Oct 18th Reviews

In contrast with last week's post, today I review two films that received... mediocre ratings at best (about 50% each on Rottentomatoes), Devil and TiMER. Check out what I thought (and why I even bothered watching them) after the jump.
Devil Brief: Instead of writing a brief (which will instantly tell you everything about the movie), here's the trailer instead. My Take: If you watched the entire trailer (I saw it in theaters), you'll probably notice a few things immediately. The moment M. Night Shyamalan's name comes up, you check out. The creators of this trailer clearly knew this would be a near-universal reaction and didn't display his name until two minutes of preview had past. Sadly, the reaction from everyone in the theater was laughter the moment his name popped up. Interestingly, several had shown at least mild curiosity up to that point. The question others asked of me after seeing this was, "Did Shyamalala do enough to redeem himself?" Sadly, this movie (and review) are as much a comentary on his directing/writing skills as it is about the movie. The short answer to the above question is "almost." The film is actually half-way decent, only slightly worse than the Village. It's sad when you're ranking standard is "not as bad as," but that's the general attitude about any given Shyamalan movie these days. He has several train wrecks under his belt, all of them more recent than his success stories. The long answer is that, while the story is better than Lady in the Water or The Happening, all of my issues with Shyamalan remain. Namely, he has picked a character(s) to be his mouthpiece rather than let the whole movie speak for itself (i.e. the film critic in Lady). Dialogue is still a tad wooden (though some of the acting really doesn't help). There's very little shock value or suspence in a situation that is supposed to be driven by both. I wasn't bored, but wasn't impressed/horrified. He did return to his "less is more" theory for the monster/gore side of things, which I always liked about his movies. The Happening had many issues, but that was one of my main complaints. Interestingly enough, one of my main concerns for this film wasn't an issue at all. That is, well... the title. Devil. Denotes a certain demonic, evil-is-overwhelming theme, yes? Fortunately, the film really wasn't. Surprisingly, it even had some broadly Christian themes to it (forgiveness, accepting responsibility for your actions, etc). Unfortunately, while the film does avoid being overly dark/demonic, it handles the "good feeling virtues" so poorly you might as well have been slapped in the face with cotton candy. ...That analogy doesn't work to well, as that sounds very tasty. Still, the point remains. Devil is, at it's best, still obvious. Should You See It: Strictly rental. Personally, I'd recommend seeing it if you're still trying to be a Shyamalan supporter, but don't expect this to be his redeeming movie. It has a decent premise that is slightly tarnished by over-exposition and mediocre acting/dialogue. Should Kids See This: Not really. The movie is only PG-13, but is still a horror/thriller with "appropriate" levels of carnage. Also, it deals with THE Devil killing people stuck in an elevator. Some children may not cope terribly well.
TiMER Brief: This sci/fi romance (yes, you read that right) involves a "simple," revolutionary bio-technological wrist implant called the TiMER. This innovative device counts down to the exact moment when people will lay eyes on their soul mates. The story arises from the woman who's clock has not even started counting down yet.  My Take: You're first thought, I'm guessing, is, "Why in the world did you watch this?" followed by, "I don't even understand what a sci/fi romace is!?" Well, the answer to the first is that the magic component of sci/fi will almost always override my disinterest in any other portion of the description. I even love sci/fi documentaries. The answer to the second question is relatively simple, much to my chagrin. The sci/fi aspect is just a prop for the story. The techno-babble used to explain the workings of a TiMER is laughable... and that's the beginning and end to the sci/fi you'll find here. Now all that remains is the bulk of the movie, romance. At this point, I'm sure a third question has arisen. "Why then, oh smithy of the nerds, did you keep watching?" To be frank, the answer is the concept is interesting. That is, how exactly would is change your life if you could know, without a shadow of a doubt, when you would meet your soulmate (at which time you wcould also know who s/he is)? How would you live your life between now and that moment? What would you do if you knew it was possible to have that kind of certainty, but for some unknown reason, didn't have it? As far as romances go, it's an original enough of an idea that I was still hooked after the "sci/fi" portion faded. I hate romances and rom coms specifically for their cookie-cutter stories. TiMER is anything but (though it has it's very predictable elements). It also didn't hurt that the main acress is Emma Caulfield, whose character on Buffy the Vampire Slayer was my first "I know she's not real, but..." crushes. Don't judge. Should You See It: I would recommend seeing this film if a) you like the idea of romance films but want something different, b) you like slightly quirky stories or c) you just want to see more of Emma. I would not recommend this film if you're hoping for The Notebook meets Star Trek. It's not cookie cutter enough in the romance department, nor is the sci/fi anything more than a footnote. While I wouldn't recommend it for the "let's set the mood night," it makes for an interesting "let's think how we would approach this" movie, which I enjoy. If you do as well, go for it. Netflix. Streaming. Win. Should Kids See This: No. There's no kids-in-mind review for this, but it's rated R for language, some of it used in a sexual manner. It's also aimed towards at the 30-something, "I'm ready to settle down or have recently settled down and want to reminisce" crowd, so most kids/tweens won't relate too well.