Hmm. Well the second book is almost 200 pages longer than the first, and it's very complex, so more time undoubtedly would be needed. If you think that's complex, the third book is easily the most complex and meticulously plotted book I've ever read.
Yeah, but what about all the nice sentances and mature word selection? Have you started a new medication or something?
Haha yea morphine!! Hahahahahah! I think I am taking more time with some of my reviews especially the importance of the film or my excitement at the time of the review. I want to help people out with good views of these films. Got Em!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by killowertz
Still kind of funny to see that you edited your post 50 minutes later just to add in your trademark.
When I picked this up for $10 I was excited for it to arrive so I could watch it (blind buy for me). Once I put the disc in and it was loading up I thought, "crap. I don't really care for the Hulk (as a super hero / comic book character), his history or his story, and I'm still very iffy about Liv Tyler as an actress with a main role. But I do love Edward Norton, so I hope this is good."
In the end: I was very happy with my decision to purchase the film.
I really have no complaints when it comes to the film. Incredibly entertaining, well acted (by everyone, including Tyler), solidly written, and an amazing AQ (even with my crappy tv speakers I was blown away ). Edward Norton did a great job here, even though I found that he really doesn't have a whole lot of emotion to showcase. He's mainly running, jumping and ducking over / under / between things when it's just Bruce Banner, so hard to judge his performance since he's really only "himself" for about 50% of the film.
The action scenes are amazing and well directed. Very exciting, lots going on, huge gun / tank / helicopter fights and the
[Show spoiler]brutal fight at the end of the movie was outstanding
. The movie itself was pretty fast paced. I was a tad shocked to find out that a)
[Show spoiler]when the movie begins Bruce already is the Hulk I figured that would be the first 45 minutes or something, but sure enough, within 2 minutes you get the full story and are up to date with what's happening
and then b)
[Show spoiler]that 'Tony Stark' makes an appearance. I remember now hearing about it, but completely forgot about it. And I liked how at the beginning they showed Stark Industries, nice touch Marvel
Not a legendary film by any means, but definitely one of the better comic book movies I've seen yet. And I am not a big fan of the Hulk by any stretch of the imagination (I see a lot of potential, but usually his character / stories see so boring, but this movie changed that quite a bit which was nice and seemed very focused), but I liked the film a lot. Worth buying for PQ and most definitely for AQ. Wish I had a HT for this one.
Film: 4.5/5
-wow, what a great film with extended scenes with one of the greatest actors and actresses together. you can't go wrong with this film.
-very serene with the boat/adventure aspect, combined with the WWI background theme (i.e., its a peaceful setting, and yet there is a chilling mood underlying it all)
-the strength comes from the evolution of the characters' development
[Show spoiler] with katherine/humphrey starting out as professional captain/passenger; to partners (plotting against germans); to courtship (swimming/separate sleeping); to boyfriend/girlfriend; to partners in survival
-the film was so simple (in a good way) with a simple script, simple cast, simple setting, and yet I wish even 1-2 films today could get a little inspiration from it, as it seems in 2010 we get $500 million projects with overloaded CGI that don't compare to this little simple gem. my 2 cents
PQ: 4.5/5
AQ: 3.5/5
African Queen (blu)
PQ: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
Great PQ for a 59 year old independent film shot on location!
AQ: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
Dialogue was not very crisp. I had to put on subtitles.
Film: 3 1/2 stars (out of 4)
You said it perfectly surfdude. Simplicity can equal greatness, as it does here. It's funny, a few years ago I wasn't much of a Bogart fan. Now, I just love watching his films. This film is an example of how great acting can make a film truly worth watching, as I think Bogart's performance is one of the top 10 best of all-time (along with Ganz in Downfall, DeNiro in The Deer Hunter, Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon, Brando in On the Waterfront, etc.). It's great that Bogart won the Oscar for this role. I still am not a big fan of Hepburn, although she was great here. The quivering in her lip right before the death in the beginning is just great acting. I don't put much stock in her 12 best actress noms and four wins due to the time period and the lack of depth, but she is a great actress who consistently is good. I'm just not a huge fan.
