Whit AlexanderFilms that Could Have, but Didn't
April 14th 2008 05:10
Just as a note: I've been painting the house for the last few days, and haven't been able to update as often. I know it's not really that big a deal, but I didn't vanish off the face of the planet.
I'm also going to be discussing the details of some movies: The Number 23, Dragon Wars, Secret Window, and Tamara. If you are planning on seeing any of these movies and don't want the endings ruined, go ahead and move along. The warning may seem a little silly, but I like to be as fair as possible.
Some of the most disappointing films are the ones that COULD have been great. The Number 23 is such a film, as I think I mentioned in my review a few weeks ago. I don't need to go into much detail, except to say this: they never say whether Fingerling committed suicide, what happened to him afterwards, if he got arrested for the death of his cheating girlfriend. And it's the story line that you care about- he's a detective, and I think it's the most interesting role Jim Carrey ever played (I also happen to think he did a bang-up job of it, too). The end of the main plot seemed like the writers had written themselves into a corner- it's why the ending was so long. The ending starts when they visit the one guy in prison. It takes forever to finally get to the damned point, and when you're there you're just ready for the credits to roll. The movie was bogged down by itself, weirdly enough.
It seems that writing is the flaw in many movies. I did a review of Dragon Wars, and I know I griped non-stop about the writing. The reason it bothered me so much is this: the serpent to dragon battle in the ending was AWESOME. It really was- I have never seen a dragon rendered so faithfully in the Eastern style and the fights were incredibly visually stimulating. If they had somehow based the movie off of that (basing the movie Dragon Wars off of Dragons fighting? pfft!) it would have been the coolest looking movie. And I'm serious. The fight at the end- maybe the graphics weren't 'up to par' but they were passable, and the way that they rendered the fight was sheer awesomeness. Maybe it wouldn't have been for everybody, but it might have been worth watching.
Secret Window suffers from another syndrome. Secret Window is a Johnny Depp movie that was released just after his success in the first Pirates of the Caribbean. Secret Window is based on a Stephen King story about a writer with a psycho-stalker that turns out to be himself- he's gone crazy after the bitter divorce with his wife. It's not anything new- the Novella is a good read, if you want to try it (It's in the book Four Past Midnight, under the title "Secret Window, Secret Garden")- but it's not the first time a movie like that has been done. I don't think it was that much of a twist ending, either. But this movie suffered because Johnny Depp had just starred in a major PG-13 movie, and the production company was afraid to put out a movie with an R-rating. They were depending on Johnny's newfound 'teenage girl with the hots' audience to sell tickets, which I think vastly underestimated the 'Pirates' fan base. So instead of allowing the director a bit more freedom, they restricted him to a PG-13 movie. I'm going to agree with Spoony on this one. There is nothing scary, horrifying, or suspenseful in PG-13. He phrases it differently, but the point is made.
The movie Tamara was a movie that bummed me out, and I can't pinpoint exactly what went wrong with this movie, except for maybe it was a combination of problems. I think the storyline was decent- straight out of those teen-horror novels I read as a kid, but it had all the makings of a fun romp where you side with the killer. There were scenes that were genuinely disturbing to the sensibilities- the kid who cut his face up on the school's closed-circuit TV system made me wince, so did the guy who ate and swallowed his beer-bottles. The plot had all of the makings of a fun and interesting horror movie- the 'pretty-ugly girl' was actually one of the better that I've seen. People make fun of it, but some of the best models are decidedly odd-looking, and if they don't dress up or feel pretty, then they're the 'ugly' girls. There were a few places where the acting got a little bit hammy- but from what I understand they were under a big budget crunch and couldn't use the time to get the take that they needed from their young and amateur actors. There were a few places that looked like they got skipped over or cut off because they didn't have the time, or sometimes the pull, to take the scenes the way they needed to. And the ending, where the teacher kills himself and the girl, was to be expected and it was surprising at the same time. I like that movie to an extent, but it needed a lot of work to be a really good movie. It suffered in a lot of places from the lack of money- it can be overcome, but it's certainly hard.
I don't know. With all of the dearth of anything original coming out of Hollywood, it's a shame when some unique concepts are falling by the wayside. And by unique I mean not the 80th sequel and/or remake of something or other. I may just be grumpy because I'm sunburned for the second time in two weeks.
I'm also going to be discussing the details of some movies: The Number 23, Dragon Wars, Secret Window, and Tamara. If you are planning on seeing any of these movies and don't want the endings ruined, go ahead and move along. The warning may seem a little silly, but I like to be as fair as possible.
