friday night we went out to see 'the happening'. we've always been fans of m. night shyamalan's creations. and it's been a long time that i haven't seen a movie that i totally do not know what its about. all the rest are sequels, tv shows, --while they are fun to watch, i was in for a change. thrill me! excite me!and so the movie just did. if you're in for suspense and a plot that's out of this world unimaginable, GO! Watch! Now.
entertainment factor was high mainly because of the genre, and because of the shyamalan factor basically.
but.
i left the movie house feeling totally incomplete. a whole load of questions that i think should have been answered in the movie. and the main actors totally pulled the movie down.
main question, if the ****s (im not spoiling it) were releasing ****0-t**ins that disables the human's self preservation mode--why do the 'taken' people immediately (and creatively!) take the exit out?
the more logical thing to happen would them to be just passively living--i.e, when a charging bull comes head on to you, you welcome him in your arms. or something like that.
probable guess, they must have overlooked that fact, or chose to ignore it and jump to the extreme, for that sensational factor.
that's the main thing about the movie. and then there are the ill-chosen actors.
just when i've regained my esteem for mark wahlberg in "shooter", he just...flopped back down in the happening. most evident in the part where they got off the train and he goes , "but mister...! you can't just leave us all here?" (speaking slowly with those famous forehead wrinkles crunching together to show emotion.)
mind you, wahlberg's performance are already notches higher compared to zooey deschanel, who plays his wife. they already added a bit of spice to the scenario by portraying her as a wife who cannot commit, but it really doesn't give any oomph to her lifeless performance. she has a very pretty face with wide blue eyes that could have been used to portray emotions, but unfortunately, in the movie-she only had 2 modes: blue eyes blank and blue eyes wide. her lines were also limited to, "but elliot...!" , "no, jess...", and "..what are we gonna do??"
the more talented john leguizamo was cast in a supporting role. he probably would have carried wahlberg's role with more dignity. but then again, when has john leguizamo ever been cast as the lead role? always the token side-kick.
this movie is a prime example of a 'promising plot / poor casting' case.
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we missed this when it came out in the movies, so we watched it sometime thursday on dvd. based on a young adult series, i thought it was another 'harry potter' kind of story. (harry potter , just like bridget jones who jumpstarted the chick lit trend, is the trailblazer that sparked many rowling wannabe's into writing all sorts of creative young adult series).but it was a joy to watch. the movie, and the creation as a whole totally reminded me of jim henson's the labyrinth which starred jennifer connely and david bowie. totally different, but gave me the same 'vibe'. freddie highmore was also brilliant, playing twins with opposite personalities. when you listen to his lines closely though, he slips from time to time putting on an american accent. but he is forgiven, and it sounds sort of adorable at times anyway. just because he is young, and was amazing in charlie and the chocolate factory. anyway, movie was tastefully done and cg and animation were flawless.
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we watched wind chill in the dead of the night so it was extra chilling. i wouldn't have taken an interest in it , but when i found out that emily blunt stars in it, i knew i won't be disappointed. 2 college students (their names are never revealed in the movie) take a long ride to delaware. but because of taking a 'short cut' route , their car swerves off track and they are stranded in the middle of the night, dead in winter. they get haunted by the ghosts of the people who have been killed in the area. simple plot, not too scary (not as scary as the orphanage definitely!).no killer twist or plot--just a basic ghosthaunting scary movie but it's not too bad either.
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saturday morning, i just had to pop this on the dvd player. come on, after all those 'heavy' movies i needed some no-brainer. and it's not bad! i won't say its one of my favorite movies but its light, funny, and will definitely bring a smile to your face. i loved the old style animation they used (circa snow white, cinderella, sleeping beauty) very vintage disney! i wish they created these kinds of animation still. while i appreciate the technology of pixar, i miss the classic cartoon type when they still drew their hands. and the characters weren't too shiny or 3d.so enchanted is about this princess bride-to-be who is unfortunate enough to have an evil queen witch (literally) for a mother-in-law. before the wedding takes place, the evil queen banishes her to a 'land where there are no happy endings'. and where else could that be--but the Real world.
Amy Adams was marvelous--think of her role in 'catch me if you can'--abit delirious as a princess lost in the real world. powerful cast as well--julie andrews as the narrator, susan sarandon as the evil queen, patrick dempsey as the human who fosters in gisele (princess). james marsden (cyclops from x-men) was degraded to a singing prince. timothey spall (the ever vermin-faced evil sidekick in almost all movies) was perfect choice for the evil queen's right hand.
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last movie. i was actually resigned to just waiting for the dvd for this. but zk really wanted to see it. so we watched it sunday evening. im so glad we did. i immensely enjoyed it! we saw the first movie 2 weeks ago on tv , so everything was still 'fresh'. prince caspian has more action and major battle scenes. and the pevensie children have grown--both in appearance and character. susan and peter were more or less the same, but i loved edmund and lucy. edmund especially--has shown more maturity and bravery, and is getting more handsome if i may add. lucy -- i loved her in the first movie, and though she's not 'cute' as a little girl anymore, she's still very charming. warwick davies (willow!) stars as well but you won't recognize him. the actor who played prince caspian also wasn't just a pretty face. impressive to know that he is not spanish/latino what with the accent ( i am prrince cas-pyan!) and dark looks.well its a classic and the story just gets better.(some scenes were very reminiscent of lord of the rings). ive been inspired to read all 7 books of the chronicles of narnia. (shame i havent even read the lion the witch and the wardrobe!).
the next movie , the voyage of the dawn treader is set to come out in 2010. (bummer!)
so there, as i've spent my weekend with movies, i'm catching up on reading now.
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