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peterfehrs
Reviews
Nochnoy dozor (2004)
Muddled, confusing, derivative
I attended a free screening of this movie on Feb. 21 in Washington, DC. The theater was packed with people who were already fans of the movie, perhaps they had seen it before or were just amped up on the hype surrounding the picture.
Despite this eager and interested crowd, the enthusiasm seemed to die down as the movie progressed. The film, simply put, is disappointing. Yes, it is amazing that Night Watch was made for $4 mil. (supposedly). Yes, it has an epic scope. But I can't help but wonder if a much, much better film could have emerged from a somewhat interesting idea.
I've seen a couple Russian films in my day, and these films are often long and ponderous, with multiple layers to the characters. There is often limited dialogue and what dialogue remains informs us of the characters and their history. However, much like modern European cinema, it appears as though Russia is now trying to emulate American films, in this case, the American action/"horror" film. Expect a nauseating amount of quick cuts, slow motion, nearly pitch black imagery, close-ups, out of focus shots and stuttering camera work - all set to rock music.
If anything, the film heavily rips of X-men, The Matrix, Constantine and Star Wars. The plot is about a group of "Light" Others (humans who have quasi-supernatural abilities) who seek to keep a balance against the "Dark" Others. As explained in a battle sequence that is the prologue to the film, the "Light" side are those that fight for good and the "Dark" side is made up of evil (and vampires) but they have made a pact to stop killing each other in order to remain alive. Light versus Dark? Use the force, Anton!
The movie started out promisingly enough but then became quite ponderous and melodramatic. Often in my showing there was a lot of laughing at things that were not meant to be funny, purely because of the overacting/melodrama of it all. The movie is confusing and apparently the filmmakers realized this because there is quite a bit of exposition and flashbacks.
Anyway, its an interesting film but not scary at all (why they are marketing this as "horror" is beyond me). All the cool visual effects are seen in the trailer, though the movie does have its own look and feel, which I appreciate (even if it is derivative). There is a really neat animation about halfway through the film and the use of dynamic subtitles was really cool, but other than that I doubt I'll be in line to see the sequels.
Recommended if you can see it for cheap or free, otherwise not really worth it.
Adrenaline Rush: The Science of Risk (2002)
Tacking "science" onto stock IMAX footage
Disappointing. With a title like "Adrenaline Rush" in a big IMAX theater, what might you expect to see? Car racing? Being in a burning building? Bungee jumping? Flying in a jet at mach two? Mountain climbing?
No? How about skydiving? Lots and lots of skydiving. And then more skydiving. First day at school. More skydiving. Cliffjumping. Skydiving. Hokey end. Credits.
This is the worst IMAX film I've ever seen. The beginning, with Peter Gabriel/Afro Celt's "Falling" is promising, but all that promise falls apart when the narrator calls one of the skydivers a "genius" and "modern renaissance man." It's skydiving, not, well, rocket science. Apparently, someone filmed a bunch of skydiving footage with IMAX and then had to create a movie out of it. The result is this. With Leonardo DaVinci cruelly tacked on, the result feels like a cheap ploy to make you think skydiving is educational. This movie is about as educational as my shoe.
The ending is trite and hokey (watch and see as everyday Americans engage in risk by going to work!). If, perhaps, the filmmakers had re-edited the movie (removing the first day at school business, the Davinci stuff and the ending) and called the movie "Skydiving: And Lots Of It!" it would have been fine. But the end result is not that great. Save your IMAX money for something else.