This film has probably one of the cleverest premises in recent history for a horror movie. It was actually original. What if you had a premonition of your own death and avoided it? The answer plays out in this film where death does not like to be interrupted in his plan and the survivors of a horrific plane crash are summarily killed in a variety of "accidental" ways.
The boy who saw the accident which should have killed them is ushered off a plane when he declares that it will explode on takeoff. He and several others are in the waiting area when the plane actually does explode killing everyone on board and traumatizing those remaining. Just when they think it's all over, the survivors begin to die as well.
The death sequences (not to be morbid) are extremely inventive. Since we are not dealing with a physical force, but one that is supposed to be supernatural and controlling the fates of everyone, the potential for creative sequences is very much there. Every once of these things could be well labeled a freak accident, since the chances of most of these actually happening in real life is slim to none.
One of the more creative: a woman is drying her hands and lays the cloth on a knife block. She is boiling water for tea and pours the water into a mug. She flips out whe she realizes the saying on mug has emotional impact. She dumps the hot water and grabs vodka from the freezer. Well, this causes the mug to crack and the vodka to leak out. She walks across the room with the mug in hand and adjusts something behind a computer monitor (I forget what this was, but it made sense). The vodka trickles out of the mug and down into the computer monitor. She continues fooling with whatever next to the monitor for awhile. Well, the vodka gets into the electronics, creates a short circuit, and the monitor explodes. She is cut by the flying glass. Then, the flames from the exploding monitor ignites the vodka trail on the floor leading into the kitchen. Now the stove is on fire. She makes her way into the kitchen to put out the fire and collapses from the blood loss. She looks up and sees a cloth to help stop the flow of blood. What's the cloth on? The knife block. Tug on the cloth. Knife block comes down and thunk! Knife in chest. But wait, she's still alive. Our boy comes to help her. The stove blows up and knocks a dining room chair over to push the knife in. Now she's dead.
While not all of the deaths show that level of creativity, there are many that do, and the final showdown is not to be missed since it doesn't get more unlikely than that, and yet well within the rules of the film.
Definitely a recommended one for its creativity, originality, and even rewatchability.
Showing posts with label 2000. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2000. Show all posts
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon -- 2000 -- PG-13
This film won 4 academy awards, and none of them (except maybe best foreign film) had anything to do with the quality of the storyline or the film as a whole. Having heard good things about this picture, I knew I'd watch it eventually, and after doing so, I was grossly disappointed.
I can't really fault the dialogue since it was filmed in Chinese and dubbed into English, although the dialogue was rather lifeless through most of the film. While the film got off to a decent start, it was a painfully long time before anything remotely interesting happened. Just a lot of wordy, boring, slow scenes. And when we hit a fight scene, it was boring as well.
The only point of interest in this first fight scene was the almost divine jumping ability of the combatants, however, it quickly turned into shoddy wire work as the actors were clearly "flown" from rooftop to rooftop, their legs flailing as they went along like watching the Broadway version of Peter Pan. I'm thinking, "You've got to be kidding."
I was completely removed from the experience after this point since it looked so ridiculous. The characterizations were fine attempts, and had the plot not been so paper thin, I might have been able to get into them. Once again, though, the scenes were wordy and boring. Fight after fight was poorly choreographed. I was just waiting to see how they would turn it out, and the ending didn't even make sense. I'm sure it was very impressionistic and deep, meaning (if you know about impressionistic art) it doesn't make sense -- don't try to make it make sense.
I did finally figure out, however, the deal with the shoddy wire work. Apparently, this martial arts discipline knows how to suspend their weight, and for all intents and purposes, fly. Had I known this BEFORE the first battle, I'd've totally been into it. Without this very vital piece of info, though, it was just another Broadway production of Peter Pan.
If this was the best foreign film of 2000, I would be frightened to see the other contenders. This is actually really sad since the Japanese Ringu 0 was a far, far, far superior film to this tripe.
