Ghost Ship

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=80 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="04000500dvldtc.png"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>Reel Movie Critic.com</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Reel Movie Critic.com"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id1342.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Holiday 2002"><U>Holiday 2002</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1732.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Worksheet"><U>Worksheet</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1864.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="new movie"><U>new movie</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1597.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="8 Mile"><U>8 Mile</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1812.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="8 Mile"><U>8 Mile</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1676.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="8 Women"><U>8 Women</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1792.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="25th Hour"><U>25th Hour</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1649.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Abandon"><U>Abandon</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1785.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Adam Sandlers 8 Crazy Nights"><U>Adam Sandler's 8 Crazy Nights</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1746.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Adaptation"><U>Adaptation</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1810.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Alias Betty"><U>Alias Betty</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1652.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="All or Nothing"><U>All or Nothing</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1763.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Analyze That"><U>Analyze That</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1855.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Anger Management"><U>Anger Management</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1743.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Antwone Fisher"><U>Antwone Fisher</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1662.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Apollo 13 IMAX"><U>Apollo 13 IMAX</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1783.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ararat"><U>Ararat</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1300.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Auto Focus"><U>Auto Focus</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1664.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Auto Focus"><U>Auto Focus</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1557.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever"><U>Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1820.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Bank"><U>The Bank</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1660.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Below"><U>Below</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1857.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Berlin Babylon"><U>Berlin Babylon</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1659.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bloody Sunday"><U>Bloody Sunday</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1868.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bloody Sunday Deemed Ineligible for Acad"><U>Bloody Sunday Deemed Ineligible for Academy Awards Consideration</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1703.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Blue Car"><U>Blue Car</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1658.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bowling for Columbine"><U>Bowling for Columbine</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1654.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Brown Sugar"><U>Brown Sugar</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1650.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Brown Sugar"><U>Brown Sugar</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1798.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Catch Me if you Can"><U>Catch Me if you Can</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1872.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Catch Me if you Can"><U>Catch Me if you Can</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1726.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Cats Meow"><U>Cat's Meow</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1848.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chicago"><U>Chicago</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1830.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Children of the Century"><U>Children of the Century</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1750.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="City of God"><U>City of God</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1796.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Confessions of a Dangerous Mind"><U>Confessions of a Dangerous Mind</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1645.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Crime of Father Amaro"><U>The Crime of Father Amaro</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1818.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Dancer Upstairs"><U>The Dancer Upstairs</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1648.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Das Experiment"><U>Das Experiment</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1859.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dear Santa"><U>Dear Santa</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1712.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Die Another Day"><U>Die Another Day</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1825.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Drumline"><U>Drumline</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1713.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Emperors Club"><U>Emperors Club</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1863.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Empire"><U>Empire</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1720.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Equilibrium"><U>Equilibrium</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1486.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Enigma"><U>Enigma</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1880.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Entrapment"><U>Entrapment</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1839.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Everything Relative"><U>Everything Relative</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1790.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Evelyn"><U>Evelyn</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1811.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Extreme Ops"><U>Extreme Ops</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1759.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Fanfares of Love"><U>Fanfares of Love</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1707.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Far From Heaven"><U>Far From Heaven</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1727.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="fear dot.com"><U>fear dot.com</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1782.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Fellowship of the Ring"><U>The Fellowship of the Ring</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1708.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Femme Fatal"><U>Femme Fatal</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1661.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Formula 51"><U>Formula 51</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1832.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Food of Love"><U>Food of Love</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1836.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="6th Annual Festival of New French Cinem"><U>6th Annual Festival of  New French Cinema</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1656.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Frida"><U>Frida</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1657.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Frida"><U>Frida</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1715.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Friday After Next"><U>Friday After Next</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1774.