The scene with the rain at night and her use of the umbrella is my favorite scene of the movie.
This is one of the better films of all-time, but not in the upper echelon. The reason I don't think it's in the top 30 is because there really isn't much of a theme going on. As surfdude points out, it's a simple film about the evolution of a relationship, which I love. But there's not much depth to the film.
Oh, and I have to mention the laughably bad "special effects" with the mosquitos! You can't help but laugh.
Shutter Island - I was really lookin forward to this film as it starred DiCaprio & it was directed by Scorsese. This is the type of film u have to be patient with. It is very slow the first hour or so. Leonardo was good as he usually is. At times I have to admit I was getting a bit restless. However the 2nd half of the film and the climaxx was very good and very interesting. As some have said we have seen this before but Scorsese added a lil twist to it.
Love the
[Show spoiler]cameo by Jackie Haley
as I look forward to seeing him everytime he appears on the big screen even if its only for a short period of time. Kingsley was also great as we all come to expect. The film had a few moments of suspense but mostly relied on secrets and slow revealization as we are allowed to make our own interpretations and put the pieces together. Overall I would have to break this down into to halves. The first half very dull but Leonardo helps keep your attention. The 2nd half very good and the direction of Scorsese on top of Leonardo makes up for the slow start and turns this into a pretty good film overall.
-I purposely haven't read any reviews or posts, so can give an unbiased opinion
[Show spoiler]
-it seems that I have to break the film up into 3 parts: (1) before the ship, (2) on the ship, (3) after the ship
Before the Ship
-the plot seemed weak in forming (and I found out why later on)
-is it real or a dream? does it matter? or is there door #3: both? could it be a real sailboat, a real voyage, and then they approach/enter a virtual wormhole, entering a timeless dimension? I'm leaning toward real, just because of the last part of the film seemed to still have a timeless aspect, and yet they were out of the "triangle" or wormhole, so to speak
-I noted at the beginning how Jess saw the overturned boat in her son's pool in the back: a red flag to not go sailing that day. ominous warning which she failed to heed.
-but does she have a son? given the last part of the film? much of this film is "chicken or the egg", like Harry Potter 3. Fans of this should watch that if they havent' seen it. Similar themes.
On the Ship
-I was confused for a while until I saw the glaring obvious clue: ROOM 237 (i rewound the film twice to double check) and the "Redrum" style writing. Either the director is playing the biggest tease in the history of cinema or (as I believe) is throwing die-hard Shining fans a treat: this is a floating Overlook. As Jack Torrance became Charles Grady, by spiritual hijacking, so to will Jess become Charlene Grady (made it up ), some woman who lived on the 1920's boat and died. I believe Charlene Grady washed onto the boat with 3 others, as Jess did, say, back in the 40's. Charlene killed them all (for whatever reason), perhaps because they all went loopy on the ship being alone for weeks. Now Jess steps on the ship. Charlene's spirit smells blood. Some fresh meat (no pun intended) to sink its jaws into. Take her over. Hence why Jess keeps saying "I keep having deja vous...I've been here before" , as Jack said "I feel like I've been here before..." since the spirits began on him as they began on her from the getgo. LIke the Overlook, the ship is isolated, remote, unreachable by a rescue party, and hence a perfect spot to trigger isolation and depression in the passengers. Some say that in the Shining, it wasn't the ghosts, but the isolation that made Jack cuckoo. I think its both: the isolation broke him down/made him vulnerable, the ghosts/spirits then had a cake walk to hijack his body and have him be their puppet. Same with Jess.