But hey, great cinematography, music, and art design.
I can't really fault the dialogue since it was filmed in Chinese and dubbed into English, although the dialogue was rather lifeless through most of the film. While the film got off to a decent start, it was a painfully long time before anything remotely interesting happened. Just a lot of wordy, boring, slow scenes. And when we hit a fight scene, it was boring as well.
The only point of interest in this first fight scene was the almost divine jumping ability of the combatants, however, it quickly turned into shoddy wire work as the actors were clearly "flown" from rooftop to rooftop, their legs flailing as they went along like watching the Broadway version of Peter Pan. I'm thinking, "You've got to be kidding."
I was completely removed from the experience after this point since it looked so ridiculous. The characterizations were fine attempts, and had the plot not been so paper thin, I might have been able to get into them. Once again, though, the scenes were wordy and boring. Fight after fight was poorly choreographed. I was just waiting to see how they would turn it out, and the ending didn't even make sense. I'm sure it was very impressionistic and deep, meaning (if you know about impressionistic art) it doesn't make sense -- don't try to make it make sense.
I did finally figure out, however, the deal with the shoddy wire work. Apparently, this martial arts discipline knows how to suspend their weight, and for all intents and purposes, fly. Had I known this BEFORE the first battle, I'd've totally been into it. Without this very vital piece of info, though, it was just another Broadway production of Peter Pan.
If this was the best foreign film of 2000, I would be frightened to see the other contenders. This is actually really sad since the Japanese Ringu 0 was a far, far, far superior film to this tripe.
But hey, great cinematography, music, and art design.
The Cell -- 2000 -- R
I loved the premise of this film. A psychiatrist uses a mchine to enter the mind of someone else to dig through and get some info they need. The images and such of being in someone's mind were a real trip and fun to endure in some ways (and scenes), but really disturbing in others. Unfortunately, this premise is completely wasted in this film.
The premise is that they enter the mind of a serial killer to try and discover the whereabouts of his final victim. Awesome. The Agent who finally entered the guy's mind (not the psychiatrist) saw a symbol that was on a table at the guy's house, and made the connection using standard detective work, meaning if we were watching CSI, they would figure it out without the help of this machine. Sure it gave the psychiatrist someone to save and to prove her point about something earlier in the film, but when something can be skipped and reach the same solution, it really spoils the plot.
Moving on, the killer's character was very well rounded, but the main pair of the cop and the psychiatrist were very thin. There were some references made that I thought would come out later, but they were never returned to, and another reference later just came out of thin air. Everyone else was completely forgettable.
So, good special effects and a clever premise in a blissfully wasted package of a plot.
The premise is that they enter the mind of a serial killer to try and discover the whereabouts of his final victim. Awesome. The Agent who finally entered the guy's mind (not the psychiatrist) saw a symbol that was on a table at the guy's house, and made the connection using standard detective work, meaning if we were watching CSI, they would figure it out without the help of this machine. Sure it gave the psychiatrist someone to save and to prove her point about something earlier in the film, but when something can be skipped and reach the same solution, it really spoils the plot.
Moving on, the killer's character was very well rounded, but the main pair of the cop and the psychiatrist were very thin. There were some references made that I thought would come out later, but they were never returned to, and another reference later just came out of thin air. Everyone else was completely forgettable.
So, good special effects and a clever premise in a blissfully wasted package of a plot.
Final Destination -- 2000 -- R
This film has probably one of the cleverest premises in recent history for a horror movie. It was actually original. What if you had a premonition of your own death and avoided it? The answer plays out in this film where death does not like to be interrupted in his plan and the survivors of a horrific plane crash are summarily killed in a variety of "accidental" ways.
The boy who saw the accident which should have killed them is ushered off a plane when he declares that it will explode on takeoff. He and several others are in the waiting area when the plane actually does explode killing everyone on board and traumatizing those remaining. Just when they think it's all over, the survivors begin to die as well.
