Reviews

It was guilty of something fairly rare in action films: it had really good character development and a parade of characters centering on a situation instead of the "unstoppable fighter" persona so often seen in American films.

The action in this movie is second to the clockwork of characters acting within the situation they find themselves in, and I think that is what causes the lower ratings this movie gets at present. People are expecting a popcorn chewing, Stephen Segalesque brainless smack-fest and instead are treated to a decent cerebral thriller. With a very subtle sense of humor. (An instrumental "Sympathy for the Devil" by the Stones begins playing when Lennart says "Just call me Lucifer", for example.)

So the tension builds very early in the film to a warble and never relents until the very end. The peaks and valleys seen in contemporary writing are refreshingly absent here. The pace reminded me of some of the older, really good, espionage films of the '70s and early '80s.

Continuing the good; there weren't any cartoonishly evil characters nor sparkling ridiculous good guys. I could believe that Lennart (Arnold Vosloo) might've had a wife and kids to go home to. They all seemed "alive".

In fact, all the actors presented decent performances and the only one that stands out is Stephan Bieker. Stephan takes over every scene he's in and I think he's going to be a great actor.

However, the film isn't perfect, and its largest flaw is that of having too much story to cover in a short time. I felt that it could've easily been a 3 hour movie, and if it were filmed in the same manner, it'd have been a *great* film.

In short; the movie was a good effort, and it provided a really cool story with neat characters, but was ultimately too "smart" for an action flick and too short to tell the tale that needed to be spun. 6.5/10.

Carrie is a poor DV effort by veteran director David Carson. The film was originally made as a TV pilot for a series that, unsurprisingly, never materialized. Angela Bettis saves what little value the film has as Carrie.

What makes the film so poor isn't the acting, which was passable (if uninspired) throughout, but pretty much everything else misses the mark; story, pacing, dialog, casting, and cinematography for example.

The story differs from the original somewhat and not in ways that would've improved the film. Without giving anything away, some of Carrie's perspective on life should've been changed. The film feels disjointed with dated material shoehorned into a modern setting.

The pacing of the film ambles along without any discernible suspense. The film also manages to jerk unevenly from scene to scene and suffers from poor editing. It also goes on half an hour longer than it should.

The dialog is horrible, even for television, and is grating to the nerves to watch. The actors struggle with an ailing script and manage to do a passable job.

Most of the cast is sufficient in their roles with the exception of Jesse Cadotte as Billy Nolan and Angela Bettis as Carrie.

Jesse Cadotte was over-the-top bad in the role of the villain Billy Nolan. Every time he came on the screen I had to suppress a groan. I am not surprised he doesn't get much work.

Angela Bettis is an under-appreciated brilliant actress who also happens to have quiet beauty and grace. If this film is to be viewed at all, it is only to watch Bettis steal the show. She is the one thing that shines as equal to or better than the original. She is an actress to watch in the future. (See May for an awesome hidden popcorn flick.)

The cinematography is unarguably dreadful. Poor camera angles and framing, amateurish shifting wipes, really bad (even for TV) CGI, cheap looking sets, and comically bad lighting make Carrie almost unwatchable at times.

Additionally, the soundtrack is an awful mix of classical scoring and grunge-like generic tunes. The score is so bad that it hampers the production even further.

In short, Carrie (2002) is a forgettable, failed effort to recreate a memorable 70's horror movie. It comes across as a badly executed cheap made-for-TV knockoff. The only saving grace is Angela Bettis as Carrie, who manages to outshine Sissy Spacek in the original. Even so, I cannot recommend anyone watch this.

This movie *deep breath*, where to start... Ok. It is probably the worst movie I have seen in the theater, ever.

I see a LOT of movies. I enjoy watching every other Kubric movie. This thing I did not. How horrible. Lets see:

NO plot. None. Not anywhere to be found. If you read the taglines maybe you'll see some ephemeral something somewhere. Detestable main characters. No suspense. Cinematography I sincerely believe was done by Kubric's corpse or something.

The centerline wavered so badly in one scene (when whiny-boy was lumbering along the street towards his one evil brush with a group of homophobic college kids milling about an empty street) that I'm sure it was Kubric-corpse holding the camera.

The soundtrack got on my nerves, badly. That one fingered drunken casio-piano noise really got under my skin.

Every time they built up ANY kind of suspense... they killed it dead. The sex-club was a HUGE joke. I really don't think anyone thinks that tame-ol-thing was risque. (I hope.) We are supposed to feel sorry for Pretty-whiny-rich-boy whose solution to problems = shelling out $100 bills from his wallet. Oooooh. Damn. I wish I could have his problems. And I wish I could be the drooling guy that could swagger up to Nicole Kidman and guzzle her drink and spout such cool lines as (paraphrased) "Yes, I know it was your drink." If he were coming onto my wife, I'd laugh so hard I'd probably keel over dead. And the scene drug on and on and on... ad nauseum.

I sat stunned after the movie was over... then applauded. It was so damned bad that not one person in the theatre had the audacity to even give me a sharp look. How could they? I'm sure they read the "enlightened" reviews of just how "deep and neat" Kubric's last film could be.

If you were to happen upon a copy for free somewhere (some luckless shlep bought it and is trying to give it away before friends and family see it) do yourself a favor... watch the first couple of minutes to see Nicole's touche. Fast forward to see her get fondled a couple of times. Find the scene where Poor-Richie falls flacid when confronted with an ultra-beautiful woman that wants to have sex with him. Laugh at him. Oggle her. She is the most beautiful creature in the film. Then give the movie a quick flip into the garbage can. There really is nothing to see.

Manos, Hands of Fate has it beat on all fronts.

Now, you will hear the pseudo sub-intellectual crowd that hangs out in front of Borders trying to tell you that it had deep meaning. So does my belly button. But my belly button does have better cinematography. I could take a polaroid. It'd eclipse anything in THAT film. However, while my stomach is much more interesting than this film, I'd never submit to such seemingly endless torture for it either.

That being said, if you want to watch it, go ahead. Just don't have any expectations. In fact, watch it with a date. He/She'll be so bored that watching plants grow would be entertaining. If you can't strike up a conversation during this movie... give it up.

I saw this movie on opening day. I had been watching for its release and rushed to the theatre to see it. All things considered, it is a well done movie. Less horrific and less dark than the other two, it is one thing... funny as hell. (literally I guess as well as figuratively) Not quite as good as the other two (Evil Dead and ED2) because of the exodus from the main theme. However, the main character is the stealer-of-the-show. You find yourself rooting for him and knowing that, this time, he is going to come out on top. Maybe. This movie is a must-see for just about anyone that likes off-beat humor. Not just for horror fans. (even less for horror fans than the other two)