There never was two Jess' on the boat. The first Jess was hijacked by Charlene's spirit, and was commanded to murder the 3 others. She suited up, got the gun and killed them (I think the tall dude was accidentally killed when she pushed him into the spike). She even wrote out Charlene's intent on paper (and kept re-writing it in disbelief that it was her handwriting each time she entered the gun room). Each multiple Jess and each multiple 3-party entering the boat were merely delusions, which serve 2 purposes: (1) they rationalize the guilt of the first-Jess' murders (by blaming the 2nd-3rd-4th jess), and (2) they let Jess become "hero Jess" by trying to save the 2nd-3rd wave of 3 others (who aren't real) from "evil Jess" (who isn't real). Its important to note that, in the spiritual/ghost dimension, time is not linear, and past, present and future all merge into one. Hence, why Jack Torrance appeared in the 1921 Photo at the end of Shining. So, it actually doesn't make any sense to try and explain the events of "hijacked Jess" once Charlene as taken her over, on a linear time scale, no more than it makes sense to talk about what I did today on a timeless scale. THe last scene on the boat we see is: "real Jess" (possessed by Charlene) in the sniper suit having a fake struggle with "evil Jess" (who doesn't exist), and falling over the boat, and "real jess" then wakes up on the beach.
After the Ship
-Jess/Charlene walks to a house, sees a woman she believes to be her, and a boy she believes to be her son
-kills the woman (who isn't her, or any version of her): as with many films, this film is primarily about asking: is what i'm watching real? or what jess believes to be real? how do i know what the camera is showing me is the latter or former? its not like the camera gives me a different chime when its either one its not easy. so is the final shot of the woman dead on the road (not jess or any version of jess) confirmation that jess killed some innocent mom and engaged in a kidnapping of a boy who wasn't her son? I think so.
-what does the seagull represent? a kind of guardian angel. like the white dove that is the holy spirit in catholicism, i guess its a watcher for her. but why? is the spirit that took her over watching her? and now has resigned itself from her because she has kidnapped a kid and murdered an innocent woman? and who is the dude in the cab? a ghost escort? lots of questions here i'm completely lost on
Last edited by surfdude12; 06-13-2010 at 05:11 PM.
-I purposely haven't read any reviews or posts, so can give an unbiased opinion
[Show spoiler]
-it seems that I have to break the film up into 3 parts: (1) before the ship, (2) on the ship, (3) after the ship
Before the Ship
-the plot seemed weak in forming (and I found out why later on)
-is it real or a dream? does it matter? or is there door #3: both? could it be a real sailboat, a real voyage, and then they approach/enter a virtual wormhole, entering a timeless dimension? I'm leaning toward real, just because of the last part of the film seemed to still have a timeless aspect, and yet they were out of the "triangle" or wormhole, so to speak
-I noted at the beginning how Jess saw the overturned boat in her son's pool in the back: a red flag to not go sailing that day. ominous warning which she failed to heed.
-but does she have a son? given the last part of the film? much of this film is "chicken or the egg", like Harry Potter 3. Fans of this should watch that if they havent' seen it. Similar themes.
On the Ship
-I was confused for a while until I saw the glaring obvious clue: ROOM 237 (i rewound the film twice to double check) and the "Redrum" style writing. Either the director is playing the biggest tease in the history of cinema or (as I believe) is throwing die-hard Shining fans a treat: this is a floating Overlook. As Jack Torrance became Charles Grady, by spiritual hijacking, so to will Jess become Charlene Grady (made it up ), some woman who lived on the 1920's boat and died. I believe Charlene Grady washed onto the boat with 3 others, as Jess did, say, back in the 40's. Charlene killed them all (for whatever reason), perhaps because they all went loopy on the ship being alone for weeks. Now Jess steps on the ship. Charlene's spirit smells blood. Some fresh meat (no pun intended) to sink its jaws into. Take her over. Hence why Jess keeps saying "I keep having deja vous...I've been here before" , as Jack said "I feel like I've been here before..." since the spirits began on him as they began on her from the getgo. LIke the Overlook, the ship is isolated, remote, unreachable by a rescue party, and hence a perfect spot to trigger isolation and depression in the passengers. Some say that in the Shining, it wasn't the ghosts, but the isolation that made Jack cuckoo. I think its both: the isolation broke him down/made him vulnerable, the ghosts/spirits then had a cake walk to hijack his body and have him be their puppet. Same with Jess.
