jonestobias-08093

I am very claustrophobic, and this movie is like my nightmare. Almost the entire film is set in dungeon like rooms with bare minimum light. Literally I counted and there are only 2 scenes with the sun! Having said this, the film is a valiant effort in my opinion though I suppose many people will not like the ending. Henry Ian Cusick is amazing, as he is everywhere and Kathleen Quinlan shows us her face again. Maurice Haems has a nice visual style and the kids are good. But as I said at the start- too goddamn claustrophobic.

The problem with The Fourth Kind is the manner in which its told- like a documentary. I am certain that had the filmmakers chosen to go the normal narrative route with the material they had this would have been an infinitely better production. There are some good scares in The Fourth Kind. In fact, it could be argued that the movie works better as an example of horror than one of science fiction. Many scenes are presented as "re-creations" with professional actors MillaJovovich (as Abbey), Elias Koteas, Will Patton, and Hakeem Kae-Kazim assuming the identities of their counterparts. In an attempt to enhance the illusion, the filmmakers often show the "documentary" footage alongside the "re-creations" via a split-screen. There are times when this works in a History Channel way, but it kills any hope at character identification and genuine involvement in the story. It feels more like an experiment than an actual movie. Even the director has a cameo- for crying out loud. The location and setting are well shot.

A six-word review is arguably all that's necessary for this movie: at least the dancing is hot. More a remake than a sequel, Havana Nights takes the Dirty Dancing formula (which is actually "Romeo and Juliet" crossed with "Cinderella" and transplanted into the 1950s) and infuses it with cross-cultural issues. For the most part, it's a better film that its tepid 1987 inspiration - at least until the end. Sure, the storyline is unsurprising, but the acting is more elastic, the dialogue is less laden with clunkers, and the dance sequences arguably exhibit additional energy (maybe it's the salsa-flavored rhythms). However, while the strength of the original Dirty Dancing was its magical, climactic "(I'll Have) The Time of My Life" coming-out party, Havana Nights comes close to falling apart in the last ten minutes. Instead of a celebration of teen love and dance, we get a perfunctory lesson in politics as a glossed-over, whitewashed Cuban Revolution hits Havana.