kc1177 Reviews

Disturbia (2007)

fun-jump out of your seat movie-but no Oscar winner

[7/10 · 28 July 2007]

I took my 76 year old mother to see this since it was PG13 and my teens had already said it was good and not scary. I am glad she didn't freak out. There were plenty of good jump out of your seat moments. Some were surprises in how they made you jump even when you were expecting something to happen. For me it was otherwise pretty typical. I didn't buy the relationship aspects of the film.(Except the father/son relationship.) The characters-even sadly David Morse's-were underdeveloped. While I can't say anyone did a bad job at all something was lacking. Morse usually plays creepy way creepier than that. I had the feeling he was being held back asked to play a bland murderer. I thought Shai LeBeouf did a very good job, but the characters didn't seem connected to each other at all. The comedic portions were more fully developed-Aaron Yoo was hilarious! I will have to watch for him. I couldn't find motivation for the behaviors of any of the characters except the mom whenever her son would tick her off. Why was the serial killer a killer and why did he have the specific proclivities he had? They spent a lot of time setting up his "work room" and we look at it, but don't know why the items we see are present. There were also some plot issues that seem contrived and convenient--the deer. While the emotional tone was there enough for suspense and lust everything else occurred in an emotional vacuum.

Water Moccasin (2006)

A lot said in 15 minutes.

[7/10 · 26 March 2007]

I remember it as longer than it is because you cover so much emotional ground so quickly. The plot is an adult child coming to grips with the beginning decline of her mother. Issues past, present, and feared come into view in a collage of her emotions, experiences, and snippets of conversation. I saw this one in a local film festival, shown back to back with several other award winning shorts and this one stood out. Good cinematography, open to some individual interpretation and something my daughter and I could each relate to from our own perspectives. Ede Crowder is adorable bringing the child inside the main character to us. Dad, Paul Crowder's editing is also a big plus to this little film. I don't often watch a movie of any length and say, wow look how seamless that editing was, but for this one I did, not even knowing whose work I was watching. (Crazy circumstance that it was the one editor I know anything of their work.) Lisa Cole's concept works. You feel the main character's feelings and see things from her perspectives and if you wish can self-analyze as you go.

The Guardian (I) (2006)

A fast ride-had me holding my breath

[7/10 · 27 January 2007]

This one had me on the edge of my seat, and in the underwater scenes, holding my breath. Good adventure story. For a fairly long movie there was no checking the watch to see how long I had sat watching-it definitely pulls you in and then pulls you along at a heady pace. Good plot line, though in a couple of places I caught myself thinking of other films (A Perfect Storm or Top Gun-at one point even A Message in a Bottle). It reminded me once again of why I always love Costner's movies despite the minor flaws they have. My only complaint is that while a fairly long movie it skimps a little bit on character development to get in all the action which leaves a few of the characters literally dropping off the grid. Maybe they tried to ice the cake a little too thinly, putting in too many people and not letting us get to know them. There were some interesting characters we didn't quite get to know well enough. Kutcher is good-he's going to make an actor yet. Bonnie Bramlett is a nice surprise in this one! Good for her.

Stranger Than Fiction (2006)

Much better than expected.

[8/10 · 27 January 2007]

I guess I should have known and yet I didn't. I didn't hear much of anything about this one at all. The kids wanted to see it, so when it came around to the local discount theater, we piled up the car and went. I didn't know who the other members of the cast were and I didn't know it would go deeper than a fluff comedy. The silliness that most often accompanies Will Farrell was understated and quite nicely subtle. Maggie Gyllenhaal is fabulous and the other characters have to suffer with the likes of: Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson and Queen Latifa (that was written to be decidedly tongue in cheek). All three were solid with Dustin Hoffman and Queen Latifa also playing their roles (which could have been camped up and over the top) not in any way those things. Emma Thompson gets to put a bit of a screwball twist on her character. I had absolutely no expectations of this movie and found myself very entertained. Two thoughts occurred to me as I watched-one: "this is why these actors are great" and two: "that was a clever turn of a phrase." A much smarter film than I thought I'd be seeing.

