| 5/16/2005 |
DOMO ARIGATO MR. ROBOTO by Styx
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THE GRUDGE - (B-) I used to think Japan was a pretty cool place. Beautiful land. Exotic food. Amazingly rich cultural heritage. The occasional gigantic radioactive monster attack, but you could see the coming and be prepared. Yet, since seeing The Ring and The Grudge... I'm not so sure Japan is quite as idyllic as it once seemed. There is some freaky shit going on in Japan.
Foolishly enough Sarah Michelle Geller completely fogets all her supernatural fighting skills from Buffy and her sleuthing skills from Scooby Doo and charges head-first into the House Of Mysterious Disappearances and Deaths. I'm torn on this subject. I would be all willing to investigate spooky or mysterious noises. Really, I would! I'm Mulder like that. Yet, if I knew that there was a long string of deaths involved. You couldn't make me get near that house. I'd refer to the Guide For Surviving A Horror Movie in a situation like that. I know it is just type casting, but for me that is what makes it hard to watch. She's Buffy for crying out loud! Don't you know how to handle evil? By... you know... NOT handling evil! Let someone else who knows about curses do it!
The story itself is creepy. There were several times where I was creeped the hell out and every hair on my body (and that's no small feat) stood up. Yet, the way the movie was told was very choppy. I had a hard time trying to figure out the sequences of events. I'm not typically this dense. I understood Memento and Pulp Fiction with it's fractured way of telling tale. Yet for some reason, I found myself trying to figure out if Karen (Gellar) was investigating a past incident or if she was a past incident or she had seemingly stepped into the past in one incident. It wasn't until the very end that it really all comes together and you see who died first that started the curse on the house.
There is something about pale Asian children who screech from an extraordinarily large mouth like a cat that gives me the willies!! Time to take Little Yoshi to the doctor if that is the case. The movie definitely has it's moments where you see the Responsible Evil before the unwitting actor does. Those are the 'best' moments. I am a bit confused by the ending as in 'how' they explain those who survive the final cinematic clash. I imagine it is done so as to leave the possibility of a sequel. I don't think it will happen. Not in the states at least.
Good creepy story, though I think other such films have done it better. The cast is unremarkable, but they aren't bad by any means. There is just nothing really stellar from any of them.
Bad way to tell the story. Very choppy chronology in some parts. Not enough explanation for my liking.
I'm glad I didn't pay full movie ticket price to see it, but it would definitely be worth it is you were going with a bunch of squemy friends who flinch a lot. Very rentable! |
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I posted this @ 5/16/2005 01:37:00 AM.............Need a link?..........
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