Frailty--I never promised you a rose garden

[Remo D]

Okay--BLADE II is the juiciest, most kick-ass "monster" movie all year to date and then some.

Now--who's ready for some HORROR?

Go. See. FRAILTY. Now.

Don't let anyone spoil it--just go.

Then meet me back here, and THEN we'll talk.

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"Nya-nya, nya-nya, nyahh-nyahh... I made you eat your parents!!!" --Cartman

[Jon]

This one's high on my must see list, but who know when or if it'll make it Down Under. Perhaps only decent US Box office can guarantee a wide release, so please go and see it
Been a fan of Bill Paxton for a while (anyone else love THE VAGRANT?) and it's nice to see him finally direct a feature 20 years after doing the "Fishheads" music video.

[bruce h]

It's more of a drama than a horror film, and there is NO gore. There are a few nice twists throughout, but unfortunately the first half is directed SO flatly that the spiraling dementia actually turns into a broad black comedy - an INEXCUSABLE misstep in a film that should be as deadly serious as humanly possible. After the opening 45-minute laff riot it’s IMPOSSIBLE to take the subsequent grimness soberly, and the film fails to maintain suspense because of it.

A nice effort, but overall I wouldn’t recommend it. More of a foul tip than a home run.

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[Remo D]

Couldn't possibly agree less, and I don't know how you found it to be a "laff riot" at all. FRAILTY sets up a genuinely horrific situation for one to find oneself caught up in through no fault of one's own--and then comes up with an even more frightening concept. I was caught up in this one from beginning to end. And "flatly directed?" Not in my book (and yes, one day it WILL be a book).

[Griff [Mola]]

Oh yeah, I'm looking forward to this one. I'd heard that Paxton had a feature on the way but I didn't find out about the subject matter until just recently. And to think its generally gotten good, if not excellent, reviews.

We'll just have to hang tight until it finds it's way down here, Jon. And yeah, you gotta love THE VAGRANT, especially Paxton's response to Michael Ironside when he asks "What could you possibly say?".

Hmmm, whatever happened to Chris Walas?

[Latte Thunder]

I finally caught this one last night and thought it was a genuinely cool movie right up until the ending... which I thought was just too far fetched for me.

Maybe it's just because the twist ending is becoming a mainstay in thriller movies these days and I'm getting used to it, but I saw all of the twists coming from a mile away. At least when they were revealed they were clever enough to be enjoyable still... except for that ending. I just could not buy it.

I would have ended it on a much more ambiguous note.

It's really hard to talk about this one without blowing it.

[Remo D]

I see what you mean, and I agree that the "twists and surprises" that make up the framework of FRAILTY aren't all that surprising. I, too, saw them all in advance. But the film itself still worked--the effect still came through on the strength of the premise itself (and the performances involved, of course). From the moment that Bill Paxton woke his sons and told them about his "visitation" and their "new job," the feeling of true horror never left me, and it only got worse.

Yeah, predictable things happened, but the horror of the INEVITABLE can be just as bad as any attempt at "gotcha!"

Okay, the next post will have to have spoilers in it--so if anyone else is at all interested in seeing FRAILTY, see it now, as it's bombing horribly. Critics and fans are split down the middle--it's either an empty-chair review (the S.F. Chronicle) or the full four stars (Roger Ebert!!!). But it's no "fun" way to spend an evening in either case...



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"Nya-nya, nya-nya, nyahh-nyahh... I made you eat your parents!!!" --Cartman

[Scott]

The ending was somewhat of a disappointment but overall I thought Frailty was pretty damn good. A nice directing job on the part of Bill Paxton. Certainly better than some of the recent teen slashers recently.

[beyond]

I agree, it was kinda spooky until the end when they totally lost it. I doubt i'll even remember the name of it a couple of years from now,haha.

[blacking factory]

Oh come on everybody. Its exactly what it's supposed to be...a quiet little "scary" with the focus on characterization and performance. I liked it. A LOT. Yeah I saw the ending coming a mile away, thats okay though. Same with The Others. And the Crying Game (I was surprised people even called it a surprise ending...it was obvious to me the entire film) I cant believe it got an "empty seat" rating in the Chronicle.
Good film. Ive got to go back and watch it again, but I think I may have caught a TCM2 in-joke in there somewhere, but its probably my over-active 6 degree's of seperation thing-y.

[FOG]

SPOILERS?

Because of how sick and pretty twisted this movie was, I thought it was great!

until the end! Which made everything in the story ok.

UNECESSARY! Would have been way better if the dad had stayed a fucking nutcase. I did not see that last twist coming, but it did not affect me in any way other than I wish the movie had ended before that point.

Great first hour and a half though. Perhaps next time this crew ventures out we can expect perfection?

The fucking angel that looked like a dirty viking was sick!

[Latte Thunder]

Great first hour and a half though. Perhaps next time this crew ventures out we can expect perfection?

My feelings exactly. I thought this one worked so well, it's just that the ending didn't settle well with me. I felt that everything up to that point was excellent and moody... but they had to add a layer of cheese and it just didn't mix well with the other ingredients, you know?

I thought Bill Paxton's acting was really good too. I normally think he's a ham and some of his last few movies that I've seen were such turn offs. This was a real grounded performance, given the situation.