Dell's Good, Bad & Ugly Movie Reviews

[dell71]

Drag Me to Hell
2009. Unrated DVD Version, 99 minutes.
Director: Sam Raimi.
Starring Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver, Dileep Rao.

Plot: After denying a credit extension which would've stopped the foreclosure of an old woman's home, Christine (Lohman) is cursed to be visited by an evil spirit that wants to torment her for three days then literally drag her to hell.

The Good: Before bringing Spider Man to the big screen, director Sam Raimi was best known for being the creative force behind the cult classic Evil Dead trilogy. In his return to horror, he combines jump scares and gross-outs with creepy storytelling, black comedy, camp and thinly veiled metaphor to give us deliciously over the top recession angst. Visually, its a bit quirky and doesn't always have the best special fx, unlike his visual masterpiece Spider-Man 3 (ironically, the worst of that trilogy). However, since many will be watching through squinted or partially covered eyes while leaning back and cringing in their chair, it works. The old lady, Sylvia Ganush (Raver), who may or may not be the villain (that's pretty much up to you to decide) turns in an awesome performance.

The Bad: The basic construct of the story is a rip-off of The Ring. The main differences being our evil spirit here only gives you three days instead of seven and doesn't want to just kill you but to actually drag you, kicking and screaming to hell. Finally, Justin Long as Christine's boyfriend doesn't feel quite right in the role. He's supposed to be snarky and a bit of an outsider to the situation, which he is but I got the feeling he was just going through the motions, wishing he were more involved in the action.

The Ugly: Eyeball in the cake.

Recommendation: Though it borrows its foundation from The Ring, the building is completely different. Most welcome, it doesn't bore you to death by showing you the same thing about a hundred times (girl falling from cliff), act all self-important or give us a super silly solution. In fact, the ending is not only courageous but happy or tragic depending on your point of view. I have no qualms about saying this is arguably the best American horror movie of this decade.

The Opposite View: Kyle Smith, New York Post

What the Internet Says: 7.4/10 on imdb.com (10/15/09), 92% on rottentomatoes.com, 83/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 9/10

 

[Buzzman]

O Shit im going to watch Drag Me To Hell right now.

 

[Buzzman]

question about the ending

 

Did she get hit by the train, and then you see her soul get dragged to hell, just like the boy died from the fall at the beginning and then had his soul dragged to hell, or were they dragged to hell while still being alive?

 

[dell71]

question about the ending

 

Did she get hit by the train, and then you see her soul get dragged to hell, just like the boy died from the fall at the beginning and then had his soul dragged to hell, or were they dragged to hell while still being alive?

The way I saw it...

 

Both were dragged to hell while alive. She definitely was. Remember as the train is passing over her, she & the boyfriend are looking into each other's eyes. The boy, iirc, starts moving a few seconds after he hits the floor, which then opens up & he gets dragged down.

 

[nflman2033]

Synecdoche, New York
2008. Rated R, 124 minutes.
Director: Charlie Kaufman.
Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams, Catherine Keener.

Plot: Caden (Hoffman) is a theater director who’s life is quite literally falling apart. After winning a prestigious grant he sets out to create the play of all plays using what eventually becomes a life-sized model of New York.

The Good: Director/writer Kaufman is also the man who wrote Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and this is similarly odd in execution. We also get treated to another great performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman. However, I must admit I’m a big fan of his. I’d probably enjoy him reading the phone book. Michelle Williams also does an excellent job as Caden’s second wife Claire, as does Tom Noonan as Sam, who gets hired to play Caden in the play. Oh, and kudos to Kaufman for using women in his cast that look like, well, real women.

The Bad: Metaphor upon metaphor upon metaphor upon…you get the idea. What the directors (both the real one and his fictional counterpart) are trying to do is fairly simple but the method is ridiculously convoluted. Any tangible ideas are buried beneath mounds of symbolism. It’s a classic example of why great writers shouldn’t necessarily direct their own screenplays. With no one to rein him in, it seems he took every “deep” idea that he had and threw it up on the screen. To top it all off, he completely failed with all those “real” looking women. The very basic question is why on Earth would seeming every woman he comes into contact with, except first wife Adele (Keener), be madly in love with or be sexually attracted to this guy? Not only is he coming apart at the seams both physically and emotionally but everyone can plainly see that he is. He doesn’t exactly ooze sex appeal and is, in fact, rather repulsive.

