House of 9: The Review

House of 9  [2005]

The movie I'm watching tonight is called House of 9. The title was what hooked me into wanting to see this, I mean I personally think it sounds like a very interesting title. And from the small bits of information I gathered from online, it is supposed to be a horror movie. Now, I'm actually a huge fan of horror films, I love them intact, and so I decided to watch it. And if that did not have me interested, it is a British film and I love watching things that are international. Here's my review of a movie most people probably have never heard of, House of 9.

Synopsis:

The beginning of the movie starts out with all the different people who will make up the 9 in the title and what they are currently doing in their lives. Some are out partying, others are just walking along, but all of them in the end are abducted and taken to the house. There are also some shots interlacing the scenes of how they are abducted of the house that they will be in. Right from the start, you can see where this is going.

The nine different people then wake up in this house, the windows have all been bricked-in and the front door is made of steel, reinforced and not moving. There are eerie glowing lights all around them and except for some beds, bathrooms, a very small kitchen, and a table, the house is empty. Then a man comes on the speaker and tells them that they have been chosen randomly and only one will be getting out of the house alive and with a lot of money too. From there, the movie turns into a dramatic thriller as the nine contestants are suddenly tested between being a society and survival of the fittest.

Verdict: 1.75 / 5 stars

I'm just going to be straight out when I say this is a really cool, really terrifying concept that sort of takes the idea of Lord of the Flies and applies it to a basic concept of being locked away in a house. Or at least, I wish that was the concept that went in behind this movie. It's not. Instead, the creators break this movie up and make something that is supposed to be a bit more catching and a little bit closer to the edge of your seat. They fail and it goes down horrible.

The first half of the movie should be called something along the lines of "Democracy: Sit On Your Arse" because literally it becomes this democratically struggle of who is in charge and what should they do. One guy is a cop with a  gun, the rest are all civilians with really boring back stories of the most part. They eat, they sit, they drink, they sit, they explore, they sit, they dance, they sit, and all around nothing happens. Literally this is a HUGE loss of stars for this film, because when I watch a movie the only person who should be sitting and doing nothing for more than five minutes should be me. So I'm going to take off huge. Instead, I would have liked to have seen the creators of this movie have made them first want to escape, then each of the characters find something that's different, interesting, a clue maybe as to what is going on. Maybe it is something that helps them in their final task, maybe it's something that they think will help but turns into someone else's prize. That would have been interesting and added some flavor to this. But like I said, all they do is sit and eat and dance and sit some more. What a waste of a beautifully undefined mansion.

The second half of the movie is where the action starts. Something goes wrong, society fails, and all hell breaks lose for our heroes. Except at this point you've either come to love or come to hate certain characters and in a way you've already selected who you want to live and who you want to die. Why? Because the first half of the movie was sitting and eating and you learned how annoying some of the characters are. So anyway, all hell breaks loose, people start dying, and a winner wins. The end. Oh, there's a twist in there but it's really not that important, big, or unguessable (I actually knew the twist right when it happened because it seemed fishy).

But the most disappointing part was that they left the Priest alive for so damn long. Now I know the reason they did it was to play with this notion of is God really watching, but let's be honest. No, no he is not and it wasn't fun to watch them figure that out. I mean, this priest so so annoying that from the minute he started talking I just kept thinking, 'please die, I don't need this much of him in the movie'. But he keeps living, and he lives for what seems like forever. I'm being honest when I say he ruins part of the movie, and that's why I'm making a big note out of it.

Last, this movie loses points because of the ending. I like vague endings, but this one wasn't even that. It was a continuation ending, one that tells you there's basically a part two to the whole tale. I hate those in movies where they did not even answer a question the first time around. So why the hell would I want to see a sequel if nothing gets answered the first time? I don't. Minus points.

