[REVIEWS] Films: Miscellaneous
May. 19th, 2010 01:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thewlisian_aferNo theme! Just five random movies I wanted to watch.
The Unborn (2009)
Tortured by frightening dreams at night and the ghost of a young boy during the day, young Casey (Odette Yustman) turns to a spiritual adviser (Gary Oldman) for help. Together, the two uncover and try to stop a powerful family curse dating back to the Nazi era. David S. Goyer writes and directs this supernatural thriller that also stars Cam Gigandet, Meagan Good and Jane Alexander.
The best thing about this movie was ... well, Gary Oldman. (Though the movie was such crap, even he wasn't very good.) But the second best thing about it was that it's not even an hour and a half long. (Rating would've been one star -- "I want my time back" -- but Gaz earned it an extra half-star.) [Rating: 1.5 stars]
Death Tunnel (2005)
When a creepy college dare lands five coeds (Steffany Huckaby, Annie Burgstede, Kristin Novak, Melanie Lewis and Yolanda Pecoraro) in an abandoned sanatorium -- dubbed "the Scariest Place in the World" -- they're forced to bunk with the spirits of the building's tortured past. So, how could it get any worse? The only way out is the dreaded Death Tunnel, a 500-foot underground chute used to evacuate dead patients.
Inanity and misogyny and shitty dialogue, oh my! I can't even begin to describe how fucking stupid this movie was. It's an hour and a half that I'll never get back. [Rating: 1 stars]
Case 39 (2009)
To save 10-year-old Lillith Sullivan (Jodelle Ferland) from her abusive parents, idealistic social worker Emily Jenkins (Renée Zellweger) welcomes the girl into her own home -- only to discover that Lillith isn't quite the innocent victim that she claims to be. As Lillith's mysterious past comes to light, Emily finds herself in a world of danger. Christian Alvart's terrifying thriller also stars Ian McShane and Bradley Cooper.
Boring, predictable, no noteworthy acting, nothing especially visually appealing, nothing special in the sound/music department, no great characters... Wasted time. [Rating: 1 star]
The Road (2009)
From the ash-covered, post-apocalyptic remains of Appalachia, the Father (Viggo Mortensen) and Son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) take to the road in search of a better life. But the Father's health is failing, lending urgency to a journey impeded by nomadic bands of cannibals. Charlize Theron co-stars in this adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, set in a fictional near future in which the world has been virtually destroyed.
The first half hour was boring. I didn't really give a crap about what was going on until just about the exact middle. Then when there was about a half hour left, I realized I didn't care again. [Rating: 2.5 stars]
The Stoning of Soraya M. (2008)
Set in 1986 Iran at the start of Khomeini's reign, director Cyrus Nowrasteh's drama tells the true story of Soraya (Mozhan Marnò), whose husband plots to have her falsely accused of adultery so he can divorce her and marry a young girl. French journalist Freidoune (Jim Caviezel) is pulled into Soraya's tragic story when he meets a desperate woman named Zahra (Shohreh Aghdashloo).
Goddamn. I was worried this set of reviews was going to be a total bust, but this... This was kind of amazing. It wasn't fast paced, but it was steadily paced, which means a lot more to me. The acting, particularly that of the two main women, was fantastic. The stoning scene was deeply disturbing. And the ending was not exactly happy, but I certainly found it satisfying. Overall, just a great flick. Not really one to watch if you're already in a down mood, though, just to warn you. [Rating: 4 stars]
The Unborn (2009)
Tortured by frightening dreams at night and the ghost of a young boy during the day, young Casey (Odette Yustman) turns to a spiritual adviser (Gary Oldman) for help. Together, the two uncover and try to stop a powerful family curse dating back to the Nazi era. David S. Goyer writes and directs this supernatural thriller that also stars Cam Gigandet, Meagan Good and Jane Alexander.
The best thing about this movie was ... well, Gary Oldman. (Though the movie was such crap, even he wasn't very good.) But the second best thing about it was that it's not even an hour and a half long. (Rating would've been one star -- "I want my time back" -- but Gaz earned it an extra half-star.) [Rating: 1.5 stars]
Death Tunnel (2005)
When a creepy college dare lands five coeds (Steffany Huckaby, Annie Burgstede, Kristin Novak, Melanie Lewis and Yolanda Pecoraro) in an abandoned sanatorium -- dubbed "the Scariest Place in the World" -- they're forced to bunk with the spirits of the building's tortured past. So, how could it get any worse? The only way out is the dreaded Death Tunnel, a 500-foot underground chute used to evacuate dead patients.
Inanity and misogyny and shitty dialogue, oh my! I can't even begin to describe how fucking stupid this movie was. It's an hour and a half that I'll never get back. [Rating: 1 stars]
Case 39 (2009)
To save 10-year-old Lillith Sullivan (Jodelle Ferland) from her abusive parents, idealistic social worker Emily Jenkins (Renée Zellweger) welcomes the girl into her own home -- only to discover that Lillith isn't quite the innocent victim that she claims to be. As Lillith's mysterious past comes to light, Emily finds herself in a world of danger. Christian Alvart's terrifying thriller also stars Ian McShane and Bradley Cooper.
Boring, predictable, no noteworthy acting, nothing especially visually appealing, nothing special in the sound/music department, no great characters... Wasted time. [Rating: 1 star]
The Road (2009)
From the ash-covered, post-apocalyptic remains of Appalachia, the Father (Viggo Mortensen) and Son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) take to the road in search of a better life. But the Father's health is failing, lending urgency to a journey impeded by nomadic bands of cannibals. Charlize Theron co-stars in this adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, set in a fictional near future in which the world has been virtually destroyed.
The first half hour was boring. I didn't really give a crap about what was going on until just about the exact middle. Then when there was about a half hour left, I realized I didn't care again. [Rating: 2.5 stars]
The Stoning of Soraya M. (2008)
Set in 1986 Iran at the start of Khomeini's reign, director Cyrus Nowrasteh's drama tells the true story of Soraya (Mozhan Marnò), whose husband plots to have her falsely accused of adultery so he can divorce her and marry a young girl. French journalist Freidoune (Jim Caviezel) is pulled into Soraya's tragic story when he meets a desperate woman named Zahra (Shohreh Aghdashloo).
Goddamn. I was worried this set of reviews was going to be a total bust, but this... This was kind of amazing. It wasn't fast paced, but it was steadily paced, which means a lot more to me. The acting, particularly that of the two main women, was fantastic. The stoning scene was deeply disturbing. And the ending was not exactly happy, but I certainly found it satisfying. Overall, just a great flick. Not really one to watch if you're already in a down mood, though, just to warn you. [Rating: 4 stars]
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no subject
Date: 2010-05-19 07:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-19 09:15 am (UTC)ALSO. TIC. HAVE YOU SEEN/HEARD ABOUT THIS MOVIE? I HAVE A COPY AND I AM GOING TO WATCH IT. I EXPECT EPIC HORRIBLENESS.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-19 09:52 am (UTC)AND YES. I HAVE. AND I WANT TO SEE IT. SO BADLY. I have been trying to get a copy of it for AGES, but to no avail. :-(
Hey, have you heard of this film? I am torn between really wanting to see it out of curiosity and wondering if I actually want to subject myself to it.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-19 10:03 am (UTC)PEE ESS. YOU HAVE MAIL.