The Disappointments Room -- a review

Kate Beckinsale stars Dana Barrow, an architect who moves to the country with her husband and young son after suffering a grievous tragedy with her infant daughter. They move into a mansion that was formerly owned by a Judge Blacker (Gerald McRaney) back in the olden days. Dana discovers that her new home has a secret room, one where the door is only locked from the outside, making it a prison cell. Consulting with a local historian, Dana discovers that the room is what’s known as a disappointment room.

Back in the olden days, if a child was born with any form of disability that was not deemed to be “suitable” for their wealthy family, they would be hidden from society, locked away in the disappointment room. Dana discovers that Judge Blacker had done this to his young daughter, locking her away in the disappointment room in the upstairs of her new country home. But Judge Blacker’s daughter, along with the good judge himself, are not at rest, for they still wander the halls of the house even after death.

Or do they?

A major problem with The Disappointments Room is how the script keeps undercutting Beckinsale’s character. Just when you’re solidly in her corner, the screenplay (co-written by actor Wentworth Miller, from Prison Break, The Flash, and Legends of Tomorrow) keeps pulling the rug out from under her in terms of undermining her credibility. Instead of a scary supernatural thriller, we wind up with a lame Lifetime Network movie where we’re left always wondering about the sanity of the main character.

Another problem is that the film feels very choppy, as if a great deal of the scenes have been left on the cutting room floor. Characters abruptly disappear--such as with one having been killed, supposedly by the ghosts, only for his body to disappear later. But if he wasn’t really killed, then where is he? I really like Kate Beckinsale a great deal, and I saw this just because she was in it, but not even her presence could liven up this muddled mess of a film, which is so confused that the real mystery here is what kind of a story the filmmakers were going for in the first place. --SF

Comments

Rebel Moon Part One -- a review

Director Zack Snyder has made enough of my favorite films ( Man of Steel , Zack Snyder’s Justice League , the Dawn of the Dead remake) that I genuinely look forward to his latest project. Of course, he’s also made some real stinkers ( Sucker Punch , Batman Vs Superman ), but everybody has a bad day at the office, right? And I was brightened up considerably when I saw that his latest film, the star-spanning space saga Rebel Moon: Part One: A Child of Fire , would be premiering on my birthday on Netflix. And then I saw the frigging movie. Seriously, WTF did I do to deserve this on my birthday? Rebel Moon first started out life as a pitch for an R-rated Star Wars film that Lucasfilm, the producers of SW, had turned down. Undaunted, Snyder then brought the project to Netflix, and traces of its Star Wars inspiration still remain: the space Nazis, a scene in a cantina, the laser swords that one of the characters uses. But even if a film is

3 Body Problem

3 Body Problem , Netflix’s latest TV series, is loosely based on the first novel in the Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy, by Chinese author Liu Cixin (who also wrote the book The Wandering Earth ). Simply put, it’s an alien invasion story, but one that’s a lot more sophisticated than your average ‘pew-pew-pew’ cliché-fest. For one thing, this series begins in the 1960s, in the middle of the Cultural Revolution, which was the nationwide purge instigated within China by then-Chairman Mao to keep himself in power. A young woman named Ye Wenjie arises from the chaos to become a central figure in the overall story. The 3 Body Problem of this series’ name refers to a far-flung solar system that has three suns. Any planet within this tri-sun system would have a hard time of it, taking turns orbiting one belligerent sun after another, and it just so happens that the aliens who set their eyes on invading Earth--known as the San-Ti--come from this embattled world.

Dungeons & Dragons 2023 -- a review

After a disastrous first attempt at making a movie in 2000, with Dungeons & Dragons , they’ve tried it again in 2023 with Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves . And this time, they’ve scored a bullseye in creating a very successful quest. Fresh from the behind the scenes shenanigans of the vastly disappointing Don’t Worry Darling , Chris Pine stars (and also has a producer credit) here as charming thief Edgin Darvis, who breaks out of jail with his partner in crime Holga Kilgore, played by the always great Michelle Rodriguez. Edgin is eager to reconnect with Kira (Chloe Coleman), his young daughter, whom he left behind when he and Holga got caught while trying to pull a heist. They were out to score a magical amulet that would have brought Edgin’s deceased wife back from the dead. But, Edgin discovers that his old partner, Forge Fitzwilliam (Hugh Grant)--who promised Edgin that he would take care of Kira--has become the ruler of the city of Neve

The View From The Mountain

Search This Blog