Reviews

I was really hoping to hate Blair Witch 2 but I just can't. It wasn't what I'd call good but it didn't fall on it's face like I thought it would. I figure the opening credits (complete with special effects lettering and CGI trees accompanied by a Marilyn Manson soundtrack) cost more than the entire first movie. They tried to tie the sequel into the first movie, but the only thing it had in common with it was the title and some references. Of course, it was a way different movie. They tried to capture some of the feel of the first movie by writing the use of cameras by the cast themselves into the plot, and they also let the actors use their real names just like in the first movie... But the magic just wasn't there.

People who hated the first movie will probably like this one better. It's got more of the elements that make a modern horror film: Lots of spooky music, special effect ghosts, nude scenes, a much more laid out that was explained much better, a much more tidy ending than the first movie. The film leaves question marks, but that's just because there's holes in the plot. The movie flows fast enough that you don't really have too much time to worry about the holes though. Still, in my mind it was an above average modern horror film (when taken from the perspective of what else is being released now-a-days) that had a few good jumps and chills.

Continuing in the tradition of psycho shockers that Se7en started, The Cell forces reactions out of the audience with unimaginable (and unbelievable?) crimes, disturbing visuals, and satanic overtones.

Jennifer Lopez does a believable job of delivering the lines that were written for her and can't be held responsible for the lack of character development, she does all she can to make us care about her, but in the end, we don't care enough to get to the edge of our seats. Her foray into the minds of others, as well as the whole "if you die in your dreams, you die in real life", is very much a rehash of Nightmare On Elm Street but with more disturbing scenes of child abuse.

Some movies take you to a dark place so you can better understand it, some movies take you into a dark place to make you fear it, The Cell brings you into that dark place for recreation. You get the feeling that the movie was pieced together by a team of surreal artists who each were responsible for 10 minutes of the film; after their scenes were shot, a writer came in and tried to piece them all together. All the eye-candy is entertaining, but without a good flow, it's random images, a sort of slideshow that takes place during a plot that we've all seen done before.

Something bad happened with the timing of the film also, maybe it peaked too early, or maybe it was just because the ending was so obvious, but by the time they got to the ending, it just didn't seem important. I'd bet $10 that the DVD release is going to have an "alternate ending" and "added footage" that didn't make it into the big screen version. It's possible that the ending was a scaled down version that would more appeal to the masses than the one originally intended, hopefully it will add something that makes us feel a little bit more about what happens in the end.

(It was hard to write a review on this one, for the simple fact that it was so "blah". Most of the flashy visuals were shown in the previews and the story was a failure. It's hard to come up with anything constructive to say besides "it was okay.")

Oh man!! What a fun movie! Without giving too much away, it's a ghost movie. The plot wasn't anything to write home about, it's been done about 100 times before, but it was just done better than it has been in recent memory. Seems that movies try to over-do everything lately with special effects, gore, music and violence. Not here... I kept thinking that they had taken a step back and returned to what makes movies spooky. It's not a computer generated demon, or a high intensity soundtrack; it's a creaky door, it's a reflection in the glass, it's that feeling when you know you just pushed that chair in a minute ago and now it's away from the table again. That's what makes people uneasy, that's what makes them check their closets and sleep with the hall light on when they go home.

The most notable difference in the movie was the silence. I'd guess that about 50% of the movie was completely silent except for breathing, footsteps, creaking doors... wonderful. Seems that lately the powers-that-be just have to fit every second of the soundtrack into the movie (seems they should since now-a-days there's commercials for the soundtrack separate from the movie in many cases) in order to boost the spooky level... it rarely works. The silence in the movie just added to that tension in your shoulders and made you slowly edge up on your seat.

If I had to pick anything to complain about, it'd be the weak foreshadowing of two events, I don't want to give anything away, but you'll know when you see it. It's like they gave up on trying to write them into the plot. They may as well have put a subtitle on the screen (or a "Pop Up Video" bubble) that told you that what they were saying was important. For my wife and I, it gave a bit away about how the movie was likely to end.

Michelle Pfeiffer was really good, I'd guess she was in almost every single shot in the film, so anything but a great performance would have shown. I'm not normally one to judge actors performances, but there's some credit to be given to someone who can act that scared using only her eyes. I wouldn't be surprised if she gets a nod at the academy for this one.

I saw Titan A.E. this weekend. How was it? The best I can say is that it was OK. Here in the US we're still under the impression that animation (with the exception of South Park) is for kids. So, the plot was very simple and nothing was left to the imagination. It was one of those movies where after the lights come back up, you just stand up and walk out of the theater. You don't really comment on the movie, or talk about it. At dinner afterwards you don't discuss your favorite parts or anything, maybe you talk about the weather or something. It was just unremarkable, an entertaining way to spend two hours, but not something that lasts with you at all.

Of course, no American animation can make it without a some cute comic relief, something that will make a good happy meal toy. Well, in Titan they even told us who was going to be the funny one by naming him Gune (goon). I'm surprised they didn't name the Dredge - "The Bad Guys"

They do get some bonus points for the great idea of giant ice crystals, but they may have overdone it it bit. The sequence with the Angels was really quite pretty, but again, it seemed like it went just a little too long.