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FRAILTY Review
Going on a road trip to Dallas just to watch a movie is not something I want to make a habit of, but this afternoon, night and early pre-morning hours were a blast to hit I-35 out of Austin headed for the trash décor of a suburban Dallas Cinemark.
Around 1400 (CST) The lovely Dorothy Parker arrived at Geek Headquarters to await the arrival of Patch’s muscle car. You see, on this trip, when I’m hitting the highway to see the feature directorial debut of Bill Paxton (aka Chet aka Hudson aka Severen aka Hurricane Dixon aka Morgan Earp aka Simon aka Zachary Cody aka Bokky and Hank Mitchell). Dorothy and I begin to try and talk, but the evil telephone never ceases ringing with morning show radio requests… ugh.
1533 (CST) Hits and the deadly Patch arrives with the rumbling muscle car sound on her road monster. We felt its roar in our sternums and knew this would be a wild ride. Patch and Dorothy Parker begin making fun of me… I realize that I-35 will become a river of my own tears as these two will destroy my will to live. By the end of the evening, they’ll of made me wear a felt hat, a coonskin hat, a Muppet skinned boa, Lolita’s sunglasses and I’d love every minute of it. But I’m weird that way, so Rav says to me at night.
1545 (CST) We hit I-35 laying rubber due North. It was like something out of CLOCKSTOPPERS as even at one moment the Amtrak train alongside seemed to be going so slow in comparison as to look like it was moving in reverse. Patch had removed all the numbers from her speedometer… it seems she knows when she’s going fast enough, which I’m told would mean she’d be in bed and asleep.
1550 (CST) Waco flies by in a blur.
1600 (CST) We sit in the parking lot of the Cinemark 17 with attached IMAX and wait for our souls to catch up, we believed they were left somewhere back in Pflugerville, but the winds would carrying them to us.
1830 (CST) Our souls arrive at the theater and we begin to consciously perceive our current location. Why is it that Cinemark theaters seemed to have been colored by the same people that paint aquarium rocks? And why is the lighting like a really bad discotheque?
1845 (CST) Bill Paxton arrives at the theater as numerous Dallas attendees begin screaming like crazed heroin junkies eating Lucky Charms in pursuit of that ebony black kettle of golden delights.
1915 (CST) We three swingin’ geeks hit the screening room, where I notice to my horror that I will have to ascend a 136 and three-quarters cliff face to get to my seat. Having seen CLIFFHANGER twice in theaters and VERTICAL LIMIT once too many, I clear the trip with little to no problems. I slipped only once and maybe broke my legs, but Patch tells me the Nazis will fix me up, and Dorothy Parker warns that I may talk under scopolamine. They begin giggling like the children of the damned.
1930 (CST) The feel of this soulless monstrosity of a theater is like that of the Tall Man’s Mausoleum had it been designed by the rejected visual artistes of the Teletubbies. The energy in the room is dead. Just no buzz, no vibe. It is like recording music in a concrete box… no warmth. The audience seems to not be pumped up, not excited.
1932 (CST) The audience has a mini-eruption of applause and cheers as Paxton enters the screening room. The applause dies quickly as the Regional Vice President of the Cinemark Theaters hits the microphone. Paxton takes over and gives a very lackluster introduction that just kinda tells ya that he knows the movie is about to play and he hopes you make it through the film. He then leaves instead of staying around for the film. Patch, Dorothy Parker and I all look at each other as if to say, "What the fuck?" Instantly the energy in the room sucks it back a bit.
1940 (CST) The movie begins.
Coming into this movie I was excited by three quotes:
"Electrifying. A tale of madness and elemental evil that keeps you guessing until the very last shot." – James Cameron
"The most disturbing horror picture I’ve seen since THE SHINING" – Sam Raimi
"It’s unique, thought provoking, edge-of-your-seat entertainment." -- Stephen King
The quote from Sam Raimi was the one that got me. I wondered… Had Sam seen HENRY PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER? Probably not, because frankly I find that film far more disturbing than Kubrick’s masterpiece. However, that’s beside the point. This was a movie that reminded Sam Raimi of the feelings of uneasiness that was throughout THE SHINING.
Personally I feel that Sam’s quote does a disservice to FRAILTY, by bringing that film up, I felt that I was forced to think throughout the film, "This is no where near as good as THE SHINING." Which isn’t fair to FRAILTY.
Bill Paxton’s first directorial effort is creepy, atmospheric and disturbing. It is. I think Stephen King’s quote is completely fair. However, James Cameron’s quote also was a disservice because you should not be trying to guess what the twist is going to be. That should just hit ya. Just ta-daaaaaaaa… That sort of thing.
Ok, what’s FRAILTY about?
Imagine this… You’re 11 years old. The biggest most important thing in the world to you is whether or not you’re going to go see FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF or BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA the next day. You and your little brother doze off to sleep when suddenly your wonderful father… Dad, who never has crackpot theories, who has never beat you, who has never done anything out of the ordinary… Suddenly he comes into the bedroom waking you up from your sleep telling you he had just had an audience with an angel sent from God. That JUDGEMENT DAY is on the way and that Satan had already released Demons upon the Earth and that the final battle was at hand, and your family. You, your brother and daddy were going to be given 3 magical weapons with which to combat these demons. You and your family would become the hand of God in the final battle.
Yeah. You’re 11 years old, Dad’s never been crazy before. What do you do?
That’s about as much as you frankly need to know. Suffice to say the magical weapons are an axe named OTIS, a pair of ratty gloves and a cinch pipe. Not exactly the Joshua’s Horn or Moses’ Staff or the Ark of the Covenant, but hey.. We live in mediocre times, God left all the really good ideas back around the times of the pyramids. Oh well, he’s pretty old.