The death sequences (not to be morbid) are extremely inventive. Since we are not dealing with a physical force, but one that is supposed to be supernatural and controlling the fates of everyone, the potential for creative sequences is very much there. Every once of these things could be well labeled a freak accident, since the chances of most of these actually happening in real life is slim to none.
One of the more creative: a woman is drying her hands and lays the cloth on a knife block. She is boiling water for tea and pours the water into a mug. She flips out whe she realizes the saying on mug has emotional impact. She dumps the hot water and grabs vodka from the freezer. Well, this causes the mug to crack and the vodka to leak out. She walks across the room with the mug in hand and adjusts something behind a computer monitor (I forget what this was, but it made sense). The vodka trickles out of the mug and down into the computer monitor. She continues fooling with whatever next to the monitor for awhile. Well, the vodka gets into the electronics, creates a short circuit, and the monitor explodes. She is cut by the flying glass. Then, the flames from the exploding monitor ignites the vodka trail on the floor leading into the kitchen. Now the stove is on fire. She makes her way into the kitchen to put out the fire and collapses from the blood loss. She looks up and sees a cloth to help stop the flow of blood. What's the cloth on? The knife block. Tug on the cloth. Knife block comes down and thunk! Knife in chest. But wait, she's still alive. Our boy comes to help her. The stove blows up and knocks a dining room chair over to push the knife in. Now she's dead.
While not all of the deaths show that level of creativity, there are many that do, and the final showdown is not to be missed since it doesn't get more unlikely than that, and yet well within the rules of the film.
Definitely a recommended one for its creativity, originality, and even rewatchability.
The boy who saw the accident which should have killed them is ushered off a plane when he declares that it will explode on takeoff. He and several others are in the waiting area when the plane actually does explode killing everyone on board and traumatizing those remaining. Just when they think it's all over, the survivors begin to die as well.
The death sequences (not to be morbid) are extremely inventive. Since we are not dealing with a physical force, but one that is supposed to be supernatural and controlling the fates of everyone, the potential for creative sequences is very much there. Every once of these things could be well labeled a freak accident, since the chances of most of these actually happening in real life is slim to none.
One of the more creative: a woman is drying her hands and lays the cloth on a knife block. She is boiling water for tea and pours the water into a mug. She flips out whe she realizes the saying on mug has emotional impact. She dumps the hot water and grabs vodka from the freezer. Well, this causes the mug to crack and the vodka to leak out. She walks across the room with the mug in hand and adjusts something behind a computer monitor (I forget what this was, but it made sense). The vodka trickles out of the mug and down into the computer monitor. She continues fooling with whatever next to the monitor for awhile. Well, the vodka gets into the electronics, creates a short circuit, and the monitor explodes. She is cut by the flying glass. Then, the flames from the exploding monitor ignites the vodka trail on the floor leading into the kitchen. Now the stove is on fire. She makes her way into the kitchen to put out the fire and collapses from the blood loss. She looks up and sees a cloth to help stop the flow of blood. What's the cloth on? The knife block. Tug on the cloth. Knife block comes down and thunk! Knife in chest. But wait, she's still alive. Our boy comes to help her. The stove blows up and knocks a dining room chair over to push the knife in. Now she's dead.
While not all of the deaths show that level of creativity, there are many that do, and the final showdown is not to be missed since it doesn't get more unlikely than that, and yet well within the rules of the film.
Definitely a recommended one for its creativity, originality, and even rewatchability.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Ringu 0 -- 2000 -- NR
The last installment of the Ringu series out of Japan takes us back 30 years to Sadako yamamura trying to make it as an actress while fighting the mystery of her past. Whether you've watched the previous installments or not, this movie is frightening either way. Genuinely creepy moments, and even though I had seen 5 Ring relates movies before watching this one, I still was glued to the screen, not knowing where the turns were going to take me.