There never was two Jess' on the boat. The first Jess was hijacked by Charlene's spirit, and was commanded to murder the 3 others. She suited up, got the gun and killed them (I think the tall dude was accidentally killed when she pushed him into the spike). She even wrote out Charlene's intent on paper (and kept re-writing it in disbelief that it was her handwriting each time she entered the gun room). Each multiple Jess and each multiple 3-party entering the boat were merely delusions, which serve 2 purposes: (1) they rationalize the guilt of the first-Jess' murders (by blaming the 2nd-3rd-4th jess), and (2) they let Jess become "hero Jess" by trying to save the 2nd-3rd wave of 3 others (who aren't real) from "evil Jess" (who isn't real). Its important to note that, in the spiritual/ghost dimension, time is not linear, and past, present and future all merge into one. Hence, why Jack Torrance appeared in the 1921 Photo at the end of Shining. So, it actually doesn't make any sense to try and explain the events of "hijacked Jess" once Charlene as taken her over, on a linear time scale, no more than it makes sense to talk about what I did today on a timeless scale. THe last scene on the boat we see is: "real Jess" (possessed by Charlene) in the sniper suit having a fake struggle with "evil Jess" (who doesn't exist), and falling over the boat, and "real jess" then wakes up on the beach.
After the Ship
-Jess/Charlene walks to a house, sees a woman she believes to be her, and a boy she believes to be her son
-kills the woman (who isn't her, or any version of her): as with many films, this film is primarily about asking: is what i'm watching real? or what jess believes to be real? how do i know what the camera is showing me is the latter or former? its not like the camera gives me a different chime when its either one its not easy. so is the final shot of the woman dead on the road (not jess or any version of jess) confirmation that jess killed some innocent mom and engaged in a kidnapping of a boy who wasn't her son? I think so.
-what does the seagull represent? a kind of guardian angel. like the white dove that is the holy spirit in catholicism, i guess its a watcher for her. but why? is the spirit that took her over watching her? and now has resigned itself from her because she has kidnapped a kid and murdered an innocent woman? and who is the dude in the cab? a ghost escort? lots of questions here i'm completely lost on
This movie has got me interested, jhiggys and squids talk and now your review.
Which movie is this? I tried IMDb but gave me several hits.
This is a much overdue review, and it def would've been better suited for when the film was fresh in my mind. However, I'll do my best to give my explanation of the film:
[Show spoiler]The film mirrors the myth of Sisyphus, which is mentioned in the film. Sisyphus is condemned to repeat the same task (rolling a boulder up a hill over and over) for all eternity. In this film, the task is basically killing the other ppl on the yacht for a few moments with her son, before its taken away from her and she has to do it all over again. Sisyphus was well-known for killing travelers and guests, which is exactly what Jess does in the film.
The cab driver at the end is also important. Obviously, he knew more than he was letting on. A lot of people think he's death for some reason, but that's a misunderstanding of mythology and of the character of Death. The driver is meant to be Hermes, the messenger god, who had to bring Sisyphus back to the underworld at one point. Hermes is known as a sort of psychopomp, in that many stories and myths have him being a guide of the deceased to the underworld. Someone driving a cab (i.e. traveling), is directly representative of this. Oh, and there's another little tidbit. Sisyphus was known as being deceitful. In this film, remember Jess telling him she'd be "right back" to pay him? Obviously she didn't come right back because she was gonna get on the yacht! Thus, deceit.
Now, the interpretation. There's evidence to suggest that Jess cracked under the pressure of being poor, working as a waitress, and having an autistic son. We see how she treats this son and how she snaps at him at the end. We then see yacht Jess rush in and kill bad mama Jess. Why? It can be inferred that Jess truly snapped and killed her son and then killed herself, which is why she's being punished with her Sisyphean task to get a few moments with him. To get those few moments, she has to kill all those on the yacht, including herself, and then when she gets home she has to kill bad mama Jess. This is important. Killing herself is a nod to her suicide in real life, which is why she has to kill herself the first time, and then killing bad mama Jess is a nod to killing, or peeling away, the person she was before.
