MOVIE REVIEWS [In Brief] Ghost Train, I Think I Love My Wife, Wild Wild West

by Chris and Kris   ⋅   August 13, 2007   ⋅   Comment now   ⋅    RSS

So, this weekend was pretty much taken up with outings in San Francisco and rearranging furniture at home, so I didn’t really have too much time to watch anything particularly new or “exciting”. But, then again, the theatrical offerings this weekend left me a bit cold (no slight to Gaiman, I’m just a bit tired of the whole fantasy thing). Anyway, here are some capsules for the Japanese horror film, Ghost Train, Chris Rock’s I Think I Love My Wife, and the oft hated Will Smith vehicle, Wild Wild West. This has to be the oddest lineup yet. Enjoy.

Ghost Train . Yet another of SFIndie’s picks for the San Francisco International Film Festival, I didn’t catch Ghost Train until it finally hit DVD. And man, I’m glad I waited. Spending $20+ on tickets and not having the ability to fast forward would have been a nightmare. It’s hard to mess up a film about haunted public transportation, but that’s exactly what Ghost Train does. The basic story involves a lost, cursed subway pass. Those that find it are doomed to death at the hands of an average everyday long haired ghost. The story itself is fairly tedious and illogical (even for a wet girl horror film), and the chills imparted by the film are the most tepid I’ve encountered. Not helping matters are the some truly terrible acting, television grade cinematography, and a strange schoolgirl lesbian narrative undercurrent that somehow manages to be more creepy than anything else in the film. The film is of interest in its featuring music idol/sex-pot Aya Sugimoto (Flower and Snake) as scarred, a one eyed woman, and….not much else. I would like to commend ADV films for releasing a crystal clear DVD, but other than that, I must recommend you stay away from Ghost Train at all costs.

I Think I Love My Wife . A Chris Rock remake of Chloe in the afternoon. For those of you not familiar with that film, this movie sees Rock as a married man living the good life, yet starved for sex. This hunger leads him to embark on the semi platonic, semi adulterous pursuit of a scheming slut. Hilarity ensues. If you’ve seen the trailers, you’ve seen all the best parts. The direction is inept, the humor annoying, and the overall tone uninteresting. And, surprisingly enough, the film has the worst sound mix I’ve heard outside of Thai cinema. Rock’s character starts out believable enough, but his adolescent smirking soon grates on the nerves, and his foolish pursuit goes from simply sad to completely pathetic. The film does have one shining point of light in the form of Steve Buscemi, but he’s not in it enough to warrant a recommendation. Better stick with Everyone Hates Chris.

Wild Wild West . I hated this film when I first saw it. Absolutely hated it. And I felt the same way upon seeing it a second time once it came out on DVD. However, even though my distaste was impressively intense, I always kind of dug that end spider mech thing that Kenneth Branagh’s character rides around in. Long story short, I ended up seeing it again. And you know what? I laughed. In fact, I laughed a good deal. Outside the hype and the expectation, it wasn’t half bad. It’s not a summer movie at all, and should have never been marketed that way. For, despite it’s end mech action, it’s not big, loud, bombastic, or even particularly flashy. In fact, it’s fairly slow and subdued. Much of the humor is very dry, and relying on character reactions or awkward setups over the actual actions of the characters.  What it is though, is a good natured, oddball steampunk comedy with borderline vaudevillian leanings that arrived on the scene a good 4 years before steampunk even caught on in the anime communities.  I wouldn’t call the film great, or a lost classic, or anything of that nature, but I do think the film features some decent performances on the part of Branah and Klein (His Hamlet hits DVD tomorrow!), and some fairly smart and subtle comedy (again, from Branah and Klein. Will Smith, not so much.). It’s definitely possible that my lack of sleep and borderline delirium after having spent the day pushing furniture led me to enjoy the film more than I should have, but I’m thinking the aforementioned bits are worthy of a recommendation. If you’ve found yourself getting into the steam punk thing with Steamboy and the like, you might want to check out Wild Wild West.

About the Author

Chris Nelson has been a film fanatic since age six. A former film and English major, he is now a Software Engineer and contract Technical Writer living in the Silicon Valley.

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