THE WOMAN IN BLACK
UK 2012
Directed by James Watkins
Written by Jane Goldman
Based on the novel "The Woman In Black" by Susan Hill
Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Ciaran Hinds, Janet McTeer
SYNOPSIS: In the early 20th century, recently widowed solicitor Arthur Kipps (Radcliffe) is called upon to handle the estate of a Mrs. Alice Drablow, who lived in the isolated and uber-creepy Eel Marsh House. No locals will assist him in his task, and most try to shoo him out of town, with the exception of a Mr. Sam Daily (Hinds) and his wife Elisabeth (McTeer), who have also had a tragic death in their family. But after Arthur witnesses a mysterious woman, draped in black, walking the grounds of the abandoned manor, he begins to understand why the villagers have been so desperate to keep him away.
THOUGHTS: It's the first of the modern Hammer Films to actually feel like one of their older classics, despite the lack of anachronistic haircuts and cardboard sets. It's a old-school, "things that go bump in the night" type of haunted house story, and if you're brave (or foolish) enough to watch it alone in the dark, it's guaranteed to scare the willies out of you. (To which my poor wife can attest!)
Fast paced in parts, which can be the mortal enemy of suspense, but the expedience here is mostly to trim the fat. Not a great deal of time is wasted on the typical "Doth my eyes deceive me?" dilemma that protagonists in these films ponder; Arthur sees something supernatural, and knows it's supernatural. Moving on.
Radcliffe doesn't have the most expressive face, which is problematic in a film where he's expected to show a broad range of terror, but he rises admirably to the task with the tools given to him. His character has a rational, reasoned, and brave response to the strange goings on, so as he is confronted with abject horror, the tightening of his jaw seems a grab at tenuously holding on to his fragile sanity.
The film is very pretty to look at, making great use of location photography. It was shot by the sparsely active DP Tim Maurice-Jones, whose previous work you're most likely to have seen in the films Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch.
I've giving it a slight demerit for the ending. It doesn't ruin the film, but the final scene should have either been done differently, or much better. It has the stench of a reshoot about it, quite frankly. All in all, though. . .
REVIEW: 6 (LIKE)
THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT
USA 2012
Directed by Nicholas Stoller
Written by Nicholas Stoller and Jason Segel
Starring Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Rhys Ifans
SYNOPSIS: Shortly after becoming engaged in San Francisco, Tom and Violet (Segel and Blunt) put their impending nuptials on hold after she enters into a post-doctorate program at the University of Michigan. In addition to this waylaying his burgeoning culinary career, numerous other complications and insecurities cause these two lovebirds to continue to save, then lose, the date.
THOUGHTS: This isn't necessarily laugh a minute stuff. There are some traditional gags here and there, but for the most part this is comedy that comes from character work, and from the uncomfortable familiarity of a scenario you may have lived through.
The character work is done quite well, feels honest, and will play best to an audience closer to thirty. This is the film that takes place after the "meet cute, then fall in love" film ends. It also lacks a certain dismissive cynicism in tone that seems to be a prerequisite of all comedies aimed at teens and early twenty year olds.
I enjoyed that, unlike many Hollywood movies, it didn't portray the Great Lakes region as simply a wooden wasteland. The residents of Ann Arbor in the film are intelligent and culturally diverse, despite their not living in Manhattan. Sure, it does show that "going native" is synonymous with deer hunting, but that doesn't feel terribly dishonest. Other than there supposedly being a redneck bar on Main Street, there weren't too many incongruous elements; it felt like my town.
The "too good for this" Director of Photography Javier Aguirresarobe (The Others, Talk To Her) takes a break from his recent string of vampire movies to add just the right hint of gravitas to the lighting scheme, perfectly matching Stoller and Segel's morose undercurrent in the script.
It takes its sweet time getting where it's going, and you're either along for the ride or not. I, for one, found myself unexpectedly enchanted.
RATING: 7 (LOVE)
THE INNKEEPERS
USA 2012
Directed and Written by Ti West
Starring Sara Paxton, Pat Healy, Kelly McGillis
SYNOPSIS: In its final weekend of operation, the skeleton crew at the Yankee Pedlar Inn decide to pass the time by investigating the hotel's haunted history, little expecting to actually rustle up some truly dark spirits.
THOUGHTS: There's quite a bit about this concept that I enjoy. I love classic, traditionally styled ghost stories, with doors creaking slowly open of their own accord. I like that it's a slow build, allowing for a lot of humor in the early chapters, in an attempt to disarm you for the final barrage of scares. And I really like Sara Paxton as the main protagonist, who is attractive in the way that all lead actors tend to be, but is such a charmingly goofy nerd that you feel a genuine concern for her plight.
Even though quite a few of the early jump scenes are "joke" or fake-out scares, director West shows a lot of the same restraint with drawing out the suspense as he did in his previous film, THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL. The atmosphere is perfect for this kind of film, and it pays homage to many of the classics of the genre.
Where the film is going to make or break it for you is in your response to the climax. The ending of House Of The Devil was a huge letdown for me, and much the same applies here. Maybe it was that after a fairly jokey film, I didn't feel so much disarmed as I was bemused by the sudden stab at gravitas.
But, to each their own, and more often than not you'll have wildly divergent reactions to stuff like this. My friend who watched this was scared shitless by it, so it might float your boat more effectively than it did mine. While not finding it particularly terrifying, I would classify it as extremely charming.
RATING: 5 (LIKE)
THE AVENGERS
USA 2012
Directed and Written by Joss Whedon
Adapted from The Avengers comic book by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston
SYNOPSIS: The protagonists of the IRON MAN, HULK, THOR and CAPTAIN AMERICA franchises must band together to face a foe too powerful for any one of them to conquer alone.
THOUGHTS:
PROS
-Mark Ruffalo is great as Bruce Banner
-I enjoyed Black Widow and Hawkeye's co-arc
-It has my favorite post-credits sequence of all the Marvel Studios films. (The one after ALL the credits are done.)
-The effects are generally well done
-The Hulk is scary
-Harry Dean Stanton
CONS
-The dialogue seems to consist entirely of one-liners. Also, characters are often saying things that seem completely out of character (e.g. "Aren't the stars and stripes a little old fashioned?" - Captain America)
-The villains. Tom Hiddleston does a good job as Loki, but the film is constantly undermining him as an actual threat with goofy humor, and by making him a simple pawn in another villain's game. The Chitauri are barely developed at all; they might as well be robots.
-Joss Whedon doesn't have an eye for direction, and he essentially wasted DP Seamus McGarvey.
-Captain America's costume. It oddly seems more retro than the one from the 40's, and just isn't shot well.
-It plays out like a "VS" film, with the conflicts between the heroes feeling extremely contrived.
I don't think it's a bad film by any means, and I also don't think that the other Marvel films are necessarily masterpieces, but this one was kind of a let-down for me. Who knows; maybe it'll grow on me. But for the time being. . .
RATING: 5 (LIKE)
