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raveoddgrl
Pagan
Boxer
Movie Fanatic
Reviews
Edges of Darkness (2008)
Edges of Good
Imagine something circling outside the rim of a black hole; it never falls in but circles it eternally. That is this movie: eternally circling outside the plot of what could have been a good movie. It tries to be an anthology but only with a laughable tenuous link to the other movies. It tries to be a plot driven horror film, with too few scares and not enough plot. Yet, strangely, it has grown on me. The "Overbite" story is the most lacking on plot but the couple's story intrigued me and they're believable as a couple. I wish it was a series. The "Up the Ante" story, I believe also could have been good, if it had been fully realized. However, the "Entanglement" story was utterly horrible. It's one bright spot, was the actress that played the wife. She is probably awesome with stronger material.
In the end, I believe this movie had the ability to be something more than it was. It had decent actors and plots that had potential (NOT including "Entanglement") but it failed. I gave it 5 stars because it was halfway there. Forever outside the powerful star of a good movie.
The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
Not as good as I expected
First off, I will say that this is one of the most visually breathtaking films that I have seen in years. I enjoy movies that are lavish in detail and that take the time to REALLY make you feel as if you were there. The whole movie had an ethereal, dream-like quality (especially scenes in which the whole cast was singing and dancing). The setting was phenomenal, the ensemble cast was delightful. However...
While the choice of most of the cast was perfect, Mme Giry (for how her character was interpreted) and her daughter Meg were especially good. But was I the only one who found Meg more interesting than Christine? Emmy's Christine left much to be desired if her stage direction was something other than "Stand there and look ethereal, sad, or in love". I own the original score to Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Phantom of the Opera" (and yes, I am a die-hard Sarah Brightman fan). I read the book when I was still in middle school and still bring it off my bookshelf every once in a while. I saw the Broadway musical. I saw the movie with my mother, though, who knows nothing about the P.o.t.O. except my obsession with it. She fell asleep. I was just surprised that someone could take the word-for-word score of a musical and turn it into a 2 hour long music video. My mother wasn't entirely sure what was happening while she was awake. To keep her awake and interested, I had to constantly whisper parts of the plot that filmmakers omitted, ignored, or changed. My mother also has pitch perfect hearing and was a little disturbed at some of the singing. But this is my review and not hers. Let me wrap this up by saying that visually it was amazing, aurally it was a little off-putting, plot-wise it was a little vague to those who have no prior experience with P.o.t.O., and with the three main characters, they could have chosen better. I truly think the casting and some of the plot and set were what marred the movie for me.