really inconsistent and illogical. You might be saying, "Well, she was crazy..." but that's the thing- she WASN'T! It was hard for me to take her seriously, even though I knew the whole time that she was sane.
The other incredibly frustrating part of this film comes on the behalf of the stupid-ass psychiatrist who was responsible for Annette Bening's well being. Maybe I'm just privileged from my experience with B.D. Wong as the Law & Order SVU psychiatrist, but there comes a point where you have to put the "my patient is a nut job" aside and actually look for validation in their story...especially if they have had not past of mental illness. The fact that she was spouting off information about the killer and predicting her own husband's death seemed to not matter to the psychiatrist, and it wasn't until a few days later that any of her story was looked into. Someone should revoke his license.
And lastly and MOST frustrating(...ly?) was the unexplained connection between Claire Cooper's (Bening) brain and Vivian Thompson's (Downey). Anyone? Nothing. There was one shot where it almost alluded the link to the fact that she wrote children's stories, but nothing more was brought up on it. I'm all for supernatural connections between murderers and victims, but please have it be rational.
Wrap up- This movie is a tough one to peg. What it lacks in characterization and explanation, it almost makes up for with creativity and cinematography. Almost. I wouldn't really recommend this to anyone mainly because it lacks focus.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Film Filter: Off - Slither
Film Filter: Off- This movie had popped up on my Netflix suggested list several times, and I had disregarded it until the other day. After looking at the cast, I'm surprised I didn't select it to view sooner.
Pros- As I just mentioned, there were more than a few members of the cast that were actually pretty well known. As you know from several of my reviews, I really like Nathan Fillion, and he certainly did not disappoint in this film. In all of the movies I've seen him in, he has definitely portrayed a very different type of character, but has done them all justice. Elizabeth Banks was also a pleasant surprise to the cast, along with Michael Rooker (Merle in The Walking Dead).
One of the things I liked the most about this movie was the comedic interruptions, which allowed the movie to feel more realistic. They weren't even blatant comedic attempts, but the dialogue felt so realistic and sort of pessimistic, which allowed for the subtlety of the humor to be expressed.
Although this is more or less a zombie movie, it doesn't really go about the cliche zombie movie recipe, which is nice and refreshing. It adds a lot of new elements, and ties them all together in a nice, neat package which allows the audience to enjoy the movie without any stereotypes or distractions.
I will say it was pretty brilliant to have one of the girls get a worm stuck part way down her throat, but was then able to pull it out. It gave her an inside look at what the alien's existence has been, and as soon as she frees herself from its grasp she now knows enough to be helpful to the rest of the survivors.
Lastly **SPOILER ALERT** it's assumed that as soon as the host alien is killed, the town and its infected people will resume normalcy. Wrong. All the infected people die, which I like. Not saying I like death or anything like that, but it's unrealistic to become possessed by an alien worm, have it live inside your brain, and then just survive when its host dies. I mean, it's in your brain.
Cons- One of the things I disliked about the movie was the ludicrous amount of slithery, disgusting worms and how inconsistently they attack. They seem to sense human flesh, since they gravitate toward it constantly throughout the film, yet when there are hundreds of worms that explode from a body, and only 10 or so humans in the room, there are like 5 or 6 humans that don't get attacked. The odds don't seem right to me on that one.
Also, when the host alien sticks his pointy umbilical cords into you, he sucks you dry and inserts the worm disease instead. We don't find out, though, until the end of the movie that you must have both pointy extensions inside of you to get infected. It's just another circumstance of making something happen, and then validating it later with a statement like, "Oh by the way, that is supposed to happen."
Wrap up- This was one of those movies that definitely had me pleasantly surprised. I laughed a lot more than I was frightened, but overall it was one of the better movies I've seen in a while, considering I prejudiced it with some pretty low expectations.
Pros- As I just mentioned, there were more than a few members of the cast that were actually pretty well known. As you know from several of my reviews, I really like Nathan Fillion, and he certainly did not disappoint in this film. In all of the movies I've seen him in, he has definitely portrayed a very different type of character, but has done them all justice. Elizabeth Banks was also a pleasant surprise to the cast, along with Michael Rooker (Merle in The Walking Dead).
One of the things I liked the most about this movie was the comedic interruptions, which allowed the movie to feel more realistic. They weren't even blatant comedic attempts, but the dialogue felt so realistic and sort of pessimistic, which allowed for the subtlety of the humor to be expressed.