Some of the most disappointing films are the ones that COULD have been great. The Number 23 is such a film, as I think I mentioned in my review a few weeks ago. I don't need to go into much detail, except to say this: they never say whether Fingerling committed suicide, what happened to him afterwards, if he got arrested for the death of his cheating girlfriend. And it's the story line that you care about- he's a detective, and I think it's the most interesting role Jim Carrey ever played (I also happen to think he did a bang-up job of it, too). The end of the main plot seemed like the writers had written themselves into a corner- it's why the ending was so long. The ending starts when they visit the one guy in prison. It takes forever to finally get to the damned point, and when you're there you're just ready for the credits to roll. The movie was bogged down by itself, weirdly enough.
It seems that writing is the flaw in many movies. I did a review of Dragon Wars, and I know I griped non-stop about the writing. The reason it bothered me so much is this: the serpent to dragon battle in the ending was AWESOME. It really was- I have never seen a dragon rendered so faithfully in the Eastern style and the fights were incredibly visually stimulating. If they had somehow based the movie off of that (basing the movie Dragon Wars off of Dragons fighting? pfft!) it would have been the coolest looking movie. And I'm serious. The fight at the end- maybe the graphics weren't 'up to par' but they were passable, and the way that they rendered the fight was sheer awesomeness. Maybe it wouldn't have been for everybody, but it might have been worth watching.
Secret Window suffers from another syndrome. Secret Window is a Johnny Depp movie that was released just after his success in the first Pirates of the Caribbean. Secret Window is based on a Stephen King story about a writer with a psycho-stalker that turns out to be himself- he's gone crazy after the bitter divorce with his wife. It's not anything new- the Novella is a good read, if you want to try it (It's in the book Four Past Midnight, under the title "Secret Window, Secret Garden")- but it's not the first time a movie like that has been done. I don't think it was that much of a twist ending, either. But this movie suffered because Johnny Depp had just starred in a major PG-13 movie, and the production company was afraid to put out a movie with an R-rating. They were depending on Johnny's newfound 'teenage girl with the hots' audience to sell tickets, which I think vastly underestimated the 'Pirates' fan base. So instead of allowing the director a bit more freedom, they restricted him to a PG-13 movie. I'm going to agree with Spoony on this one. There is nothing scary, horrifying, or suspenseful in PG-13. He phrases it differently, but the point is made.
The movie Tamara was a movie that bummed me out, and I can't pinpoint exactly what went wrong with this movie, except for maybe it was a combination of problems. I think the storyline was decent- straight out of those teen-horror novels I read as a kid, but it had all the makings of a fun romp where you side with the killer. There were scenes that were genuinely disturbing to the sensibilities- the kid who cut his face up on the school's closed-circuit TV system made me wince, so did the guy who ate and swallowed his beer-bottles. The plot had all of the makings of a fun and interesting horror movie- the 'pretty-ugly girl' was actually one of the better that I've seen. People make fun of it, but some of the best models are decidedly odd-looking, and if they don't dress up or feel pretty, then they're the 'ugly' girls. There were a few places where the acting got a little bit hammy- but from what I understand they were under a big budget crunch and couldn't use the time to get the take that they needed from their young and amateur actors. There were a few places that looked like they got skipped over or cut off because they didn't have the time, or sometimes the pull, to take the scenes the way they needed to. And the ending, where the teacher kills himself and the girl, was to be expected and it was surprising at the same time. I like that movie to an extent, but it needed a lot of work to be a really good movie. It suffered in a lot of places from the lack of money- it can be overcome, but it's certainly hard.
I don't know. With all of the dearth of anything original coming out of Hollywood, it's a shame when some unique concepts are falling by the wayside. And by unique I mean not the 80th sequel and/or remake of something or other. I may just be grumpy because I'm sunburned for the second time in two weeks.
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Comment by Cheryl J
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Comment by Bethany
I think Secret Window is okay, and it definitely has the mood it's going for. The director was real creative with his limitations (there's only so much horror you can put in a PG-13) and the movie is pretty faithful to the novella- barring the end, which IS different from the book.
I wish King had used his clout and forced them to make it an R movie, because... well, anyway, it's still a decent watch, and Johnny does superbly (as always) as a writer who's going through a rough divorce- I think it's worth watching, definitely, it just wasn't NEARLY as good as it could be.
But, yeah, I own Secret Window and I like it- the story is good, and story can overcome a lot, always has. And I definitely recommend the story- it's in Four Past Midnight. It's name is Secret Window, Secret Garden.
And from what I've heard, the premise is similar to Hide and Seek- which I haven't seen- but all my resources say Secret Window pulled it off better.
Hope I helped!