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bryanchristopher11
Reviews
Clash of the Titans (2010)
Garbage from beginning to end
There are SPOILERS here, so beware....
I remember years ago, a friend and I discussing how awesome a remake of Clash of the Titans would be. 10 years later this comes along. The remake deviates way too much from the original. I get the attempt to make a stand alone movie, but this remake is pointless. In the original, the whole journey is for one reason only: Love. Perseus is attempting to save Andromeda from the wrath of the Gods. The remake makes it a journey based only on revenge. Perseus in the original was a young, naive boy who discovers his inner hero. The remake shows Perseus as a defiant muscle-bound idiot who automatically has the kind of skill the warriors he travels with have devoted their lives to attaining. in the original, Perseus had to tame and gain the trust of Pegasus. Not here.... he just shows up. Convenient. Bubo, the golden owl (as cheesy as he was) is nothing more than a sight gag in the remake. Calibos poses no threat here. He was such an integral part of the original. The addition of the character Io is just annoying. Her presence is completely unnecessary. The Medusa training/seduction scene...ridiculous. The Medusa scene was easily the best part of the original... here it is anti-climatic. The Kraken? Besides the creature being way too big, the whole movie hinges on what a threat this monster is. Yeah, it looks cool (I'll give it that)... but for being such a threatening monster, he sure is dispatched easily. Perseus spends more time chasing a blurry harpy around than actually dealing with the Kraken. Perseus's relationship to Andromeda is nothing more than casual, the 3-D and slow motion are pointless and there is no giant vulture. Sam Worthington should not be allowed to work again until he can do so without his accent. The director, Louis Leterrier is just the wrong person for this job. Transporter 2...sure. This? No. Liam Neeson, Pete Postlethwait and Ralph Fiennes are truly slumming it on this one. I'm sure no matter what is said, people are going to line up for this one. I'm aware of how I sound here. But this movie truly is a let down on every level. While they had the chance to make a fun popcorn movie in the vein of Jurassic Park, Iron Man or even Star Trek (2009), they really missed the mark here. The film is terribly cast, acted and directed. A true waste of the title... but, hey... it sure looks pretty, doesn't it?
The Happening (2008)
In all fairness...
This movie isn't THAT bad. I went in with extremely low expectations based on what I have read about the film in the last few days and have to say that although it by no means a great movie, it is still worth a look. If any other director besides Shyamalan had directed this, it would not be getting such a bad rap. It's return to B movies. Movies that are by no means brilliant, but at least they're entertaining. He really set the bar high for himself with The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable and it seems that people are expecting each of his films to be a home run. But even those two movies had flaws. Most films do. This one just has a few more than others. The performances are a little wooden, yes. It tends to get a little preachy and, OK, the dialog is often flat and pointless...but, is it entertaining? Yeah, it is. Like I said, I went in with low expectations, though. When I heard about this script about a year or so back, I thought it was an amazing idea. But, for the last few weeks, word of it's flaws and plot holes has gotten around. It wouldn't hurt Shyamalan to get a little assistance in doctoring some of his scripts. And that is the movies major flaw. It was a great idea, poorly executed. It could've been his best, in my opinion, but too much hype and a little arrogance on Shyamalan's part place it just below his first three efforts in the genre and right above Lady in the Water and The Village.