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The Shallows(2016)
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Writer: Anthony Jaswinski
Cast: Blake Lively, Óscar Jaenada
Genre: Thriller
About: A medical student on a journey of self discovery, heads to an isolated Mexican beach to go surfing. She's only 200 yards from shore when attacked by a great white shark that's feeding on a nearby, floating whale carcass. Badly wounded, she manages to make it to a small rock outcropping in the middle of the bay. Two problems: the shark knows she's there and the incoming tide will submerge the rock outcropping.
Review: When I watch a movie like The Shallows and review it, I ask myself a few questions: So here's the answers:
Did it hold my attention?...Yes! I was engrossed in the film, it never dragged and just when one scene had played out, another started. Good pacing.
Did I find it believable?....Well, mostly yes. The addition of the rotting whale carcass that attracted the great white shark was a smart story ploy, as it made the following circumstances mostly believable. And the carcass scene had an ehh-yuk factor that worked well with lots of eyeball visual! The wounded seagull that first seems like a threat and then gives her a bit of solace, was also a smart script choice. That bird added a lot to the story! I'd give it a best supporting actor nomination if I could.
Did I find the actions the protagonist took plausible?...These survivor type thrillers work because we put ourselves in the protagonist shoes. Could I see myself making the same choices that she did given the same circumstances? Yes, she really didn't have many choices and the ones she made were logical, mostly.
Did the CG work for or against the film?...Sure the shark looked good, but did it really need to be the size of a small bus? But the main CG flaw was the underwater blood which to me looked like something from a poorly done music video.
Did the acting convince me that the person was in real peril?...Most definitely yes! I predicted Blake Lively would make a name for herself and she's starting to do just that! She stood out in Age of Adeline despite a lack luster script, and was the high light of Woody Allen's Café Society...Here she really does a stellar job of being terrified, feeling alone and facing fear. Not an easy thing to do because there's no other actors for her to play off, no menacing shark model to scare her, it's CG stuff. And yet she was totally believable.
Did I like the director's style of film making?....Yes and no. The director found a beautiful spot to film at Lord Howe Island, New South Wales. I liked his scene length and compositions, the film looks great...but gawds! I hated the post production CG overlay of Nancy's watch and phone. I found that silly, distracting and it took me right out of the movie. Why couldn't the director just shot her phone screen over her shoulder?
The ending...It's OK, I won't spoil a thing, but I will say the last 10 minutes of the shark encounter was a joke. The way the shark died looked like something from a Looney Tunes cartoon. I would rate this movie higher if the ending had been more intelligent and less over the top block buster crap.
Watch The Shallows, for fun, for scenery and mostly for a talented new actress Blake Lively.
.
The Shallows(2016)
Writer: Anthony Jaswinski
Cast: Blake Lively, Óscar Jaenada
Genre: Thriller
About: A medical student on a journey of self discovery, heads to an isolated Mexican beach to go surfing. She's only 200 yards from shore when attacked by a great white shark that's feeding on a nearby, floating whale carcass. Badly wounded, she manages to make it to a small rock outcropping in the middle of the bay. Two problems: the shark knows she's there and the incoming tide will submerge the rock outcropping.
Review: When I watch a movie like The Shallows and review it, I ask myself a few questions: So here's the answers:
Did it hold my attention?...Yes! I was engrossed in the film, it never dragged and just when one scene had played out, another started. Good pacing.
Did I find it believable?....Well, mostly yes. The addition of the rotting whale carcass that attracted the great white shark was a smart story ploy, as it made the following circumstances mostly believable. And the carcass scene had an ehh-yuk factor that worked well with lots of eyeball visual! The wounded seagull that first seems like a threat and then gives her a bit of solace, was also a smart script choice. That bird added a lot to the story! I'd give it a best supporting actor nomination if I could.
Did I find the actions the protagonist took plausible?...These survivor type thrillers work because we put ourselves in the protagonist shoes. Could I see myself making the same choices that she did given the same circumstances? Yes, she really didn't have many choices and the ones she made were logical, mostly.
Did the CG work for or against the film?...Sure the shark looked good, but did it really need to be the size of a small bus? But the main CG flaw was the underwater blood which to me looked like something from a poorly done music video.
Did the acting convince me that the person was in real peril?...Most definitely yes! I predicted Blake Lively would make a name for herself and she's starting to do just that! She stood out in Age of Adeline despite a lack luster script, and was the high light of Woody Allen's Café Society...Here she really does a stellar job of being terrified, feeling alone and facing fear. Not an easy thing to do because there's no other actors for her to play off, no menacing shark model to scare her, it's CG stuff. And yet she was totally believable.
Did I like the director's style of film making?....Yes and no. The director found a beautiful spot to film at Lord Howe Island, New South Wales. I liked his scene length and compositions, the film looks great...but gawds! I hated the post production CG overlay of Nancy's watch and phone. I found that silly, distracting and it took me right out of the movie. Why couldn't the director just shot her phone screen over her shoulder?
The ending...It's OK, I won't spoil a thing, but I will say the last 10 minutes of the shark encounter was a joke. The way the shark died looked like something from a Looney Tunes cartoon. I would rate this movie higher if the ending had been more intelligent and less over the top block buster crap.
Watch The Shallows, for fun, for scenery and mostly for a talented new actress Blake Lively.
.