Rating: 
Summary: 'Thirteen Ghosts' Not As Good - But OK
Review: This is definatly a hard movie to review, especially its like one of those 1/2 good movies. The opening scene in the movie was definatly hard to follow, and I feel like we needed to get deeper into the characters and know whats going on. We just jump into an action scene we have no idea what is going on, until pretty much the middle of the movie. The acting was somewhat good, but Shannon Elizabeth's acting was terrible in this movie, and I think she needs to stick to being Nadia on American Pie - she speaks a different language. The Ghosts in the movie are somewhat frightning at first, but you only get sudden glimpses of them and it kind of gets annoying. All in all, the movie has a good story, but I think the movie could have gotten even deeper, considering its a story about ghosts with lost souls...
Rating: 
Summary: Even worse than I thought it would be
Review: When the best thing about a DVD is the extra telling you the back stories of all the ghosts, you know you're in trouble.The cast tries hard, though. Matthew Lillard is the standout here, but only because of his usual histrionic line-readings. Poor Tony Shalhoub tries to turn in an actual multi-layered performance and just gets lost in all the proceedings. He simply can't compete. Shannon Elizabeth is only there as eye candy in a scene where her top is shredded by one ghost, but only because the script doesn't give her anything else to do. And their black maid (they can't pay their bills, but they can afford a housekeeper?)--whose name, fortunately for her, I can't remember--is only there to spout unfunny one-liners about "crazy white people." F. Murray Abraham also appears as the obligatory overacting Oscar winner responsible for it all (see Geoffrey Rush in House on Haunted Hill--or, better yet, don't). This movie is nothing but an excuse for a lot of visual effects--which are done well, but are not a good basis for a movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Wasted Time
Review: Worst movie I have seen to date and that is saying a lot since I watched Moulin Rouge. I guess I can say that the scariest part of the movie was the acting. It was atrocious! Obviously no one who took part in the recreation of this film took into consideration the audience. Special effects lacked especially for this day and age. Total movie was not believable, starting with the very beginning. How can you live in a cramped apartment barely making ends meet, but still able to have a Nanny for your son.
Rating:
Summary: OK Movie, Great Extras
Review: On it's own, Thirteen Ghosts is nothing spectacular, unless you're talking about the ghosts themselves, but the DVD version has some cool extras that make it more worthwhile. The movie starts out promising, with a really cool opening scene in a junkyard. After that, the story kind of goes downhill, with a family moving into a house made out of glass (before you say it, there already is the required "no throwing stones" joke in the movie, and it's not funny there, either) that also happens to house a machine designed (allegedly) by the devil and twelve ghosts that are being released one by one to attack the family. The ghosts are all really cool looking and the attack scenes are awesome. There are some very chilling moments in those, especially when they come out of nowhere, since the characters need special glasses to see them. Acting-wise, the best I can say about this is that Shannon Elizabeth's in it, but only for the first half. Tony Shalhoub, who plays the dad and was also in Wings I believe, is decent, but he doesn't have a whole lot to work with. Matthew Lillard is just a bit too campy in this, while the nanny is just plain annoying and unnecessary. F. Murray Abraham is decent as Uncle Cyrus, but he's hardly on-screen at all. The plot gets kind of murky, as if the writers didn't know how to get from point A to point B. There's a plot twist towards the end that's interesting, but isn't anything Earth-shattering. The whole thing feels extremely rushed, with another character eventually revealing the secret of the house and how to stop it. The ending is especially unsatisfying, with no insight as to how the dad figured out what was going on. The movie really shines in the extras. There's a neat documentary on the film, including how they did the makeup and special effects. The best extra, though, is the ghost files, which gives a history on twelve of the ghosts in the movie. These are fascinating and really interesting if you're into the occult. Like I said, the movie on it's own is only worth recommending to see the scenes with the ghosts. If the movie had been just about the ghosts, it would have been great. The extras on the DVD make this at least a solid rental if you've got time to browse. I will say watch the movie first, or else you spoil one of the surprises in the film.
