Reviews

This one was just 'ok'. The plot is almost identical to the first . They spend a little more time setting up the plot and explaining why Heather Graham's character isn't there and why they are celebrating in Bangkok.

Instead of a baby, it's a monkey.

Instead of Vegas , it's Bangkok.

Instead of missing a tooth, he has a tattoo.

Instead of drinking the drugs, they eat them.

Instead of money, it was passwords and codes.

Instead of a trunk, it's an ice machine.

I could go on and on. This one had laughs, had fun, had adventure, but it was grittier and less attractive to look at than the first. Stu is a riot and very funny (laugh out loud funny). Allen is somehow more disturbing in this one and less funny. Almost as if he's over acting his part . Bradley..well, he's just good to look at.

Of course because you expect the antics and plot, it naturally loses something in the sequel, but it's still fun to watch , laugh and enjoy.

Mr. Chow, the monkey and Stu are the movie. The movie is worth going to if you saw the first as you love the story and characters.

Some of the gags are downright crass and there is plenty of male frontal nudity.. so be prepared.

I hope if there is a III, it's got a bit more originality than this one. I'd still recommend it.

Where do I even begin? I was curious to see this movie as parts of it were filmed in my area. I knew some of the extras that would be in it and there was a lot of hype. Needless to say this film for me just didn't work. The premise of the story is that Leo's character is sent to a mental institute for the criminally insane to investigate a missing patient. He has flashbacks and as the story unwinds you begin to see he has his own struggles. You begin to wonder who the 'good guys' and the 'bad guys' are.

The film starts off slow...peaks to slow..and even ends in an unsatisfying way. At times I felt like I was watching 'A Beautiful Mind' and 'One Few Over the Cuckoo's Nest' only with a darker eerier tone that almost entirely moves at snail's pace. I didn't find it gory or creepy...just slowwww

I was distracted by the green screen during the journey on the boat and in the jeep ride with the Warden and at times seemed to be a green screen during the cliff scenes.

The dead girl moves so much in one scene I was distracted to the point that their death didn't even seem impactful because she was moving. Leo, Michelle, Mark and Ben all do great jobs with the acting ( I guess)..it was just painful to stay awake with the story lines. Too draggy...

Some of it was even just unbelievable...(i.e. the 'c' building that seemed more abandoned than an actual hospital setting and the lighthouse ..spiral staircases make it difficult to lug all that bulky furniture) ...but yet ..it happened..

I loved 'The Departed' and usually like Scorcese's twist on story telling...I just didn't enjoy this one..I would wait for the DVD.

The

I first must start out by saying I love M. Night Shyamalan's work. I was blown away by the "Sixth Sense" and even "Signs" was a nail biter. His movies are suspenseful but not distasteful. The gore has never been a piece of the story. He is one of the best storyteller's in the modern day but this movie fails on many levels.

The opening scene captures our attention immediately. From there, it goes downhill.

The storyline is lame..plants? Come on! It's got so many loopholes in it that it's hard to follow.

The plants attack crowds that grow smaller and smaller as the story progresses, yet in every scene of attack , there is always someone that doesn't freeze. Even when they begin to realize it's the foliage, they trek onward through fields and tall grass-why not stay on the road? Makes no sense.

The acting is even harder to grasp. Poor Mark Walberg...LOVED him in "The Departed", this is simply not his genre. He's too much of a tough guy and you just cant relate to his teacherly persona. His wife-the doe-eyed lame actress just simply missed the boat. John Leguziamo's character was an unnecessary waste of film and just added to the confusion. And poor Betty Buckley-the deranged loner who takes them into her home. I felt like it was something out of Stephen King's "Misery"-gone-bad.

The problem is, as good as the premise may be for a story of revenge-driven plants, you just cant relate to the characters or follow the story. There is no connection.

The repetitive suicides at first are too graphic and not necessary ..it's almost as if that's all he had to work with so he continued to come up with as many different ways to kill oneself as he could to keep the story moving.

The ending left me with confusion and emptiness with no resolve.

And in the end, the result is a poorly directed, poorly acted film that will not go down in the history books as a hit of our time.

I would not recommend this movie. Save your money and rent it on DVD when you have nothing else to do.