Yes, it's still Japanese with English subtitles, but this being my 5th movie to watch in this manner along with a German one as well, I was quite used to reading the dialogue while watching the action. Who knows, maybe I understood it better knowing every word spoken.
Part of the film was tragic as well. It uses the human tendency to never let the past go from anyone, especially if it can be used to their advantage. Sadako had gotten over what happened to her mother, and forgotten whatever she had done in long-gone experiments. She was just trying to get on with her life. Not everyone let it go, and set out to find and destroy her. Sure, she had her share of psychosis, but all that extra stuff just made it worse.
This is easily the creepiest of the Ringu series, even after the first Ringu, and holds a tight second to the American Ring. Watching this movie was like watching Star Wars Episode 3. I knew how Sadako was going to end up, but watching the path to get her was a ride worth taking.
Yes, it's still Japanese with English subtitles, but this being my 5th movie to watch in this manner along with a German one as well, I was quite used to reading the dialogue while watching the action. Who knows, maybe I understood it better knowing every word spoken.
Part of the film was tragic as well. It uses the human tendency to never let the past go from anyone, especially if it can be used to their advantage. Sadako had gotten over what happened to her mother, and forgotten whatever she had done in long-gone experiments. She was just trying to get on with her life. Not everyone let it go, and set out to find and destroy her. Sure, she had her share of psychosis, but all that extra stuff just made it worse.
This is easily the creepiest of the Ringu series, even after the first Ringu, and holds a tight second to the American Ring. Watching this movie was like watching Star Wars Episode 3. I knew how Sadako was going to end up, but watching the path to get her was a ride worth taking.
Red Planet -- 2000 -- PG-13
This film can be best classified as "typical sci-fi fare" with your run of the mill under-characterized adventurers, such as the outcast, the cute girl captain, the philosopher, and the other guys who we not only don't know who they are, but don't care either. Add to this some far-fetched ideas on how stuff works, and you've got this movie.
The plot is easy enough to follow. Go to Mars to figure out why the algae they sent up there to produce oxygen died. Apparently, they presented a theory of Mars producing carbon dioxide should feed some algae to the point that they will produce oxygen and therefore start a life cycle and build an atmosphere on Mars. Well, the oxygen levels went up for awhile, and then dropped, hence the need for a trip to find out why.
If you do want to see this film, I will avoid the plot point spoilers, but those points are far-fetched, to say the least. One that isn't much of a spoiler is a modem made into a radio, and as if that wasn't enough, they manage to hook the modem/radio up to another computer and download something through it.
Several moments that beg the mental commentary of "That's convenient" just add to the eye rolling drama.
The characters are just flat. I knid of knew the names of some of them by the time their inevitable deaths occurred, but nothing to cling to, relate to, or care about. They made some vain attempts to round out these guys, but nothing worked, and I'm not sure why. We sort of knew the main pair (the outcast and the girl captain), but only my own morbid curiosity of how it would finally pan out carried me through to the end.
Finally, there were these creatures on Mars. While I understand why no explanation could be given, one should have been concocted or something, because they broke the common notion of "no life on Mars," and while this is fine, you have to give the audience a reason to make it plausible. Who cares if it is possible or not, but you've got to have plausible. These things played an important part in the plot as it was, but beyond this they made no sense. If they had, it would have at least given this movie some measure of worth.
So what's the verdict? Well, there's nothing new or groubdbreaking in this films in terms of effects, plot, character, ideas, or anything. It's just, as I said, standard fare sci-fi, so if you like sci-fi and don't mind extreme suspension of disbelief, then you'll probably enjoy this film. Me? I don't hate any movie, and they all have their good qualities. I liked the ride for what it was, and there was a decent little mystery going on here, despite the solution did little but raise more questions. It wasn't the worst film ever made, and I do enjoy the occasional sci-fi flick, so it gets a solid "ok" from me.
