Life or Something Like It (Rental)

So what would you do if a prophet told you that you only had a week to live? This is the dilemma that faces Lanie Kerrigan (Angelina Jolie). She is a Seattle news reporter who covers various stories and is one day doing a report on a homeless man who stands on a street and shouts out his visions, hoping that passers by will give him a few coins for his insight. These visions amy be of a pending traffic accident to a weather forecast to a sports result. During the live interview, the prophet predicts the Seahawks will win 19-13 in their NFL game and that it will hail the next day. Lanie is astounded by these predictions as the Seahawks rarely win and there is not a cloud in the sky. As she is crossing back to the studio, the prophet then predicts that she will die a week later.

"…and you will die next Thursday!"

Lanie thinks this stunt has been set up by her cameraman Pete (Edward Burns) but he is innocent. The sexual tension between the two is intense. They have a history of sleeping together, but you wouldn’t know it currently as they are forever attacking each other verbally. Lanie has the perfect life, she is dating professional baseball star Cal (Christian Broken Hearts Club Kane), she has been put up for the job of her dreams and she has almost everything she ever dreamed of. Whether the prophecy that she will die is true or not, she cannot help but take it seriously. She evaluates her life with the help of Pete and starts to do things that are completely out of character, such as singing (Can’t Get No) Satisfaction during a live cross to a public transport workers strike and even stranger things like not showering.

Now the concept is a good one for this film, but it just doesn’t quite work. Yes, the basic story is the fact that the lead character only has a week to live, but the driving force here is the romance between Lanie and Pete. This formula has been done many times in other films, where the entire movie has the two at each others' throats until they ultimately fall in love, but here it just doesn’t quite work. The acting is quite impressive from each of the main actors, but they just don’t seem to gel. Angelina Jolie as a platinum blonde takes quite a while to absorb and I really have to ask why this was necessary. I can understand her character's obsession with her looks, but the need for this hair is quite strange. A special mention must also be made of the wonderful Stockard Channing, who plays Deborah Connors, the reporter that Lanie aspires to become. It is hard to see her as anyone other than Rizzo from Grease, but her role here is very well suited.

This film quite comfortably sits in the romantic comedy genre, but it seems to offer a new perspective without delivering. The acting is impressive and there are quite a few funny moments, but for some reason it just doesn’t all come together as it should. It is visually impressive and the pumping soundtrack really adds to the film. Basically it has all the characteristics to work but just doesn’t, well not for me anyway. I am sure there are viewers out there who will love this but for this reviewer, take out the pending death scenario and this film offers nothing new. Overall it isn’t a bad film, but with an impressive cast and a vaguely new concept, it still just doesn’t quite cut it.

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and 16:9 enhanced for widescreen devotees, this transfer looks wonderful. The picture is sharp at all times and shadow detail is excellent. The colour palette used is impressive, showing great depth and richness. There is no sign of grain or other major nasties such as film artefacts. Aliasing does happen, but not to any extent which causes problems. Subtitles are supplied in English and these are accurate to what is said on screen.

Audio is supplied as default in English Dolby Digital 5.1 surround. As is the case with the video transfer, the audio is equally impressive. Dialogue is clear at all times with no synch problems. Surround use is extensive but subtle, offering good ambience throughout which is emphasised during music tracks. These tracks include artists such as Peter Gabriel, the Rolling Stones, Foo Fighters and Crystal Method and all are used extremely well. The subwoofer is only really called into action for these music tracks and fully adds to the impact of the scene.

Being a rental only release at this stage there are no extras.

Overall this is by no means the worst film out there, and it does have some very enjoyable moments, but as a whole it just seems to fail. The performances are solid, it is visually appealing and the music is excellent, but put together it only produces an average film when it could have achieved so much more. It'srobably worth a rental, however I would suggest that even if you do enjoy this film, you won’t be in a hurry to watch it a second time.