The Ugly: I’m going to need someone smarter than me to explain the constant fire in Hazel’s (Morton) house.

Recommendation: Fans of the aforementioned Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind should give this a look. The truth is, even though I’m a big fan of both those movies maybe I just didn’t get this one. You might, and hail it a great artistic achievement. For the rest of us, not so much. It’s definitely original and quirky but often frustrating to watch.

The Opposite View: Dave Calhoun, Time Out London

What the Internet Says: 7.5/10 on imdb.com (7/01/09), 67% on rottentomatoes.com, 67/100 on metacritic.com

MY SCORE: 5.5/10

well i refused to read your review before watching the film myself because i didn't want to have any more bias then i already had going in, and i must say you pretty much summed up exactly my feelings. my friend that loved the movie is coming over tomorrow for the OSU game and is ready to fight me over this one, but honestly I agree 100% guys like Kaufman need a director to keep the movie from crossing the line, there is always a line when it comes to surealsm in movies, David Lych has always toed the line some say he goes over, i feel he hits it just right, Kaufman previously written films, you forgot to mention Adaptation. have all toed the line perfectly, this time without a director to tell him he has gone to far that was just what he did, went way too far over the line, parts of the movie are hilarious like his other movies, but just as soon as i got a laugh there would be some sort of nonsense happen right away. Just way too much for me, and i am a huge fan of weird movies, but this seemed to be pointless. I am sure if you watch the movie a dozen times you may find the meaning behind each and every symbolism, however i am content to believe that there is not as many as you would think with a movie that was so dense. Also unlike great movies that need repeat watching there isn't enough of an entertainment factor for me to want to watch this movie again.

as far as the house fire goes i have some theories, but in the end i feel more like who cares. A movie that is this dense is suposed to make me want to figure it out not turn me off, if you want me to recommend a dense movie that is worth rewatching go with David Lynch pretty much anything, this here is just way too much. I was left with WTF the whole time, What the Fuck, Why the Fuck to eventually who gives a fuck.

 

[nflman2033]

I've also seen Volver which I liked, an 8 from me, but not the other 2, yet.

I'll def check out The Virgin Spring.

yeah Talk To Her has been IMO and most peoples as well best work to date. Also speaking of The Virgin Spring have you seen any Bergman films or will that be your first, its a good first to watch since it was the insperation for Last House.

 

[Sharkweather]

 

Yeah they were both definitely dragged to hell while still alive.

I didn't care for that movie much, but dang a 9/10?

 

[dell71]

well i refused to read your review before watching the film myself because i didn't want to have any more bias then i already had going in, and i must say you pretty much summed up exactly my feelings. my friend that loved the movie is coming over tomorrow for the OSU game and is ready to fight me over this one, but honestly I agree 100% guys like Kaufman need a director to keep the movie from crossing the line, there is always a line when it comes to surealsm in movies, David Lych has always toed the line some say he goes over, i feel he hits it just right, Kaufman previously written films, you forgot to mention Adaptation. have all toed the line perfectly, this time without a director to tell him he has gone to far that was just what he did, went way too far over the line, parts of the movie are hilarious like his other movies, but just as soon as i got a laugh there would be some sort of nonsense happen right away. Just way too much for me, and i am a huge fan of weird movies, but this seemed to be pointless. I am sure if you watch the movie a dozen times you may find the meaning behind each and every symbolism, however i am content to believe that there is not as many as you would think with a movie that was so dense. Also unlike great movies that need repeat watching there isn't enough of an entertainment factor for me to want to watch this movie again.

as far as the house fire goes i have some theories, but in the end i feel more like who cares. A movie that is this dense is suposed to make me want to figure it out not turn me off, if you want me to recommend a dense movie that is worth rewatching go with David Lynch pretty much anything, this here is just way too much. I was left with WTF the whole time, What the Fuck, Why the Fuck to eventually who gives a fuck.

Yup.

 

Yeah they were both definitely dragged to hell while still alive.

I didn't care for that movie much, but dang a 9/10?

Moved your spoiler tag a bit, to address that last line (& its in no way a spoiler).

I'll say this, the movie had me going one way or another the whole time. I was either laughing, or startled or just going "woah". Then, since it is a horror flick it's graded on a li'l bit of a curve. Given all the crap that's come out of the American horror industry, this one hits a home run & thus I'll stick with my 9. Judging by my "what the internet says" section, I'm not alone.

