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47 Meters Down (2017)
47 Meters Down (2017)
2017 | Horror
The British horror film “47 Meters Down” tells the tale of two young women on vacation in Mexico who get far more of a thrill then they bargained for during a shark cage swim session. Sisters, Lisa (Mandy Moore) and Kate (Claire Holt) meet two charming young men as they try to lick Lisa’s post-break up wounds during a night out somewhere Mexico. When the guys offer to take them out on a shark swim adventure, Kate pushes Lisa to go ahead and do it in an effort to prove she is not as boring as her ex claims.

The film spends about twenty minutes building up this background story, but fails to create any moments for the audience to connect with the characters.

The whole premise is built around what clearly is a poor decision as a rusty old boat pulls into the marina to board the sisters. At this point forward, the entire rest of the film is shot primarily from Lisa’s point of view deep inside the ocean.

As the cage the girls are in first lowers down, there are a few shots of sharks that are very beautiful and thrilling. But after the predictable breakage of the winch holding the cage to the boat ensues, the girls sink to the bottom and attempt to fight for survival.

At this point forward it becomes a bit frustrating to watch because the entire film is very dark and you only get a few glimpses of a shark here or there. If there had been a bit more character build up or story line including rescue efforts, this may have been a theater worthy view. Audiences definitely won’t get as much excitement as they did from other shark films like that of “Jaws” or “Sharknado.” Mostly because this film attempts to take on a more realistic feel. Unfortunately it falls a bit flat and the audience finds comedy in what was supposed to be serious.

I give “47 meters Down” 1 out of 5 stars.
  
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LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated The Shallows (2016) in Movies

Oct 28, 2019 (Updated Oct 28, 2019)  
The Shallows (2016)
The Shallows (2016)
2016 | Drama, Mystery
I could never make my mind up whilst watching The Shallows if I thought it was good or not... Not usually a good sign but it's pretty straightforward - there are some things about it which are great, and some which are not.

The best thing about The Shallows is easily Blake Lively. It's more a less a one woman show (the rest of the cast are paper thin and take up a tiny amount of screentime.)
She provides us with a lead character who you want to survive, and sells the simple narrative nicely.
The other main character is of course the shark. For the most part, we don't see much of the shark and this is where the horror elements of The Shallows are best realised. The general atmosphere of the first two thirds of the runtime carry a suitable amount of tension.
The final third let's it's slip a bit in this respect, switching out tension for action, which is usually ok, but here we're subjected to some dodgy special effects work, and a whole lot of stupid plot points that don't make a whole lot of sense (silly plot points are actually present throughout, and the main reason why The Shallows isn't better than it is)
One final thought - some of the sweeping shots are really nice - some good camera work going on!

It's not a bad watch by any means, and as far as shark movies go, it's better than most.
  
Deep Blue Sea (1999)
Deep Blue Sea (1999)
1999 | Action, Drama, Horror
Graphics (3 more)
Audio
Acting
Plot
You mess with the sharks, the sharks mess with you.
Contains spoilers, click to show
If you like shark attack movies, you're going to love this one. The graphics are great for its time. The plot is quite engaging, as you understand why they did what they did and agree that you would have done the same thing if you were looking for a cure for degenerative brain disease. L.L. Cool J adds a hot simmer to the character exchanges and the ending is poetic justice for the head scientist, getting eaten by her own creation. My single and only let down from this movie was that I wish there had been more incidences of the sharks using their new intelligence together as a team. Long story short: this movie isn't going to win any emmys/oscars/etc., but it will satisfy your hunger for a bloody shark movie with a legitimate plot.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated Jaws (1975) in Movies

Aug 26, 2019 (Updated Aug 26, 2019)  
Jaws (1975)
Jaws (1975)
1975 | Thriller
Spielberg's exemplary suspense-fright machine remains the only killer shark movie you will ever need to watch. A two-course fish supper: the first half concerns police chief Roy Scheider's attempts to persuade the self-serving authorities of the danger posed by a marauding shark (post-Watergate subtext is fairly obvious); the second sees Scheider, bright young oceanographer Richard Dreyfuss, and salty sea dog Robert Shaw setting off on a primal quest to slay the monster, in a boat which may well prove to be of inadequate size.

Spielberg does an excellent job of hiding the pulpy horror-story origins of the tale, swathing it in plausible small-town Americana, low-key humour and excellent characterisation; John Williams' score is, needless to say, essential to the enterprise. The battle to the death in the second half is superbly constructed, paced and executed. Superb entertainment; I am happy to report that over forty years on, Jaws remains entirely capable of making cinema audiences squirm and scream.
  
Jaws 3 (1983)
Jaws 3 (1983)
1983 | Action, Horror, Mystery
4
3.9 (10 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Jaws 3 is without a doubt, one of those films to file away in the "so-bad-it's-good" section.
The special effects are so awful that they are part of movie legend in this day and age. I must admit to only watching the standard version, but there's a huge part of me that wants to see this in 3-D, just for those shitty effects to hit different. Everything about this entry is corny and cheap to be honest, but its premise is pretty fun. The idea of people getting stuck in SeaWorld with a gigantic shark on the loose suits the overall tone, and the cast embrace the stupidness of it all, even Dennis Quaid doing a weird Han Solo impression for the whole runtime.

Jaws 3 is inherently shite, but I would absolutely watch it again, just for the weird slow motion shot near the end where the shark breaks through that window at 0.2 mph. Chefs kiss.