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Reviews
The Happening (2008)
The Happening - what happened?
After watching the trailer, I was really looking forward to seeing this film. I'm quite a fan of Shyamalan, and was hoping this would be something of a return to form for him. It wasn't.
Other people have already pointed out the major flaws - the terrible script, the miscasting of Mark Wahlberg, the god awful acting at times, the overuse of the wind - and I wholeheartedly agree with all of the above. I just couldn't believe that the person responsible for films like The Sixth Sense could have got it so wrong.
If indeed this was supposed to be a B movie style film, that's all well & good - but that doesn't mean it can get away with absolutely anything. (I admit that comment is also aimed at Quentin Tarantino a little too, for Death Proof.) It's such a shame, because I really do like the idea, and some of the images in the film (like people walking off of the roof like some sort of human lemmings) were amazing & disturbing. I didn't even mind the somewhat heavy handed message, which I know riled some people. It was everything previously mentioned in between that was awful.
It's been a while since I watched a film that actually left me feeling angry, as it did my partner as well. After we finished watching this, we almost started an argument with each other, just to release the tension this drivel had caused. So there you go, not only is it bad, it can cast a cloud on your relationship too. I'm giving it a very generous three for the building site scene, and also for the bees, who had the right idea from the start by not being in it. And as for you Mr Shyamalan - go sit on the naughty step and think about what you did!
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
In my top ten
This, for me, is film at it's best. The acting, (Tim Robbins, in particular, is amazing. Morgan Freeman is his usual wonderful self also.) the screenplay, the production, the...well, all of it! I could rave about it until I'm blue in the face, but I'll spare you (and myself) that.
I must have watched it over a dozen times now, and with every viewing I still get as caught up in it as I did the first time I saw it. For me, that's one of the marks of a special film. I'm don't really want to use the term 'uplifting' yet again, but it is the best way to describe it.
Highly recommended.
A Place in the Sun (1951)
An American Triumph
As previously stated, this truly is an excellent film. There's no need for me to write about how good the actors/director/pretty much everything is, others have stated it before (and far more eloquently than I could.)
The one thing I do wish to comment on is the scene in the doctor's office. Shelley Winters portrayal of a frightened young woman, desperately trying to keep control of herself in front of the doctor, was wonderfully done. When the doctor stiffly informs her 'Well, you'll make a very healthy mother,' (or words to that effect,) it was absolutely heartbreaking. In a film full of 'stand out' scenes, for some reason this was the one that stayed with me for days afterwards.
More and more these days I find myself seeking out old classics like this one. Maybe films really were better made then. Maybe I'm just getting old. Maybe both.
Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County (1998)
Gave me a chuckle
I almost like this film, but for all the wrong reasons. It's about a family trapped in their home during an alien siege. I stumbled across it about ten minutes in, and found it so bad I had to keep watching. I love the fact that for a supposed 'documentary' I recognised two of the actors straight off.
The overall acting is pretty dodgy, (I love the girl yelling for Kurt every five minutes, who wisely leaves very early in the film) apart from maybe the son, (who's recording the whole thing) he's not too bad.
But special mention has to go to the mother, who at no point was seen without a glass of wine in her hand, even when the family try to escape! By the time I actually got a glimpse of the aliens, tears of laughter were streaming down my face. How anyone who isn't a kid thought this film was real, I honestly can't understand. But I'll still give it a 2 out of 10, one, for making me laugh, and one also for the mum, for dealing with an alien invasion by getting completely blotto.