Guys sees dead people and uses his skill to help people. Nice. I enjoy a little ghostly crime-solving. I didn't realize that this movie was based on a book when I started watching it, but it soon became pretty obvious. It held all the tell-tale signs: Narration. Weird dialogue. The feeling like you're walking into a bigger story than what's being shown in the movie. And that's fine. It was all just... fine.
On the subject of dialogue... it tried. So hard. It was almost a mix between those old black and white crime movies and that one Quirky Show where all the characters have clever mouths. But not in a good way. The actors did their best, but most of it still came across as forced and distracting.
Another way I judge movies is based on the romantic interest. Is the romantic interest a three-dimensional character, or can he or she be replaced with a cardboard cut-out with a voice recorder that repeats the same, basic, supportive phrases over and over again? This one leaned toward the latter. Stormy's most interesting trait was the fact that she was in love with Odd. She was almost completely defined by their relationship. Other traits include: works at an ice cream shop... has supermodel level good looks... and likes The Wizard of Oz?
Someone else's review said that it felt like the pilot of a TV show, and I completely agree. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I kept thinking, "It's okay--the show will get better a few episodes in, once the actors get a feel for their characters." But I guess we didn't get that. It's a shame. Probably would have been a great TV show.
On the other hand, I was very interested in the story itself. Solid plot twists. Unique enough to keep my attention. I'm going to go find the book now. So thanks for that, I guess. Here's hoping it did better in its original packaging.
On the subject of dialogue... it tried. So hard. It was almost a mix between those old black and white crime movies and that one Quirky Show where all the characters have clever mouths. But not in a good way. The actors did their best, but most of it still came across as forced and distracting.
Another way I judge movies is based on the romantic interest. Is the romantic interest a three-dimensional character, or can he or she be replaced with a cardboard cut-out with a voice recorder that repeats the same, basic, supportive phrases over and over again? This one leaned toward the latter. Stormy's most interesting trait was the fact that she was in love with Odd. She was almost completely defined by their relationship. Other traits include: works at an ice cream shop... has supermodel level good looks... and likes The Wizard of Oz?
Someone else's review said that it felt like the pilot of a TV show, and I completely agree. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I kept thinking, "It's okay--the show will get better a few episodes in, once the actors get a feel for their characters." But I guess we didn't get that. It's a shame. Probably would have been a great TV show.
On the other hand, I was very interested in the story itself. Solid plot twists. Unique enough to keep my attention. I'm going to go find the book now. So thanks for that, I guess. Here's hoping it did better in its original packaging.