What follows is a really terrible situation. Sort of the anti-Atticus Finch type of Dad. Paxton plays Dad as a loving and caring man that must destroy Demons that the world believes are regular people. He doesn’t like what he has to do, but who is he to question the will of God. And his sons… Well, they must believe, lest upon that Judgement Day they be sent to Hell instead of being embraced into the bosom of Heaven alongside his lovely wife. What he does to MAKE them believe…. Shivers mate shivers.
Paxton playing this father with the simple loving nature quality gives it an air of creepiness that really is quite pervasive. I actually began associating this understanding father with my dad. And given my mother had a complete 180 personality shift that left me wondering if the Invaders from Mars had poked the back of her neck… This sort of parental weirdness was easily within my ability to buy.
Matthew McCounaghey is the surviving brother that is telling the entire story of youth to Powers Boothe, an FBI agent in Dallas, Texas. All of this plays out very good.
Truthfully, I liked the movie while I watched it, but since I’ve left the theater, had the discussions on the road with Patch and Dorothy Parker, I’ve come to like the film even more. In fact, I like the film more at this point of the review than at the beginning.
Why is that?
Well, there is a lot here that I don’t want to talk about, but I like how this isn’t just a SLASHER FILM. How this movie deals with questions of sanity, faith, family and duty. I like the way Paxton plays with the nature of childhood in the film. The boy, Fenton… he’s the older boy. He really is quite wonderful, not only as an actor, but also as a character. He knows that all of this is wrong. He wants to not be a part of this. God doesn’t exist, God wouldn’t ask his father to start killing people and if God existed he’d make his father stop. Right?
FRAILTY plays with these questions very well. It shies away from the scary horrible gore. It instead focuses on Paxton’s DAD character and the two sons: Adam and Fenton. By focusing on this instead of the acts of horror they are conducting, you are making the horror more personal and less ejaculatory. This isn’t a Fangoria horror film, this is that creepy by yourself what if horror film.
My problems with the movie? Personally I didn’t care for the intentional underlining of the final resolution. I preferred a more ambiguous ending that left the questions as questions instead of answered. Though at least on our car ride through the blackness of Texas back to Austin there was a bit of debate over what really happened and the perceptions of all that. Was the film a 2 dimensional film about mental illness and murder? Or was it something else? Personally I say it was something else. I like that, its creepier, scarier and more disturbing if you interpret the movie in that other direction.
But then I’m the guy that believe Arnold was in the RECALL chair the whole time through TOTAL RECALL. Simply because I like that.
This isn’t a great film, but I thought it was damn good.
After the film, Paxton went on a nearly hour long Q&A with the Dallas audience that I was completely fascinated by. You see, I’m so spoiled by Austin audiences and the Q&A’s there that I couldn’t believe I was hearing confrontational questions coming at filmmakers. So much so that at one point Paxton said, "Damn this is a tough audience."
It seemed that they didn’t come to enjoy the film so much as they came to pick at it. Questions drawing a parallel between his movie and killing abortion clinic doctors and how he apparently endorses that… That this is a pro-child abuse film… That he stole this element from here and there… These were not the standard filmmaking questions or career questions. Nobody really asked about Chet or Hudson… There was a question about Sam Raimi, but none about James Cameron. A pretty hostile audience. That’s something I have never seen in an Austin special screening. VERY STRANGE. Patch, Dorothy Parker and myself were all a bit stunned. Amazed. Perplexed.
On the way back to Austin we talked about visions, what would you do if you woke up in the middle of the night with an angel from God asking you to take action? When would you believe? When would you have faith? Is there anything you could see that could compel you into actions like those in the film? It was a wonderful ride back, where we were enveloped in discussions about things that could be a bit of undigested gravy as we slowly passed a MASH helicopter on the way home…. Three times. Life is weird, and so is this movie.
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+ Expand All
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EVERQUEST: THE MOVIE
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All your bombs in ribcage are belong to beer and cheets on shaved poodle
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game over, man!
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Well I always wondered thought it ways curious there were never any articles on AICN talkback about the remake of THE SHINING on ABC. I've never seen HENRY, PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER myself (not available at the stores where I live, checking out cable for it which is the only place I've seen many of the movies talked about here but never available on VHS/DVD) and to be honest while I don't mind watching Kubrick's movie, I prefer King's mini-series to it. As for FRAILTY, I'll see it myself to judge whether or not it's good. I admit the comments about the film by Raimi, Cameron, and King have gotten to eager to see the film. Here's hoping we've finally got a good horror film on our hands.
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I don't know. As soon as I see the words, "Harry Here," I head for the hills. Two recent pieces by Moriarty confirm my belief that this humble, sometimes brilliant writer should start his own site. Hell, Moriarty could run his own magazine. I'd buy it. He's got a helluva lot of humility and I believe he truly loves films whereas I sometimes believe that Harry is in love with his own ego and the fame that has come from his love of film. Harry's articles and reviews have become completely impossible for me to read. Alexandra Dupont and Moriarty should seriously think about carving up their own empire. Either that or they need to reign in on Harry's raging ego. Hate to be critical and I know the sycophants love flaming the people who criticize Harry, but come on... look at this review. Was all of that necessary? Do we always have to get these completely self-conscious literary moments from Harry in his reviews?
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good review, dude. I dig the whole "what I did and how that affected my mindset for the flick" review you don't see much anymore. But, seriously, that 2nd paragraph wasn't cool.
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Paxton rules. I look forward to his movie. Do you know what time is?
