Catt

I am going to be very honest and say I did not read the book before I watched this movie. So that may impact my opinion, but even if I did, I feel like I'd still feel the same about it. For starters, you have Tobey Maguire and DiCaprio. Good start, right? I suppose. Nothing about the acting, from any of the cast members, really bothered me, but after watching it once (and sadly owning it on DVD), I feel confident saying I'm not watching it again. The music that did not fit the time period at all is far too jarring, and ruins any immersion you might have with the film. The only time I was actually interested or enjoying the movie was when no music was playing. The CGI cityscapes didn't really bother me, they don't look bad, I just feel as if they could've put more effort into it. Decent watch if you enjoy the book or any of the cast members.

Barbarian did manage to keep my attention all the way through, even with the random switches to different plots for character building. It's very good at being scary and creating suspense, but at times was questionable. First off, either all the characters are stupid, or all happened to go on day long streaks of bad decision making. Sure, it's good for moving the movie forward, but was not realistic. I'm sure anyone with more than one brain cell would not end up in this situation. Also, the creepy basement nude lady was really mysterious, and I don't get how she was so strong. She casually ripped a mans arm off, survived an insanely long fall, and ran so fast, which to me made zero sense. She was very off putting, and so was the old man. I feel like we could've either went without his little side plot or had it told in a way different manner. Good movie to watch if you like creepy basements and just want something to gross you out for an hour and a half.