Although this is more or less a zombie movie, it doesn't really go about the cliche zombie movie recipe, which is nice and refreshing. It adds a lot of new elements, and ties them all together in a nice, neat package which allows the audience to enjoy the movie without any stereotypes or distractions.
I will say it was pretty brilliant to have one of the girls get a worm stuck part way down her throat, but was then able to pull it out. It gave her an inside look at what the alien's existence has been, and as soon as she frees herself from its grasp she now knows enough to be helpful to the rest of the survivors.
Lastly **SPOILER ALERT** it's assumed that as soon as the host alien is killed, the town and its infected people will resume normalcy. Wrong. All the infected people die, which I like. Not saying I like death or anything like that, but it's unrealistic to become possessed by an alien worm, have it live inside your brain, and then just survive when its host dies. I mean, it's in your brain.
Cons- One of the things I disliked about the movie was the ludicrous amount of slithery, disgusting worms and how inconsistently they attack. They seem to sense human flesh, since they gravitate toward it constantly throughout the film, yet when there are hundreds of worms that explode from a body, and only 10 or so humans in the room, there are like 5 or 6 humans that don't get attacked. The odds don't seem right to me on that one.
Also, when the host alien sticks his pointy umbilical cords into you, he sucks you dry and inserts the worm disease instead. We don't find out, though, until the end of the movie that you must have both pointy extensions inside of you to get infected. It's just another circumstance of making something happen, and then validating it later with a statement like, "Oh by the way, that is supposed to happen."
Wrap up- This was one of those movies that definitely had me pleasantly surprised. I laughed a lot more than I was frightened, but overall it was one of the better movies I've seen in a while, considering I prejudiced it with some pretty low expectations.
Film Filter: Off - Identity
Film Filter: Off- One of the first things I look at when choosing a horror movie is the cast. Seeing as this one had a pretty well known group of actors, I figured I would give it a go.
Pros- I really like John Cusack, and despite his tendency to always play the same type of role, I always enjoy seeing him on screen. In addition to his performance, I think most of the cast held their own and portrayed their characters well.
I would definitely have to say that the premise for the story was pretty unique as well. Despite the fact that human psyche films are popular, this one definitely took a different look at it. It also did an excellent job of making one world out of something that was actually two. Eventually it became clear that there were separate stories, but the two fit very nicely together until that time.
The ending does a nice job of tying up some loose ends while also throwing in a bit of a twist. It was one that I sort of saw coming, but dismissed right after I thought about it. I think it's one that would be a surprise for most, as it's really not all that predictable.
Cons- One of the things that I thought was pretty irritating was Amanda Peet's character and her inability to follow simple directions. I get that she's an independent woman who doesn't like to take orders, but when people are dying and a former police officer is telling you what to do to make the situation better or calmer, you should probably heed him.
Another thing that I found a little jarring about the film, was the moment the viewer realized that there were indeed two stories going on at one time. It took me a while to figure out what was happening and who belonged where, and then it upset me that some of the characters I had grown to like ended up not being real. I suppose the film was supposed to force you to take a minute to figure it out, but there was a definite WTF moment for me mid-way through the film.
Wrap-up- This film isn't bad, if your looking for a psychological drama with limited scary moments.
Pros- I really like John Cusack, and despite his tendency to always play the same type of role, I always enjoy seeing him on screen. In addition to his performance, I think most of the cast held their own and portrayed their characters well.
I would definitely have to say that the premise for the story was pretty unique as well. Despite the fact that human psyche films are popular, this one definitely took a different look at it. It also did an excellent job of making one world out of something that was actually two. Eventually it became clear that there were separate stories, but the two fit very nicely together until that time.
The ending does a nice job of tying up some loose ends while also throwing in a bit of a twist. It was one that I sort of saw coming, but dismissed right after I thought about it. I think it's one that would be a surprise for most, as it's really not all that predictable.
Cons- One of the things that I thought was pretty irritating was Amanda Peet's character and her inability to follow simple directions. I get that she's an independent woman who doesn't like to take orders, but when people are dying and a former police officer is telling you what to do to make the situation better or calmer, you should probably heed him.
Another thing that I found a little jarring about the film, was the moment the viewer realized that there were indeed two stories going on at one time. It took me a while to figure out what was happening and who belonged where, and then it upset me that some of the characters I had grown to like ended up not being real. I suppose the film was supposed to force you to take a minute to figure it out, but there was a definite WTF moment for me mid-way through the film.
Wrap-up- This film isn't bad, if your looking for a psychological drama with limited scary moments.
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