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gangs of New York"><U>Gangs of New York</U></A>   |   <B>Ghost Ship</B>   |   <A HREF="id1717.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Grey Zone"><U>The Grey Zone</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1867.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Guru"><U>The Guru</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1817.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Half Past Dead"><U>Half Past Dead</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1846.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Happiness of the Katakur"><U>Happiness of the Katakur</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1709.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Harry Potter The Chamber of Secrets"><U>Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="041d2c00dvldtc.png"> <div> <B>Home Pages for</B></div> <div> <B> </B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/index.htm"><U><B>Movies</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>      </B><A HREF="http://www.newbookdiscounts.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.newbookdiscounts.com/"><U><B>Books</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>          </B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelforless/id364.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelfor"><U><B>Travel</B></U></A><B> </B></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>                </B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelforless/id361.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelfor"><U><B>Great Web Sites</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id1637.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/id1637.ht"><U><B>More Scary Movies</B></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=400 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> Ghost Ship</div> <div> <B><IMG SRC="13ed618c0.jpg" border=0 width="97" height="140" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">DVD <script language="JavaScript"> function popUp(URL,NAME) { amznwin=window.open(URL,NAME,'location=yes,scrollbars=yes,status=yes,toolbar=yes,resizable=yes,width=380,height=450,screenX=10,screenY=10,top=10,left=10'); amznwin.focus();} document.open(); document.write("<a href=javascript:popUp('http://buybox.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=reelmoviecriticc&link_code=xsc&creative=23424&camp=2025&path=/dt/assoc/tg/aa/xml/assoc/-/B00005JLK1/reelmoviecriticc/ref=ac_bb1_,_amazon')><img src=http://rcm-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/associates/remote-buy-box/buy1.gif border=0 alt='Buy from Amazon.com' ></a>"); document.close(); </script> <noscript> <form method="POST" action="http://buybox.amazon.com/o/dt/assoc/handle-buy-box=B00005JLK1"> <input type="hidden" name="asin.B00005JLK1" value="1"> <input type="hidden" name="tag-value" value="reelmoviecriticc"> <input type="hidden" name="tag_value" value="reelmoviecriticc"> <input type="image" name="submit.add-to-cart" value="Buy from Amazon.com" border="0" alt="Buy from Amazon.com" src="http://rcm-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/associates/add-to-cart.gif"> </form> </noscript>  </B></div> <div> <B>Soundtrack <script language="JavaScript"> function popUp(URL,NAME) { amznwin=window.open(URL,NAME,'location=yes,scrollbars=yes,status=yes,toolbar=yes,resizable=yes,width=380,height=450,screenX=10,screenY=10,top=10,left=10'); amznwin.focus();} document.open(); document.write("<a href=javascript:popUp('http://buybox.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=reelmoviecriticc&link_code=xsc&creative=23424&camp=2025&path=/dt/assoc/tg/aa/xml/assoc/-/B00006WL42/reelmoviecriticc/ref=ac_bb2_,_amazon')><img src=http://rcm-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/associates/remote-buy-box/buy2.gif border=0 alt='Buy from Amazon.com' ></a>"); document.close(); </script> <noscript> <form method="POST" action="http://buybox.amazon.com/o/dt/assoc/handle-buy-box=B00006WL42"> <input type="hidden" name="asin.B00006WL42" value="1"> <input type="hidden" name="tag-value" value="reelmoviecriticc"> <input type="hidden" name="tag_value" value="reelmoviecriticc"> <input type="image" name="submit.add-to-cart" value="Buy from Amazon.com" border="0" alt="Buy from Amazon.com" src="http://rcm-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/associates/add-to-cart.gif"> </form> </noscript>  </B></div> <div> * ½</div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:leeshoquist@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:leeshoquist@aol.com"><U><U>Reviewed by Lee Shoquist</U></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> Whatever you might be seeing this weekend at the local multi-plex, check out the show times for the new thriller <I>Ghost Ship</I>, and see if you can't wander in for the first ten minutes.  If you do, I promise you won't be disappointed.  </div> <bR> <div> The scene begins in 1962, with the inaugural voyage of the Antonio Graza, an Italian ocean liner bound for New York.  An elegant party is underway, complete with a wily chanteuse and a host of socialites, dressed to the nines on the crowded dance floor.  Within minutes, a terrible accident happens - a razor sharp, tightly wound wire snaps - and cuts clean through every single person on deck.  This happens very quickly, and the execution of the scene - as the participants fall apart slowly, one by one, body parts lopped off and dropping in horrifying fashion - is so great you just know you're in store for a great B-movie.  </div> <bR> <div> The accomplished, imaginative opening sequence, with its elegant lighting, costumers, cinematography and grand sense of Grand Guignol, creates an unfulfilled promise for the rest of the film.   </div> <bR> <div> Flash forward to the present, where a rag-tag crew goes on a mission to find the Antonio Graza, which apparently has been floating around in its CGI glory, undiscovered in the Bering Straits for thirty years.  It is, however, quite easy to find and appears almost immediately once the crew arrive in the general vicinity, which looks like the middle of the ocean.  </div> <bR> <div> After gaining access to the maritime behemoth and discovering a fortune in unmarked gold, they unwisely ignore the (surprise) underwhelming ghostly apparitions and of course, pay dearly for their greedy transgressions, <I>Ten Little Indians</I> style.  At times, the murders are excessive and shocking (a swinging fishhook plays prominently in one gruesome sequence).   </div> <bR> <div> The more prominent members of the cast include a grating Juliana Margulies as the first officer, Gabriel Byrne as the weary captain, and Ron Eldard as a self-centered shipmate.   The rest of the cast members barely register, doing what they can with the little they are given, clocking in time and picking up paychecks.  </div> <bR> <div> I must say, I find Margulies a particularly unappealing actress who doesn't radiate any sense of femininity to speak of, and when exerting authority she comes off pushy and repellant. When the film's climax finds her clinging for life atop a suitcase, a la Kate Winslet in <I>Titanic</I>, I was just hoping she'd let go already.  </div> <bR> <div> Director Steve Beck has no idea how to stage an action sequence (save the opening), which becomes increasingly tiresome as the film wears on.  Action scenes are handled in a slipshod, quickly edited manner that does nothing to suggest any building suspense or atmosphere.  He does, however, manage to ape such great films as <I>The Abyss, Alien, The Shining</I> and <I>Titanic</I>, without capturing a successful quality of any of them.  </div> <bR> <div> The bottom line is that <I>Ghost Ship</I> doesn't thrill or scare, unless you consider a few shocks of the "boo" variety, usually false alarms diffused with laughter.  There are no attempts made to dress up the clichés or mechanics of the genre, no real character development and despite the gallons of dripping blood, not much tension.  The film does manage to repeat its opening sequence near the climax, with more detail and style, which again reminds us how much fun the film could have been.  </div> <bR> <div> So beyond the opening moments, there's really nothing here to recommend.   Horror fans will be disappointed, and I can't imagine what audience make-up will find <I>Ghost Ship</I> anything other than routine, dull and silly.</div> <bR> <div> 89 Minutes</div> <div> Rated R</div> <div> Violence, Nudity, Profanity</div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="621" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="617"><div> <B>Lee Shoquist © 2002</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="617"><div> <A HREF="mailto:leeshoquist@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:leeshoquist@aol.com"><U><U>Leeshoquist.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>  </div> <div>  </div> <bR> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="501" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="495"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="495" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>