So where did this movie get points, because I'll admit I'm really smacking it down. Well the original concept is a brilliant and very interesting one, so I gave it some awesome points for that. And the art direction in the film is chilling, very well done for defining the house and the characters. I think it could had been better on the house, but I can see the effects that the director was heading for and I'll give him that. And finally, although I hated the ending for the vague, very mentally distilled, and overall annoying, it did have something to it that made me think back a bit. So I gave it that. But most importantly, I really did want to see something happen and have a mystery. Now, it's too bad the mystery in this film is a no brainer, but I appreciate the poor attempt. 1.75/5 stars.

The Adjustment Bureau: The Review

The Adjustment Bureau [2011]

The Adjustment Bureau Movie Poster

Okay, so I know that in reality I talk a lot about how I hate Matt Damon, but at the same time I also feel that all movies should be given the same chance to impress me. Why? Because there were other people who worked on this movie and they deserve a chance to prove themselves to. So as it stands, I'm going to do my review on the Adjustment Bureau.

Synopsis:

So the movie starts out with a very good, progressive, and young politician who is not only the front-runner for everything, but ahead of everyone in the field. Well, all that changes when he makes a mistake with his life and is suddenly thrusted off-track from his political dreams. So on the night that he loses his big election, he also meets the girl that is of his dreams. 

And that's when the adjustment bureau steps in, which is a set of persons that go around fixing the world to make sure that the best possible future outcome will occur. Except they mess up, and the rest of the movie is how they have to then fix it.

Verdict: 4.25 / 5 Stars

So even though I still hold a grudge against Matt Damon, this was actually a really good and really interesting movie. I like the play on love that runs through the whole thing and I really like that while you know where it's sort of going, there's this mystery of what will happen next since you don't exactly know what the Adjustment Bureau is. And they spend some time trying to explain it, but they do it very ghostly, for lack of a better word, by which I mean you get this feeling of what the adjustment bureau is and what the adjustment bureau does and who is the adjustment bureau but without actually telling you the full story every time. And be a person that really appreciates when movies leave mystery, it was like a hook to keep me watching.

Now, from start to finish the characters are this story of lovable, elastic bunch that you just want to watch and see more of. There are no real bad guys in this film either, which is something that rarely happens in the film like this, and so even the worst of characters you are interested in. And it worked, I actually wanted to hear more from all the characters, to learn more about everyone and really get to understand the things they do and why. So from that perspective I really was pleased with this movie. And the cinematography was really beautiful too. There are these scenes were you get the sunset or the the rain coming down just beautifully in the background. Now a lot of people don't take the time to really appreciate that, but I did and I thought it was done marvelously in this film, really making the whole thing look impressive and interesting. So I felt I had to make a point about that and just let everyone know that while watching this film, just realize that everything is picked out perfectly. All of that gets a paragraph, because it all deals with the behind hands on the film.

Another thing that bumps this movie up above other's I've been having the pleasure to review is that I know I could rematch this one easily. There's this sort of flavor to the way it plays out that I really like, the whole is it fate or is it destiny really coming into mix here in a way that hasn't been done before. For instance, on the one hand you learn the Adjustment Bureau works to make a better world by slightly adjusting it, but they also admit there is a certain unknown prominence to the future. I really like that and that's what makes this a fun watch. And the spontaneous feelings that you get from the movie, although rather random at the time, are also really planned out. So although you are kind of being led along, it does have a very direct path that you could see coming.

Now on the downside, there's nothing in this movie that really provides more to humanity except the basic ideas that Freedom is not Free and Love Triumphs, which are wonderful ideas but they get played a lot. The movies I tend to give higher ratings to have a beat all to their own, sending a message that maybe you can't say in 5 words or less and this movie just does not have that. So while its fun, I can't give it a perfect score because I don't feel like I've become a better person, a more educated person, from watching this. my final verdict is 4.25/5 stars.

Horrible Bosses: The Review

Horrible Bosses [2011]

Horrible Bosses Movie Poster

So I have pretty much nothing to do today and I think someone in my family told me that I should watch the movie Horrible Bosses. I thought why not, I like Jason Bateman as an actor ever since I watched the entire Arrested Development series (and multiple times), so I turned it on and just let it run. My mistake. Here's the review.