The plot is easy enough to follow. Go to Mars to figure out why the algae they sent up there to produce oxygen died. Apparently, they presented a theory of Mars producing carbon dioxide should feed some algae to the point that they will produce oxygen and therefore start a life cycle and build an atmosphere on Mars. Well, the oxygen levels went up for awhile, and then dropped, hence the need for a trip to find out why.
If you do want to see this film, I will avoid the plot point spoilers, but those points are far-fetched, to say the least. One that isn't much of a spoiler is a modem made into a radio, and as if that wasn't enough, they manage to hook the modem/radio up to another computer and download something through it.
Several moments that beg the mental commentary of "That's convenient" just add to the eye rolling drama.The characters are just flat. I knid of knew the names of some of them by the time their inevitable deaths occurred, but nothing to cling to, relate to, or care about. They made some vain attempts to round out these guys, but nothing worked, and I'm not sure why. We sort of knew the main pair (the outcast and the girl captain), but only my own morbid curiosity of how it would finally pan out carried me through to the end.
Finally, there were these creatures on Mars. While I understand why no explanation could be given, one should have been concocted or something, because they broke the common notion of "no life on Mars," and while this is fine, you have to give the audience a reason to make it plausible. Who cares if it is possible or not, but you've got to have plausible. These things played an important part in the plot as it was, but beyond this they made no sense. If they had, it would have at least given this movie some measure of worth.
So what's the verdict? Well, there's nothing new or groubdbreaking in this films in terms of effects, plot, character, ideas, or anything. It's just, as I said, standard fare sci-fi, so if you like sci-fi and don't mind extreme suspension of disbelief, then you'll probably enjoy this film. Me? I don't hate any movie, and they all have their good qualities. I liked the ride for what it was, and there was a decent little mystery going on here, despite the solution did little but raise more questions. It wasn't the worst film ever made, and I do enjoy the occasional sci-fi flick, so it gets a solid "ok" from me.
Memento -- 2000 -- R
A man has a condition in which he has no short term memory and as a result, can make no new memories. However, he is trying to track down the man who raped and killed his wife, so he uses notes, tattoos, and photographs to guide his life.
On the surface, this is a really cool movie. In order for the audience to get the feeling of having to start where you are and go from there, the bulk of the movie is played in reverse. We start with the final scenes and then the one before that, and the one before that, etc. Each time there is a shift, we go to the very beginning of this story (in black and white to easily differentiate them) and get some exposition about his condition and what he's doing. Often this exposition plays into what happened or is happening in the backwards story. It's a trippy little effect and really does help with the feeling of disorientation that someone with this condition must experience.
The beginning and end culminate in a heck of a zinger at the end that I, frankly, never saw coming. They had set up the whole plot from one angle, and then pulled the rug out, but it made sense...sort of.
Now for the problems...the DVD I watched had an option to play the movie in "chronological order" meaning it shuffled all the tracks on the DVD to play it in what would be beginning to end. Not only does this show the story in a whole different light (that is equally interesting), but it also brings to light all the little problems you miss watching it as normal since your mind has trouble wrapping around the disorientation.
First, for no short term memory, this guy remembers stuff remarkably well. They do make an attempt to explain this by conditioning, and perhaps that's what he's done, but he always seems to know too much about what's going on, but always not quite enough to allow him to see through what people are doing to him.
There were two people who apparently knew Leonard before the story began, but it never explains how they knew him or even why this guy was singled out by the cop for Leonard's purpose (I say it this way to avoid spoilers). That one point really frustrated me more than anything else. I can get past the memory thing with an easy enough explanation, but this seems to be an important piece of exposition and it was not there.
Overall, this was a really good film and made for a good thriller. The technique employed to help the audience get a piece of Leonard's "condition" was supreme. But that missing bit of exposition was just annoying.