Hard Candy (2005)

Riveting.

[9/10 · 14 January 2007]

I haven't been held captive by a movie like this since "Crash". It is hard to discuss this one without giving the prospective viewer too much information. I went into this one blind and would suggest that same approach to anyone planning to see it. There are so many plot twist and moments where you just aren't sure what will happen. I felt like I was being led around by the hand. I feel that I often have the ending of a movie before the first five minutes have played-not this one. There is no typical Hollywood formula to follow with Hard Candy. This is an incredibly tightly constructed story. It is compact and sparce--only two sets and what? four actors! Unbelievably intense. Incredible acting. Can't wait to see more from Ellen Page.

Alpha Dog (2006)

Cassavetes should have stayed on task.

[6/10 · 14 January 2007]

Maybe I just had to wait too long for this one to finally come out. I have never been a Justin Timberlake fan, but he was one of the best things about this movie. You cannot dislike him in this. He does a good job of showing us the moral dilemma he is twisting in. I always love Emile Hirsch but found this character a little one dimensional. Gone were the moments where you can see everything he thinks and feels on his face as when he portrays Z-boy Jay Adams or as Tim Travis in "Imaginary Heroes." He is supposed to be the heartless bad guy in this and since he is portraying a real person perhaps the flatness of this character is due to an accurate depiction of real life Jesse James Hollywood. What this character lacks in emotion, others, such as "Susan" and "Keith," give us a bit more to watch. Bruce Willis and Sharon Stone are believable most of the time, but some moments feel incongruent (Stones final scene for example was over the top and in such a bad way). Likewise Ben Foster's Jake Mazursky is all over the place as a strung out-stressed out loser that starts the whole mess. He has moments of brilliance but otherwise he's just too much. The movie is way too long and tries to focus on every player in this truly tragic story. I would have liked more of Anton Yelchin's Zach and more of the emotional battles of the key characters and far less of the get high and blast out violent rap while insulting our sex partners in front of the whole gang. The story itself is captivating, but the movie tries too hard to do too much and gets in its own way. Yet I don't feel cheated out of the ticket price.

Riding Giants (2004)

definitely worth experiencing

[9/10 · 23 August 2006]

Again Stacy Peralta is true first to the people who lived the story. By letting those involved in the genesis of big wave surfing tell us their stories, how it felt and what they thought, you get the feeling of having been there. The film carries you from the fifties to the near present by focusing on three primary architects contributing to the evolution and development of the sport. Candid "home movie" like videos of themselves and their contemporaries take you further into their world. The layers of music, culture, technical information,a pure view of the participant's athleticism, and fabulous big wave images you get a full scope perspective of this aspect of surfing.

Thoroughly worth watching.

Lords of Dogtown (2005)

You'll appreciate the movie more if you watch Peralta's documentary Dogtown and Z-boys.

[8/10 · 3 July 2006]

It was the seventies Sam. Materialism was making a comeback. For poor kids this was a way out of the dead end they saw in their future, so many of them jumped at the chance for a corporate sponsor. Watch the documentary. These were real people. Most of the events happened in some fashion to the team members, but to make it a more cohesive story, Peralta put it into one year and focused on the three main characters for the movie. Put the Dogtown and Z-boys documentary on and watch for how well they all match the mannerisms of the real people they are portraying. They also had to be convincing skating and in some scenes surfing. Watch the movie again with Peralta and Alva's commentary running and you will see and hear how close they got it to the real life these guys had. How can you say Emile Hirsch is one dimensional? John Robinson does most of his own skating. Peralta himself doubles for the multiple 360s in the Delmar contest scene. The real Alva does some as well. I've never even skated, but I lived through the seventies and I thought it was like stepping back into the past. Very convincing. The only thing I would have done differently would be to develop Wentzle's character more-he is a hoot in the documentary.