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"The Others"
In this spooky film, obviously somewhat inspired by "The Sixth
Sense," Nicole Kidman plays the mother of two children with an allergy
to light. Her husband has gone off to war and she's left alone to take
care of her two children in what appears to be a haunted mansion.
As mentioned, there is obvious inspiration from "The Sixth
Sense," but make no mistake, this is not a clone or a rehash. This is a whole
film on its own. What's great is that it does not rely on gore or cheap
scares to get to you, but rather builds up a very spooky atmosphere to get
under your skin. The film takes a little while to get off the ground, as a lot of
'ho-hum' goes on during the first half of the movie as Nicole's
character insists on disbelieving her children when it comes to ghosts being
in the house. But once she gets involved, we start seeing some
ominous scenes that make you believe that maybe the house really is haunted!
But is it really? and by whom?
The fact that it starts off slow, however, probably helps build this
sense of foreboding of the haunting, so it may not be a bad thing in the
end. So I would suggest a little patience and it'll pay off in the end. And
boy, what an ending it was!
JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK
What can I say about these two chuckleheads? I love 'em to
death. But maybe that's my problem.
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back follows the final live action
adventures of the title characters. Following the wild success of the "Bluntman
and Chronic" comic book mentioned in "Chasing Amy," the rights
are sold to Miramax Studios, unbeknownst to Jay and Silent Bob. When
they find out about it, and find out about how their names are being slandered
all over the Internet as a result, they set off to ruin the production of the
movie and begin an excursion to Hollywood.
The movie had a pretty good fill of laughs, including a lot of
cameos from big Hollywood names who have no problem poking fun at
themselves. However, if you aren't already a Kevin Smith fan and haven't seen the
previous 4 "New Jersey" films, you'll probably find yourself scratching your
head half the time. The movie is really a final send off to that whole
universe that Kevin Smith has created, and you can tell. He's given us a glimpse
into the life of almost every main character from all the previous movies,
making a lot of the film one big inside joke. ( i.e.: Jason Lee's "Brodie"
saying, "Chocolate Covered Pretzel anyone??" would leave most uninitiateds
going, "Huh?" ).
However, to be fair, it still has a lot of funny ( albeit sometimes
corny ) jokes and even Mark Hammill. And there's also the fact that the
trailers really don't do it justice and make it look a lot more stupid
than it really is. So in the end, if you're a Kevin Smith fan ( and
really, shouldn't you be? ) you'll probably love the hell out of this
film.
JEEPERS CREEPERS
What to say about this one. The first half of the movie was utterly
great! Truly done with the best of horror movies in mind. Good buildup of
suspense, good story base. Truly a breath of fresh air ( or at least a
breath of air we haven't seen in a while ). However, the second half does
leave a few things to be desired. For starters, the namesake of the movie.
The link there between the name and what it is in the movie is kind of
silly ( you'll see what I mean ). The monster wasn't all that it COULD
have been, but he does fulfill his requirement in the movie. The second
half is just not as riveting as the opening half. In the end, it all works
out; the monster's hunger is quelled and some of the characters get to go
home.
Stephane Morrell
Laurier CIM Group
MCSE,CCA
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