When this flick first hit theaters, I had absolutely no desire to see it. At all. I must say, I've been pleasantly surprised:
Things that surprised me about The Mist:
1. That it was actually pretty damn good.
2. When the shit hits the fan, being completely rational isn't always the best way to stay alive.
3. If the military rolls into town, get the fuck out.
4. Even when playing a painter in a quiet New England town, Tom Jane still kicks ass.
5. Lowly grocery store clerks are great shots.
Things I was not surprised by:
1. That bikers carry knives.
2. The military is always to blame.
3. Even when playing a painter in a quiet New England town, Tom Jane still kicks ass.
4. Religious fanatics are always fun to hate.
We've seen our fair share of horror/suspense flicks and know perfectly well what happens when you throw a bunch of average folk in an isolated place: people get paranoid, fight about how to survive, all the while slowly getting picked off by whatever the hell's lurking outside. The Mist goes the extra yard. Sort of. It's a pretty riveting addition to a genre already packed with mediocre flicks that follow the tried and true formula: You got a level-headed dude [Tom "I just want my kids back" Jane] squaring off against a religious fanatic who's got more converts than Gaius Baltar, all the while fighting off hungry creatures from another dimension [supposedly] with one six-shooter, broomsticks, kitchen knives, and three useless dudes in the military. Sounds like a hoot, right? Well, it worked for me. Not only were the monsters pretty cool [think Alien meets Arachnophobia], but the film was unexpectedly gory, and I like my horror/suspense flicks with a hefty dose of blood and guts. Oh, and did I mention Tom Jane kicks ass?
The “God’s gonna sit this one out”-attitude of Tom Jane from The Punisher is not an inaccurate way to describe his role in The Mist. The film is full of some classic Jane tough guy moments – gruffly-delivered lines, window smashing, axe wielding, punching out a dumbass…the usual. Perhaps on a less extreme scale than The Punisher, this movie did well at portraying the transformation of an “average” dude into a leader and monster fighter (more a la Shaun of the Dead). The reaction from seeing Jane painting a Clint Eastwood portrait may have been similar to Sam Jackson’s kilt in Formula 51. Sure, it was unexpected and atypical in a way, but in both cases you were not laughing at the guy by the end, since he was one bad mother… (shut your mouth!) We’re just talking about Tom Jane…If only he could’ve replaced a not so super Tom Welling in The Fog and gained a monopoly over recent cloud-caused suspense/thriller movies with two word titles.
The Mist is no The Shining, but if the movie as a whole doesn't impress you, than the twist at the end is an amazing "what the fuck!?" moment, almost as bad as when Steven Segal gets offed in the first ten minutes of Executive Decision. And with that...
Questions we're left with:
Why are bugs- even ones from another dimension - attracted to bright lights?
Who kills bugs better: Tom Jane or Johnny Rico?
Things that surprised me about The Mist:
1. That it was actually pretty damn good.
2. When the shit hits the fan, being completely rational isn't always the best way to stay alive.
3. If the military rolls into town, get the fuck out.
4. Even when playing a painter in a quiet New England town, Tom Jane still kicks ass.
5. Lowly grocery store clerks are great shots.
Things I was not surprised by:
1. That bikers carry knives.
2. The military is always to blame.
3. Even when playing a painter in a quiet New England town, Tom Jane still kicks ass.
4. Religious fanatics are always fun to hate.
We've seen our fair share of horror/suspense flicks and know perfectly well what happens when you throw a bunch of average folk in an isolated place: people get paranoid, fight about how to survive, all the while slowly getting picked off by whatever the hell's lurking outside. The Mist goes the extra yard. Sort of. It's a pretty riveting addition to a genre already packed with mediocre flicks that follow the tried and true formula: You got a level-headed dude [Tom "I just want my kids back" Jane] squaring off against a religious fanatic who's got more converts than Gaius Baltar, all the while fighting off hungry creatures from another dimension [supposedly] with one six-shooter, broomsticks, kitchen knives, and three useless dudes in the military. Sounds like a hoot, right? Well, it worked for me. Not only were the monsters pretty cool [think Alien meets Arachnophobia], but the film was unexpectedly gory, and I like my horror/suspense flicks with a hefty dose of blood and guts. Oh, and did I mention Tom Jane kicks ass?
The “God’s gonna sit this one out”-attitude of Tom Jane from The Punisher is not an inaccurate way to describe his role in The Mist. The film is full of some classic Jane tough guy moments – gruffly-delivered lines, window smashing, axe wielding, punching out a dumbass…the usual. Perhaps on a less extreme scale than The Punisher, this movie did well at portraying the transformation of an “average” dude into a leader and monster fighter (more a la Shaun of the Dead). The reaction from seeing Jane painting a Clint Eastwood portrait may have been similar to Sam Jackson’s kilt in Formula 51. Sure, it was unexpected and atypical in a way, but in both cases you were not laughing at the guy by the end, since he was one bad mother… (shut your mouth!) We’re just talking about Tom Jane…If only he could’ve replaced a not so super Tom Welling in The Fog and gained a monopoly over recent cloud-caused suspense/thriller movies with two word titles.
The Mist is no The Shining, but if the movie as a whole doesn't impress you, than the twist at the end is an amazing "what the fuck!?" moment, almost as bad as when Steven Segal gets offed in the first ten minutes of Executive Decision. And with that...
Questions we're left with:
Why are bugs- even ones from another dimension - attracted to bright lights?
Who kills bugs better: Tom Jane or Johnny Rico?
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