THE WATCHERS
* * ½
(Horror/Fantasy)

M. Night Shyamalan could never match his first hit, “The Sixth Sense” which had one of the best endings we’ve ever seen in a movie of any genre.

Daughter Ishana gives it a try in her first film and fails to gain intensity and clarification.

Dakota Fanning plays Myra, a strange young lady who works in a pet store and carries a caged bird with her wherever she goes.

Shyamalan lets us know she is rebellious and doesn’t like rules by showing her smoking while pumping gas.

She is driving through the wilderness when her car breaks down. What does any sensible person do? Stay on the road, of course.

What does Myra do? Head deep into the forest, where she gets lost and comes upon  an older woman who takes her to the “coop”, a strange building with a mirror covering one side, giving the appearance of a stage.

The woman and a young couple explain the rules to her: You can’t go out at night. At dusk you must stand in front of the mirror and let the watchers look at you. Don’t go down in the deep hole. Don’t go beyond the signs that say, “Point of no return”.

Myra breaks most of the rules, encounters the watchers, finds strange objects down in the hole, and eventually makes a big discovery.

It is time to escape, after what seems like eternity in the coop. Where did they find food and drink?

How do they watch a cassette on TV?

How did they survive until their discovery?

You will have to sit through some boring stuff, interspersed with loud noises to come to an ending that makes little sense.

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence star in Columbia Pictures BAD BOYS: RIDE OR DIE. Photo by: Frank Masi

BAD BOYS: RIDE OR DIE
* * *
(4^th in  Comedy/Action Series)

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are back again as Mike and Marcus, the Bad Boys of the Miami Police Department.

There’s the usual endless patter between the two, loads of car, helicopter and boat chases and crashes, the destruction of bad men, crooked cops, drug dealers, racists, and the final showdown with dozens of weapons, including a white alligator.

The Bad Boys are trying to prove that their beloved Captain Howard was not a dirty cop. During their investigation, they become suspects and part of a manhunt by dirty and clean cops and the drug cartel. Mayhem prevails and persists through the long chase.

Mike’s son becomes involved, as does his son-in-law, who single-handedly wipes out 15 bad guys in a wild scene that sets up the postscript. (You don’t have to wait for the endless credits to see it).

If you like the genre, you’ll like this one. We found it funny and exciting in spots, but a lot of things we’ve seen before.