TMP RATING: 4/5

REVIEW:

Small-town fry cook Odd Thomas (Anton Yelchin) is an ordinary guy with a paranormal secret: he sees dead people, everywhere. When a creepy stranger shows-up with an entourage of ghostly bodachs - predators who feed on pain and portend mass destruction - Odd knows that his town is in serious trouble. Teaming up with his sweetheart Stormy (Addison Timlin) and the local sheriff (Willem Dafoe), Odd plunges into an epic battle of good vs evil to try to stop a disaster of apocalyptic proportions. Based on the best-selling thriller by Dean Koontz.

Odd Thomas is one of those films that I always had intentions on watching, but always found a reason to skip over it. So I finally bit the bullet, and sat down to watch this film. And boy was I surprised. Normally when I say that, it's because the film was far less than I was expecting. And in this case, it was totally the opposite. It was much more than I was expecting.

When the premise of a guy who sees dead people, and these spirit creatures called “bodachs”, I immediately thought of the Showtime show, Dead Like Me. And that is basically what I was expecting going into this. But now, Odd Thomas isn't killed in the first ten minutes by a toilet seat like in Dead Like Me (sorry for the spoiler, DEAL WITH IT), but it does has some similarities to that show. But not too many however.

I like the way the story was structured. It flowed nicely, and help many satirical elements to it, that helped keep my mind in tune with where the film was heading. I saw the big plot twist in the film coming a mile away, but they lost my interest when they played it off that the twist had a twist. And wait, the twist of that twist, even has a twist. But it isn't so far fetched that it is unable to be seen. But will probably be missed by the casual movie goer.

The biggest shock to me, was that this film was based off a book by Dean Koontz. Now, I have read Dean Koontz before (even though I am more of a Stephen King fan), and this just didn't come across to me as one of his typical stories. But it has intrigued me enough to want to read the book, just to be able to compare the two.

While Odd is trying to unravel this mystery, we are given an unique insight to how he views the world. And this is where the movie can get a little strange. There is so much strange shit going on, we the audience never know quite what is real or not. And that leaves us in the dark for all the twists, and crazy turns this movie leads us through. All the big groundbreaking “shockers” this film has to offer, were very predictable in my opinion. But I'm sure they came as a shock to some.

The acting in this film surprised me. Anton Yelchin plays the lead, and does a remarkable job. I like the guy as an actor, but sometimes feel his performances can feel a little forced (even though he was amazing in Alpha Dog). But he gives a believable performance in this film, which is something that might be hard to do for a lot of actors, given the content of the movie itself.

Willem Dafoe as the police chief I just found plain amazing. I'm a huge Dafoe fan (especially if he is a villain), and he gives it his all in this film. To have to portray that he himself believes Odd has these abilities, without actually knowing that it's true; and to follow the tips he is given, is a remarkable feat. But there is a reason why Willem Dafoe has been doing this for so long. Because if “Antichrist” showed us anything...there isn't a lot this man cannot do.

The last performer I'm going to talk about is Addison Timlin, who plays Stormy, Odd's love interest. She is an actress who doesn't have a lot of credits under her belt as of yet, but with performances such as this, it is without a doubt inevitable that we will see much more of her in the future. And her being the love interest, she is of course in pretty small clothing through the entire feature. Granted, all you out there expecting to see skin, this film is PG-13, so put the python back in its cage, the best you are going to get is her in “shorty” shorts, and an alright camel toe shot about 50 minutes in. Fellas, if you want to see more of Addison, check out season three of Californication to get your rocks off.

The production value was top notch in this film. From shooting on sets, as well as on location, nothing is left out. Even the CGI that is used (anyone who knows me, knows I hate over used CGI), is very subtle, and needed to get the point across. The huge mall climax at the end of film is the only thing that felt a little lack luster to me. With the build up the film gives for this sequence, I ws expecting the film to make this set piece feel immense in size. But when in all actuality, it just felt like your everyday, run of the mill town mall. They could have down a better job with that.

Putting all these elements together in one big pot, and mixing the shit out of them, gives the viewer a very well thought piece of cinema. It is easy to follow with the crafty use of editing, flashbacks, and foresights. You always know where you are in time, just not always where you are in reality. It's a weird concept to grasp, but once you see, you will understand.

Overall, I found this movie very appealing to watch. It definitely wasn't what I was expecting going into it. And that isn't a bad thing in the slightest. There are a few minor tweak and twirks I would make, but that is it. It is a Dean Kuntz based film that brought tears to the wife's eyes...that I wasn't expecting. It is a touching, funny, and suspenseful piece that will entertain just about anybody who watches it. It is streaming on Netflix now. If you don't have Netflix, I highly recommend finding a way to check out this film. You shouldn't be disappointed.

Till Next Time Kiddies...

-RJ