Other evidence to show that she had killed her son and herself? The car crash. I know a lot of ppl seem to think this car crash is where everything started and that the crash killed her son and herself and that she then made a deal with the cab driver, Death. However, this theory doesn't hold water for a lot of reasons, both thematically and mythologically. What do I think of the crash? It all goes back to the bird hitting the window (the bird is also seen in the beginning). Birds can mean many things, including fate. Right after the bird hit the car's window, she got in a car crash and the son is killed and the body of mama Jess is found by the ppl on the scene, thinking she simply died in the crash due to trauma (which killing someone with a hammer would pass as). What does this scene mean? It means that you cannot escape your fate, even if you swear you'll change. Jess had killed her son and herself, and she cannot escape that fate. Someway, somehow, she and her son will die. I have no doubt that she and her son died in other ways on previous occasions. However, we see this one because driving is representative of trying to start over, trying to escape something. Which, we see, she cannot do.
Lastly, the last scene in the movie shows that Jess finally realizes that she cannot escape her fate and then she is condemned for all eternity. You can see this realization and acceptance on her face at the end. She now knows that she will have to repeat the same task over and over but that she'll get a few moments with her son (note: similar to the reprieve of the boulder at the bottom of the hill, before starting again). What I find interesting is that now that she knows what will happen, an ephiphany it seems, will she simply let the Jess that is on the ship kill her and her friends? Will she even remember by the time she gets to the ship, or will she simply have deja vu?
I think I can explain most of what's in the film, and there's def more symbolism that I won't get into. However, one thing I don't get is the crazy Jess on the yacht. The one that stabs Downey over and over and has cracked out looking eyes. That, to me, doesn't make sense.
A very intelligent film with, as one critic stated, a "surprisingly poignant payoff."
wow, I'll give a detailed reply later, but at first glance, I obviously had a much different take. Your knowledge of
[Show spoiler] mythology on this subject is obviously better than mine. I remember hearing about the kids talking about the boat and the god of cheating death, blah blah blah, but once I saw room 237, I was like "God what?" Great review though, seems like a kind of horror Groundhog Day? the only issue then is: what's the exit from the loop? with murray it was selflessness.
wow, I'll give a detailed reply later, but at first glance, I obviously had a much different take. Your knowledge of
[Show spoiler] mythology on this subject is obviously better than mine. I remember hearing about the kids talking about the boat and the god of cheating death, blah blah blah, but once I saw room 237, I was like "God what?" Great review though, seems like a kind of horror Groundhog Day? the only issue then is: what's the exit from the loop? with murray it was selflessness.
man alive! All the discussion on this film is making me want to watch it again!
[]
-I purposely haven't read any reviews or posts, so can give an unbiased opinion
[Show spoiler]
-it seems that I have to break the film up into 3 parts: (1) before the ship, (2) on the ship, (3) after the ship
Before the Ship
-the plot seemed weak in forming (and I found out why later on)
-is it real or a dream? does it matter? or is there door #3: both? could it be a real sailboat, a real voyage, and then they approach/enter a virtual wormhole, entering a timeless dimension? I'm leaning toward real, just because of the last part of the film seemed to still have a timeless aspect, and yet they were out of the "triangle" or wormhole, so to speak
-I noted at the beginning how Jess saw the overturned boat in her son's pool in the back: a red flag to not go sailing that day. ominous warning which she failed to heed.
-but does she have a son? given the last part of the film? much of this film is "chicken or the egg", like Harry Potter 3. Fans of this should watch that if they havent' seen it. Similar themes.
