jer-7

The idea behind this movie was a good one. The story could have been good. Still, someone managed to screw things up. I felt like the character development during the first hour was drawn out far too long. Once you had the point of what was going on, it was beat into your head a few more times just in case. Also, the style of the movie is horrendous. Slow motion and jerky camera flashes completely destroy any tension or emotions that would have been built up by the actors. Denzel is a fabulous actor, yet I felt absolutely nothing for his character. Dakota Fanning is a remarkable child prodigy, yet in the end I really didn't care what happened to her. I would have to say that really the only good that came from this film is that it makes the Punisher look good...

Well, the movie started off pretty slow. The middle was pretty slow. And the end was well... slow. There was not a single moment out of the entire three and a half hours that I felt any tension (except for the encounter with Shelob, but that's only because I'm terrified of spiders...) The seige of Minas Tirith reminded me of the battle of Hoth, but not nearly as dramatic. Jackson's device to build emotions is to have the characters stare at each other for a long period of time, sometimes in slow motion.

In the end, it seems to me that there were different people that worked on each of the three films. I thoroughly enjoyed the Fellowship of the Ring. It had everything - two battles in which you actually cared about the characters. With the extended DVD there was great character development. And there was a comedic value. The last two films have had none of the above. I can only say that I am glad the movie was made as some of the technical achievements during the filming are amazing. But that's it.

As a huge fan of Rob Zombie's music and horror flicks, I couldn't wait to see this film. When I first saw the trailer two years ago, I went crazy. Then the delay because of a looming NC-17 rating made me nearly cry. Now finally, what do we get for our long periods of suffering? Not much. The dialog is bad, which is to be expected out of any good horror flick. The story is sub par, also to be expected. But what gets me is that this movie is not scary. It isn't suspenseful, gory, anything. It is a bit disturbing because of what the creepy family do to their victims, but more or less it is just plain dumb. It is like a walk through a very expensive haunted house, but without the suspense. The only part of the movie that I enjoyed was when the projector brainwrapped and burned through the print. After all the other nonsensical things that had happened, we all just assumed it was part of the movie. If you really like blood (which there is some) and naked dead people, then this movie might be for you. Otherwise wait until one of your crazy friends buys it and watch it for free. 2/10