tobermory2-1
Joined Mar 2005
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Reviews35
tobermory2-1's rating
I was recently reading about this film and said, "This is a movie for me!" Well, it wasn't; it was rather a letdown. And it wasn't just an "Oh-well" letdown, it was a "What all these glowing reviews about" letdown.
It started as soon as the film was rolling-- the opening sequence made NO sense! Yes, yes, a jovial family outing, but why would anyone be pushing a station wagon on a snowy road in the mountains past a telephone booth. And what, for that matter, was a phone booth doing in the wilderness? And then, the director seems to be trying to set up the traffic tragedy, but (so many buts) it is never clear where these vehicles are coming from and how they could result in the crash. This isn't being nitpicking, it is the style of delivery throughout the film, with some notable exceptions-- usually involving doors.
Scott's performance has been called "restrained." How about "wooden" and "unconvincing"? And when he finally explodes in anger at the ghost, he sums up another problem here, what the heck is the deal with this ghost-- is it malevolent, cleverly manipulative, downright stupid? We never get any insight into why the ghost behaves as it does so it's more annoying than scary.
And speaking of annoying, how could anyone say the playing of the tape of the seance was riveting? Scott repeatedly rewinds and replays every little piece of it until you wish the ghost would throw the machine through the window!
And, finally, the over-the-top ending which, again, makes NO sense-- not one iota of sense. The movie has its moments and has style and atmosphere, but it does not reward the viewer sufficiently. Boo-hoo.
It started as soon as the film was rolling-- the opening sequence made NO sense! Yes, yes, a jovial family outing, but why would anyone be pushing a station wagon on a snowy road in the mountains past a telephone booth. And what, for that matter, was a phone booth doing in the wilderness? And then, the director seems to be trying to set up the traffic tragedy, but (so many buts) it is never clear where these vehicles are coming from and how they could result in the crash. This isn't being nitpicking, it is the style of delivery throughout the film, with some notable exceptions-- usually involving doors.
Scott's performance has been called "restrained." How about "wooden" and "unconvincing"? And when he finally explodes in anger at the ghost, he sums up another problem here, what the heck is the deal with this ghost-- is it malevolent, cleverly manipulative, downright stupid? We never get any insight into why the ghost behaves as it does so it's more annoying than scary.
And speaking of annoying, how could anyone say the playing of the tape of the seance was riveting? Scott repeatedly rewinds and replays every little piece of it until you wish the ghost would throw the machine through the window!
And, finally, the over-the-top ending which, again, makes NO sense-- not one iota of sense. The movie has its moments and has style and atmosphere, but it does not reward the viewer sufficiently. Boo-hoo.
I know Mr. Moto movies are formulaic, but with this one they got the formula wrong. That's not to say it isn't fairly well put together and somewhat entertaining, but it's not worth its current rating.
The major flaw is that there are too many suspects who, in their white flannel suits, look and act too much alike to the point that at the end it seems like they just spun the bottle to select the bad one. Also, the comic relief, Twister McGurk, is used again and again with the same schtick and it gets to be annoying not entertaining. Finally, you can practically hear the director yell "Cut" as the stuntmen switch off with the actors for the action portions and back again.
Watch it along with all the other Mr. Motos, just don't expect too much.
The major flaw is that there are too many suspects who, in their white flannel suits, look and act too much alike to the point that at the end it seems like they just spun the bottle to select the bad one. Also, the comic relief, Twister McGurk, is used again and again with the same schtick and it gets to be annoying not entertaining. Finally, you can practically hear the director yell "Cut" as the stuntmen switch off with the actors for the action portions and back again.
Watch it along with all the other Mr. Motos, just don't expect too much.
One has to admit that this is a stylish romp-- the scenery is seductive, the characters are either sexy or quirky or both, the story sufficiently complex to make you pay attention and with moments of devilishly dry humor.
However, all this finally pales and is lost due to the unrelentingly gratuitous violence. People don't just get killed, places have to be shot up and a lot first. And sometimes the humor-- such as the elderly man in the BnB sitting watching tv unaware of the shoot-'em scene going on around him until he is suddenly made part of it. For this unnecessary juxtaposition ruins the moment. (And, btw, how does a deaf man watch tv without his hearing aids turned on?) Others deficiencies include cliched characters and a predictable script.
I wanted to like it, but one can only stand just so many mangled faces.
However, all this finally pales and is lost due to the unrelentingly gratuitous violence. People don't just get killed, places have to be shot up and a lot first. And sometimes the humor-- such as the elderly man in the BnB sitting watching tv unaware of the shoot-'em scene going on around him until he is suddenly made part of it. For this unnecessary juxtaposition ruins the moment. (And, btw, how does a deaf man watch tv without his hearing aids turned on?) Others deficiencies include cliched characters and a predictable script.
I wanted to like it, but one can only stand just so many mangled faces.