Rating:
Summary: This is the worst movie ever
Review: This is the worst movie I've seen this year. The acting is horrible (Shannon Elizabeth should just stand there without saying anything) and the script tries to cram 100's of good ideas into 90 minutes. Granted, there is lots of potential with the idea of 12 evil ghosts being used to fuel an evil clockwork house, but 90 minutes is not enough time to set everything up for a fulfilling, blood splattering end. Basically, at the end of the flick, I was sitting there wondering how on earth these actors got cast, why the concept of "undying, selfless love" was written into a horror script and how chemistry goggles can allow one to see ghosts. If for no other reason, see it for the special effects and be sure to watch the DVD special features first so you know what the hell is going on while you watch the movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Highly Entertaining
Review: I'm not going to sit here and tell you that this is a great film. It isn't. (Unlike the impenetrable house in the film, the screenplay has huge, HUGE holes in it).But I'm also not going to sit here and tell you that I didn't have a blast watching these shenanigans. It ghouls are scary, the film will make you leap out of your seat, and with a running time of a hair over 90 minutes, it goes by at an enjoyably quick clip!
Rating: 
Summary: Wanted: 13th Ghost. Any Volunteers?
Review: When I first saw this film in the theaters,I wasn't exactly won over,but the DVD inclusion of the "Ghost Files",helps A LOT! An initial problem with this film,is you don't really get a good perception of the ghosts,visually or background-wise.(Quick cut views,and snippets of information.). But on the DVD,you get F.Murray Abrahams,doing his best Rod Serling impression,with the Ghost Files,containing great images,sketches,explanations,and the missing information that would've made the film less tangled. That said...the film is good,but not great. Tony Shalhoub,always puts in a brilliant performance,and is no less a presents here as the widower,who suddenly inherits a haunted house from a rich dead uncle,F.Murray Abraham.( quite the scoundral.).Eddie Lilliard is the standout performance as the man who can sense the ghosts,and knows what's really going on in the mansion....or so he thinks.Embeth Davidtz,coming quite a ways since "Army of Darkness" is the activist who believes in the rights of the undead. ( You laugh,but in this day and age,you can bet there is one somewhere out there!)and Shannon Elizabeth is the teenage daughter,whom gets to scream alot.( Necessary for all horror films.) The film works,for the most part. Although it isn't anywhere close to the original William Castle film,aside from the basic plot. The upgrades are creative,the writing is good,and of course visual effects have come a long way since 1960. But I feel the producers missed the big picture.( As they did with the updated "House On Haunted Hill"). William Castle was all about entertaining the audience,sure he loved to scare us,but he also loved to tease us too. He loved cheap gimmicks and audience participation.He set up "shock chairs" for "The Tingler",or handed out "Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down" audience voting cards for "Mr.Sardonicus". He also wasn't opposed to showing up suddenly,mid-film,and taunting the audience,breaking down the 4th wall. Basically,he didn't take it all too seriously. I think the minor complaint I have,is the new version wants so much to scare,it forgets to tender it a bit,like Castle did. We love Castle because he was,cheesey at times. The only bad part of this film,and I am frankly amazed it even exsists,is the character played by Rah Digga.Her character is not only an added character,but a bad idea as well. Portraying the nanny/babysitter,she is nothing less than a cross between Jar-Jar Binks,Stephen Fetchit,and Whoopi Goldberg.With lines like, "I don't do windows" & "Crazy white people",it's a wonder why any actress,black or white,would've taken this role. Her character is secondary to the story,and doesn't do all that much,other than recite "ethnic" lines. Shame on the writers for this.
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as I hoped it would be.
Review: The producion desiegen on this flim is amazing. The editing is great. The idea is a good one, but lack of logic, and coney script, make this very fast paced flim very forgetable. Even though some of the Ghosts are awsome looking. My favorite on is the Jackel. Rent this before you buy. I am glad I did. The last few years have seemed pretty uninspired time for horror movies.
Rating:
Summary: More annoying than anything else
Review: If you have already checked out any other reviews for this movie, you have probably already been exposed to the "but the house was REALLY cool" comments.
Sad to say, the only really cool part of this movie IS the house.
The ghosts are not scary and the strobe effect that accompanies them only heightens your desire to turn the movie off.
I'll come clean and admit that I have never seen the original; but as far as this bad boy is concerned...I must quote an old friend of mine.
"Poop, just poop".
Go watch the remake of House on Haunted Hill again. At least it was a fun movie..up until that stupid ghost pulling the chain ending...but don't get me started.
Peace.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty cool film
Review: Thirteen Ghosts is a decent film and looks pretty good on DVD. I found this film to be fun and entertaining at times. I didn't find it all that scary but it's still good. The film does have a cool story, gore, and some nudity. The features on the DVD are pretty cool also. I liked the Ghost profiles that gave a brief history on the ghosts. It was cool to see how they became ghosts cause the film doesn't go into very much details. Also check out the original film which is also a fun movie.
|
