MOVIE OF THE DAY: MONSTERS (2010)

Meh.  You won't hear me complain that it's awful, but I was definitely underwhelmed.  The characters were poorly drawn and not all that interesting, there was hardly any chemistry between them, and the movie just meanders to an unsatisfying climax.  It looks great, though, so it has that going for it.  I know I'm in the minority around here, but this one just didn't do it for me.

I dug it mainly for how well they pull off the atmosphere for such a small budget, but yeah, the central characters are a little too flat to warrent a strong reccomendation. It's not that I bemoan the lack of action, but there could have been more emphasis on them in the central trek through the infected zone than what we were given. It's not poorly acted, but there really aren't any story beats for a large chunk of the second act, and they can only go to the well of He's Sarcastic and Doesn't Care and She's Spoiled And Rich and A Nuisance To Him so many times without any other character moments happening. The photographer's dream is to get a picture of one of the aliens outside of a combat zone, but not much is done with it. The girl is having doubts about her future and her impending marriage, but we have little to go on than being a rather good looking case of Rich White People Problems. Loved the moment with the aliens that serves as the climax, though, but needed a better script to really drive it home.