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Sadly Over-hyped

Fantastic!

As Good As It Gets

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

An old man without a plan, a young woman without a plan, and a young man without a plan go into the woods unjustifiably confident of meting out justice to a psychopathic maniac. It's a formula movie that for some reason does not stick to the formula. We all recognize the set up (innocent woman terrorized), we all know what is coming (this one's got gumption and fights back) and we're all rooting for the payoff (cocky bad guy gets humbled) but in this movie, the payoff is so low key as to be almost non-existent. There's lots of driving in trucks through the woods, lots of old men telling tales about bad things that happened long ago and a lot of Anthony Hopkins standing around looking morose. Other than that, not much. It ends abruptly, and seriously looks like they cut the final 10 minutes from the story. A disappointing script for all involved, especially Hopkins and Liota. Their talents are not apparent here at all.

I don't get the bad reviews...it's a good plot, survival of the fittest. I think it's a film worth seeing just because of the plot. It felt like something real that actually happens. Sometimes you can't count on the authorities to help you because they just don't care and this film portraits that. It's not the best film of your life but it's better than a lot of films nowadays. At least I didn't fall asleep like I did on Avengers or was it Captain America? Maybe it was Spider man or Iron man, not sure they all look the same. (PS: I never payed for these films, always got free tickets).

Film is available on Netflix, but not recommended for family entertainment. For one thing, the language is (needlessly) foul in places.. which usually means the actors can't act, or the writers can't write so they insert bad language to add an 'edge' (so-called). In this case, we have a capable cast with a mix of talent: Stiles, the able-bodied likable aide to Jason Bourne; Ray Liotta, the ex-cop turned bad in a 'stalker' role; and award-winning Hopkins, who steps up to assist dear Julia in dealing with the thug (Liotta), when no one else, including the law, will. Talent OK - hence, we can indict the scriptwriter for a mediocre effort. Example: Julia keeps saying, "I can handle this on my own - it's my problem." But... she can't. If she could, we wouldn't have a movie.The obvious answer is that Julia should have telephoned Jason Bourne -- this is his kind of fight. Instead, she joins Hopkins on a quest to track down 'Blackway', who has been harassing her. This takes quite a while, for some reason, and finally leads to a showdown on Blackways' turf, deep in the woods. How improbable is that? Why would a group of amateurs venture away from a quiet town in the wooded Pacific Northwest to confront a deranged sociopath on his own turf (because that's what the script says, I guess). I will leave the issue of why Hopkins, a major talent on the Shakespearean level, would accept such a poorly-contrived project, to someone else.As much as I like Stiles & Hopkins, if you are looking for 'sleepers' on Netflix, keep looking. This ain't one of them.

There is an aura of intrigue in the location shooting that captivated me. I live In a small mountain town with it's share of tragedy and moody fogginess. Hopkins is as elegant as ever, and a delight to behold, but the story itself could use more depth. I actually thought it was filmed near my present home until read it was set in Vancouver..the atmosphere, music and photography kept me in a certain spell despite the uneven script. Unusual. Very down-to-earth dialogue and setting.