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anago-nigiri
Reviews
Upstream Color (2013)
Nice visuals at times but very chaotic plot development and a terrible soundtrack
This movie doesn't do a very good job at developing it's premise. I do have to say though, I like the way some of it was shot. This movie tries to adhere to the wise director's adage of "show, don't tell" but a lot of what it shows does little telling of the plot.
The first act of the story did draw me in and I was indeed interested and entertained but the storytelling fell off a cliff after that.
Also, will someone please tell this director that the soundtrack doesn't need to drone on throughout the whole damn movie. Not every second of a movie needs to contain obnoxiously repeated sounds and tones and the occasional swells that almost sound like music while playing slow-mo shots of unimportant happenings. It's OK for a movie to have quiet scenes. To be fair, there are actually some subtle soundtrack moments but in general it really has too much to hear when I'm trying to mellow out and watch a movie. The sound wasn't all bad but there are moments when I was truly annoyed.
I want to say to whomever wrote the music for this, "Wow! Cool! You can play a single chord for an hour and a half. Good for you!"
I hate the fact that I went on so much about the soundtrack and not the plot but it really was the most distracting part of the movie and more remarkable than the attempt at story telling. And yes... I got the metaphors. I just didn't find them very profound.
Phantoms (1998)
Worst writer ever... Directors and producers, look elsewhere for movie ideas.
I read the novel and also watched the movie (although one could question why I would see the movie after reading the novel.) By the way this review contains no spoilers although it's hard to spoil a story as predictable a this one. My minivan broke down in the middle of nowhere (Salina, Utah - a town of 2,393 persons) while I was trying to move to California from Florida. The hotel I stayed at had a lending library and the woman at the desk recommended this book while I waited the two days for my vehicle's repairs. Now I must say that this isn't the first Koontz book I've read but it was the worst. And the movie didn't make things any better. The same predictable plots and plot devices. You still know who the love interest is right at the beginning (which works for a rom-com plot but not a thriller, usually). You know who's going to die right away. You can even predict how they will die. Everything about this movie is cliché squared. I cannot recommend to anyone who likes suspense. There is no suspense to be had here... move along.