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Apr 04, 2002 10:19:18 PM CST
Tough audience? Paxton is KING!!! Respect his AUTHORITAH!!!!!
by psyclops
I saw a tough crowd rip up a celebrity once. It was an awful sight,... so much blood,... so much pain,.... so many bruised egos. Paxton is a different story. You don't rip apart a guy that talented unless you wants yerself a good ass-kickin'!!! RESPECT!!!
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I don't post much but after listening to Harry raving about Jeepers Creepers and saying it was the best movie ever... And then seeing it myself and it being SHEER AND UTTER LARD... I wont trust harry's opinion on movies like this ever again. This review just reeks of the kind of feeling that his Jeepers Creepers review did.
I mean, loving Jeepers Creeper and this moving but glancing over Session 9 completely. You should be ashamed. -
Apr 04, 2002 11:06:53 PM CST
I read this when drunk, and thought Harry was travelling through
by poshkittykat
1845... 1930... Wow! Harry is the man! Then I forced myself to sober up a little, and read it properly. Has me psyched to see the movie (and not just because, like everyone else here, Paxton rocks my little geek world). One thing though... I hate even knowing there is a twist. I don't want to know there's a twist coming up, it's distracting. Also, it has me expecting a twist during every movie I watch. "Wow! She got on the freaking bus in 'Ghost World'! I don't get it! Was she a ghost all along? Was Steve Buscemi the villain? What the fudge?" That was a pretty fucked example, but it might make sense to, like, the Unabomber, or someone. Or maybe not.
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bill paxton doing a deep spooky horror flick, who'd of thunk it? nice going hudson!
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I couldn't agree more with Harry's review of FRAILTY, or disagree more with his interpretation of the "hostile audience questions" after the screening. For the record, the question was "Does it trouble you that your conclussion suggests that God did in fact tell these guys to slay demons when there are people killing doctors who perform abortions who say the same thing?". I know, because I asked the question. Bill Paxton did a great job of defending the choices he made and the many buttons he pushes in the picture, from the stark, ominous cinematography to the contradictions in his portrayal of the father, and finally to the precarious moral message left at the end of the movie. I suppose it's unfair to suggest that a movie might cross the imaginary line of controversy with its religious implications, but you must admit that FRAILTY does more than merely entertain, it makes you think.
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Nooooo!!! He really did get the girl and save the entire planet!!
SCREW YOU COHAGEN!!!! -
Why does everyone from Austin have to make digs at Dallas whenever they write about it? I've had the displeasure of living in the suburban sprawl of Dallas as well as the pretentious hippie-ville of Austin. They both have their drawbacks. Also, Dallas doesn't get nearly as many screenings as Austin, so maybe the audience didn't want to waste time on frivolous questions. Anyway, once you got around to the review (for the record, I generally appreciate your inclusion of mindset and expectation in you reviews) I was intrigued and again looking forward to seeing the movie. By the way, Bill Paxton is from Fort Worth and Fort Worth totally kicks Dallas and Austin in the nuts. Go Horned Frogs!!!!!
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BILL PAXTON IS THE MAN!!!!!!btw: i saw Tomcats, and it changed my evening. It was a very very funny film. Screw the masses.
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Apr 05, 2002 5:36:08 AM CST
Isn't this basically Unbreakable done Willie Aames-Bibleman
by toiletduckhuffer
Those kids weren't trying to decide on Ferris Bueler or Big Trouble in Little China.
It was either Meatballs or the Warriors.
The evil kid wanted to see The Warriors. I mean, that gives away the whole twist ending right there. What kind of demon goes to see Meatballs?
If I was a demon, I'd much rather watch The Warriors, especially if I'd already seen Meatballs more than once.
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Apr 05, 2002 8:14:13 AM CST
Harry - If you think The Shining or Henry POASK are disturbing..
by chilli kramer
You should see Michael Haneke's 'Funny Games'. A film so disturbing that the Cannes audience nearly all walked out, AND THAT WAS THE POINT. A film that raises all kinds of questions about audiences love of violence, simply by showing violence and torture as it relly is. Also, if you do watch it, feel free to turn off at any point. You might well do, it is VERY disturbing, makes The Shining look like kids TV. Seriously.
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I know exactly what you're talking about. I saw "Something About Mary." All the people around me, laughing their asses off. "Haw haw! The dog's getting electrocuted! Ha-yuck! Look at the retard!" Anyhow, "Frailty" sounds pretty cool, though I wish talkbackers would stop throwing spoilers in their posts. Also, might I recommend "Session 9" to anyone who hasn't seen it, and mention that I thought "Henry:Portrait of a Serial Killer" was overrated? sk
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"The quote from Sam Raimi was the one that got me. I wondered
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Hudson should be in more films. I support any move he makes in Hollywood. If that be directing, then I am there. He should make more movies, especially ones with the smaller roles. And what a balls out death scene in Aliens. If he hadn't have killed so many of those damm Aliens in his final scene, there may not have been those two sequels.
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Apr 05, 2002 11:05:07 AM CST
You Actually thought "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" was Be
by nocureforfools
are you completely insane? Henry was a cool horror flick, reminiscent of such slasher classics as Texas Chainsaw, but the Shining is fucking brillant! not only did it surpass King's novel by leaps and bounds (something which apparently really ticked off King... ticked him off so much that he felt the need to produce an unbelievably bad version in order to prove Kubrick right: Kubrick knows what Kings work really says better than King himself), it was truly epic. imagine that: an epic horror film. only Kubrick could have done it. man, i miss Uncle Stan.
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It'd be a pretty big coincidence if Arnold happened to pick the visage of his Martian underground contact from the babe selection at Rekall, Inc. I mean, why would she have her face there in the first place? Maybe it was like a sperm donation or something, and she got paid for the use of her likeness in the context of a dream vacation? And Quaid just HAPPENED to go to Rekall for a Mars adventure, and the Rekall doc just HAPPENED to pick her ("41A, Ernie!") from among the brunettes? Don't think so. Harry's right, Quaid was in the chair the whole time.
