Jessica Alba is “neutral” in The Eye, a remake of the Chinese language horror film Gin Gwai (2002). While this film scared the hell out of me and had me jumping out of my seat or gripping the armrests a lot, there was something missing. Not to mention, the movie sort of changed direction towards the very end, after wandering around kind of aimlessly.
Still, your $8-10 for a ticket to a horror movie is probably better spent on The Eye rather than Cloverfield. (Cloverfield mostly disturbed and/or irritated me, and provided maybe seven minutes of thrill. The Eye’s supernatural feel was much more white-knuckle.)
Note: A full review will appear at a new site we’re launching shortly.
Untraceable: Released Jan 25th, 2008
Runtime: 100 minutes.
Diane Lane, Colin Hanks, Mary Beth Hurt, Joseph Cross, Billy Burke, Peter Lewis, Jesse Tyler Ferguson.
Director: Gregory Hoblit.
Writers: Robert Fyvolent, Mark Brinker, Allison Burnett.
Plot outline: In this cyberthriller, a serial killer uses an untraceable website and custom-built contraptions to kill his victims, using the penchant of far too many human beings to watch snuff or snuff-like footage. Jennifer Marsh (Diane Lane) is the FBI agent who finds the website.
MPAA Rating: R for grisly violence and torture.
Official trailer:
The Good
Diane Lane (Unfaithful, Under the Tuscan Sun, Must Love Dogs) does shine sometimes in this cyberthriller, but it’s not until about the last half-hour - which is the best part, as is to be excpected of any thriller. Untraceable picks up and actually gets edge of the seat exciting. And horrific. Really horrific. So is it thriller or horror? Not sure.
I’m not going to reveal who the killer is but I will say that he was not only cast very well but probably directed well, too. At least in terms of his very creepy facial gestures.
The slow unravelling of the killer’s motivation is part of what eventually drives the movie forwards. But I think they reveal it a bit too soon and it kills the interest level a bit. But in the last 30 minutes or so, the “edge of the seat” stuff begins, with multiple twists and turns.
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A funny thing happened to me on the way to the theater. I went to see a movie and ended up at a thrill ride. But I paid for 85 minutes of Cloverfield and only got about 7 minutes of thrill. And what thrill that 7 minutes was.
Cloverfield, which topped the box office on its opening weekend but dropped to fourth this past weekend, is unlike any movie I’ve ever seen. But that’s neither a compliment nor an insult. Actually, it’s both. This is the third completely different review I’ve written for Cloverfield because I have had a hard time capturing it exactly.
On the one hand, I have a review full of “bitter critic” banter at not trusting my gut instinct about how crappy this movie would be. In my long experience of watching movies, I’ve learned not to go see any movie that’s been as hyped as Cloverfield has. And it really stinks. Sort of.
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I wrote this review a couple of weeks ago, upon seeing the movie Ned Kelly on TV. Since that time, the sad news came that the talented Heath Ledger died today, possibly due to an accidental drug overdose. Ledger was starting to be amongst my list of favorite actors, and his role in Ned Kelly shows the some of the intensity that he is capable of.
Ned Kelly: Public Enemy #1. [SPOILERS]
Heath Ledger stars as Ned Kelly, set in Victoria, Australia in the late 1800s. The movie is based on Robert Drewe’s novel, Our Sunshine, which is based on the real life of Ned Kelly, an Australian bushranger. Supporting cast: Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, Naomi Watts, Rachel Griffiths, Joel Edgerton. Directed by Gregor Jordan. Released Mar 26, 2004.
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Title: Love With the Proper Stranger, 1963.
Leads: Natalie Wood, Steve McQueen.
Director: Robert Mulligan, who also directed the incredible To Kill a Mockingbird (Gregory Peck).
Single sentence synposis: Boy gets girl pregnant and tries to do right by her, only to get put off by her mind games - but for only a while.
Natalie Wood, the daughter of Russian immigrants, is one of those rare stars that’s just so strikingly beautiful that it emanates from her. Her career started at just four years of age and unlike many other child actors, she transitioned just nicely. She was one of my father’s favorite actresses and when I watch her movies - even the lesser ones - I can see why. She was also one of my favorites, but I remember her more for West Side Story and Rebel Without a Cause.
The chemistry alone between Natalie Wood and Steve McQueen is reason enough to see this movie, which leans towards the moralistic. Wood’s pregnant character, Angie Rossini, says no to marriage mainly because of the way Rocky Papasano (McQueen) initially asks. Though her point is valid, she unwittingly leans towards mind games which confuse McQueen.
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The Golden Compass stars Nicole Kidman (Mrs. Marisa Coulter), Daniel Craig (Lord Asriel) and Dakota Blue Richards (Lyra Belacqua). Sir Ian McKellen offers some voice work. It’s directed by Chris Weitz (American Pie 1 and 2, producer; About a Boy, writer; ), who also adapted the screenplay from Philip Pullman’s novel of the same name.
As you might already know, The Golden Compass is a subject of controversy in the Catholic Church, with the highest authority, the Pope himself, calling it a “godless” movie. It seems to have shown some early promise then tanked in North America, but is doing well overseas.
I have to say that while I have a copy of the book from years ago, I haven’t read it. But the movie’s story - which supposedly toned down the religious elements - struck me as being very odd, and I think I can see why the Pope calls it “godless”.
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