Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by tinear (A) on May 07, 2002 at 20:22:20

A great title: I was almost murdered by boredom. Sorry to Sandra Bullock fans. Sorry to Ben Chaplin boosters. No chemistry between them. Ben seemed to be sleepwalking. Zero charisma in that guy. Bloodless. Sandra just not convincing as a hard-nosed bitch.
This movie suffers from some pretty poor writing, not just dialogue but plot development. And Barbet Shroeder directed! Amazingly poor effort, seeing as his very low budget movie of a few months ago (and well worth getting at your local video store) "Our Lady of the Assassins" was one of the year's best films.
Not surprisingly, the special effects in Murder by N were atrocious. The final scenes on the balcony overlooking the ocean were laughable. Digital effects continue to be to film what fast food is to cuisine. Suspend belief? Hell, I'd rather be watching early 20's attempts. But that's another story.
Stay away from this stinker. A suspense-thriller with neither.
So far, the only worthwhile adult movie (Lord of the..., Spiderboy, and Harry Potter...c'mon: I said adult!) of recent releases---Frailty. I apologize to those that feel international (Eurpean/Russian) cinema is the ne plus ultra. I hope they wake up and quit swallowing the tranquilizers they must ingest to have the patience to sit through such snail paced offerings. For the most part, Euro/Russian directors have never figured out the difference between literature and film. Film is action. In most European films, but especially so in dear old Russian ones (especially those of Tarkovsky...), the director must intone (in the appropriate language, of course) "Lights, camera, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...."