CINEMA REVIEWS. Cont'd.
Godsend: a scary thriller but leave before the end. 2 stars out of five.
Godsend
is so creepy, so scary, so moody - then collapses in a series of laughable
cliches in the final reel.
Photo: Robert De Niro in a scene from Godsend. Associated Press
This thriller about a couple (Greg Kinnear and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) who replace their dead son with a clone keeps the chills coming in a series of spectacular nightmare sequences. Robert De Niro, meanwhile, lingers on the periphery as an avuncular fertility scientist who wants to monitor the success of his experiment. He's a friendly, neighbourhood Dr. Frankenstein, pushing the limits of science because he can, heedless of the moral and spiritual consequences. In the middle is Adam (steely-eyed 11-year-old Cameron Bright) who does not know that a previous version of him existed and died in an accident years ago. When he ages past the day when his previous self died, Adam begins to have hallucinations and frightening dreams that baffle his parents. Here's where director Nick Hamm is at his best, constructing vertigo-inducing set pieces in which spooky reflections of Adam scream at him from windows and bizarre children surrounded by flames jump out at him from doorways. It's a combination of gothic visuals and startling sound effects, but it works and keeps the nerves tingling - for a strong ending that never arrives. What has caused Adam's night terrors and bloodthirsty impulses? Does it have something to do with the soul outliving what God intended for the body? Or did modern medicine leave the soul out entirely when Adam was recreated? The answer put forth - in a desperate attempt at a "twist" shocker - fails to live up to the other possibilities. When a new character is introduced to tie together all the threads, it's as if the entire production flies off track and crashes. Kinnear and Romijn-Stamos are subtle and powerful throughout most of the movie, but seem more puzzled than shocked by the ending their characters find themselves in - as if they suspect they're being Punk'd. Even the normally dependable De Niro falters. At one point, he slides behind the wheel of his car and hammers his fists. "Why, why, why, why, why didn't he listen to me?!" he cries. It's a hairpin turn from a few moments earlier, when his character was menacing - and De Niro's half-hearted delivery evokes laughter from the audience. Bright is the film's only consistent presence, alternating between being the victim of terror and the perpetrator of terror. Godsend, written by Mark Bomback, had the potential to rank alongside The Sixth Sense in terms of authentic spookiness, and would have been a memorable thriller if Bomback, Hamm and the actors had taken a little more care with the third act. There remains a lot to praise about the first two-thirds of the movie, however. See Godsend with some friends - but leave the theatre 80 minutes into the movie and have a good time making up your own endings. You'll enjoy it a lot more. -Anthony Breznicann.
The Punisher has too much violence. 1 star out of five.
Photo:
Undercover FBI agent and former Marine Frank Castle (Tom Jane) decides to
dedicate himself fully to the eradication of crime in The Punisher. (AP /Gene
Page)
The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." The makers of The Punisher, Hollywood's latest comic-book adaptation, need a basic civics lesson. Even matinee-ticket prices for The Punisher conceivably constitute excessive fines, and the sadistic two-hour assault of the movie itself certainly qualifies as cruel and unusual treatment of audiences looking for a good time. Between Walking Tall and The Punisher, Hollywood has delivered a one-two punch of debased vengeance, where heroes are as bloodthirsty as villains and the two differ only infinitesimally in that the filmmakers have stuck a halo on one and horns on the other.
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