To be very honest, I only bought this movie because Cameron Monaghan stars in it. I figured that he played Jerome/Jerimiah well in Gotham, and Ian Gallagher in Shameless.
This is the kind of film that is often underrated because of the type of film it is. It's an artsy film, a cerebral film, one that follows a character as he discovers meaning and evolves as a human being, but it's a realistic evolution, not a fairy tale happily ever after.
This may be the worst movie I have seen so far this year. Weak narrative, a plot that goes nowhere.
Based on the novel of the same name by Eric Bogosian, "Mall" centers around a group of strangers, whose only connection is a gun-yielding methhead psychopath (James Frecheville) terrorizing the mall they frequent on this one particular day in question. I liked this film, mostly for it's good character studies, especially based on the observances of one of it's lead characters- our young philosophical hero, played very well by Cameron Monaghan.
Giving this film 3 stars was very generous. The only reason I didn't give it 1 is because I have seen movies that were absolutely dismal and, yes, worst than this.
Joseph Hahn is best known as a musician with the band Linkin Park, and after directing a ton of music videos, he decided to give movies a shot. His first film, Mall, is kind of like a car wreck on the side of the road, in that it's horrible, but for some reason you can't look away.
This is a well-directed movie. It has a good overall sense of emptiness.
UGGGHHHhhhhhh!!! If you have never had the experience of sitting through a 90-minute feature film and as the final credits start to roll, you ask yourself, "WTF, over???
The first part of this film hooks you on. Stylish and well photographed, and able to keep you interested.
