Phat Beast Reviews

The Strangers (2008)

Intense, Suspenseful, Disturbing

[8/10 · 1 June 2008]

By far one of the best horror movies I've seen in recent memory, The Strangers works so well because it is able to distinguish itself from most films within the genre today. What is most noticeable is the fact that the filmmakers eschew (for the most part) the ubiquitous "gotcha" tactics meant to deliver cheap scares, opting instead to build suspense slowly, allowing the audience's anticipation to build up, furthering the terror. Throughout the film, the viewer believes that it is a question of "when," rather than "if," which keeps the audience alert and on edge the entire time. Additionally, the few "gotcha" scenes that do appear in the movie are well done. They are simple and believable, rather than flashy, and serve to release some of the built up tension and segue smoothly into the next portion of the film.

Part of what makes The Strangers so scary is that it is a very disturbing movie, simply because it is so realistic. Nothing is supernatural or extraordinary -- this is something that the viewer could picture actually happening (the film claims to be based loosely upon true events). Rather than some kind of ghost story, the movie is a look into the darkest side of human nature. The fact that the violence seems to be so senseless just adds to the horror. More impressive still, the extremely high level of effectiveness is achieved with little gore and less action. It is just frightening. I believe that it deserves reiteration that the events depicted in the movie are very disturbing, and that viewers who might be especially sensitive to such themes should probably avoid it. But for those who can handle it, The Strangers is definitely one of the best scary movies made in years, and choosing to spend an hour and a half watching it is a decision that you won't regret.

Fracture (2007)

Could have been so much more....

[6/10 · 22 April 2007]

The first 3/4 or so of Fracture are amazing. The acting is dead-on, the writing is solid, and the plot is done just well enough that it's incredibly entertaining without being either trite or pretentious. The story is simple enough: Ted Crawford (Hopkins) -- ostensibly an aerospace engineer who runs a successful company -- catches his wife having an affair and shoots (but doesn't kill) her. Being incredibly meticulous, he is able to plan every detail of the attempted murder to assure himself of an acquittal. Willy Beachum, Assistant DA handling the case (Gosling) is a hotshot who's on his way out the door to bigger and better things and, at first, neglects to prepare well for the case. The middle half of the movie is essentially the legal struggle between Beachum and Crawford. Ultimately, the overconfident Beachum is no match for the cunning Crawford. Toward the end of the trial, there is a scene in which Beachum must decide whether or not to plant evidence in order to obtain a conviction. The tension is palpable and the scene comes off as one of the best and most dramatic in the movie. In the end, Crawford is acquitted and, as he leaves the courtroom, his wife's grief-stricken lover shoots himself. This would have been an almost perfect ending to the movie, and would have guaranteed it at least an 8 or 9 rating from me. Up to this point, it was a solid film that was realistic, and just unconventional enough to stand out.

But apparently that wasn't enough for the folks behind the movie. Unable to cope with his failure, Beachum takes a personal interest in Crawford's comatose wife. What follows is a ridiculous and clichéd attempt by Beachum to obtain a court order preventing Crawford from pulling his wife's life support. This portion of the film is unrealistic and filled with false drama. The story does not sell Beachum's sudden dramatic change of character well, and it gives little reason to care about what happens to the wife (her doctor all but says that she's almost gone anyway). Beachum fails to stop Crawford from pulling the plug (legally), but then in an even less believable sequence, realizes where the crucial piece of evidence was, and then extracts a confession from Crawford, who believes he's protected by prohibitions on double jeopardy. Using a seemingly flimsy argument, Beachum takes Crawford back to court. The movie ends, fortunately, with the new trial beginning, rather than a conviction, which, in my opinion, would have reduced its score even more.

The acting in Fracture is fantastic. Though Gosling gets most of the screen time, Hopkins (as usual) steals the show. Strange side note: Hopkins seems to change accents throughout the movie. The writing and the plot are outstanding for the first hour to hour and a half. And the music is excellent (especially when Crawford returns home after his acquittal). What would have been a great movie is no more than mediocre or slightly above average simply because it tried to fix what wasn't broke.

My Recommendation: See the movie, but leave shortly after the trial ends.

Hannibal Rising (2007)

Unsatisfying

[4/10 · 11 February 2007]

While there may be spoilers here, I think (hope?) that they're minor enough not to ruin the movie for anyone.

Had it not been a companion to the previous Hannibal movies, Hannibal Rising would probably be an average action flick. The movie is not terribly bad for an action movie, in itself. However, in the context in which it must be viewed, it's pretty bad. After seeing the movie, I was actually surprised to see that the screenplay was written by Thomas Harris. I think that it fits very poorly with the rest of the story.

My biggest problem, I think, was that in SotL, Hannibal is a true villain. Yes, he helps Clarice, but he does so maliciously and with a narcissistic purpose. It is not the serial killer that sends chills up our spines; it is Dr. Lecter. By portraying him as a sympathetic young boy, who's experienced horrible tragedies and is out to avenge his young sister's gruesome death (by killing Nazis no less!), HR turns Hannibal from cold and sadistic villain to anti-hero. Indeed, even by the end of the movie, there is little to suggest that the young man we've spent a long two hours watching on the screen will grow up to be the brilliant, refined and coldly cruel Hannibal of SotL.

Hannibal's poor character development is the movie's most glaring flaw. Of course, because the point of the movie is to elucidate the development of the Hannibal character, it fails at its primary purpose. There are other minor annoyances. The samurai training seems to be superfluous. I failed to grasp the relevance, other than to give a cheap shot of Hannibal wearing a mask similar to the one he wore in SotL (which, ostensibly, had been placed on him by the prison guards to keep him from biting, rather than by Hannibal himself to honor any kind of samurai tradition).

I can't say that I'd recommend the movie to anyone who has seen or enjoyed any of the previous Hannibal movies. Someone who hasn't yet, might enjoy it, and I think that it would make the subsequent films seem even better than they are. But anyone who enjoyed Hopkins' character in previous films should steer clear of this one.

Epic Movie (2007)

One of the Worst Movies I've Seen in a Long Time

[1/10 · 29 January 2007]

To be honest, I only went to see Epic Movie because my fiancée wanted to see it. I went in expecting very little, and the movie didn't even deliver that much. Throughout the entire movie there are only a few scattered chuckles, and not a single real laugh. You really know that a movie like this has failed when its parody of another movie (an action movie!) is less funny than the original. This happens in its parody of Snakes on a Plane, which is really just a very silly reenactment of some of the funnier parts of SoaP.

While severely deficient in the humor department, the movie is, however, filled with plenty of gross-out moments, so if you're into that, by all means go. But if you want to see a decent movie or if you even want to laugh at a silly movie, you should avoid this like the plague. Don't spend $8 on a movie ticket, don't rent it, don't even watch it for free. You'll just be wasting your time.