Hello everyone, I’m TheCinemaChick and I managed to see a movie with two drinks and popcorn for three bucks tonight! But that isn’t important at all. What is important is that I saw a movie that won’t even crack the top three this weekend.
That’s right; I’m talking about the newly released Straw Dogs. I was excited to see this movie. I saw the cast and the previews had me hooked so I talked Fry and Butterfly into seeing it with me tonight. Well, if you’ve seen the previews, you’ve seen the only good parts. Yeah…it’s one of those movies. It looks good then it disappoints you. I’ve been equating this film to bad sex. You try so hard for a good climax only to be disappointed in the end.
I apologize if that offends you, but let’s move on.
As you know, I don’t believe in spoiling a movie, but honestly, even I didn’t get understand the plot. There were two separate stories that intertwined at the end but the way they were presented didn’t make sense. Plot A would be going along then Plot B would be stuck in at random times so it didn’t feel cohesive. The plots weren’t even combined until the last fifteen minutes or so.
I’d say this movie falls into a three act film. The first act is exposition, the second is rising action while the third is the abrupt end. I actually took out my phone and looked at the time. One hour into the film and I was bored. Yes, scary movies have to build up tension but this didn’t. It just kept going and going and going. People cheered when a guy got his hand nailed to a wall. Yes, people were excited to see violence because everything leading up to that was just that boring.
In fact, it was so boring, I took notes.
There are two main things I want to touch on about Straw Dogs. The first one is something I couldn’t tolerate and the other one is something I absolutely loved.
Ok, there is a sexually explicit scene in the movie. That’s not what bothered me. At this point, I’ve seen everything that can be shown in a movie theater but this crossed a line. The fact that it was a graphic rape shocked me. The lead female, Amy (played by Kate Bosworth) is raped by her ex Charlie (Alexander Skarsgard) and Vic. I watched it in absolute horror and believe me when I say you pretty much see all of Kate Bosworth in this film. To make matters worse, I knew there were a few people in there younger than me, one of which I’m pretty sure was a minor. As if that weren’t bad enough, there are flashbacks of the rape throughout the rest of the movie. Once was enough, don’t bring it back up.
The other scene I want to mention is much shorter and is actually very tame. Right before all the action in the film, there’s a short scene that’s just a close up of David (played by James Marsden) sitting in the kitchen. Half his face is shadowed, the film quality goes a bit grainy and the intent is clear. The whole point is showing a man’s sanity break. You see him go from fear to survival mode. I was so impressed with Marsden’s acting in that moment that I wish the rest of the movie didn’t suck because his performance is almost award worthy. The thing is, he doesn’t show it outright. It’s so subtle but it’s just beautiful. It was purely psychological, which should have been used more than it was.
Overall, I didn’t like this movie. I wanted to like Straw Dogs and I won’t lie, part of me only saw it because it has Alexander Sarsgard. But I was also hoping it would be a truly scary film. It never even reached a point where I could call it a psychological thriller or horror. At best, it’s a drama, even with the brutal murders and explicit rape.
I’ll give Straw Dogs some credit. It did get creative with the ways it killed some of the people. Who knew someone would actually use hot oil as a weapon? And the way they used the bear trap…that was gross and interesting.
Also, be on the lookout for some continuity issues. There’s a scene where Amy sits on the kitchen counter and slices into an apple. It’s clearly an apple, but in the close up, it’s a peach but once the shot goes wide again, it’s an apple. While I’m aware that there are peaches with white flesh, it’s still obvious that it changes. Peaches don’t from white to yellow back to white. In this same scene, Charlie is hammering some wood on the roof, leaving clear indentations of the hammer head in the wood. There is a cutaway to Amy flashing them but when we’re back on Charlie, the board is completely smooth.
Ah yes, while I’m on the topic of Amy’s breasts, you’re going to see them a lot. Apparently the character does not own any bras. Yeah…be ready for a lot of that. The movie did make fun of it because David even points out that she never wears one, so that’s why the guys working on the roof keep staring at her. I don’t care if you do have a small chest Kate Bosworth, please get the proper attire. I don’t want to see that on you or anyone.
So there you have it. Straw Dogs wasn’t worth it. The dialogue is lame, the movie never quite hits its peak, it doesn't make Southerners look good and it makes you never want to play chess again. It’s long, boring and overrated. The perk for me was seeing Alexander Skarsgard get shirtless a few times. Kate Bosworth isn’t going to even be nominated for a single award with her poor performance. James Marsden was great and Alexander Skarsgard was just nice to look at.
Long story short, skip this one.
Butterfly told me we should have gone and seen Drive and he was right.
That’s all I’ve got to stay. Stick around because for October, Fry and I are going to make an interesting blog we’re calling “How to survive a horror film”. We’re going to help you survive in any situation should you find yourself being chased by a serial killer.
Well guys, that’s it for this blog. I’m TheCinemaChick and I have a crush on Alexander Skarsgard.
Until next time, on behalf of myself and my movie watching crew, I bid you a pleasant theater experience.
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