On the Ship
-I was confused for a while until I saw the glaring obvious clue: ROOM 237 (i rewound the film twice to double check) and the "Redrum" style writing. Either the director is playing the biggest tease in the history of cinema or (as I believe) is throwing die-hard Shining fans a treat: this is a floating Overlook. As Jack Torrance became Charles Grady, by spiritual hijacking, so to will Jess become Charlene Grady (made it up ), some woman who lived on the 1920's boat and died. I believe Charlene Grady washed onto the boat with 3 others, as Jess did, say, back in the 40's. Charlene killed them all (for whatever reason), perhaps because they all went loopy on the ship being alone for weeks. Now Jess steps on the ship. Charlene's spirit smells blood. Some fresh meat (no pun intended) to sink its jaws into. Take her over. Hence why Jess keeps saying "I keep having deja vous...I've been here before" , as Jack said "I feel like I've been here before..." since the spirits began on him as they began on her from the getgo. LIke the Overlook, the ship is isolated, remote, unreachable by a rescue party, and hence a perfect spot to trigger isolation and depression in the passengers. Some say that in the Shining, it wasn't the ghosts, but the isolation that made Jack cuckoo. I think its both: the isolation broke him down/made him vulnerable, the ghosts/spirits then had a cake walk to hijack his body and have him be their puppet. Same with Jess.
There never was two Jess' on the boat. The first Jess was hijacked by Charlene's spirit, and was commanded to murder the 3 others. She suited up, got the gun and killed them (I think the tall dude was accidentally killed when she pushed him into the spike). She even wrote out Charlene's intent on paper (and kept re-writing it in disbelief that it was her handwriting each time she entered the gun room). Each multiple Jess and each multiple 3-party entering the boat were merely delusions, which serve 2 purposes: (1) they rationalize the guilt of the first-Jess' murders (by blaming the 2nd-3rd-4th jess), and (2) they let Jess become "hero Jess" by trying to save the 2nd-3rd wave of 3 others (who aren't real) from "evil Jess" (who isn't real). Its important to note that, in the spiritual/ghost dimension, time is not linear, and past, present and future all merge into one. Hence, why Jack Torrance appeared in the 1921 Photo at the end of Shining. So, it actually doesn't make any sense to try and explain the events of "hijacked Jess" once Charlene as taken her over, on a linear time scale, no more than it makes sense to talk about what I did today on a timeless scale. THe last scene on the boat we see is: "real Jess" (possessed by Charlene) in the sniper suit having a fake struggle with "evil Jess" (who doesn't exist), and falling over the boat, and "real jess" then wakes up on the beach.
After the Ship
-Jess/Charlene walks to a house, sees a woman she believes to be her, and a boy she believes to be her son
-kills the woman (who isn't her, or any version of her): as with many films, this film is primarily about asking: is what i'm watching real? or what jess believes to be real? how do i know what the camera is showing me is the latter or former? its not like the camera gives me a different chime when its either one its not easy. so is the final shot of the woman dead on the road (not jess or any version of jess) confirmation that jess killed some innocent mom and engaged in a kidnapping of a boy who wasn't her son? I think so.
-what does the seagull represent? a kind of guardian angel. like the white dove that is the holy spirit in catholicism, i guess its a watcher for her. but why? is the spirit that took her over watching her? and now has resigned itself from her because she has kidnapped a kid and murdered an innocent woman? and who is the dude in the cab? a ghost escort? lots of questions here i'm completely lost on
Wow. Not at all what I got from it.
[Show spoiler]I think Jess really has a son. The other Yachters ask about him BEFORE she claims to have one. I dont think Jess is inhabited by an evil spirit. I think its a real woman experiencing all the events and is stuck in this "loop" and it is some form of hell that she cant escape. She becomes aware of the Loop, and the fact that she is stuck in it when the other Jess' and other yachters appear. She comprehends that a cycle is occuring and chooses to participate and take the role of the "knocked off the ship" Jess in an effort to either die, or she sees it as the only way off the ship. Remember the pile of Jess corpses? I dont think the camera is playing games with us, I think we are being shown what Jess actually sees and experiences.