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wait... you mean arnold wasn't in the chair the whole time???
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Yes, we know Harry is trying to show us all his grand narrative ability in order to sell more copies of his book... BUT, I don't come to this site to read about some fat kid riding to across the barren wasteland that is Texas. Just give me the review (which I enjoyed reading once I cut through all of the bullshit with my machete!)
Hey, Harry gave a glowing review to Jeepers Creepers! That movie blew major chunks. Well I'll still see Frailty! -
"Dorothy and I begin to try and talk, but the evil telephone never ceases ringing with morning show radio requests
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Apr 05, 2002 12:51:21 PM CST
Good For Paxton! I Support All Other Filmmakers Who Didn't G
by buzz maverik
Paxton started out as a filmmaker, not specifically an actor, although he's a fine actor. He met James Cameron when they were building sets for Roger Corman. He'd made a few shorts, won some awards, but none of the film schools would take him. I remember an interview he did around the time of ALIENS, where he talked about Hudson's backstory. He conceived Hudson as a guy who joined the Colonial Marines to become a pilot but who didn't test well, which Paxton said was his problem with film schools. Like Paxton said, he was willing to pay the money, he knew how to make films, so what was their problem? I don't know what their problem was with me ("Because you suck, Buzz!" he said, flaming himself before others could). BTW, I like Harry's review style, with the trip, etc. I can see the damned movie myself, this is more interesting. Best movie review I ever read was in a college paper. The reviewer saw AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON but it talked more about his effort to pick up these two chicks in the theater. Damn, Corona is gooood beer!
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eat them up, yum.
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After his: 1. Review of Blade II, which I thought was mediocre at best, BTW. 2. Going back to his "Jar Jar is an important character in the trilogy" review. 3. His moment by moment playback of his day leading up to entering the theater.... Does anyone really consider his reviews as a determination as whether to see a movie or not? He's so bloody inconsistent. Hell, if you want to know whether you should plop down your $8.75 just go to http://www.rotten-tomatoes.com/ .
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I thought that was one hell of a movie. Creepy, atmospheric and downright scary with an ending that just sticks with you for days. Seriously, some of you guys have taste... good job! Let's move on to the subject of inappropriate laughter in theaters. The only thing worse than people laughing at all the dumb humor in a bad comedy is when people laugh at all of the wrong moments in a serious drama or horror film (I was surprised at how many people were laughing during some of the most dramatic moments in THE OTHERS this past summer). You just want to strangle these people some times!!!
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Host: Y'know Mr. Paxton. This eight year old girl has done several of these sessions without complaining about 'Tough audiences'" Bill: "Well why don't you put HER in charge!"
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This is Harry's site & he can do what he wants with it. But latley his reveiws have been long, protracted presonal vignettes that have little or nothing to do with the film he's reviewing. I usually scroll down untill I find the point where he actually starts to talk about the film. I think he's getting a swelled head & thinks that were all fascinated with his personal life, which seems to involve driving to movies, watching movies, & discussing them afterwards. Fascinating! Anyway, its his deal, so I'll shut up now. That being said, this film sounds like it could be good, if not a classic then at least on par with "Jacob's Ladder".
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New posts are just kind of thrown into the middle of the list. How wierd.
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I guess it might just be me growing up on other more terrible films, and Henry not standing the test of time, but it did not impress me, scare me, or disturb me in the least. The only disturbing parts were her pyscho rapist brother, and Rooker's amazing performance. Sides from that the movie lacked all of the qualities that everyone cites it good for.
And yes, Session 9 is excellent. I have the DVD. It's a pity it was never wildly released because I would have gone seen it a second time with everyone I knew. Beautiful, beautiful movie. Doesn't compare on the small screen. -
Arnie was in the chair - The 'vacation' he selects is even titled 'Blue Sky on Mars' - which the operator remarks on. "Must be a new one..." The script is based on a Phillip K. Dick story called 'We can remember it for you wholesale.' Deckard = replicant / Arnie =tourist
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Except that you needed sunglasses to see the aliens and there's one of the all-time great cinema fight scenes between Keith David and Roddy Piper and a great quote 'I'm here to kick ass and chew bubblegum, and I'm all out of bubblegum' and a great subplot and commentary on advertising and media and mind control and a trans-dimensional portal and human collaborators and - aw fuck it, go rent it.
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Whoever mentioned "funny games" as a twisted, disturbing movie that makes most other horror movie's look like child's play was spot on. The acting is so damn real at times you feel like this must really be happening to this unlucky family. My girlfriend and I must have watched it about three times. ( not cause we're sick, it's just the type of movie you have to rewatch, and show other people.) The killer are very Clockwork Orange-esque. A strange, unforgettable movie.
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... because any movie that, in the trailers, show a bare-torsoed Matt McConaughey will surely draw in some hormonal female viewers. Now in all seriousness, despite what might be an obvious plot "twist", it still wants its target audience to think and challenge the plot. And what the hell, if nothing else, it still has a shirtless Matt McC. to show off.
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It is IMPOSSIBLE in a car to get from Austin to Dallas in 2 hours. The trip is 200 miles, and mostly two lane (in each way) from Austin to Dallas, so there would definitely be traffic, especially on a weekday around rush hour.
Plus Harrys gotta stop at all the McD's.
Harry stop your lying for once. Moriarity rules this site. -
Well, you can't really move your feet much in the theaters as the spills have turned into an epoxy like substance, and they had a shooting a couple months back, but they didn't even close for 1 minute after that happened, as I went to a movie 2 hrs afterward, but its generally good. Kinda sucks that they took out the pizza by the slice place though, that was good stuff. Their new pizza is asstastic.
