Dream House (2011)Directed by: Jim Sheridan
Screenplay by: David Loucka
Genre: Drama | Mystery | Thriller
Running Time: 92 Minutes
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Viewed: Theater
Once upon a time, there were two little girls who lived in a house.
[IMDb]
Comments: I think I could write a book on Dream Home and what a complete waste of potential it is. Some parts of the film are engaging and I and couldn't wait to see what happened next; others are so mind-numbingly awful that I struggled to understand what the hell the people making the film were thinking.
- I think the first thing everyone should know is that Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, and director Jim Sheridan want nothing to do with Dream House. Apparently, the production company Morgan Creek made edits to the film without Sheridan's approval. While I don't know for sure if they are the work of Morgan Creek, there's definitely some questionable edits that are blatantly obvious. There's one scene early on, when Daniel Craig sees a man outside his house. Craig chases after him and slides down a hill deep in the backwoods of his house. Somehow, he speaks directly to Weisz, who's on the house's back porch, even though we've seen Craig venture far into the woods. It's pretty noticeable. There's also some obvious overdubbing of characters in the last part of the film that only serve to provide exposition to the audience. I notice this shit all the time in TV shows, but I understand that to an extent because they're on a tight deadline. It's just really bad here.
- The first half of Dream House is fucking terrible. It was so bad that I was debating calling it the worst film I've seen this year. It's incredibly choppy, bouncing around from scene to scene without ever giving us a clear image of what we're watching onscreen, what to expect from these characters, or who they are. After awhile, the film settles in to the core of its plot, and I can see what attracted such known actors to a film like Dream House. It's a shame that Sheridan, Morgan Creek, or who-the-fuck-ever made this film couldn't come up with some kind of cohesive first act.
- Craig and Weisz sound weird with whatever accent they're trying to go for. You'll notice I said the same thing about Craig in Cowboys & Aliens. Note to filmmakers: make Craig a British import in whatever film you're making. I don't care if he's playing Hitler in a movie. He's now Hitler that emigrated from Britain.
- Naomi Watts. Yes please.
- They showed the trailer for Brett Ratner's Tower Heist before Dream House. It features a cast of some of my least favorite actors: Ben Stiller (he's made some good movies, but he really gets on my nerves), post-1990 Eddie Murphy, and Téa Leoni (to be fair, it does have Casey Affleck and Alan Alda in it). Why I am mentioning it? Because they showed the trailer... twice. Ugh.
- Speaking of trailers, a word of warning: the main plot twist that comes halfway through the film is given away in the trailer. I watch trailers often, but somehow I avoided watching the one for Dream House so I was completely in the dark. If you've avoided the trailer so far, keep doing it. It's not an Oldboy-level twist or anything and it's certainly been done before, but it's what renewed my interest in the film after that terrible first act. Had I known what was coming, I definitely wouldn't have been as interested as I was during the last parts of the film.
- Once I saw the core of what Dream House was all about, I really wanted to like this film more than I did. While it would never have been an award winner, it really had the chance to be a solid mystery film instead of the muddled mess it became. I hesitate to even suggest a rental on such a clusterfuck, but I did really like parts of the movie... so I'll leave the decision up to you.
- I think the first thing everyone should know is that Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, and director Jim Sheridan want nothing to do with Dream House. Apparently, the production company Morgan Creek made edits to the film without Sheridan's approval. While I don't know for sure if they are the work of Morgan Creek, there's definitely some questionable edits that are blatantly obvious. There's one scene early on, when Daniel Craig sees a man outside his house. Craig chases after him and slides down a hill deep in the backwoods of his house. Somehow, he speaks directly to Weisz, who's on the house's back porch, even though we've seen Craig venture far into the woods. It's pretty noticeable. There's also some obvious overdubbing of characters in the last part of the film that only serve to provide exposition to the audience. I notice this shit all the time in TV shows, but I understand that to an extent because they're on a tight deadline. It's just really bad here.
- The first half of Dream House is fucking terrible. It was so bad that I was debating calling it the worst film I've seen this year. It's incredibly choppy, bouncing around from scene to scene without ever giving us a clear image of what we're watching onscreen, what to expect from these characters, or who they are. After awhile, the film settles in to the core of its plot, and I can see what attracted such known actors to a film like Dream House. It's a shame that Sheridan, Morgan Creek, or who-the-fuck-ever made this film couldn't come up with some kind of cohesive first act.
- Craig and Weisz sound weird with whatever accent they're trying to go for. You'll notice I said the same thing about Craig in Cowboys & Aliens. Note to filmmakers: make Craig a British import in whatever film you're making. I don't care if he's playing Hitler in a movie. He's now Hitler that emigrated from Britain.
- Naomi Watts. Yes please.
- They showed the trailer for Brett Ratner's Tower Heist before Dream House. It features a cast of some of my least favorite actors: Ben Stiller (he's made some good movies, but he really gets on my nerves), post-1990 Eddie Murphy, and Téa Leoni (to be fair, it does have Casey Affleck and Alan Alda in it). Why I am mentioning it? Because they showed the trailer... twice. Ugh.
- Speaking of trailers, a word of warning: the main plot twist that comes halfway through the film is given away in the trailer. I watch trailers often, but somehow I avoided watching the one for Dream House so I was completely in the dark. If you've avoided the trailer so far, keep doing it. It's not an Oldboy-level twist or anything and it's certainly been done before, but it's what renewed my interest in the film after that terrible first act. Had I known what was coming, I definitely wouldn't have been as interested as I was during the last parts of the film.
- Once I saw the core of what Dream House was all about, I really wanted to like this film more than I did. While it would never have been an award winner, it really had the chance to be a solid mystery film instead of the muddled mess it became. I hesitate to even suggest a rental on such a clusterfuck, but I did really like parts of the movie... so I'll leave the decision up to you.
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