Take 4: Speed Dial
Ah...the last of my "catch up" reviews from 2007. Going to keep this "Telephone Titles" review short and sweet, as there weren't any earth-shattering "Must See" films amongst the group. There are a few cautionary tales, however, so you may want to read on, just to be safe...
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The Basics: An action/thriller, starring Kim Basinger, Chris Evans, William H. Macy and Jason Statham; Rated PG-13 for violence, terror situations, language and (GASP!) sexual references
What's Going On?: A science teacher is kidnapped, but manages to cobble together a simple working phone from her place of confinement. She has to rely on blind luck, however, in actually connecting with someone, and ends up making it through to a young slacker who finds himself caught in the middle of a conspiracy plot in downtown LA.
Curt's Take: Run in Fear - Really...for the sake of all that is holy...do not see this film. Not only do they beat you mercilessly over the head with the fact (and I use that term loosely) that if Chris Evans loses the signal on his cellphone, Kim Basinger is basically screwed...but they really make that plot device central to pretty much every scene in the movie. There aren't really any likeable characters in the film, except perhaps William H. Macy's...but even then it's more out of pity that he ended up in this loser of a movie. Plus, they go to LAX, and it's not even LAX. Pathetic.
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The Basics: A horror-laced mystery from South Korea (under the native title Pon); Rated R for violence/disturbing images and some sexual material
What's Going On?: A journalist changes her cellphone number to escape a threatening cyber-stalker, and ends up with a phone number that has belonged a string of people who have all died under mysterious circumstances. Plus, she's now getting "Unlisted" calls that are just damn creepy. What's the history of the phone number, is her life in danger, and is this just a knock-off of The Ring?
Curt's Take: Not a Priority - Considering that I had to go online to help understand the plot (yeah, it was pretty confusing), I wouldn't spend a lot of energy trying to track this film down and watch it. I originally added it to my list thinking it was the Asian predecessor of the American film One Missed Call, but it turns out that it wasn't. I do have to say, though, that the ending was damn creepy and scary...and even though I wasn't sure what had really transpired up to that point, or why the ending was supposed to make sense, it did have me on the edge of my seat.
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The Basics: An independent silent film based on the works of horror author H.P. Lovecraft, meant to hearken back to the early days of stylized black and white horror movies
What's Going On?: A dying professor turns over documents to his nephew that detail the machinations of a mysterious cult, and the history of the men who had been tracking and researching it over the past several decades. The nephew takes on the mantle of investigator and tries to get to the bottom of what is going on...while maintaining his grip on sanity.
Curt's Take: Worth Considering - I'd recommend checking this out not for the story or the high-quality filmmakinig, but rather because it's a valiant attempt to recreate the feel of the era of silent films, right down to the special effect, title/speech cards, and music. Plus, it's only 45 minutes long, so it's not huge time commitment. And if you're a fan of horror literature, you may just get a kick out of seeing H.P. Lovecraft's most famous story translated into a short film.
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The Basics: A British telefilm based on a mystery written by the great Agatha Christie
What's Going On?: A group of friends are staying at a country manor, and one of them dies in his bed. Later, it's discovered that the death may, in fact, have been murder...and that a mysterious secret society known as the Seven Dials was likely involved. One young woman, along with a couple of her friends, steps in to investigate...bringing herself closer to the center of a dangerous conspiracy.
Curt's Take: Don't Bother - And this one was added because I was looking for another movie with a "telephone"-type word in the title. I love a good mystery...and you can usually count on Agatha Christie to deliver, but this teleplay falls way short of other more dedicated films. It's lengthy, overly-complicated, and I'm still not sure of everything that happened. If you're going to sit through a Christie mystery, check out Death on the Nile or Ten Little Indians instead.
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Cellular (2004)
The Basics: An action/thriller, starring Kim Basinger, Chris Evans, William H. Macy and Jason Statham; Rated PG-13 for violence, terror situations, language and (GASP!) sexual references
What's Going On?: A science teacher is kidnapped, but manages to cobble together a simple working phone from her place of confinement. She has to rely on blind luck, however, in actually connecting with someone, and ends up making it through to a young slacker who finds himself caught in the middle of a conspiracy plot in downtown LA.
Curt's Take: Run in Fear - Really...for the sake of all that is holy...do not see this film. Not only do they beat you mercilessly over the head with the fact (and I use that term loosely) that if Chris Evans loses the signal on his cellphone, Kim Basinger is basically screwed...but they really make that plot device central to pretty much every scene in the movie. There aren't really any likeable characters in the film, except perhaps William H. Macy's...but even then it's more out of pity that he ended up in this loser of a movie. Plus, they go to LAX, and it's not even LAX. Pathetic.
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Phone (2002)
The Basics: A horror-laced mystery from South Korea (under the native title Pon); Rated R for violence/disturbing images and some sexual material
What's Going On?: A journalist changes her cellphone number to escape a threatening cyber-stalker, and ends up with a phone number that has belonged a string of people who have all died under mysterious circumstances. Plus, she's now getting "Unlisted" calls that are just damn creepy. What's the history of the phone number, is her life in danger, and is this just a knock-off of The Ring?
Curt's Take: Not a Priority - Considering that I had to go online to help understand the plot (yeah, it was pretty confusing), I wouldn't spend a lot of energy trying to track this film down and watch it. I originally added it to my list thinking it was the Asian predecessor of the American film One Missed Call, but it turns out that it wasn't. I do have to say, though, that the ending was damn creepy and scary...and even though I wasn't sure what had really transpired up to that point, or why the ending was supposed to make sense, it did have me on the edge of my seat.
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The Call of Cthulhu (2005)
The Basics: An independent silent film based on the works of horror author H.P. Lovecraft, meant to hearken back to the early days of stylized black and white horror movies
What's Going On?: A dying professor turns over documents to his nephew that detail the machinations of a mysterious cult, and the history of the men who had been tracking and researching it over the past several decades. The nephew takes on the mantle of investigator and tries to get to the bottom of what is going on...while maintaining his grip on sanity.
Curt's Take: Worth Considering - I'd recommend checking this out not for the story or the high-quality filmmakinig, but rather because it's a valiant attempt to recreate the feel of the era of silent films, right down to the special effect, title/speech cards, and music. Plus, it's only 45 minutes long, so it's not huge time commitment. And if you're a fan of horror literature, you may just get a kick out of seeing H.P. Lovecraft's most famous story translated into a short film.
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The Seven Dials Mystery (1982)
The Basics: A British telefilm based on a mystery written by the great Agatha Christie
What's Going On?: A group of friends are staying at a country manor, and one of them dies in his bed. Later, it's discovered that the death may, in fact, have been murder...and that a mysterious secret society known as the Seven Dials was likely involved. One young woman, along with a couple of her friends, steps in to investigate...bringing herself closer to the center of a dangerous conspiracy.
Curt's Take: Don't Bother - And this one was added because I was looking for another movie with a "telephone"-type word in the title. I love a good mystery...and you can usually count on Agatha Christie to deliver, but this teleplay falls way short of other more dedicated films. It's lengthy, overly-complicated, and I'm still not sure of everything that happened. If you're going to sit through a Christie mystery, check out Death on the Nile or Ten Little Indians instead.
posted by Curt at 10:42 PM
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