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Reviews
The Village (2004)
New American Master of Suspense
I now officially love M. Night Shyamalan ... or at least I love his films. In these days of cat scares, cliche gore, action thrillers, and hyper-ironic post-modern fear factors, it seems that Shyamalan is one of the few people who is experimenting with Suspense and Suspense as vehicle to tell interesting stories.
If you liked _The Sixth Sense_ and _Unbreakable_, know that this is a different kind of movie. There is no "big twist" at the end. This isn't a film where you won't be able to at least have a guess at what's going on. That's not it's point. The joy in this film is in watching how events unfold and how these characters act and interact. Their primal struggle is internal, conveniently externalized for us by the mysterious threat that forces them to fight their more personal demons.
This is a film about our loved ones, what we do when we develop them, what we do to protect them, and what we do when we lose them. (Listen for Hurt's line about love that ends a scene you've been building up to for awhile.)
It's beautifully shot. It's well-crafted. It has several exciting performances played with great honesty in a "close to the chest" intensity that captures a reserved people placed under pressure. That's a style that Shyamalan likes for his films, and here I find it succeeding the most so far.
It's too early yet to start talking about him as the modern day Hitchcock, but I sure can't wait for this filmmaker's next film.
Dungeons & Dragons (2000)
Bad, bad, bad, and then even worse than that
Please do not see this movie unless you are under 15 years old, have played Dungeons & Dragons, and do not care about racial sensitivity whatsoever. It would probably help if you were male.
This movie is bad. Understand, I am a geek. I have spent many, many fun-filled hours playing Dungeons & Dragons. I should have liked this movie. I did not. And it's not because of the whole D&D purist thing. The movie's actually pretty good there. I could identify particular spells and creatures. Got to see a beholder; that's fun. The main thief's sword looked a little fat to be a long sword or a short sword, more like a short broadsword, but let's not pick nits.
The acting comes across as bad even from people you *know* can act (Jeremy Irons, Thora Birch). Maybe it was the ham-fisted directing. Maybe it was the repetitive soundtrack. Maybe it was the horrible script and story that sounded not like they were written for 14 year old geeks but *by* 14 year old geeks. Maybe it was the poor voiceover work done for Kristen Wilson. Who knows; but this movie stunk on ice.
However by far the worst thing was Marlon Wayons's character, Snails. Snails is a textbook bumbling, prancing, skittish, cowardly, squeaking, ineffective, constantly carping, low-moraled, moon-eyed, lip-curled, African American sidekick. I mean, you see bits of that all over the place, but I haven't seen such a broad portrayal in years. I swear you could teach classes on this part - Demeaning Portrayals 101. It was embarrassing. I just kept looking at it saying, "Why? Why? Why?" I know you're thinking that I'm just some over-sensitive whiner, but trust me. This is bad. When Snails gets in trouble, you'll be rooting for the bad guy to put you out of your misery.
Do yourself a favor, if you want swords and sorcery, rewatch _Lord of the Ring_. Leave this stinker for the poor boobs who blow their roll on the treasure table.
The Ghost Busters (1975)
Dim, fond memories
I also remember seeing this show, but vaguely. Where I was -- in Cincinnati, Ohio -- it came on Sunday mornings. I, of course, watched it religiously because back in those days there were no Sunday morning cartoons and stuff (only Wonderama and U.S of Archie), and there was always serious withdrawal after the beloved Saturday morning cartoon binge.
I'm sure Storch and Tucker must have felt like they were at the tail end of their careers, but they were the dudes to me then. And the gorilla? I don't know, I just bought it at the time. I don't remember much of the show, but I remember really liking it. Would love to watch it again just to see how much I recognize.
Eight Days a Week (1997)
Better than you think
I ran across this movie by accident and was pleasantly surprised. A little funny, a little sexy, and very interesting, this film is a step above your standard teen sex comedy. Very quickly it's clear that the fun in this film is not as much what flesh you see and what you don't, as in discovering the depth of this neighborhood along with the film's protagonist. It's definitely worth a watch.