Synopsis:

So these three men have three bosses that they totally hate, one of which is a psycho, one that's a whore, and one that's a spoiled brat. And the whole movie starts out showing you each person's relationship with their boss and how it just is not working out. Then everything starts spiraling out of control as their bosses get worse which, of course, leads to the great idea that they should just kill their bosses. From there, this is supposed to be a comedy about the three of them and their long journey to kill each others bosses to make life easier for the other ones.

Verdict: 2.5 / 5 Stars

Now like I said, I really like Jason Bateman. And the idea behind this movie is not a terrible one, I mean it's a little bit cliche now that we've had a bunch of movies that try and to mimic the classic Office Space [1999]. But unfortunately the cast and characters left me feeling like this movie needed something. Like the villains are perfect, but the three main characters you just slowly lose care for over time. For instance, Jason Bateman plays Nick Hendricks who is a well-to-do guy that thinks the only way to get promoted is to suck-up to his boss, but it makes him seem rather spineless in the long run. Charlie Day plays Dale Arbus who's an all-around annoying guy (I actually was really getting annoyed with him the more the movie went on). And last, Jason Sudeikis plays the sex addict. So really, because these guys have these abnormal qualities, you just over time lose care for them and honestly start believing that maybe they got what they deserved.

But with that out of mind while I watched this, because I didn't think that until just over half-way through the movie, I still found the plot to be rather not-thoughtout. Like they'd give these three guys a situation, something would happen, they'd give them another situation, something new would happen. That's just not how I like my movies. I like it when you can see there was a lot of thought behind every scene and why things happen, when mysteries go from start to finish and things you didn't think were important become important. This one was more like here's some random stuff, lets let the characters roll off of it and make a movie. That's what killed it for me and led me to boredom halfway through.

And on top of that, I sort of wonder if the writers were looking for spots to even make jokes, because I honestly don't get the comedy in this movie all too well. It's kind of like here's a random thought, then move on. But because the context is so drowned out by screaming and annoyance, I just didn't think it was funny. Its like going to a restaurant, you don't want to have an entire meal that tastes bland but more of a sporadic assortment of complimenting flavors. This was a bland meal.

My personal feelings? 3/5 stars at first until I realized I'd never come back for this dish. I downed it to 2.5/5 stars for that reason.

Source Code: The Review

Source Code [2011]

Source Code Movie Poster

Alright, so the movie I'm actually currently in the middle of watching is, imagine that, Source Code. I'm writing this review now because above all, I'm sort of board with the plot. But no worries, we'll get to that in a second.

Synopsis:

So the story starts with a man who wakes up on a train, not sure where he is or who the person talking to him is. Immediately things start happening, the situation starts moving onwards and then, bam, the train explodes. The man then wakes up in a dark room with a  glowing screen in front of him. He's strapped into a chair, talking to someone he's never met before. Then they start informing him what's happening, he's in a version of a simulation and he has to go back. So, the story continues where the main character begins going back and replaying the same last eight minutes.

The Verdict: 3 / 5 Stars

The acting is exactly what you would expect from Jake Gyllenhaal, really good and brings you into the whole thing. And the other people around all take up part too, helping with this action flick to make it better. So why not a perfect score for this movie? Well, what great acting and nice action cannot replace is an amazing story, which this movie lacks. From the second time through seeing the train scene I had the whole thing figured out, to which I'm not going to say what, but I knew everything about the main character, I knew who was causing the problem, and I just was bored the rest of the way as I watched him jump through a bunch of loops (some of which were stupid and made no sense) to get to what I had figured out on the second time around. And even now as I keep watching through this, I just know exactly what's going to happen. So it's less interesting.

Don't get me wrong, I have all the love for movies where they play back the same scene again and again and you learn it's got a deeper depth than that. But this one wasn't that thick, in fact it was lacking depth and that's what hurts me. I was really hoping for a project that left more to be wanted. And not just in the repeating scene, but also in the current world where real things are happening. The people just aren't as interesting as I was hoping. So it hindered what would have been a cool idea. Overall, 3/5 stars is what I'd give this for that large story lapse.