I went with my Dad to see this. I wasn't expecting a brilliant movie, just something entertaining and funny to pass the time. That's what I got. This is not a movie that is going to stick with you, but it was a fun way to spend a few hours on a cold, January day.
I think there's something special about watching a movie where the actors clearly had a good time making the film. It tends to give off an energy that an audience finds infectious.
In addition to its comedy, the film also attempted a few more dramatic story threads. These often worked in the context of the film, but were nothing that has not been done many times before.
My only real complaint was that the turn from Act II to Act III was blatantly formulaic. We've all seen movies where everything starts to go wrong for the hero near the end of the second act and he needs to strengthen his resolve or change his ways before charging triumphantly into Act III. Since we're wrapped up in the story, we often go along with this without being consciously aware of the formula that's being followed. The problem in "Grudge Match" is that we are following two protagonists at once. Watching the film cut back and forth as things are going wrong for both of them at the same time makes the formula overt and is a little distracting.
I had heard very good things about "Frozen" from a variety of people before seeing it, but I knew almost nothing about the plot. For me, that's always a fun way to see a movie. It's nice to be able to not have any concrete expectations about the story and enjoy the movie purely for what it is.
I had a lot of fun with this film. Most of the songs had a very pop-style to them, which was a nice juxtaposition to the fairy tale setting, and also gave the film a very high, toe-tapping level of energy. My friend wasn't a huge fan of what he views as a trend to have more pop songs in animated films, but I thought it was a nice fit for this film.
The storyline was simple, yet entertaining. The characters were fun to watch and easy to root for, so they didn't need a complicated story to be compelling.
I enjoyed this movie so much that I took my Mom to see it a few days later. We caught a 3-D showing (I had seen it in 2-D the first time). Sometimes I'm a big fan of 3-D, but while it didn't detract at all from this movie, it didn't add much, either.
I didn't go into this with much familiarity with the franchise. I had seen the first "Paranormal Activity" in theatres once, but haven't seen any of the sequels. Still, I managed to enjoy this film (which is apparently a spin-off from the main series).
I don't tend to go into movies from the "found footage" genre with any expectations of a dynamic plot or a solid through-line. I was impressed by this film's ability to deliver on both, although, to be fair, I was probably grading on a curve due to my expectations.
The movie took place in a larger number of locations than the original film did, which I felt allowed it to breathe. It did have some nice scares and the climax did have me feeling quite tense. The scares ended with the end of the movie, though. The greatest movies in the horror genre (for me, the original "Omen" is the prime example) achieve a level of fear and dread that follows you home at night and makes it hard to sleep. This film couldn't accomplish that.
In my next post, I'll talk a little about the my first steps towards making an index card board for my screenplay.
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