Review of Imitation of Life (1934) by James H — 14 Mar 2004

Normally I critique each film I've seen with a decent amount of depth and study, but the last four films I've seen have been so bad I'm just going to lump them all into this one quick review:

[b]Imitation of Life(1934):[/b] This wasn't as terrible as my preview may have sounded, but I didn't care for it at all. I found the conflict between Delilah and Peola to be drastically neglected for a good portion of the film. The pacing was much too quick and the end of the film was terrible and nonsensical. This just kicked off the series, so it gets more heat than it deserves.

[b]Underworld:[/b] Not as bad as I thought it would be, but still shitty. It was boring for an action film, and overall just a mess. Kate Beckinsale is much better than this.

[b]Down With Love:[/b] Wow what a hokey piece of shit this was. It's a spoof that hit on all the right points, but wasn't funny in the slightest. Zelwegger was awful, McGregor wasn't much better. When David Hyde Pierce is the saving grace of your film, just fucking quit.

[b]A Simple Plan:[/b] I've read the book, so that could have something to do with my animosity, but this film is really bad. I saw it once before I read the book and thought it was just okay, but after reading and really enjoying the novel I thought I should revisit it. What a mistake. Billy Bob Thornton's character is portrayed with such ignorance he should be wearing a foam helmet. That and the lack of effort to keep with the books gripping conclusions make this film an absolute tragedy.

Anyway, I didn't expect a lot from these films(aside from Imitation of Life), but I didn't get anything. They were all a giant waste of time. I'm scared to watch a film tonight. I think I'm going to go with a sure thing and watch the original Dawn of the Dead(just bought it the other day). That will be a nice security blanket for me.