El Chupacabra
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« on: August 13, 2001, 07:10:17 AM » |
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The other day, I braved the local cinemas to watch "The Others" and "Session 9" (nifty double feature, even if I did pay 15 bucks). Liked `em both, but since talk is cheap (and movies aren't), I'll give you my thoughts here.
First off, Session 9... wow, a thriller featuring asbestos. That's right, for all the psych-horror trappings this is really about construction work. Reminds me of the Beavis & Butthead show-within-a-show, "Asbestos in Obstetrics". Anyway, five guys (one dumb hick, two hotheads, one brain (David Caruso!) and their boss) get hired to strip an old asylum of said toxic substance, discovering some rare coins (no prizes for guessing what happens to the greedy one) and a set of old "session" tapes in the process. These tapes chronicle the effect of regression therapy on a schitzophrenic (sp?) patient, and as her "evil side" is drawn out, become more and more disturbing. At the same time, it becomes apparent that one of our blue-collar protagonists is going to crack... but which one?
Now here's my quibble with it. The performances are good, and so is much of the script, but the story is just too thin on the ground. Too many loose ends, way too many red herrings, and a VERY abrupt conclusion (I swear they skipped some of the session tapes) mar what could've been a great fright flick. In addition, I didn't buy the metaphysical twist at the end. On it's own, it's cool, but in this movie, it stands out like Bruce Willis' ghost would in "The Blair Witch Project". Despite this, I liked the movie; it's beautifully shot and edited, never resorts to jump scares, and has some of the coolest freak-out scenes ever. 3 slimes.
Things I learned from this movie:
Coins will not melt, ever.
Asbestos is a metaphor for evil.
In a pinch, lobotomies can be performed with plastic fast-food utensils.
Now, "The Others" is something I won't go into detail about, for obvious reasons. I will say that the final "big" twist isn't all that big (geez, directors and their twist endings), but the little ones are. I'm a big fan of Amenabar (Open Your Eyes, Thesis), and he doesn't disappoint here. Script is intelligent and witty, the actual haunted house looks gorgeous, and those blood-curdling screams from Ms. Kidman don't hurt either. 5 slimes.
Things I learned:
The English hate fog.
Ghosts are scarier than Nazis.
British kids sunburn really, really easily.
Then I came home and watched "Fight Club" on HBO with mumsy :) "Office Space with more violence" was how she described it. I thought the double-edged satire was great. Loved the soap-making scene (top that for gross-out) plus you get to see Century City blown up. How many movies can promise that? 5 slimes.
Things I learned:
Fights are just male bonding with blood.
Porn makes little children cry.
Urine blends in perfectly with the flavor of lobster bisque.
When you think you've shot yourself in the head, you've really just grazed your neck.
Suicide is a turn-on.
Dishwashing gloves have some interesting alternative uses.
So all in all it was a fun movie day, & I thought some of you might want to hear about it. Next on my list: the DVDs of "Serial Experiments Lain" and "Cecil B Demented". Those should be... interesting ;)
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