Tuesday, September 2, 2014

As Above, So Below

Scary and fun, but the ending is anticlimactic.  The movie follows a group of urban explorers as they search for the fabled philosopher's stone in the catacombs beneath Paris.  The characters are well drawn and the setting is creepy in and of itself, but the movie crumbles under its own weight in the third act.  The ending seems slapped together at the last minute, as if the filmmakers didn't quite know what to do after all hell brakes loose.  Unfortunately, there is a lot of squandered potential here.

The found footage gimmick is wearing thin, and genre fans will recognize many moments stolen from better films (see The Decent and Death Line).  3/5 Stars

Sunday, September 2, 2012

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

I loved this book, no doubt about it. The title is a little deceiving though, as the story is not really focused on `the girl with the dragon tattoo,' Lisbeth Salander, but paves the way for some fantastic sequels that are focused, almost exclusively Salander.  She is one of my favorite characters that I've read in long time.