'Odd Thomas' follows the story of its titular character, a boy who can see dead people and uses his power to help catch murderers, as he has to stop an impending massacre that will soon happen in his small town.
A surprisingly good find this movie was. It has the feel of a dark teen action/adventure flick (apparently it is adapted from a teen novel, after all): not very serious, always with the quirky humor that kinda appeals to the nostalgic side of mine. It helps that the characters are not the irritating teen stereotypes most modern films tend to force upon the viewer, but rather likable and just enough witty to be believable. It never tries to be more than it really is; this is a fun, unpretentious film and it plays accordingly.
The movie develops its concept enough to make it work well, without glaring holes in the plot and always with a deceptively dark undertone; the CGI for the ghosts are good too. The plot moves along nicely while taking the more teen aspect of the characters in stride (ie.: the romance scenes between Odd and Stormy don't really break the flow). The twists are good: not overly predictable, but not nonsensical or asspulls either. They keep the story always interesting, and the final one in special is surprisingly emotional.
The cast is good. Anton Yelchin is likable and charismatic, Addison Timlin is adorable and has great chemistry with him, Willem Dafoe is good as usual, and the others are also above average. They never go for a pretentiously philosophical approach; they know this is just a fun teen flick, and thankfully act accordingly.
One surprise I had was seeing Stephen Sommers name in the director and screenplay credits. I've never once liked his popcorn flicks; maybe this could mean a turn for the better for him?
A surprisingly good find this movie was. It has the feel of a dark teen action/adventure flick (apparently it is adapted from a teen novel, after all): not very serious, always with the quirky humor that kinda appeals to the nostalgic side of mine. It helps that the characters are not the irritating teen stereotypes most modern films tend to force upon the viewer, but rather likable and just enough witty to be believable. It never tries to be more than it really is; this is a fun, unpretentious film and it plays accordingly.
The movie develops its concept enough to make it work well, without glaring holes in the plot and always with a deceptively dark undertone; the CGI for the ghosts are good too. The plot moves along nicely while taking the more teen aspect of the characters in stride (ie.: the romance scenes between Odd and Stormy don't really break the flow). The twists are good: not overly predictable, but not nonsensical or asspulls either. They keep the story always interesting, and the final one in special is surprisingly emotional.
The cast is good. Anton Yelchin is likable and charismatic, Addison Timlin is adorable and has great chemistry with him, Willem Dafoe is good as usual, and the others are also above average. They never go for a pretentiously philosophical approach; they know this is just a fun teen flick, and thankfully act accordingly.
One surprise I had was seeing Stephen Sommers name in the director and screenplay credits. I've never once liked his popcorn flicks; maybe this could mean a turn for the better for him?