Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
I actually went and dug my script for this one out last night after we started getting reviews on it. I still think it's a damn strong bit of writing, and I'm dying to see the thing soon.
We all have different criteria we use to judge films. At least today's reviewer, THE PORN CHIEF, is honest about his. See what you think...
Hey Moriarity, I'm sending this to you since it seems like you do most of the updates lately. Anyway, here's my review, post if you like, trash it if you don't. Call me, "The Porn Chief".
I've read the site for years (literally) and never had much to contribute, dealing mostly in movies of the 'adult' variety I don't usually have the chance. Last night I saw The Mothman Prophecies though, and thought I'd send out my thoughts on it.
Mirth already summed up everything about the plot and such, so I won't go over that. Let me also start out by saying that I don't like this genre of film. For the most part it's fairly uninteresting to me. I'm not a big scary/suspense/thriller movie fan (unless they're dirty of course). Let me also say that I don't particularly like Richard Gere. He's always just "okay" for me. That said, let me breakdown this flick...
Porn Chief's Actor Review:
Richard Gere -- Again, he's just "okay" for me. Nothing special about his performance. A friend of mine (who isn't a Gere fan either) said he thought the role stretched his acting ability a bit and was impressed, but I didn't see any of that. His character is played fine and we understand the reasons that he makes the choices that he does. We understand his need to know what's really happening and how it affects him.
Laura Linney -- She was pretty good. Her character gives you a grounding point to understand the people of Pleasant Point. I liked her in The Truman Show and after her great full nude scene in The Maze there really wasn't much to hold against her at this point. She brings some much needed emotion to an otherwise pretty cold Richard Gere character.
Will Patton -- This guy is great. He totally made the movie for me. I know I must know his work from a lot of places, but the only thing I can think of is his role as the bad guy in The Postman. That's a horrible flick, I know, but I enjoyed his part in it (and Tom Petty's as well). I hope this guy continues to work, and a lot. Incidentally, he was at the screening wearing really long blonde hair. I didn't want to bother the guy though.
Debra Messing -- She was easily the worst part about this movie. I know Mirth really thought she was charismatic or whatever, but except for a few brief moments her role is pretty much overdrawn and useless. I liked her on that old show Ned and Stacey, but have never watched Will and Grace. It seems to me like she's aged a lot since then. Everytime they did a closeup on her face I practically cringed. They should have used an unknown for this role, but since they went ahead and used a full-fledged actress, they should really just cut like 10 minutes of her role. They should just go to the house, crash, and then spend 2 minutes in the hospital. This whole sequence was easily the worst part.
Porn Chief's Good, Bad and Fugly:
The Good -- This whole movie is actually really good. Again, I don't like this genre of film, but I really enjoyed it. There's a constant suspense to the whole film with some cheap (and funny) thrills thrown in. I personally thought the soundtrack made a lot of the movie for me, but the friend I was with said he hated it, but mostly because it was just blaringly louder than the normal talking and such. Also, as Mirth pointed out this was supposed to be a work in progress, but this film looked just about as complete as it could possibly look. I'm not sure what they could do to clean it up other than cut some of that hospital scene.
The Bad -- Debra Messing. After the first 5 minutes of the film her role is really pointless. Again, the hospital scene dragged for me. The special effects for The Mothman weren't quite done either (at least I hope not, because the car scene is terrible looking). Also, there were a lot of strange lighting things going on. I realize that was supposed to be a theme of the movie, but it definitely gets overdone. Also, the bridge at the end looked pretty fake, and that's not a CG thing, that's a modeling thing.
The Fugly -- The title. The Mothman Prophecies is a stupid title. In only makes sense if you already know what the movie is about. I had forgetten the title like 10 times and had to keep looking at the paper to try and remember it. It's completely forgetable. My friend hated it as well. If this film does poorly you can be sure it was the title's fault. Why not just change it to "The Mothman"? That would at least sound intriguing. The Mothman Prophecies sounds like another The 9th Gate or End of Days or Bless the Child or any other end of times movie title that you hear once and forget about after 2 seconds ( I had to look those ones up in the IMDb). Anyway, change the title.
Porn Chief's Nudity Guide:
Actresses -- Debra Messing is naked in the shower at the beginning, but it's through some of that blurry glass, so it's no good. She does pull up her shirt though in a closet with Gere and give us a brief bra-encased boobie flash which is cool. Laura Linney is naked too while she's in the water, but it's so backlit and dark to begin with that you can't see anything. If you want some good Linney nudity go rent The Maze or check out an episode of Tales of the City.
Actors -- No nudity from the guys (whew). I was kind of suprised Richard Gere managed to keep his shirt on.
Porn Chief's Overall Rating:
On a scale of 3 X's, 3 being the best, I'd give it a 3. I don't like this genre, but I really enjoyed this film. My friend enjoyed it too, and he likes that genre. It's definitely worth checking out.
Anyway, that's it. Until next time, I'll see you in The Valley...
The Porn Chief.
Debra Messing... nudity...
SLAP!!
Sorry. He distracted me. What happened? Where am I?!
"Moriarty" out.
