| Movie Review of "The Others" This is, unlike the next movie review coming your poor way, a good movie. In fact, it�s so good that I cannot bear to say anything bad about it. Which leaves me in a dilemma. Should I actually be the positive person that I usually am and simply rave about it? Or should I just poke fun at certain things? You and I both will enjoy the latter option. You and I both. The other problem, of course, is giving away details to the plot, which I will try my darnedest not to do, because it�s a twisty plot and I don�t want to ruin the fun for all of you. But I might end up spilling some spoilers while being totally unaware of it. Consider yourself warned. Proceed at your own risk. �The Others� is a scary movie starring Nicole Kidman and directed by Spaniard Alejandro Amenabar. Amenabar directed the Spanish movie which the upcoming �Vanilla Sky� (Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz) remakes. Watch �Vanilla Sky�, and watch this too. Anyway, Tom Cruise also produced �The Others�, and Nicole was actually willing to pull out of the film since filming began after their publicized divorce. But Tom and Alejandro assured her it would be okay. Good on Nicole � her performance here is definitely one of the best for a lead actress in a movie this year. Movie begins with an establishing shot of Jersey in 1945, and then some mansion-looking thing. Then we hear a scream. Good grief, are people screaming already? It�s just a house that looks haunted, people, we�re not even a minute into the movie. Oh, wait. That scream wasn�t from the others in the theatre. Heh, it wasn�t even the voices in my head. Uh, got me scared for a while there. No, I�m not scared. No. It was Nicole herself. Screaming in bed. Gee, when was the last time she did that since she got hitched to Tom- oh, never mind. Yes, she squealed on the bed in front of Ewan McGregor in �Moulin Rouge� (save that e-mail, all you Ewan-lovers, I know you all would squeal too), but this was a scream. You know, like those that people on TV and movies seem to do whenever they have nightmares. I�ve never screamed when I get nightmares, I just sweat, but then again, I�m a guy, so what would I know. Is this a nightmare? Oh, Nicole, this does not bode well for you. Tom really is shorter than you are, it�s not a nightmare. And yeah, Penelope does �act� in quite a nightmarish way as well, so that wasn�t a nightmare either. Hmm � what could be bothering Nicole? Ah, looks like she�s getting some companions. Three people are walking up to the mansion, talking about someone possibly being dead. Dead? Oh, goodie! Wait, that didn�t come across right, did it? I mean, there�s one possibly dead person, so I guess that�s one less person to kill in the scary movie, whoever they were talking about. Oh, hang on. This is a haunted house movie, isn�t it? Damn. So I guess the dead will find a way to come to life somehow. Nicole answers the door. Okay, so they are there looking for a job. Housekeeper, Gardener and Mute Girl To Be Bossed Around (what she does around the house was never quite established, I think). Nicole invites them in and shows them around the- oh my goodness, what is she wearing?! Oh wait, this isn�t �Moulin Rouge�. Nicole Kidman is supposed to wear curtains in this one. So she wouldn�t be stripping then, I guess. Who am I kidding, this is a freaking horror movie. Hey, I wonder if Nicole was wearing these patternless and grey-looking curtains during her duet with Robbie Williams, because you know, the qualities of her dress here sure match her voice in that song. This is creepy. What is this about locking each door behind them before unlocking the next? Is this supposed to be significant later on? I don�t know when scotchtape or labels were invented, but that sure is a huge bunch of keys. I wonder how Nicole actually keeps track which key fits into which hole. Oh man, I keep digressing. I really am scared, ain�t I? Meet The Children! Hey, you remember that movie �Meet The Parents� with Ben Stiller and Robert de Niro? That was such a box-office success that they are doing a sequel called �Meet The Fockers�. Of course, that sequel title would mean nothing to you unless you actually met the parents. Anyway, in order to meet the children, Nicole bosses Housekeeper and gang to close all the curtains. Apparently, her children have an allergic reaction to natural light, so the house has to always be dark. Oh, great. This is just great. Probably not even ten minutes into the show and we�re already doing the dark thing. Instead they light candles. What is this?! 1945? Oh yeah, we are in 1945, Nicole�s dress just reminded me. Nicole commands the Housekeeping Gang to stay outside the room while she goes into the bedroom to fetch the children. Alright, this is it. If she appears with two polar bears that are heat and light intolerant, I am so out of here. Actually, not. I think polar bears will probably be less scary than children. Okay, Nicole, I take that back- oh damn, they are children after all. Anne and Nicholas, they�re called. (continued on next page ...) |