Reviews

When I received an invite to go to the screening of Third Person, I was a bit uncertain whether this would be a decent flick or not. I hadn't seen any trailers or read articles about it so I did not know what to expect.

Third person is a film from Paul Haggis ( the director of the Oscar- winning "Crash") involving intertwining stories featuring Liam Neeson, Olivia Wilde, Adrien Brody, Mila Kunis, James Franco, Maria Bello, Moran Atlas and Kim Basinger.

Having not seen Crash, I hadn't raised my expectations to spectacular levels. Maybe this is why Third Person is getting a mediocre score, people simply compare it with Crash and not as an individual movie.

Let me begin by stating that the atmospheric feel of the movie is top notch. Whether it is the chic, extravagant life-style in Paris, the beautiful and not-so beautiful side of Rome or the busy streets in New York, every city is portrayed in a beautiful way. The soundtrack is okay and fits with the mood of the scenes.

The acting is , how could it not be with this cast, top-notch ! Especially Mila Kunis surprised me with her emotionally depth, a side of her that we don't see a lot in her movies.

Of course, with different intertwining stories, people will argue which one is the best of the bundle. Let me make this clear : Each story is very intriguing and has plot twists that I did not see coming. You could feel everyone staring with great surprise at the screen when major twists came.

For me, the best story was the part with Adrien Brody and Moran Atlas. They had the best chemistry in the movie, with a very interesting dilemma. It had the funniest and most-thrilling moments ( according to me of course, the others are very well made as well, this is truly a matter of personal taste ).

But the movie has a big flaw. The link between the stories is rather weak ( I still have no idea how Adrien's story was linked with the rest of them, when this movie releases for all audiences someone will maybe find that link ). The wrap-around at the end was very, very confusing and didn't make a lot of sense. It was surprising , yes, but really no- one understood what the ending meant for the story. But I think that if this movie gets analyzed and someone clearly explains it's ending, my appreciation for this movie would certainly be of the roof.

I'm not the type of guy who volunteers to watch a romantic drama, I even dread the thought of watching another chick-flick/tear-buster with the girlfriend. But this drama pulled me into it's story with fantastic performances from an awesome cast, good writing/directing for each storyline and a fine balance between drama, romance and humor.

And for that great achievement, this movie deserves :

7,5 /10

I think we can all agree that the first 2 movies are probably the scariest and most original found-footage movies out on the market so far. I had high hopes for REC 3, but they were severely lowered after seeing the trailer and reading reviews. Still, I decided to give this movie a chance and watched it with a few friends.

And the movie still surprised me. I was immediately sucked into the atmosphere of the wedding and enjoyed the movie. When the first zombies came, I felt the same tension like the previous ones. Then suddenly, the camera view disappears and we watch the whole film like any other horror movie.

Yes. This takes away A LOT of the tension. In fact, the first moments of chaos in REC 3 will probably be the best part of the movie for those who want to get scared. The rest of the movie is over-the-top and sometimes even pretty funny.

But that is the main problem in the film : it has an identity crisis. They don't really seem to know whether they want this to be scary, funny or focused on the romance between the two main characters.

Very good + sides are all the characters in the movie. You create a bond with every one of them, but then again, this movie is real short so most of them die way to fast. I had the feeling that there could have been done a lot more with the characters if this had been 20 minutes longer. The humor is well done, and the action scenes are gruesome and very thrilling. Also, REC 3 has a magnificent ending that will leave your mouth wide-open.

Conclusion ? REC 3 will most certainly not be for everyone. Those who were fond of the scares and the high tension from number 1 and 2 will be very disappointed and rate this 5 or less. But if you have read the reviews, saw the trailer and conclude that you are in the mood for a over-the-top gore-flick, then I guarantee you that you will have a fun time watching REC 3.

One of the better horror flicks from 2012.