Movies

Prism

If you go to your local rental store, you'll probably see at least a full row of a movie called Prism, although it had no decent theatrical release, stars no one you've ever heard of, and is lacking any kind of coherent plot. The movie has absolutely zero reviews on Rottentomatoes.com, the leading Web site for movie reviews.

The plot, or as much as I could understand, was that an autistic kid is emotionally attached to a prism that holds a demon ... or something like that. After witnessing the murder of his parents, he falls into a catatonic state and is sent to a mental hospital where a child psychologist has to balance her career and relationships while trying to figure out why the boy is in a coma.

There's absolutely no suspense in this film and just when the movie finally seems to go somewhere, the freshman director spends 20 minutes focusing on other patients in the hospital that has no bearing on what little of a plot they manage to hold together.

I challenge anyone to find out exactly what is going on. Is the director trying to say that all autistic people need an exorcism? Are all mental patients controlled by demons? When the credits rolled on this movie, several of my friends had the same confused look as I did.

Overall, this is a bad independent film with some of the worst acting I've ever seen. I suspect the only reason this is even available locally is because it was filmed in Tennessee. Lifetime would have turned this screenplay down. Trust me, if Mystery Science Theatre 3000 was still around, they would be ripping this movie to shreds.

P.S. I Love You

Just what every widow needs: A hubby thoughtful enough to leave behind a series of letters with life-affirming tasks so she can get on with things (or maybe he's just too selfish and perverse to go to his grave quietly and let her grief run its course naturally).

Hilary Swank stars as the woman left alone after her husband dies of a brain tumor, his posthumous letters turning up for a year after his death to encourage her to get out of the house and put an end to her moping. The releases come with deleted scenes, a featurette, a music video and a chat with author Cecelia Ahern, whose novel was the basis for the movie.