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Just a little bit of the genius of Bill Paxton there for everybody...
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Apr 06, 2002 12:45:30 AM CST
to the idiot that thinks Kubric can do King better than King can
by magic_ninja
Sorry loser, try again. No fucking movie is better than the book it came from, especially Kubric's "version" of the Shining.
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but I got bored with the ride to the theater before I could get to movie review itself. Just get on with it. We don't care how long the trip was or if the phone wouldn't stop ringing.
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Apr 06, 2002 4:49:53 AM CST
"Check it out. I am the ultimate badass! State of the badass ar
by the human bullet
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Apr 06, 2002 4:52:00 AM CST
A little more of Paxton's genius there for ya. Seriously tho
by the human bullet
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Apr 06, 2002 6:24:00 AM CST
"Well do you think they're having fun being CATATONIC in a c
by eugene o
Chet from WEIRD SCIENCE...we love ya, man!
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ok, so harry writes about his day before he sees a movie; that is his stylistic choice. so harry uses grammatical errors as a signature (substituting "of" to "have"); since he's been making that mistake a while now and people have pointed it out time and time again, this can now be considered as an "endearing" in-joke. but what really got me in this review are the FUCKING UNFINISHED SENTENCE. i counted two in this article. it's like harry starts a sentence with one idea, then introduces another proposition and then closes the sentence without taking care of the first proposition. so harry, next time you're going to publish something that alot of people are going to read, please, at least have the decency to re-read yourself. and as for a really disturbing film, forget the shining or henry. what you're looking for is "c'est arriv
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Lets not forget Paxton's finest film - ONE FALSE MOVE as 'Hurricane'. One of the most underrated films ever made.
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...apart from the bollocks about the road trip. Harry, thought you might have called into an all black fraternity house, got drunk, got on stage, danced to the hip-hop blaring out and then got laid with a big ol' black gal. But no such luck. PS Why do do many gay fanboys put "Sith" in their name? Come up with something original, sadcases. I just picture bespectacled geeks, hunched over their computers, surrounded by Kleenex tissues that have caught their collective man-fat after they blew their load over pictures of Han-Solo...
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... eat them up. Yum! Oddly enough Paxton directed this bizarre music video (fish heads) that they used to play just a little too often on Much Music (the Candian MTV) when I was a kid. That and videos by TANK, THOR (keep the dogs at bay), and the KILLER DWARVES. The 80's where weird. Hope they put Fish Heads on the DVD as an easter egg or something... jay Leno did show part of it when Paxton was guesting once... which was a high point of surrealistic childhood flashback via talk show. Bill, make Fish Heads II. I am waiting.
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You know what I'm tired of reading here? All the fucking lame asswipes who whine and piss and moan about Harry and his reviews and how he has to drone on and on about how famous he is and what happened on the way to the theater and... well, you know, like I said, it's there in every talkback for one of Harry's reviews. GET THE FUCK OUTA HERE MOTHERFUCKERS!!!!! If I truly hated Harry's writing style as much as you losers claim, I'd have said adios to aicn.com a long fucking time ago. Please go the hell away or quitcherbichin. Of course that's just my opinion, I could be wrong (but we know I'm NOT!!)
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"How about a nice, greeezy pork sandwich, served up in a dirty ashtray?"
That was genius, Frailty is pathetic.
Lord Xenu -
Read a book instead. Park your hard drive, see the world as it is, meet real people, see real places, and create your own judgements. It's not too late.
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Terrible trailer. I can't understand Mr. Matt. He mumbles too much. Why can't southerners talk right?
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Everytime I read a review on this site,i look that the talkbacks, hoping to find more feedback on how good or bad a movie is gonna be. This is a movie site remember, but each time I have to wade through constant bitching about everything EXCEPT the fucking movie. Someone said earlier,you don't like harry's writing style, his off-hand completely non-related comments. STOP coming here! As for the movie. I read Harry's review, got curious, saw the movie and loved it. I loved it more when I came back and re-read harry's review. Granted this movie isn't perfect, I too did not like the all the questions answered ending, but aside from that, this movie succeeded where it intended to. Creepy, and horror-filled. I'm not talking movie-horror. Slashing film, monsters, blood and guts, but a more realistic horror where people are killed just like they are in reality. Bill Paxton who I will always remember as Hudson, did a great job as a director and as the dad in this movie.
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Remember in Aliens when Corporal Hudson made that space phone out of a See N' Say and an umbrella and some twine and a circular saw blade and stuff and then he cut his finger and the alien said "Ouch" in this cool voice and healed him? That was awesome. And then Hudson said, "Eat This!" and emptied his pulse rifle into the alien's head? That was awesome too. Boy I love movies. Remember the noise the Smart Gun made in Aliens? What was up with that? That was a cool gun noise.
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ran into bill paxton @ my crummy job today i guess cuz frailty was playing there. i'm not usually a starf*cker but i did think he was da man in weird science and aliens. so i asked for his autograph he was very nice about it accomidating everyone who was talking to him. and some like old dude was taking pictures of us with him, i guess it's for some newspaper article or something. but i asked him if was hard working on this flick and he said something to the fact that it was labor but worth it, told me to "spread the word" and i asked him what his next project was filmwise, but he took it as a question of his next acting gig, he said "i have a small part in spy kids 2" (and i don't think that's any big news here.. i'm not sure, i think it was posted long time ago) well he was a good guy, and flick is worth a gander.
