AshleyO-699

Unforgiven marks a turning point in the beloved Western genre. I'm not going to argue and pretend there hasn't been great Western movie's in the years since, the remakes of 3:10 to Yuma and True Grit were terrific just to name a few, but the Golden Age of Westerns have long diminished.

Even prior to this movie the genre had felt a thing of the past, the Genres heroes and stars had long passed with only a select few still standing. But as per the icons, Eastwood was truly the last man standing. Gone were Gary Cooper, Henry Fonda and the duke himself John Wayne, Eastwood himself had transitioned to different roles. But the legend himself felt the genre needed his own personal goodbye, and this movie was that feature to do so.

Eastwood has obviously had his name tied to some of the greatest Westerns ever shot, but this feels like his most personal and my personal favourite. Dedicated to his heroes and mentors Don Siegel and Sergio Leone, this western culminating in everything Eastwood had learned so far in his luxurious career, it showed hallmarks of movies he had in the past appeared in while having it's own unique imprint.

As a directional feature, it's everything you can hope for in a Western with beautiful cinematography. As for it's performances, I'm pretty comfortable in saying it's one of Eastwood's finest performances and it's backed up with other incredible performances from the late Gene Hackman and another on screen legend Morgan Freeman.

This is a movie where everything works, from the emotional drama to the exiting gunfights. Compared to other Westerns I won't deny that the action in this feature does take a back seat but I think that makes the execution all more worthwhile, because it gives the opportunity to see these legendary actors doing what they do best in lighting up the screen.

I've always felt the movie was Eastwood saying goodbye to this genre, but always the man, he does it on his own terms. I felt the last scene with dialogue which shows Eastwood riding off saying don't try and shoot, because I'll come back was the actors way of telling us that this is his spot in cinema history, and noone is taking that.

For fans of the genre, I can't recommend it enough. But I don't think you particularly need to be a Western lover to enjoy, it's worth a watch just to see so many on screen legends appear in one movie at one time.

Sadly Hackmans life tragically ended recently, but I will always be grateful to be around while he was still working and to witness some of what he created. And I can only selfishly wish that Freeman and Eastwood will carry on forever, but one thing will be certain, picture's like 'Unforgiven' will leave a long lasting legacy for these actors, and noone can take that from them.

Probably the most divisive director in current Hollywood, Shyamalan has a unique catalogue of movies that range from excellent (The Sixth Sence), very good (Unbreakable, Signs, Split) or the majority being downright awful. And I am the first to criticise most of his movies, although I will admit he has two movies that although flawed, had promising signs. Those being 'Knock At The Cabin' and this picture, 'The Visit'.

Truth be told, it was a somewhat return to form for the director after a string of literal nonsense, but by no means is that a brilliant movie, but it is interesting, if somewhat unoriginal.

It somehow works better because it is not a original idea from Shyamalan, because truth be told his original ideas just don't work anymore. This has all the hallmarks and elements of a modern day Hansel And Gretel, which being a well known and loved story may just keep most people in watching this movie and that's what kept me enticed until the end.

It's back to basics for Shyamalan and I believe this is his movie with the lowest budget, but the simplicity works. I am a huge critic of this person of view camcorder shooting style for the most part, but this is one of those rare occasions it kind of works. Because your viewing it from the perspective of the kids, you manage to feel all the uncomfortableness they are feeling. And credit to Shyamalan, he makes this a unsettling watch.

But much in contrast with his latest pictures it has all the flaws that are now inevitably expected. Truth be told, I didn't see the plot twist coming until it landed, but it didn't truly work as a shock because even though I didn't see it coming, I knew that a plot twist would eventually occur, because it always does with this director, it's familiar and expected, which damages it's execution.

From a performance point of view I think all the actors done a fine job, especially young actress (Olivia DeJonge). But in a sence these actors do a better job than what was expected because there are some major problems with the written dialogue and script. Credit to the actors for pulling through it but Shyamalan still has a problem for writing credible or interesting dialogue, which is a trend in current Shyamalan pics.

But, all in all, it's not too bad. It doesn't reach the heights of Shyamalan's earlier movies, but at least there's a small glimpse that maybe he has something interesting left to shoot. But I'd recommend it as a one time watch, I think the Hansel and Gretel esque story will keep most people interested even if the dialogue is corny.

Well I think I'm alike many of the reviewers who have watched this movie, and by that I meen I'm somewhat perplexed by the movie I just witnessed. Now don't get me wrong, I followed the story, but it just wasn't the story I had prepared myself to have watched. One minute I'm watching a disaster movie, not particularly the disaster movie I imagined, it's much more isolated, and then all of a sudden it hits 'The Matrix' territory and caught me suprise.

Now I'm a moderate fan of sci-fi movies, and while this really isn't your average sci-fi story it sure borrows a lot of narratives from the genre. Which I'd be ok with, if it was executed well, which I can't agree this movie has achieved that.

First things first, the story becomes repetitive, glitchy and messy especially during the half way point of the picture up until the ending. Some people are praising it's originality, personally as a person who has watched their fair share of movies involving sci-fi and A. I specifically, I don't really think it's that original. In fact, outside the fact it collides the A. I narrative with a disaster movie, theirs really little originality at all.

And while I'm open to mashing these two genre's together, it can only work if one or both narratives are interesting, and it under delivers on both. I liked the idea that someone was trapped in a high rise during a tsunamic episode, but that's where my interest died because visually it looked very green screen, and because the majority of the picture is set in one place, it gets tiring very quickly. The A. I subplot didn't really work at all, it lacked the Intrigue, suspence or any factor that makes reliving the same day interesting. Of course when you're reliving similar scenes over and over it really helps to have some interesting characters to follow.

And I'll cut some slack here, the female lead was watchable, and in these imported movies, sometimes thats enough, I find it difficult to really judge acting abilities when a movie is dubbed, and often dubbed terribly. The biggest problem comes in the form of the child actor. And anyone who has read any review from me in the past knows Im normally lenient on young actors. But truthfully, I was ready to dropkick this little kid, dubbed or not. From his first scene, his constant whining and nagging was eating me up, and this character is truly the movies biggest irritant. Scenes which hinted of this characters demise, I cheered, and that says it all. There was only so much I could take and listening to this little brat moan that he needs to take a poop was enough for me.

Honestly, the trailer is very kind to this movie. It's really not the picture it's advertised to be and I think the majority of viewers are going to be let down by the final product.