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richardbradbury2001
Reviews
The Uninvited (2009)
The Uninspired
MAJOR SPOILER ALERT
My first review is prompted by the fact that I cannot believe so many people are raving about the "surprise ending". Possibly the most predictable twist I have seen in a movie for a long time. Within the first couple of encounters it was painfully obvious and I spent the remainder of the movie hoping that it would not be so clichéd.
From the outset it was obviously not the stepmother character who was going to be guilty, simply because she was identified as the "supposed" villain from the outset. This, in itself, demanded that the viewer predict an alternative conclusion, and it was the most hackneyed available that they plumped for. In no time at all it was obvious that no-one acknowledged or addressed the other sister, and since all of the predictable build-up for the obvious reveal were laid out by the numbers (mentally disturbed girl with no recollection of exact events, ex-boyfriend who had witnessed the events but clearly not felt a need to report any murder to It amazes me to see so may reviews raving about a surprise ending when regular movie buffs must be so overly familiar with the gimmick by now, surely? (think Sixth Sense, Fight Club, Hide and Seek, Identity, Shutter Island, Angel Heart, etc. etc. etc. - which have provided seemingly countless and now highly repetitive variations on the same theme).
Unless you are a complete stranger to the genre, or actively disengage all reasoning skills when watching a film, I would suggest disregarding any mention of the "clever twist" - it is rapidly becoming the single-most obvious mechanic in modern mystery thrillers. The end result involves sitting through over half a movie thinking, "They wouldn't try to do that one again, surely?" only to find the answer is, "oh...they did." Maybe that is the twist? Although the performances and direction are adequate enough, this is a hugely disappointing exercise in lazy unimaginative scriptwriting plodding relentlessly down a far too familiar path. Please, no more seemingly innocent protagonists revealing murderous alter egos. It is already an unbelievably stale idea and does not constitute a surprise, more a sad and almost inevitable expectation.
Buried Alive II (1997)
If you like this watch "Goldeneye"?
The summary says it all really? I'm just looking this up as I watch it on ITV and a bit puzzled by the link. Does anyone else actually understand what the two films have in common - apart from being distinctly average? I haven't really got much more to say, but apparently I need to make this ten lines long in order to submit it, so bear with me while I babble a bit in between breaks to watch her eat the poisoned blowfish...well, that was fun - but still no sign of James Bond,high budget stunts, SMERSH, SPECTRE, or even Pussy Galore. I suppose that this is just one more of Life's great mysteries that I will have to live with. Anyway, that's my ten lines up. Any clues anyone?