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Reviews
Identity (2003)
Unfortunately Brought Down By A Rubbish Ending
Like a cross between Hitchcock's "Psycho" and Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None", "Identity" starts out brilliantly as a chilling, atmospheric and highly unnerving psychological thriller.
The acting (mainly Ray Liotta and John Cusack) is superb, while Mangold deserves kudos for building up the tension through atmosphere, rather than just release the bucket of SFX blood and gore that has become the staple ingredient of modern horror movies.
However, there is one unfortunate flaw in the story, and that is the very last minute. The first twist, when you find out what's going on, is fitting, albeit not entirely unexpected. But why in the world would a director want to ruin a little gem of a movie by adding a superfluous (and, frankly, stupid) second twist right at the end is beyond me. If Mangold had had any sense, he would have left that tiny part on the cutting-room floor, or never actually shot it in the first place. A shame, really, because it very nearly ruins what could have been one of the best films of the year.
Rating: **** (out of five)
The Emperor's New Groove (2000)
Criminally Underrated
"The Emperor's New Groove" is, simply, one of the most underrated movies in cinema history. It is certainly the most underrated Disney 'toon, and I find that impossible to understand; it's bright, colourful, witty and, most importantly, completely hilarious!
The story is a kind of demented fairytale: spoilt young emperor is accidentally turned into a llama by his bitter advisor and teams up with a local peasant to undo this crime and return him to his human form. What that summary completely fails to convey is the sheer brilliance of this tale; not only is it blessed with simple but great animation, a cracking pace, a witty script, original jokes and quirky asides, but the whole thing seems to be a lot greater than the sum of its parts. The characters are wonderfully drawn and are some of the most memorable in Disney history; Kronk is hilariously naive and simple (Patrick Warburton does a brilliant voice-job here), David Spade is on top form as the cruelly sarcastic Kuzco (Disney's most despicable "hero") and Eartha Kitt's Yzma is a gloriously over-the-top riot - a Disney villainess who tries so hard to be bad and scary that she ends up simply looking a fool who can't even impress a squirrel (if you watch the movie, you'll know what I mean).
While the awful - and, crucially, unfunny - "Shrek" wowed the masses and got labelled one of the best comedies ever made, "The Emperor's New Groove", despite glowing reviews, only has something of a cult following, and anyone who didn't ignore it upon its release is glad of it. If you're looking for something to make you laugh out loud, join that tiny cult now and give "The Emperor's New Groove" the chance it deserves to give you an immensely entertaining night in.
RATING: ***** (out of five)
The Uninvited (1944)
Disappointing Ghost Story
Maybe I expected too much from this film. After all, for years I've been reading people's comments on IMDb and critics' reviews, all glowing with praise for this so-called "masterpiece". After much consideration (as, being a student, I don't have much money), I recently bought it, only to be amazingly disappointed; not only did this film go nowhere near the perfect atmosphere of "The Innocents" or "The Haunting" (the 1963 original, not the rubbish remake), it didn't even seem to try.
For starters, it must surely be a bad idea to water down every single promising, creepy scene by showing the characters discussing all aspects of the ghostly phenomenon they are experiencing WHILE they are experiencing it. Why should the audience be scared if the characters seem to treat a haunting as if it were the ice-cream man's weekly visit? This overwhelming use of dialogue drowns out any sense of fear, particularly in the séance scene, which is set up promisingly but ultimately let down by silly jokes and (inconceivably) happy, Hollywood music.
Having said that, there is one scene in the film, where Ray Milland's character plays the piano to Gail Russell's, that even remotely approaches "eerie". Unfortunately, that's probably more due to the tune's changing from major to minor.
To me (and I'm sure many others), a good ghost story needs to have a creepy atmosphere, which is a rule "The Uninvited" seems to throw out of the window; compare this film to the brilliant Henry James adaptation, "The Innocents", which uses as much silence as possible during the creepy moments to create an atmosphere of dread. The scene in which Deborah Kerr is hiding behind the curtains and sees a man's face at the window behind her succeeds in unnerving the audience because it lets your heartbeat do the talking, rather than allow the characters and buckets of music to choke it.
In conclusion, "The Uninvited" is an entertaining enough movie, largely due to the mystery of the story, but it is in no way scary. The potential for scares in numerous scenes is ultimately let down by a lack of atmosphere, an ingredient so vital to a successful ghost story that it is shocking to see it has passed so many people by. If you're going to give this movie a chance (which it does deserve), then go in expecting something more along the lines of "Murder, She Wrote" rather than a frightening "haunted house" film.
** (out of 5)