A Grudge Not Worth Holding
The Grudge 2
Movie review by Nick Olds
I didn't see The Grudge. So, it's like I walked in on the middle of a story (middle
because there's gonna be a third, opening weekend box office willing). As a result, I
had no idea what was happening. All I could figure was a Japanese ghost family kills
people because they were wronged in a past life. Oh and if you go in their house, they
get pissed. That's the extent of what I got and I doubt I missed much by not seeing the
first film.
Not completely boring, nor compelling either The Grudge 2 embodies a lot of what's
wrong with cinema today: lots of violence and no nudity. And I don't say that in jest
as much as I actually mean it. If you are not producing The Ten Commandments, you
might as well stimulate as many senses as possible. All I'm saying is Amber Tamblyn's
breasts would have been a nice touch, even if ya don't get to touch 'em.
The problem with The Grudge 2 is that it's not an interesting story. Or maybe it is
and director Takashi Shimizu just had a hard time telling it. Whenever time lines jump
it's hard to follow (unless you're Quentin Tarantino or James Joyce). Though it can be
an interesting storytelling device, here it's employed to effectively cut through the plot
because The Grudge 2's strengths are its killing scenes and some of them are truly
disturbing. I couldn't look at Asians for days afterwards. But if you've got a Pan Pacific
fetish, look no further, my man. There are a couple Geisha girls here guaranteed to get
Mr. Moo Goo rising.
Aside from that, The Grudge 2 isn't anything great, though it does offer an underlying
allegory for our strange times and demonstrates how one person's anger can affect the
world around him and if you wrong someone, their karmic energy will always be with
you, whether you know it or not. So, see it on DVD if you're really clamoring to get
skittish for 90 minutes.
And I'm fully aware how this undermines my recent "Japanese are the beacons of
cinema" ramblings (see The Departed review). What can I say, there's a chink in my
armor after all. taking cialis and viagra together
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