February 13, 2009

REVIEW: Friday the 13th (C)

Come on, don't you know by now that Jason ALWAYS wins at hide-and-go-seek? His feet are as light as a ballerina's.

Find my review from the Star Tribune here.

Grade:
Writing - 8
Acting - 7
Production - 9
Emotional Impact - 7
Music - 5
Social Significance - 1

Total: 37/50= 74% = C

14 comments:

  1. all i want to know is does jason kill some teens/20 somethings when they're about to have sex.


    i always thought that was the film's message. ;)

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  2. Ha, now I don't want to ruin any surprises, glimmer...and this installment actually has much deeper messages about life, love, and- yeah, you're right. Lots of nakedness and blood. He doesn't actually bust in on anyone having sex because he's a gentleman like that and he waits to strike after the mood has passed.

    One note here: possibly more than any movie I've seen in the last decade, the trailer for Friday the 13th literally shows you everything but the topless women. How someone can watch the trailer and still be surprised at when and how all 13 people are killed is a complete mystery to me.

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  3. 'He doesn't actually bust in on anyone having sex because he's a gentleman like that and he waits to strike after the mood has passed.'

    so we have an older/gentler jason.who wants that ?? ;)

    daniel/daniel the fact you weren't surprised at the ending of friday the 13 th say more about you loss of innconnece than you not grapping at figures at u23d. ;)

    i haven't seen the trailer but i guess i will/now. ha ha...


    what's amazing to me is how many people expect this movie to really good/one of the best pre summer or for the year because... the name m.bay is listed somewhere in the credits.


    i really wish 'he just not that into you' made it's debut this weekend. now that's battle that could have got all sorts of prose going.

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  4. ok i just caught the countdown style trailer. daniel, people are gonna be surprised because all we just saw was a dream. ;)

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  5. Hehe, yeah I guess I've just been too desensitized by cliched Hollywood movie endings for too long. Although come to think of it, and I'm serious about this, the VERY last frame in this movie is one of the best I've seen in a while. Great way for it to finish - but again...mostly predictable.

    It's impossible to understand what people expect from Michael Bay. This is the guy that's brought us Bad Boys, Armageddon, The Rock, Pearl Harbor, and Transformers. Plus all of these horror remakes going back for the last six years or so, none of which have been well received. So yeah, I'm with you - it's a mystery where his marketable reputation comes from, at least with horror movies.

    Worst trailer of the year. Has to be, at least so far.

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  6. I just talked to some friends of mine who saw this last night and they told me that it was even worse than the Rob Zombie Halloween remake.

    Now, I'm just wondering...were there any decapitations? That's really all I'm interested in.

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  7. Oh, I was also wondering, how did a horror movie with very little horror in it get an '8' in Writing? I don't understand.

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  8. “One note here: possibly more than any movie I've seen in the last decade, the trailer for Friday the 13th literally shows you everything but the topless women. How someone can watch the trailer and still be surprised at when and how all 13 people are killed is a complete mystery to me.”

    When I was seating there watching the film I knew when almost every kill was going to happen and how. That was the dumbest marketing move they could have possibly made.

    “the VERY last frame in this movie is one of the best I've seen in a while. Great way for it to finish - but again...mostly predictable.

    The ending was weak...and completely predictable.

    “what's amazing to me is how many people expect this movie to really good/one of the best pre summer or for the year because... the name m.bay is listed somewhere in the credits.”

    @glimmer. I didn’t. I expected it to be good because of director Marcus Nispel and what he did with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake.

    @Daniel. The first two-thirds of The Island was Bay’s best film to date.

    “how did a horror movie with very little horror in it get an '8' in Writing? I don't understand.”

    @elgringo. Agreed. The movie’s logic starting falling apart in the second third of the film and continued to the film’s finale.

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  9. Well I didn't see the Halloween remake, Scott, but I'd say your friends are probably right on. Decapitations...hmm...well yes, there is one, but it's not really a new one. You'll just have to see it...

    But not really - it's just the reenactment of Jason's mom's beheading from the first movie.

    8 for writing...hmm...not my easiest defense I admit, but I guess I was lenient enough to give it some points for comedy (though that should go toward an acting score for Aaron Yoo), for not taking itself too seriously, and for somewhat successfully blending the stories from the first few movies into one that works (as much as you buy Jason's existence in the first place).

    The real question is how I rated this as high as I did for finding little quality in it. As an installment in a franchise, however, I guess I tried to be fair in thinking about what it was trying to do. There is a loyal fan base for this movie that, based on the just-announced box-office record, found exactly what they were looking for. As someone who is not interested in what these movies have to offer, I just wouldn't feel right saying it's wrong for everyone.

    Maybe it's kind of like the latest Indy movie. Had it been a one-off movie with the exact same plot and stunts but titled differently and starring Brendan Fraser (hmm, maybe not a stretch...), I think it would have been completely railed against by critics. But it wasn't (at least not completely) - because it had the old name and star and it appealed to the people that it was supposed to appeal to.

    Thanks for commenting, Film-Book, with some great points as well.

    The ending was indeed predictable, but just the way that last shot was physically filmed was kind of cool. I'm pretty sure it was the only slow-mo shot in the whole movie, too.

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  10. The last shot was physically framed well, I admit that...as was the actress involved it but the film was a let down. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake eclipses it completely as does Rob Zombie's Halloween remake. Sorry elgringo. The Halloween remake had far superior dialog than this film.

    Now I am going to have to review this film. See what you did Daniel? Damn it!

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  11. Haha, well since you've seen the two remakes you mentioned and I haven't, I would say it's almost your duty to review this one...

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  12. I finished writing it last night. almost four pages. I couldn't believe it. Now I have to type it up.

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  13. Four pages about Friday the 13th - this I have to see...

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  14. It's up. Here you go:

    http://film-book.com/review-friday-the-13th-2009/

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