I think Jess actually goes yachting and the storm is the moment in time when they enter the "Loop". At the end of the film, she chooses to re-enter the Loop and repeat the cycle so she can come back and be with her son again. She is bringing all the memories of the prior events with her to the yacht. BUT when she takes a nap, she forgets it all and then the storm puts them back into the Loop. The evidence for the forgotton memories being caused by the nap is solid, and here is why. When she wakes up from the nap, she has no idea of what events lie ahead. She is honestly afraid of the storm, she is afraid while they stand on the capsized yacht, she wants to get on the oceanliner and when bizarre stuff happens she is confused, frightened, and tries to figure it all out...and DOES. After all the events occur and she goes overboard and is heading home, she knows damn well she is still in the loop as she approaches home (remember in the begining with the neighbor and hearing someone outside?) Now she knows that SHE is THAT someone. She kills the mean Jess and splits and the crash occurs and her son dies. She takes all that knowledge with her to the yacht again so she can go sailing and repeat the cycle to come home and be with her son. She probably plans to do things differently when she comes home in order to prevent her sons death the next time, BUT, when she takes the nap, she forgets everything and the cycle just repeats itself again and again. I called the nap the Reset Button.
The overall theme? I kinda think shes in this hell because she was a bad Mom. The Mean Jess we see really existed, and the Jess we spend all the time with wants to kill the mean Jess and replace her, kinda like a "second chance" thing, and wants to be a good Mom this time around, but the Loop has swallowed her. She is being punished for being a bad Mom by being forced to see HERSELF abuse the boy, then when she gets him, he dies an its her fault.
Real woman, real son, stuck in a hellish Loop. Thats my 2 cents.
I am glad you liked it.
Last edited by SquidPuppet; 06-13-2010 at 06:55 PM.
-I purposely haven't read any reviews or posts, so can give an unbiased opinion
[Show spoiler]
-it seems that I have to break the film up into 3 parts: (1) before the ship, (2) on the ship, (3) after the ship
Before the Ship
-the plot seemed weak in forming (and I found out why later on)
-is it real or a dream? does it matter? or is there door #3: both? could it be a real sailboat, a real voyage, and then they approach/enter a virtual wormhole, entering a timeless dimension? I'm leaning toward real, just because of the last part of the film seemed to still have a timeless aspect, and yet they were out of the "triangle" or wormhole, so to speak
-I noted at the beginning how Jess saw the overturned boat in her son's pool in the back: a red flag to not go sailing that day. ominous warning which she failed to heed.
-but does she have a son? given the last part of the film? much of this film is "chicken or the egg", like Harry Potter 3. Fans of this should watch that if they havent' seen it. Similar themes.
On the Ship
-I was confused for a while until I saw the glaring obvious clue: ROOM 237 (i rewound the film twice to double check) and the "Redrum" style writing. Either the director is playing the biggest tease in the history of cinema or (as I believe) is throwing die-hard Shining fans a treat: this is a floating Overlook. As Jack Torrance became Charles Grady, by spiritual hijacking, so to will Jess become Charlene Grady (made it up ), some woman who lived on the 1920's boat and died. I believe Charlene Grady washed onto the boat with 3 others, as Jess did, say, back in the 40's. Charlene killed them all (for whatever reason), perhaps because they all went loopy on the ship being alone for weeks. Now Jess steps on the ship. Charlene's spirit smells blood. Some fresh meat (no pun intended) to sink its jaws into. Take her over. Hence why Jess keeps saying "I keep having deja vous...I've been here before" , as Jack said "I feel like I've been here before..." since the spirits began on him as they began on her from the getgo. LIke the Overlook, the ship is isolated, remote, unreachable by a rescue party, and hence a perfect spot to trigger isolation and depression in the passengers. Some say that in the Shining, it wasn't the ghosts, but the isolation that made Jack cuckoo. I think its both: the isolation broke him down/made him vulnerable, the ghosts/spirits then had a cake walk to hijack his body and have him be their puppet. Same with Jess.
