my profile | my password | search | faq & rules | forum home

» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Community   » Film Handlers' Movie Reviews   » Open Water (Page 1)

This topic comprises 2 pages: 1  2

Author Topic: Open Water Tim Arista Film Handler Posts: 37 From: Garland, TX, USA Registered: Jun 2004 posted 08-07-2004 01:55 PM                     This was an extremely fair film. If it weren't for it's terrible acting I'd call it a good film. The whole film seems really unrehearsed and amateur. I have seen some student films that seem more rehearsed than this. If you're expecting to be scared at all then don't be. I saw this after I saw Collateral and I was honestly more scared in Collateral than I was in this. But overall Open Water turned out to be an okay film that has a slight emotional affect on you. 6/10 (Oh, BTW, the girl in the lead is super hot)  |  IP: Logged Jason Black Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1723 From: Myrtle Beach, SC, USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 08-19-2004 05:56 PM                        At four reels, this was still 2 reels too long. Slow and boorish with terrible acting and an even worse ending. Not only this, but the DV blowup was terrible. *** SPOILER *** WTF is up with both of them dying at the end? I felt like all the time spent watching this was wasted. I feel cheated even. The rescue chopper and rescue boats should have gotten to them within a few more hours. Save the time and skip this one altogether.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 08-20-2004 04:25 AM                     Indeed, this movie was nothing more than "fair". For what it was looking at what these people had to work with, it is pretty impressive though. However it still get the "fair" review. And I agree, the DV blowup was incredibly bad. ***SPOILERS*** This script could've been beefed up so much. For example, during the movie it is explained that sharks are attracted to blood. Great, so the guy's leg is bleeding and yet they still stay together. Rather than have the guy quietly die then get eaten, this movie could've had a more profound effect had the sharks kept trying to nibble on him and the two of them realize that the only way the girl had any chance of not being eaten was for them to seperate themselves since she was not in a position to attract the sharks. There could've been a powerful "last goodbye" scene and then her having to deal with watching her husband be eaten alive, etc. Lots of things like this which given a rewrite could've made the film far more scarier than the tame "not deserving of an R rating" that it is.  |  IP: Logged Chris Hipp Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1462 From: Mesquite, Tx (east of Dallas) Registered: Jul 2003 posted 08-20-2004 04:27 AM                     Raise your hand if you hate VIDEO! Horrible image quality...other than that it was OK. I thought the nightime scenes were a little chilling. I would not say it is really scary though. Pretty boring at times though, I expect it to do nicely opening day and then drop off quickly.  |  IP: Logged Lyle Romer Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1400 From: Davie, FL, USA Registered: May 2002 posted 08-21-2004 10:08 AM                     Couldn't agree more with these comments. The image quality was absolutely horrible. It was almost giving me a headache. As for the film. I guess they threw in the full nudity scene just to get in rated R. Not that I minded that particular scene. -------------- SPOILER -------------- A little re-write would have gone so far. Yes, if this situation had really happened, most likely they both would have died. But, this is a movie and therefore can be slightly unrealistic and is supposed to be ENTERTAINING. I like Brad's script suggestion. The guy could have been heroic and sacrificed himself. They could have had a great last goodbye scene. And then the rescue plane could have spotted the girl and it would have felt complete.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-21-2004 11:09 AM                     Of the hundreds od dive boats I've been on over the years I've never been left behind or close to it. On one dive the Dive Master even came down to retreive myself and my dive buddy as everyone else had been back on board for some time and had gotten sea sick. So we came back up through all the puke floating in the water and got back on the boat . Back on board we found out that it had just been everyones first or second time in the ocean. Mark  |  IP: Logged Richard Greco Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1180 From: Plant City, FL Registered: Nov 2003 posted 08-22-2004 10:30 PM                     This was OK..I really got tired of the DV about 10 seconds after the film started. This WAS NOT SCARY at all. I would call it a drama at best. I took it for what it was worth and actually was entertained a bit by it. I wanted to see what would happen next. The female lead, Blanchard Ryan, is VERY attractive and I didn't mind the nudity at all either It really didn't fit, but hey... Overall, See this if you are really bored one day...1.5/5 BTW, I'm glad this was short, but they could've developed the plot on shore a little better when they finally searched for them.  |  IP: Logged Dustin Mitchell Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1865 From: Mondovi, WI, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 08-22-2004 11:47 PM                     **SPOILER** Even though I haven't seen the movie I have to point out that it was based on a true story. In real life the two divers that were left behind were never found and are therefore presumed dead.  