Let's Talk About Movies

“The Host” is another soulless movie based on Stephenie Meyer’s book. I’ve never read it which means I can’t compare the details and nuances of that book and the film. But I can still review it. The needlessly long story involves Saoirse Ronan (“Atonement”, “The Lovely Bones”) as Melanie Stryder, one of the last humans alive until aliens insert a soul named Wanderer into her body. A wasted Diane Kruger plays the seeker, who wants Wanderer to lead them to the rebels’ hideout, led by Melanie’s uncle Jeb (William Hurt).Of course there’s a love triangle involved at some point. Call it “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” meets “Twilight”. Not as fun as you might think. There’s a lot of nonsense going in here and you can feel it as we move along. I don’t pretend to understand all of this, or care all that much. There’s a decent attempt to humanize the characters, but there are also potholes in the logic of the screenplay. Hell even good actors expire under the film’s cheeseball cloud. But beyond anything else, “The Host” commits the cardinal movie sin: it’s dull. After a while my brain went numb and I couldn’t wait for it to be over. I often have that problem with movies based on Stephenie Meyer’s books. But then, I’m not a 12-year-old girl.

Rating: 1.5/4