PIECE!- 81666 -
Didn't Fenton have a jar at the beginning of the movie with a piece of tape with the name Curtis written on it? and then, didn't Adam call Fenton "Curtis" in the same scene? And then at the end, remember the old dude that walks into the police station, and the receptionist says "oh hi Curtis!" and then at the end of the film, the camera zooms out to frame fit that Curtis dude in the last shot as he walks down the street? Like he had something to do with the story? Huh? WTF?
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Not much of anything said of his performance. Poor guy. I just saw him on Letterman. He is a charmer, and we in Austin love him.
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So I go to this movie expecting the kind of creepy "things aren't always what they seem" deeper-than-deep revelation you got from "The Sixth Sense". Instead, what I got was the Kraft Macaroni & Cheese version of god and his so-called mysterious ways. Yes, so mysterious that, about less than 30 minutes into the film I turned to my wife and uttered my prediction for the big twist at the end of the film... which ultimately turns out to be right!
I saw three films this weekend, this being the worst of them. Mind you it wasn't completely unwatchable. I just thought that, whatever the message was, the movie didn't really make you think about anything. As Harry sort of hinted at, that was one of the movie's critical flaws... it answers every question in a spoonfed fashion. It doesn't really raise any new questions, except one, at least in my mind: What if this god that sends these cataclysmic messages inciting war, death, destruction and "god's justice" is really satan in disguise? I'd like to think that was the point of the film... because it makes it a hell of a lot creepier than this film was.
The only really creepy part in the film was *spoiler* where the one bald dude lets out a bloodcurdling scream for his life as the little Rod & Tod Flanders clone (Simpsons reference) picks up the axe and rushes towards him.
The main problem with this film is that it was pitched to be some sort of psychological thriller... but whereas The Sixth Sense knew how to weave a clever tapestry of illusion through which very few viewers could see the truth that was later revealed, this film lays it out as a blinding glimpse of the obvious from the beginning... as if the movie itself is a proselytizer waiting to dump its simple, canned answers upon you in the hopes that you'll defy your better judgment and become a blind follower. If only they had left the meaning of the film somewhat open to interpretation, its contents would have stayed in my mind longer than the 5 minutes it took me to forget that I'd even seen such a horrible piece of shit.
I'm giving Bill Paxton a little leeway here because it's his directorial debut. However, because the film so stupidly and simplistically answers more questions than it raises, it reads like a "how to be a sanctimonious asshole" manual and less like an intricately woven mystery. -
Bad acting. Very bad dialogue. Weak script altogether. Piss poor directing that builds up little suspense. And an ending that can be easily surmised just by watching the trailer. I don't know what anyone sees in this movie. So bad it angers me.
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Please do not waste your time and money on this film. First time directors should NEVER be allowed to use children, as they just are wooden and unbelievable. The film basically LIES to you at the beginning, in some sort of amateurish way to throw you off track. It then spends an HOUR repeating the same dialogue "They are not people; they are demons!" "Daddy's not a murderer; he's a demon slayer!". It got to be so bad, I could see the lines coming a mile away like the Haunting "In the night, in the dark". The law enforcement characters were so INEPT, not telling anyone where they were going, it was beyond frustrating. And showing the "visions" only took away from any interesting ambiguity that was left, such as did the people they kill really deserve to be murdered? The camerawork was so sloppy and amateurish it was laughable (shaky cameras do not automatically create tension, and cars are NEVER consistantly lighted on one side, unless they are on a soundstage), and the one genuine moment of creepiness came when the kid bum-rushed the dude with an ax. Any twists, or surprise moments, were so damned OBVIOUS it was all laughable! This film tarnishes the genre of suspense thrillers.
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I think the movie you're referring to (in case anyone in America is interested) was titled "Man Bites Dog." I'd forgotten all about it. I actually thought it was really funny though (albeit in a very messed up way). Especially the ending with the other killer. I just thought that was hilarious. You know, I think I'll go down to Scarecrow and rent it. Thanks Arkhan
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Near the beginning of this movie we see an FBI agent (Powers Booth who was so good & scary as the Rev. Jim Jones early in his career; damn he deserves better at this point) walking into FBI HQ which appears to be nearly deserted; he sees an ambulance parked out front & asks the receptionist "Why's that ambulance there?" "I dunno," she shrugs. He shrugs too, forgets all about it & strolls into his office. IN THIS DAY AND AGE, post nine-eleven, any govt official would be so casual about an unaccounted-for vehicle? Unless this took place pre-nine-eleven, but still. (Texas is near Oklahoma where years ago a federal building was blown skyhigh by an unaccounted-for vehicle.) So from then on I knew I was in fantasyland. Chiefly worth watching for the scenes with the 2 kids interacting with each other & their father, in the 1979 context of Dad-as-all-powerful-so-he-might-as-well-be-god. The older kid wants to escape but he knows there's nowhere to go. The powerlessness of childhood is not an area movies want to explore much, hats off to Paxton for taking it on. Childhood basically sucks, does anyone remotely remember that? Even if your father WASN'T a religious maniac serial killer. It sucked because you were powerless. A benign dictatorship is still a dictatorship. That aspect of the movie is so compelling it's not always easy to watch. As for the other stuff...I dunno.... we've seen most of it before. Take all the father's drivel about angels & substitute "I'm getting messages from Mars through the TV" & it's standard Hollywood-psycho hokum. The modern-day scenes with the kids as adults were both confusing (flashbacks-within-flashbacks, false flashbacks) & boring, also derivative. Give credit to Paxton for his tough depiction of a particular form of child abuse. Take away some of that credit for the standard horrorstory bells-&-whistles. Should've opted for one thrust or the other. By the way, the scenes with the female victim were ruined for me because of the stupidity (not new with this flick) of having her hands tied in front of her. Why didn't she lift her hands to her mouth, rip off the tape & plead for her life?--or cast an evil spell, if she was really a demon. That's the whole point of tying a victim's hands BEHIND the back, so the gag can't be removed. Gee whiz, that's pretty elementary.