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 08-23-2004 03:33 AM                     It is not based on "a true story." It is based "on true events." It is a known fact that people get left behind sometimes. It is also a known fact that sharks sometimes attack people. That's enough right there. I suspect that OPEN WATER consists of tons of little anectodal details, cobbled together from dozens of true stories (from people who were rescued). My take on this movie is that it is THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT set on the ocean. If you didn't like BLAIR WITCH you won't like this one either. I enjoyed both movies. My uncle had an interesting take on OPEN WATER. He is a diver with hundreds of dives' worth of experience and he said that everybody in the movie -- the dive boat team and the divers themselves -- made too many "stupid" mistakes. I argued that if any of this COULD happen that it would be enough to make the movie valid. He said "that would NEVER happen." Of course, it's hard for me to take a claim like that seriously. He explained all of the checks and balances that are in place and talked a lot about PADI...but then I pointed out that the film never claimed that the dive boat team were PADI certified. The divers themselves seemed to be newbies...the girl mentioned something about their certification classes. Anyway. So it's okay to point out that DV sucks or whatever but -- having been a DV filmmaker myself -- I understand the value of DV because movies like BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and OPEN WATER would not be possible without it. A lot of us would all still be dreaming of making movies instead of actually doing it. One day an independent flick (shot on DV) will come along and you will love it and then perhaps you will change your mind about whether video sucks or not. I was offered a free 35mm motion picture camera for my next movie but had to turn the offer down because SHOOTING FILM IS EXPENSIVE.  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 08-23-2004 11:59 AM                     I don't have a problem with people making movies on DV. I'm just not eager to watch such footage blown up on a commercial movie theater screen. For movies shot on video, I'd rather rent them on DVD to keep it an all-video based thing. On top of that, I would very much prefer the videographers to do away with that pretentious photo chemical step. Leave the f**king video looking like video! Gahhh! All movies shot on video look even worse with that film step thrown into the process. It totally ruins the color quality.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 08-23-2004 10:30 PM                     Given the option of running the show off of a 35mm print with a top notch projection system vs. running the show off of a DV tape or expertly compressed DVD on a 3 chip DLP projector, I would go for the DLP projector hands down every time. If it was shot on film, it will look better projected on film. If it was shot on video, it will look better projected on video. I agree with Bobby, this film would have been more enjoyable had I watched it on DVD at home. (With these last three posts, this is potentially a new discussion beginning that should be moved into FHF if anyone else cares to comment.)  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-24-2004 06:04 AM                     "Of course, it's hard for me to take a claim like that seriously. He explained all of the checks and balances that are in place and talked a lot about PADI...but then I pointed out that the film never claimed that the dive boat team were PADI certified. The divers themselves seemed to be newbies...the girl mentioned something about their certification classes." _____________________________________________________________ You're Uncle is dead right! On a properly staffed dive boat this would never happen. All dive boats are run by divers with at least a Divemaster rating, and many have instructor rating. There are also at least four other dive certifications that are out there and one cannot get their tanks filled if they are not certified, its that simple. The only others you might encounter on a dive boat are a few snorlkers but they are usually sent out on boats that go out just for snorkers. Some divers will snorkle so they don't get seasick when they run out of air untill the rest of the crew is back on board. Mark  |  IP: Logged Michael Schaffer "Where is the Boardwalk Hotel?" Posts: 4143 From: Boston, MA Registered: Apr 2002 posted 08-24-2004 01:15 PM                        quote: Manny Knowles It is also a known fact that sharks sometimes attack people. Only a few days ago, a man was killed by a Great White off the Mendocino (Northern CA) coast. A little while ago, they sighted one near the beach not far from here. Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water...  |  IP: Logged Chris Hipp Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1462 From: Mesquite, Tx (east of Dallas) Registered: Jul 2003 posted 08-24-2004 01:31 PM                     I for one would not get onto a dive boat full of tourists if there was not an instructor or divemaster on board. This could hypothetically happen, but even IF they were left in the water, it would be very quickly noticed because not all of the the gear would be on board. Trust me, dive shops know when their gear is missing. It doesnt have to be plausible to be entertaining though. What would have been better is if they were being eaten by Orca whales. It would have been nice to see them toss the divers around like seals. Of course Orcas are usually friendly and dont attack humans, often.  |  IP: Logged Michael Schaffer "Where is the Boardwalk Hotel?" Posts: 4143 From: Boston, MA Registered: Apr 2002 posted 08-25-2004 01:28 PM                        But they could be genetically mutated killer orcas! From taking in the toxic waste of a seaside nuclear plant!  |  IP: Logged

All times are Central (GMT -6:00)

This topic comprises 2 pages: 1  2

Printer-friendly view of this topic

Hop To: Select a Forum: Category: Operations -------------------- Digital Cinema Forum Film Handlers' Forum Large Format Forum Ground Level Feature Info, Trailer Attachments & REAL Credit Offsets Category: Community -------------------- Film-Yak Film Handlers' Movie Reviews The Afterlife Bob Maar's Joke-A-Thon Category: Classified -------------------- Equipment and Supplies Wanted/For Sale Help Wanted/Seeking Employment Category: System -------------------- Software Beta Testing Forum

The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.