| Posted by: Mike at May 19, 2002, 2:52 am | | Topic: Reviews: The Others Forum: JoBlo | When I first saw a TV spot for this movie last summer I thought it looked like shit, it looked very laughable. Then I kept seeing them and guess what? My opinion didn't change. So I was shocked as all hell when I went to www.rottentomatoes.com the Friday it opened and saw all of the positive critic reviews it received. I honestly never expected that. And then everyone kept saying it was so great and were raving about it, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. The movie looked so bad based on the TV spots. I had numerous chances to see it in theaters but I never did. Even with all of the positive reviews it got I still couldn't bring myself to actually purchase a ticket and go see it. Plus, I hate HYPE and when a movie gets hyped up a lot I usually don't like it because you find yourself expecting too much and then you get disappointed. That happened with The Sixth Sense, EVERYONE kept saying how great it was but when I actually saw it on video I was really disappointed and didn't think it was anything special at all. Of course that could have something to do with the fact that I had the ending ruined for me before I saw it so it had no surprises whatsoever when I watched it. When The Others was in theaters I had said I'd check it out on video. Well, when it came out on video this last week I wasn't very excited about it at all. Yet I was still going to rent it so I could see what all the fuss was about. But just like The Sixth Sense I had the ending to this ruined for me as well. So that was another reason I didn't see the point in watching it because it wouldn't be worth it since I already knew
the big twist ending, and if I had that ruined for me then it would be kind of pointless to watch. Having the ending to The Sixth Sense ruined for me basically wrecked the whole movie and as a result I didn't find it that great. But to my surprise The Others wasn't just a one twist movie like The Sixth Sense and it had a couple extra twists that I wasn't aware of before watching it. Therefore I enjoyed the movie a lot more and I had a lot of fun trying to figure out how the ending I had heard about would fit into the movie. So I had one twist ruined for me, and it was the biggest one of them all, but it still had a few tricks up it's sleeve that overall were very satisfying. Even with all the hype I still didn't expect much from this movie. And now I'm grateful that I didn't expect much because I ended up really digging it. It was not what I expected at all and was a real treat to watch. It was creepy as hell. I hardly ever get scared from movies but this one managed to get the best of me and it had my stomach in knots. And even when the movie was over I was creeped out for about a half an hour. All of the acting was great, Nicole Kidman was very good and she'd did a great job at making you like her, then think she was a nutjob, then like her, then think she was a nutjob, etc... But overall in the end I liked her character. The kids also did a great job, mainly the little girl since she had a lot more to work with. And the servants were also great and managed to freak me out. The silent scenes in the movie were the true frightening moments. Instead of loud music making you jump you had to sit through the silence not knowing what or when something was going to happen. And the atmosphere was great, all of the fog was a nice touch and the night scenes were creepy as hell. I also loved the old fashioned look of the movie, it almost looked and felt like you were watching a movie from the 50's. With the color of the movie being so plain
and the outfits and hairdos the way they were the movie ended up having a unique look to it. I also loved the accents, they were so amusing and I don't think the movie would have been as good without them. The Others managed to surprise me and turned out to be a very enjoyable old fashioned ghost story. I was interested the whole time and never bored once. I'll admit to laughing at it during a few scenes mostly in the first half of it, just because the mother (Nicole Kidman) acted a little crazy and was so naive. But the movie is anything but laughable. It's a very well done adult drama/horror/thriller that shouldn't be missed. I will be buying the DVD for sure, there's no doubt about it. Grade: 9/10 or A |
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