(no subject)
Professor Grumbles
It was my last shift at work the other day. Somebody asked me if Pirates 3 and Fantastic Four were any good, and I wasn't entirely sure what to tell them. In my flabbergast I think I may have uttered the most onerous of lies.
"I can't feel my ears! Also, my eye is roughly the same size as my mouth."
Inconsistent. 1408’s highest point is its opening act, which quickly establishes the premise and protagonist, ratchets the tension to an tremendous level, and features a riveting exchange between John Cusack and Sam Jackson. Sadly, that’s also the only scene in which Jackson has any substantial screen time, and for better or for worse, the film really starts to goes off the rails soon after Cusack actually steps foot in room 1408.
While the supernatural proceedings start off absurd and very delicious, film slowly becomes a numbing exercise of pulling the narrative rug out from under the audience over and over again, progressively becoming more tiresome and less coherent each time. And though 1408’s crock of madness is visually imaginative, the weirdness that transpires feels arbitrary and randomly cooked up.
The movie actually isn't very scary, either, aside from the occasional “boo!” moment that the filmmakers employ for cheap surprise. Instead, the weirdness is strangely delightful, in a nonsensical, off-the-wall sort of way. 1408 is anything but a traditional horror movie, and as long as you have that in mind going in, the experience can be a lot of fun.
(THREE out of five)
It was my last shift at work the other day. Somebody asked me if Pirates 3 and Fantastic Four were any good, and I wasn't entirely sure what to tell them. In my flabbergast I think I may have uttered the most onerous of lies.
"I can't feel my ears! Also, my eye is roughly the same size as my mouth."
Inconsistent. 1408’s highest point is its opening act, which quickly establishes the premise and protagonist, ratchets the tension to an tremendous level, and features a riveting exchange between John Cusack and Sam Jackson. Sadly, that’s also the only scene in which Jackson has any substantial screen time, and for better or for worse, the film really starts to goes off the rails soon after Cusack actually steps foot in room 1408.
While the supernatural proceedings start off absurd and very delicious, film slowly becomes a numbing exercise of pulling the narrative rug out from under the audience over and over again, progressively becoming more tiresome and less coherent each time. And though 1408’s crock of madness is visually imaginative, the weirdness that transpires feels arbitrary and randomly cooked up.
The movie actually isn't very scary, either, aside from the occasional “boo!” moment that the filmmakers employ for cheap surprise. Instead, the weirdness is strangely delightful, in a nonsensical, off-the-wall sort of way. 1408 is anything but a traditional horror movie, and as long as you have that in mind going in, the experience can be a lot of fun.
(THREE out of five)