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Horror movies are one of my favorite genres--I've watched literally thousands--and "Frailty" belongs in the highest echelon. The above posters probably think "Scorpion King" is going to be a great horror film.
Thankfully, most movie reviewers agree (74% "fresh" on rottentomatoes.com, with several, including Roger Ebert, giving it 4 stars.)
IT'S A HORROR MOVIE. Horror movies often have plotholes (which are extremely minor in this movie--I mean, complaining about the ambulance? By comparison, "Panic Room" contains an entire sequence built around trying to get insulin syringes for a diabetic who has LOW BLOOD SUGAR! Insulin would KILL HER!Any diabetic would have a tube of Glucagon lying around for that emergency..)
But I digress. "Frailty" is creepy as all hell, and my girlfriend wouldn't let go of me for hours afterward. And, THAT, my friends, is what a good horror movie is all about. -
I myself am an avid horror-film watcher. The idea that Michael Bay is remaking TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE makes me want to weep. I love atmosphere, I live for a truly heinous zombie-flick with the atmosphere of Silent Hill, and I scowl at any person who puts FRAILTY above classic horror-suspense films like ROSEMARY'S BABY or PSYCHO. To call FRAILTY one of the best horror films is truly the stupidest thing said on this board. So 74% of critics think it's a good film. Great for them. These same critics loved crap like MUMMY RETURNS. To shrug off a mountain of plot holes because the film happens to call itself a horror movie is just silly. This was little more than a poorly made suspense-thriller. The horror is that people seem to be so blinded by star power that they excuse a bad movie. Thank god it opened so poorly, and will quickly tumble at the box-office.
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Apr 17, 2002 12:29:28 AM CDT
a great movie that will gain a "Wicker Man" like cult following
by confabulat
So if critics like it, but it has bad box office, it's probably a crappy movie?
Hey, you've got your opinion, I've got mine. Yours is just wrong however. I don't remember saying Frailty was better than Rosemary's Baby or Psycho though.
Star Power? We're talking Bill Paxton here. Chet is NOT star power.
Just name one (1) horror movie in the past 2 years that is better than this one. I'll be curious to know. Cuz they don't make many good ones. "Funny Games" is the only one I can think of. -
THE OTHERS was one of the tightest, most well-acted horror films in years. It was smart, believable, and the child actors were the most convincing children on screen in some time. This film barely registers on the radar screen when it comes to true horror and suspense, and the children and dialogue were laughable. I am never one to confuse box office receipts, critics' reviews, and the quality of a film. You were the one who brought it up, so I felt necessary to remind everyone that critics are manipulated, they lie, they are bribed, and they are simply made out of thin air. Two of the three reviews quoted on the TV ads were from friends of Paxton. But, in the end, if you can ignore gaping plotholes and enjoy this crapfest over much-superior fare like THE OTHERS, c'est la vie. I just pray you never put pen to paper and become a screenwriter or filmmaker; or heaven help us all.
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THE OTHERS was one of the tightest, most well-acted horror films in years. It was smart, believable, and the child actors were the most convincing children on screen in some time. This film barely registers on the radar screen when it comes to true horror and suspense, and the children and dialogue were laughable. I am never one to confuse box office receipts, critics' reviews, and the quality of a film. You were the one who brought it up, so I felt necessary to remind everyone that critics are manipulated, they lie, they are bribed, and they are simply made out of thin air. Two of the three reviews quoted on the TV ads were from friends of Paxton. But, in the end, if you can ignore gaping plotholes and enjoy this crapfest over much-superior fare like THE OTHERS, c'est la vie. I just pray you never put pen to paper and become a screenwriter or filmmaker; or heaven help us all.
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The younger brother clearly says "Goodnight Curtis" to his brother Fenton. At first I thought the young actor was probably named Curtis (like in Star Wars - Leia: "Luke!". Luke: "Carrie!".) But no, that wasn't the case. So why does he call his brother Curtis. The jar I missed though. On the whole I feel Frailty is a solid film that raises some interesting ideas about guilt and innocence, but yeah, some weak storytelling elements. The whole twist aspect could have been chucked. And as someone mentioned, Paxton in One False Move!!! Ya gotta see that one.
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The movie deliberately mislead you about a couple of things. From the first victim being a nurse, and Dad blabling about killing children, you're supposed to draw the conclusion that perhaps Dad is going after abortion doctors and nurses. However, as Adam later explained, in his vision, victim #1, "the Nurse" calmly smokes while her own victim lay in bed with his throat slit. And victim #2 is really a pedophile who murder little girls. The word abortion is never mentioned in the film, but it is a button deliberately pushed.
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(sorry for telling it again and again) i WANT to see that movie BUT i`ll probably never get the possibility to see it...never*sigh*
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anyone else notice in the beginning of the movie that matty was wearing a wedding band. That bothered the shit out of me until the end where it made sense
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This was the worst film I've seen in more than a year...and that's saying a lot with the abundance of garbage that Hollywood pumps out each year. I found myself laughing several times during the movie simply because none of it was even remotely believable. I can only assume that the wonderful reviews written by so called movie critics were paid for in one form or another to help this new director's career get off to a good start. Unfortunately, just like an internet stock, this directors product will have to stand on its own, which means "lookout below" because his career will be crashing even faster than an internet stock !