On the surface, this is a really cool movie. In order for the audience to get the feeling of having to start where you are and go from there, the bulk of the movie is played in reverse. We start with the final scenes and then the one before that, and the one before that, etc. Each time there is a shift, we go to the very beginning of this story (in black and white to easily differentiate them) and get some exposition about his condition and what he's doing. Often this exposition plays into what happened or is happening in the backwards story. It's a trippy little effect and really does help with the feeling of disorientation that someone with this condition must experience.
The beginning and end culminate in a heck of a zinger at the end that I, frankly, never saw coming. They had set up the whole plot from one angle, and then pulled the rug out, but it made sense...sort of.
Now for the problems...the DVD I watched had an option to play the movie in "chronological order" meaning it shuffled all the tracks on the DVD to play it in what would be beginning to end. Not only does this show the story in a whole different light (that is equally interesting), but it also brings to light all the little problems you miss watching it as normal since your mind has trouble wrapping around the disorientation.
First, for no short term memory, this guy remembers stuff remarkably well. They do make an attempt to explain this by conditioning, and perhaps that's what he's done, but he always seems to know too much about what's going on, but always not quite enough to allow him to see through what people are doing to him.
There were two people who apparently knew Leonard before the story began, but it never explains how they knew him or even why this guy was singled out by the cop for Leonard's purpose (I say it this way to avoid spoilers). That one point really frustrated me more than anything else. I can get past the memory thing with an easy enough explanation, but this seems to be an important piece of exposition and it was not there.
Overall, this was a really good film and made for a good thriller. The technique employed to help the audience get a piece of Leonard's "condition" was supreme. But that missing bit of exposition was just annoying.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Cowboys and Angels -- 2000 -- PG
There's a story that goes with getting this one. My wife had ordered it from Netflix and instead of this little romantic film, we got a film of the same name from 2003. That is a completely different movie. Instead of a lawyer-cowboy, we got a gay drug user. On our third attempt to get this movie, we finally got the right one.
This is a really clever film. It follows a guy who before the story began was dumped the day before his wedding and this event haunts him as he tries to move on. At his sister's wedding, he meets a girl named Jojo who takes him to weddings and tries to open his eyes to the world out there. For some reason, she knows everything about him and knows the people around him too. When he falls for her, she splits and he immediately meets Candace. Now he's going out with someone and hung up on two people.
The enigmatic nature of Jojo along with the sheer curiosity of how this little triangle will play out keeps you going through the film. Pacing is a little off here and there as it works to build character and move the plot through the slim storyline that feels like if all the scenes were cut back to their most essential, it would be a rather short movie. This doesn't really hurt it though because at the end of the film, I like what I've seen.
The director has a good eye for some clever shots. There was one shot where our hero, Danny, is in his kitchen with the new girl, Candace. She has just commented on his keeping up the pictures of the woman who jilted him the day before their wedding. The camera moves around and has a shot of him on one side of the kitchen, Candace on the other side, and right between them is a post from the entry with the picture of the ex. There's a picture that tells more than the dialogue.
Awesome use of sound in some places too. At one point Candace meets Jojo, and Danny comments that "she's the girl..." He stops, but in the background at that very moment, the song playing says, "...who stole my heart." I was floored and pleasantly so.
This is a film that is decent from story perspective, but very good from a filmmaker's perspective. This director knows what he's doing and I just might have to check out some of his other stuff. The movie is worth watching and it even has a little twist at the end that is rather unexpected, but again, in a good way. It ties up all of the loose ends very nicely, and you finish it all up with a good feeling.
Monday, January 12, 2009
The Whole Nine Yards -- 2000 -- R
Who would have thought a movie with contract killing as a centerpiece would be a comedy? This one actually worked.
You have a mild-mannered (and rather nervous) dentist who has a hitman move in next door to him. He recognizes the hitman from the newspapers the hitman appeared concerning his arrests and crimes, and tells his wife about it. Well, his family life is not so good, and his wife says they should turn him in, and get the reward to pay off some debts. The dentist is not keen on this, but goes to Chicago anyway, not actually planning on contacting anyone. Well, when he is contacted, he is in it up to his eyeballs and doesn't begin to understand why.
