There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.
... View MoreI think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
... View MoreIt is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review
... View MoreThe thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;
... View MoreAfter a botched suicide to rejoin his deceased wife, a man finds he can now see when people are about to die through an extrasensory perception of their life, but soon finds that saving them has a far deadlier consequence than he originally believed.This here manages to be quite an intriguing effort that has a lot going for it. One of the main points here is the second-half twist that comes about, as the first part is mainly all about the strange ability that he discovers and how he goes about using it to save others. While those are quite fun, the fact that this second half manages to add a rather clever and chilling twist on everything that's come before allows it to venture off into far more enjoyable terrain by trying to stop the saved from ending what should've happened, as interfering isn't supposed to occur in the grand scheme of life uncovered, and how it's done is where the movie gets quite fun with the thrilling races to stop his own handiwork. Though the finale gets in some nice action and makes for a rush of an ending, it's far too fantastical to meld with the more serious attempts to mesh the supernatural and the normal that was being showcased before, and the fact that the saved already knew what was going to happen before they re-killed themselves made no sense, but overall this was pretty enjoyable.Rated R: Violence and Language.
... View MoreSpoiler warning, like it matters because this movie was terrible. It takes a really bad movie to get me to write a review to have my revenge.It's the story of a man named Abe whose wife and son are murdered by a gunman who shoots himself. Abe decides to commit suicide to reunite with them, but just as he is about to join them in heaven, his dopey pal intervenes, and he is restored to life on the operating table, a near death experience. Though his life is empty, he has a consolation prize, he now has to power to tell when someone will die by seeing a white light surrounding him. So he runs around trying to save people before they get killed, to make up for not being able to save his family. Well no good deed goes unpunished in horror films, so we are faced with the "Final Destination" like consequences of interfering in God's wonderful plan. See all these people that get saved end up turning evil after three days, and murder other people. And that's why the gunman killed Abe's family, because he had saved them before and he didn't want them to turn evil. He could also see the light.So, if you were to meet a potential mass murderer and say to him "hey killing is wrong." And he says "You're right. I don't want to be a jerk, so I will turn myself in to the authorities." Then you think you are a big hero. But guess what you did? You just unleashed Satan big time. Because all those people that you saved had a white light around them that meant they were meant to die. Now that they are saved they will turn evil in 3 days and kill more people. Then you are tasked with the responsibility of running around trying to kill all those former innocent people before they go on a killing spree themselves.SAVING PEOPLE IS A GOOD THING!!! Enough with this Final Destination CRAP!!!
... View MoreWell I'll be honest. The only reason I took interest in this one was because of Nathan Fillion. He's great in everything that he is in. Here, he's playing a different kind of role, but you never get to see that side of him come through. This movie has its moments, and the premise had a lot of potential. However, the actual film didn't measure up. About 1% of this movie is character development, and that sucks because I actually wanted to get to know these characters before the weird events of the movie took place. The other 99% is the director trying to cram this story into an hour and a half long movie. Also, seeing as how this movie has absolutely nothing to do with the original, I really don't see why it's called White Noise 2. I guess they just wanted to get the whole transmission after death thing off the ground quick and weren't interested in a new franchise. At any rate the pacing seems rushed which is a bummer because it could have been cool. I am a big fan of religious fiction movies, and that's what this movie is. Also, it's not really a horror movie. It has scary "jump" scenes, but it's more of a thriller, and it tries too hard at times to scare you when the story line isn't really supposed to be that kind of scary. If they had called the movie something else and if the director had had free reign over the production, I think it could have been good, but we don't really get to see Fillion or any of the actors become their characters. If you get into the story even a little bit, it works just not for very long.
... View MoreI've never seen the original White Noise, but since everyone or almost everyone seems to hate it, I don't plan to do so. Actually, I don't even know why I bothered to watch the sequel. It may have something to do with the fact that there was nothing worthwhile playing in Peruvian cinemas this week. (Apart from the third Resident Evil and Mr. Brooks, which I've already seen and reviewed.) Anyway, White Noise: The Light, I hear, has nothing to do with the former film, having completely new actors and crew and, although it tries to make links with the first installment, it doesn't succeed in being more than a lackluster sequel to a crappy movie. Were it not for Nathan Fillion's presence, the movie would undoubtedly be unwatchable. As it is, though, it's only a semi-creepy, PG-13-rated "horror" film.The movie tells the story of Abe Dale (Nathan Fillion), whose family wife (Kendall Cross) and kid (Joshua Ballard) is suddenly killed by an unknown man for no apparent reason. Depressed, Abe tries to commit suicide, but is taken to the hospital. There, he apparently dies but, before he's revived, sees a white light and his family at the end of the tunnel. After the near-death experience, everything changes. He can now identify people who are about to die a mysterious white light appears around them. According to Dr. Karros (William McDonald), this has something to do with "EVP" phenomenon, but the audience would never guess it. As Abe tries to use his new "superpowers" for good and save people who are about to die, he gets close with her former nurse (Katee Sackhoff), finds out a thing or to about the man who killed his family, and creepy stuff start to happen.The movie is another in a series of lackluster sequels which have nothing to do with the previous installments. Which such a "pedigree" one would expect it to be virtually unwatchable, but fortunately that's not the case. Yes, it's pretty lackluster, but it also contains a couple of surprising twists, and Nathan Fillion's (Firefly, Serenity) performance is pretty effective. He takes things seriously, recites his lines of dialogue convincingly, and makes a compelling leading man. He's surrounded by unfamiliar names, but none of them are that bad; unless not as bad as one comes to expect from horror movie protagonists. Katee Sackhoff as Abe's potential love interest doesn't have much to do, but is appealing and likable nonetheless (since she's smiling virtually all the time it's almost impossible to hate her) and William McDonald as the only character who comes close to being the main "bad guy" is boring; he doesn't have enough screen time or dialogue.Despite the effective performances and mildly interesting plot, the movie never "takes off", and actually looks kind of cheap. From the virtually unknown thespians, to the lazy production values and cheesy makeup for the apparitions Abe seems to see everywhere, the movie looks as if it could've used a bigger budget. Additionally, even though the plot is somehow engaging, it never seems believable, especially due to the mixture of concepts the film presents; the paranormal, religious stuff and science don't make a good mix. The movie turns more and more preposterous as it progresses, and the ending is almost laughable, both in execution and concept; it's hard to understand not because it's complex, but because it seems to break the movie's pre-established rules, and basically doesn't make any sense.Technically, the film doesn't feature many special effects, but the ones presented in its climax are pretty cheesy. The direction is solid yet workmanlike and, even though the movie has plenty of "boo!" moments and cheap scares, it doesn't succeed in being totally creepy. There are some mildly interesting plot twists, though, like when Abe decides to become some kind of weird "superhero" and use his powers to save people. Now, I wasn't expecting that from a sequel to a horror movie White Noise 2 tries to do many things, but ultimately ends up being yet another cheap sequel to a mildly successful horror film. Even though it tries to make links with the previous installment (it mentions the "EVP" thing a couple of times), the plot never convinces, especially because it tries to mix several different concepts which don't seem to have much relation with each other. Yes, the performances are solid, and yes, the movie has a couple of spooky "boo!" moments, but it's nothing to get excited about. The movie as a whole is disappointing, preposterous and, ultimately, not very entertaining. Fans of the first White Noise (is there such a thing?) won't be pleased with this sequel, and I would only recommend it for watching on DVD when there's nothing else available.
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