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Harry is wrong. This is not just a damn good film. This IS a great film. And as far as the negative TalkBackers here are concerned....well, everyone is entitled to their opinion. However, I must say that my opinion is so diametrically opposed to theirs that I HAVE to let you guys know how wrong their opinion really is. :)
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Matthew McConnaughey is the new Paul Newman. Wow. Look at the last shot of the film. Well, maybe in his mind he is. But not mine. 'Matt' (does he hate to be called that or what) has waited all his long life to dress up and look exactly like Paul cause he sure as hell is trying hard, real hard here. Maybe in school someone told him he looked liked Paul... but hey, Matt, Paul still has hair! Thank God Bill Paxton played him down during the film so his true awfulness didn't submerge. Matt has some problems... (to see exactly see The Wedding Planner poster when Mattie puts on those cute little glasses to look like an intellect...) real problems and it is impossible to watch him and not see the drool protruding from his mouth on every take. Anyone who's ever worked with him HATES him and even though I haven't had the pleasure, he give me the willies just watching him. Sorry, Bill, couldn't get past this... otherwise you made a brave film and you are to be commended for getting this much outta Matt.
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I'm sorry, but I thought this movie was awful. It is the most predictable movie I've seen in years. I thought this movie would be about psychopathic killers, not about God descending upon to grace us with a religious vigilante. False flashbacks are not cool either. What self-respecting FBI agent would take a suspicious man to a suspicious cemetary alone?? I can't believe that this is being compared to amazing movies like The Shining and Psycho. Ridiculous. But whatever. Everything will be alright on May 3rd.
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"horror more personal and less ejaculatory"--Harry.
Is it me or are Harry's metaphors taking a surprisingly homoerotic twist. -
Apr 28, 2002 2:43:33 PM CDT
this bible reading Christian thought it was a well made movie...
by moviestud
...well this movie didnt understand the true elements of Christianity which is a good thing that the movie tanked at the box office cause you know some people think that alot of christians who serve God are like that. in case you happen to be that narrow minded, its not the case at all. those fundalmentalists are the bin laden's of the christian faith. now about the movie it was creepy. bill paxton was dead on great. mtv award for best villian. the older son so good. the twist about the two brothers was nice and well done. and just the little surprises that got you to jump were nice. Bill Paxton needs to avoid disaster movies and needs to direct alot more.
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Apr 28, 2002 2:44:46 PM CDT
this bible reading Christian thought it was a well made movie...
by moviestud
...well this movie didnt understand the true elements of Christianity which is a good thing that the movie tanked at the box office cause you know some people think that alot of christians who serve God are like that. in case you happen to be that narrow minded, its not the case at all. those fundalmentalists are the bin laden's of the christian faith. now about the movie it was creepy. bill paxton was dead on great. mtv award for best villian. the older son so good. the twist about the two brothers was nice and well done. and just the little surprises that got you to jump were nice. Bill Paxton needs to avoid disaster movies and needs to direct alot more.
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Or at least half a dozen. That's why, Harry, it really wasn't a disservice for James Cameron to annouce this movie has a twist ending--that lets us know we should avoid discussion boards LIKE THE PLAGUE until we've seen it.
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Isn't there some way this can get posted up at the top? That's right where one of the spoiler posts is! Gawdangit!
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It sounds like the writer was at a strange Q&A. I have been at Q&A's here in Dallas and in Austin and I never noticed a big difference. I actually saw frailty at the Deep Ellum FF in 11/01, and the Q&A afterward was nothing hostile or confrontational. It was your average Q&A. We had a great audience with jumping and screaming members, that made it great. It was fun. Sounds like the reviewer should of been at the DEFF to get a better cinematic experience. By the way..... I LOVE that Cinemark you are referring to here in Dallas. It is my favorite theater, and you might want to mention the reason why the theater was designed the way it was.......it contains a 75' screen. HELLO!!!
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Jun 25, 2003 3:20:32 PM CDT
I didn't like the twist ending, because it was a different movie
by drath
When you get to the twist ending, it doesn't cast the movie in a new light as Unbreakable or Sixth Sense did, so much as it becomes an altogether different movie. The movie up until the moment of revelation becomes a flat out lie. In other words, I think the suprise ending is a cheat. And it was still predictable, in that canned movie thriller kind of way. ***********(spoilers follow)***********So we find out adult Fenton is really adult Adam, thus everything he told us was going through teenage Fenton's mind becomes a lie because teenage Fenton, as described by Adult Adam pretending to be Adult Fenton, should not have turned into the real Adult Fenton, who is a killer. Or if he did, the movie doesn't really engage that idea, and it would have been much more interesting than making 100% right in the end in my opinion. The situation with the kids was strong enough without the twist ending trying to force a "shocking" explanation onto everything for the sake of having one. Notice, it's an explanation that only works if you change the givens. Fenton has to become evil, and the narrator has to be someone else for it to work. Unlike Unbreakable, which never outright lied to us, this one turns good guys into bad guys and vice versa and it didn't need to. I don't like the implication of making dad good and Fenton evil, because that makes the fanatic who says he's doing "god's work" right and the people who question such things evil--not just wrong, EVIL. The movie pretty much ignores the possibility that, even if Dad's right, the way he handles his son's questions are the REASON he becomes bad, which makes you question how good God is. Like I said, this ending just felt wrong attached to the story that had preceeded it. The whole thing with the FBI agent was an adherance to thriller conventions that didn't pay off for the story about the brothers. It's as if a bunch of Puritans rewrote the ending of the Crucible to make the victoms into monsters, even the people we were sympathizing with, in order to justify their fanaticism. I didn't like that. The movie's called Frailty(not "Otis" like it probably should have been), so there should have been more attention payed to how Dad's human weaknesses in trying to answer the calling of god led to his son's downfall--not simply his own. As it is now, that aspect is buried. But the movie was very intense up until the last act.
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