There never was two Jess' on the boat. The first Jess was hijacked by Charlene's spirit, and was commanded to murder the 3 others. She suited up, got the gun and killed them (I think the tall dude was accidentally killed when she pushed him into the spike). She even wrote out Charlene's intent on paper (and kept re-writing it in disbelief that it was her handwriting each time she entered the gun room). Each multiple Jess and each multiple 3-party entering the boat were merely delusions, which serve 2 purposes: (1) they rationalize the guilt of the first-Jess' murders (by blaming the 2nd-3rd-4th jess), and (2) they let Jess become "hero Jess" by trying to save the 2nd-3rd wave of 3 others (who aren't real) from "evil Jess" (who isn't real). Its important to note that, in the spiritual/ghost dimension, time is not linear, and past, present and future all merge into one. Hence, why Jack Torrance appeared in the 1921 Photo at the end of Shining. So, it actually doesn't make any sense to try and explain the events of "hijacked Jess" once Charlene as taken her over, on a linear time scale, no more than it makes sense to talk about what I did today on a timeless scale. THe last scene on the boat we see is: "real Jess" (possessed by Charlene) in the sniper suit having a fake struggle with "evil Jess" (who doesn't exist), and falling over the boat, and "real jess" then wakes up on the beach.
After the Ship
-Jess/Charlene walks to a house, sees a woman she believes to be her, and a boy she believes to be her son
-kills the woman (who isn't her, or any version of her): as with many films, this film is primarily about asking: is what i'm watching real? or what jess believes to be real? how do i know what the camera is showing me is the latter or former? its not like the camera gives me a different chime when its either one its not easy. so is the final shot of the woman dead on the road (not jess or any version of jess) confirmation that jess killed some innocent mom and engaged in a kidnapping of a boy who wasn't her son? I think so.
-what does the seagull represent? a kind of guardian angel. like the white dove that is the holy spirit in catholicism, i guess its a watcher for her. but why? is the spirit that took her over watching her? and now has resigned itself from her because she has kidnapped a kid and murdered an innocent woman? and who is the dude in the cab? a ghost escort? lots of questions here i'm completely lost on
Glad you watched it and liked it! Obviously mine and squid's take is as different from yours as can be, and he and I deviate a bit as well. That being said, I don't think your take is any less valid because it's apparent that you put a lot of thought into it; I just simply don't agree. I don't remember what director it was, but on some bonus feature years and years ago I remember him saying that everything in a film has a purpose. I've always heeded that statement when analyzing films, and it's no different here. For me, the myth of Sisyphus would not be mentioned unless it had a point, and from there, my theory was borne.
Its nowhere near as gory as the pic depicts, at all.
Perfect example of how marketing can mislead people about a film, much the way the marketing for the Fountain did, among others. The trailer and poster make it seem like another low rent, cliche ridden slasher film. The title makes it seem like it's another pointless Bermuda triangle film. Neither are even remotely true. It's not really a horror film at all, at least with my interpretation of the film. Even if your interpretation is akin to surfdude's, it's still not a slasher film and isn't very violent. And, I don't think anyone watching it would claim a Bermuda triangle connection.
wow, I'll give a detailed reply later, but at first glance, I obviously had a much different take. Your knowledge of
[Show spoiler] mythology on this subject is obviously better than mine. I remember hearing about the kids talking about the boat and the god of cheating death, blah blah blah, but once I saw room 237, I was like "God what?" Great review though, seems like a kind of horror Groundhog Day? the only issue then is: what's the exit from the loop? with murray it was selflessness.
I'm really glad you decided to review and analyze the film without reading mine and squid's discussion/interpretations! Independence in those regards I think breeds more interesting discussion going forward.
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Got Em!!
). Edward Norton did a great job here, even though I found that he really doesn't have a whole lot of emotion to showcase. He's mainly running, jumping and ducking over / under / between things when it's just Bruce Banner, so hard to judge his performance since he's really only "himself" for about 50% of the film.
I figured that would be the first 45 minutes or something, but sure enough, within 2 minutes you get the full story and are up to date with what's happening
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