(no subject)
Had me a killer-plant themed movie weekend.
I'll hide the discussion behind a cut fur the spoiler-phobes
The Ruins
Six young people decide to make their Mexican vacation count and visit old ruins off the beaten path on the last day of their vacation. Once there they encounter hysterical locals who drive them up to the top of the ruins and keep watch - killing or threatening to kill anyone who leaves. It takes the audience roughly 3 seconds to figure out that the vines covering the ruins are deadly. The fun is in discovering just how deadly they are. The movie is not without merit - it managed to build up believable suspense and the actors were good - although the second half is equal parts revolting and ridiculous. I suspect I saw the unrated version. How else to account for the the scene with Stacy and the knife and her leg. I don't need to see that ever again. Ugh.
The Happening
Full disclosure - I tend to give M. Night Shyamalan movies the benefit of doubt. I want him to succeed. And even though I figured out the plot of The Village in the first 10 seconds I still enjoyed it. This however ... it could've been good. The planet fights pack - instead of man killing nature, nature kicks man's ass. I saw all sorts of potential here. But the script was weak, the pacing too slow and the acting just horrible. Especially from Mark Wahlberg who surely was on something. Why else would he spend the entire movie talking like he was addressing a child. No scratch that - talking the way people think children want to be spoken to but they really don't care of - in a high, soft, condescending voice. And that was just half of it. But since I started directing I have a tendency to blame the director for acting mistakes. A good actor needs very little prompting and minimal direction - a mediocre actor needs to be constantly fed different line readings and motivations. The director is responsible for the people cast in her production so it's the director's job to pick up the slack when the actor doesn't fully deliver. I suspect Mark Wahlberg has been blessed with pretty great directors in the past. Here, he was out of luck.
I'll hide the discussion behind a cut fur the spoiler-phobes
The Ruins
Six young people decide to make their Mexican vacation count and visit old ruins off the beaten path on the last day of their vacation. Once there they encounter hysterical locals who drive them up to the top of the ruins and keep watch - killing or threatening to kill anyone who leaves. It takes the audience roughly 3 seconds to figure out that the vines covering the ruins are deadly. The fun is in discovering just how deadly they are. The movie is not without merit - it managed to build up believable suspense and the actors were good - although the second half is equal parts revolting and ridiculous. I suspect I saw the unrated version. How else to account for the the scene with Stacy and the knife and her leg. I don't need to see that ever again. Ugh.
The Happening
Full disclosure - I tend to give M. Night Shyamalan movies the benefit of doubt. I want him to succeed. And even though I figured out the plot of The Village in the first 10 seconds I still enjoyed it. This however ... it could've been good. The planet fights pack - instead of man killing nature, nature kicks man's ass. I saw all sorts of potential here. But the script was weak, the pacing too slow and the acting just horrible. Especially from Mark Wahlberg who surely was on something. Why else would he spend the entire movie talking like he was addressing a child. No scratch that - talking the way people think children want to be spoken to but they really don't care of - in a high, soft, condescending voice. And that was just half of it. But since I started directing I have a tendency to blame the director for acting mistakes. A good actor needs very little prompting and minimal direction - a mediocre actor needs to be constantly fed different line readings and motivations. The director is responsible for the people cast in her production so it's the director's job to pick up the slack when the actor doesn't fully deliver. I suspect Mark Wahlberg has been blessed with pretty great directors in the past. Here, he was out of luck.