This movie uses not only slapstick physical humor, but more than a few plot elements are very funny as well. Serious topics are dealt with in blase fashion, and actions that would be dire and pressing in a thriller are presented almost like punchlines.
The overall plot is well constructed and it has a fair share of twists and turns along the road to keep it interesting. I'd love to discuss these little twists, but if I told you about them, they would be spoilers. The reveal is part of the fun here.
As for characters, we actually get some decently rounded people. There are a lot of characters in the film, but they all get just enough screentime to engage you into their lives. We're not talking Godfather level of development, granted, but they're very understandable.
In the end, it was a very funny and engaging film, and is worth watching.
Friday, January 9, 2009
The Brutal Truth -- 2000 -- R
This movie was referenced by a guy who was wondering if I could write a screenplay in a similar vein, so I thought I'd give it a viewing. This is primarily a character drama where a bunch of old friends head out to one of their friend's mountain home for a reunion. Once they all get there, their host is not present, and they wonder where she is. Well, she comes in later and commits suicide before anyone can talk to her, so now they're left to figure out why.
This movie has its ups and downs throughout the narrative. Sometimes, it's paced fairly well, and sometimes, the boredom of where they are comes through very painfully. The gist is at the moment their friend kills herself, there is a rock slide of some kind which completely blocks off the top of the mountain with the rest of the world, so they are left with their friend's corpse until the authorities can come and make their report. So everyone is left to re-acquaint and work out their differences.
Obviously, a situation like this is ripe for some drama, but rather than explore everyone's characters as extensively as they could, time is devoted to some strange antics and side plots, most notably, the weird sub-plot of stealing the neighbor's dog in the hopes he'll post for a reward, which is done way too quickly. This is done to get money for drugs which leads me to another complaint.
These are supposed to be adults, and while I understand that everyone has their situations, the emphasis is similar to the slew of Friday the 13th movies I'm going through where half the cast is all about sex and drug use. Part of me is wondering when Jason will come wandering through the woods to hack a couple of them up.
So how'd we do with the characters here? Well, it runs slow in places and gets unfocused at times, but on the whole, we get a pretty fair sense of the characters and their personalities and situations. Many of them experience growth during the course of the story as a result of being stuck together, and it ends on a very satisfying note for everyone involved, including the one who killed herself, as that is explained very satisfactorily. Another title for this film is "The Giving Tree," and yes, the Shel Silverstein book is referenced.
Everyone is pretty much their own person and while not everyone is three dimensional, most everyone is at least 2 dimensional with some personal characteristics and a little knowledge of who they are, and even where they came from in some cases. One couple comes out with their dirty landry and grows in a climactic moment for them. It's really not bad, but with so many characters, we could have used fewer fluff scenes and more about the character scenes.
Vanilla/Paula is probably the most memorable, though she was painted the thinnest of all of the characters. She was the comic relief in this film and played her naiveity rather amusingly. It was a bit over the top at times, but as we kept rolling, she was given a little personality.
The biggest problem in this whole thing is that one person knew the reason their friend killed herself. It wasn't anything that involved everyone, but just a couple of people. It factored heavily into one character's story, but only that one. It hit one relationship. Basically everyone else was fodder to give us characters to interact with, but the brutal truth is that we could have dropped some characters and still had a complete story without them. That's definitely problematic.
A final note of weirdness is the arrival of the final character of the "reunitees." We get this big explanation of the phones being out and the road being covered, and then someone else arrives, and we're left wondering, "How'd he get here if the road is blocked?"
It does have a good, tied-up happy ending, and the premise is interesting. So it's not a bad film, but just one that makes a good effort to build up some characters yet does so at such an uneven pace that it gets boring to watch at times.
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