The Host #2 by Imogene

The Host

Directed: Andrew Niccol

Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Max Irons, Jake Abel, Chandler Canterbury, Rachel Roberts, Diane Krugar

Genre: Action, Adventure, Romance

Stars: 3.8/5

Hi, so if you've read my previous encounter to the film 'The Host' (if you haven't, I'd recommend you do here) you'd know that I went to see it without subtitles and that I misunderstood quite a lot during the film. (So I thought) I went with Eleanor yesterday to see it again with subtitles, and whilst I did wonder if I’d get bored watching it twice over.. I didn't. For me, I was looking forward to finally putting them few missing jigsaw pieces into the puzzle!

I was surprised by how accurate my first review was! There were quite a few sections of the film that I missed out and some vital information which made me go "Oh." But in general, I did get the gist (This makes me a very happy girlie!).

My Subtitled Review

The parts I was confused about & now understand.

• ·         I was confused about what the Hosts (which I find out are called ‘Souls’) were doing there and what their thoughts were about the planet. I understood that they saw us humans as violent and ruining the planet and they were there to clear that up and make Earth a better place to live.
• ·         The Souls have occupied many planets.
• ·         That once the Soul was inside the body of the occupant, that the mind of the human in this case, was still alive and slowly fade as the human gives up hope – but a few live on as they’re determined to survive and come back.
• ·         That Seeker wrestled with her Human Lacey for several years. (I didn’t see this during the first time, as I didn’t hear the little things that Seeker said to herself like “I am in control” and “You think you’re better than me?”) and became more apparent with the moment when she shot another Host and started her own war
•       The ‘Stars’ in the cave were actually called Glow Worms.
• ·         The section in the caves where Uncle Jeb was talking to Wanderer and asked if he could call her ‘Wanda’ to which she agrees. Also how he found the caves and that it was in fact an old volcano.
• ·         After Wanderer found out about the Doctor killing the Souls, that when she went to the hospital she claimed some pods and told the doctor that you can take the Souls out of the body by showing love.
• ·         I understood more about what happened after the ‘months later’ when, Wanda, Ian, Jared and Melanie were driving in the car and then bumped into what they thought were Hosts, but it was a bunch of Humans and a Host that had switched sides to be with the Humans. (This was good and glad made sense!)

I think in all honesty that the reason I probably understood the film quite a lot at the first time is probably is because the story line isn't a massively developed nor ‘deep’, so it makes it a fairly easy film to follow. I mean I’d watch it again – maybe not for a long time as I feel like I’m going insane watching it so close together. (haha!)

I still only gave the film a 3.8 rating simply because I didn’t learn that much that was new, the little details, apart from the brother thing and Seeker didn’t make the whole film a “WOW”. Maybe I just expected so much more from the film after seeing Twilight? I just wish I got that feeling that everything makes so much sense and I didn’t.. I cant say it’s now on my favourite films ever list.

Identity Thief Review: Eleanor

Identity Thief

 Director: Seth Gordon
Running Time: 111 minutes
Cast: Melissa McCathy, Jason Bateman

 

So they say that honesty is the best policy. I didn’t actually want to go and see Identity Thief. I really wanted to see The Host which came out on the 29^th March, however the subtitles website told me there were no subtitled screenings of it this week nearby. The Majestic Cinema in King’s Lynn hasn’t shown any signs of subtitled films (STILL!) so I looked at the Norwich cinemas.

The only film that even sounded remotely interesting was this one, which even after watching the trailer didn’t give me ‘I-must-see-this-NOW’ feeling. It gave the impression that pretty much all the good bits were in the trailers and that I wouldn’t actually miss out on much if I missed the film.

However, with it being the Easter Holidays and finally having some time available to do whatever I want (with the hope of seeing some decent subtitled films) I was determined to make the 1 hour and 15 minute trip over to Norwich.

To summarise the film; Sandy Patterson (Jason Bateman) is a family, mild-mannered man with a rubbish paid job. He finally gets offered a much better paid job but unfortunately is the victim of identity theft, damaging his wallet, his criminal record and credit rating. His identity has been stolen by Diana (Melissa McCathy). The police being pretty much useless, Sandy decides the best way to prove his innocence and identity is to get Diana himself and bring her back to be arrested. This isn’t as simple as he expects and lots of adventures and mishaps occur.

OK, where to start… Yes the film had lots of funny one-liners/moments in it but they were all produced by Jason Bateman and Melissa McCathy who had amazing on-screen presence. I remember Melissa from Gilmore Girls (which I used to be obessed with) and always found courage and strength from her confidence. She is quirky and fun, unashamed to be ashamed with the ability to be serious too. This film however, was a bit thin with the plot-line, constant darting around and scene fillers. For instance;

1.    There was a scene where Sandy and Diana had to sleep in a wood which was apparently a short-cut. Sandy gets a snake wrapped round his neck and Diana has to beat the snake off with fire. It was unnecessarily violent and quite traumatic when the film already felt quite long and unending.

2.    There were 3 people after Diana for various reasons. 1 was a bounty hunter and 2 were people working for someone in jail who wanted her (which I don’t remember being explained). None of these hunters got anywhere near her, and eventually got themselves caught up in a weird police investigation and arrested, never to be heard of again.

Regardless of the thin plot, I found Bateman and McCathy enjoyable and thought their acting brought the film to life. Next time, however, I will simply wait for a film I actually want to see rather than hoping for the best and driving that hour and 15 minutes journey.

I will give this film 2 out of 5 stars simply because of the amazing cast.

**