Of course, no movie is loved by everyone so I can definitely understand if you didn't. No biggie.

 

[Fox1994]

Caught up again. What'll you be reviewing next?

 

[Maynard]

yeah, i need a new flick to watch.

 

[Maynard]

i started watching both mysterious skin and in bruges last night.

mysterious skin will get another chance. I just wasnt in the mood to watch what they were delivering. i stopped when we were seeing neil in 1981

in bruges....i just didnt see what was so special about this. I was thinking comedy, but very few laughs in what i saw. I guess its not really a comedy, but the story was just dull imo. I got to where ferrel was giving his "confession" and while that was shocking and opened the story, i was just bored by that time and stopped.

 

[dell71]

i started watching both mysterious skin and in bruges last night.

mysterious skin will get another chance. I just wasnt in the mood to watch what they were delivering. i stopped when we were seeing neil in 1981

in bruges....i just didnt see what was so special about this. I was thinking comedy, but very few laughs in what i saw. I guess its not really a comedy, but the story was just dull imo. I got to where ferrel was giving his "confession" and while that was shocking and opened the story, i was just bored by that time and stopped.

Sounds like you didn't get but 10 minutes or so into Mysterious Skin.

All I can say about In Bruges is it entertained me very much. Definitely dark comedy, not your straight-forward variety.

 

[Houston]

2 questions.

Have you ever seen that old ass movie Immitation of Life? I don't anymore but back at my old house I use to watch alot of movies on TCM and AMCTV, ones from like the 30s-60's.

One of my favorites was The 3 faces of Eve.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051077/


Also do you enjoy the older anime's considered as classics. Like Akira or Princess Mononoke?

 

[Fox1994]

Have you seen "They Live"? I haven't. . . but I'm planning on it.

"I'm here to kick ass and chew bubble gum. And I'm all outta bubble gum."

 

[Houston]

"I'm here to kick ass and chew bubble gum. And I'm all outta bubble gum."

lol nice one.

 

[dell71]

2 questions.

Have you ever seen that old ass movie Immitation of Life? I don't anymore but back at my old house I use to watch alot of movies on TCM and AMCTV, ones from like the 30s-60's.

One of my favorites was The 3 faces of Eve.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051077/



Also do you enjoy the older anime's considered as classics. Like Akira or Princess Mononoke?

Saw Imitation of Life once when I was really young, so I hardly remember anything about it other than I know I saw it. I might have to go back & see it again.

Never saw The 3 Faces of Eve.

Have you seen "They Live"? I haven't. . . but I'm planning on it.

"I'm here to kick ass and chew bubble gum. And I'm all outta bubble gum."

Somehow, I've only seen bits & pieces here & there. I've been meaning to watch it all the way through. Since I'm on a bit of a horror flick binge I might fit that in before Halloween gets here.

Thanx, fellas.

 

[Houston]

Saw Imitation of Life once when I was really young, so I hardly remember anything about it other than I know I saw it. I might have to go back & see it again.

Never saw The 3 Faces of Eve.

Yeah I like older movies alot, to me it seems like majority of newer movies are like "hey come look at this one thing, doesn't this make the movie good, did you enjoy that one thing?" I don't know they seem kinda narrow compared to older ones.

IMO the older movies just let the movie flow like you were right there in real life, they don't say "hey the audience is getting bored let's go to this scene to get their attention again". Which is why alot of people now-a-days would consider them boring. Eh, I like them though

 

[dell71]

Yeah I like older movies alot, to me it seems like majority of newer movies are like "hey come look at this one thing, doesn't this make the movie good, did you enjoy that one thing?" I don't know they seem kinda narrow compared to older ones.

IMO the older movies just let the movie flow like you were right there in real life, they don't say "hey the audience is getting bored let's go to this scene to get their attention again". Which is why alot of people now-a-days would consider them boring. Eh, I like them though

I love plenty of older movies as well. It just so happens I haven't seen "...Eve" and its been a long while since I've seen "IoL". I have interspersed a couple of oldies in with my smorgasbord of horror and some time this week (or maybe next weekend) I'll have a review up for The 400 Blows and Bullets or Ballots.

And some newer movies, as well so the rest of you shouldn't worry.

 

[nflman2033]

its funny the Virgin Spring was on IFC today

 

[dell71]

its funny the Virgin Spring was on IFC today

Dammit! Missed it.