Prime Time: Flight 7500 (2014)

Directed by Takahi Shimizu, the man who delivered so many great scares in the Ju-On: The Grudge movie series, as well as some other decent films, you could be forgiven for expecting good things from Flight 7500. Those expectations should be drastically lowered when you notice that this is written by Craig Rosenberg, a writer who also delivered The Uninvited (a middling remake of a classic) and The Quiet Ones (which is just terrible). Expectations should then nosedive when you realise that this is based on/inspired by a true story.

A varied bunch of passengers get on a plane, all seated and looked after by Laura Baxter (Leslie Bibb) and Suzy Lee (Jamie Chung). You have a pair of newlyweds, Rick (Jerry Ferrara) and Liz (Nicky Whelan), a moody goth (Scout Taylor-Compton), and Brad (Ryan Kwanten) and Pia (Amy Smart), a couple who have recently broken up, but don't want to ruin a non-refundable holiday for their friends by letting them know. There are others on board, some of them getting a story arc, many of them not, but it's this core group that becomes the focus of the movie.

I hope people don't misunderstand me here when I say that this is genuinely awful. While it is technically decent enough, in terms of the sound work and some general cinematography, it's almost constantly getting enough wrong to ruin any potential scares and/or atmosphere. The geography of the plane, the positioning of characters compared to one another, the confused looks from people as sounds or movements occur just off-camera, it's all very poor. And for a film set on a plane, it rarely feels as if it is actually set on a plane (I am talking about the background noise and little movements that you normally see in plane-set movies, replicating the real experience, they're missing here).

That might not be so bad if the cast was stellar. This is not a stellar cast, and they're sorely mistreated by Rosenberg's weak script. I tend to like Kwanten, but he's rarely managed to get himself movie roles that work well for him (a notable exception being the excellent Red Hill). I tend to dislike Smart, and have rarely seen her in a role that another actress couldn't have done better with, but it's not her fault that this movie decides to give her a few lines of dialogue and then largely act as if she's a background character. Bibb and Chung are treated slightly better, and Whelan is made so smug and lacking in self-awareness that she 's amusing enough, but those are the only people who have some trait that makes them remotely memorable. Even Taylor-Compton, doing standard goth girl schtick, suffers from writing that confuses hair and make-up with actual characterisation.

The ending, which at least comes along soon enough (the runtime is only 80 minutes, approximately), is obviously part of the movie that some felt would make the whole journey worthwhile. It doesn't, and those familiar with the real-life event this is based on may find that it leaves an unpleasant taste. It doesn't justify anything that viewers have just sat through, and it easily ranks as one of the worst horror films from Shimizu, who has so many other greats you can choose from.

2/10

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Prime Time: Just Friends (2005)

Just Friends is a fun, if forgettable, rom-com that features a great cast (mainly Ryan Reynolds, Anna Faris, Amy Smart, and Chris Klein), an average script, and a number of predictable moments on the way to a finale you can see coming a mile away, even if you've only seen a handful of other romantic comedies. It's also, to my surprise, a little darker than I recall it being, especially when you consider that the main character has become so determined and bitter in his adult life all because he resents his teenage years that saw him left in "the friend zone"*.

Reynolds is Chris Brander, a young man we first see being fairly humiliated by his fellow teens as he confesses his true feelings, in a heartfelt message, to the beautiful Jamie Palamino (Amy Smart). Jamie doesn't feel the same way about Chris.
Years later, Chris has changed. He no longer needs to wear a retainer. He's lost a bit of weight. And he ensures that no woman he is interested in ever puts him in "the friend zone". He's got everything exactly how he wants it, apparently. But that looks as if it could change when he ends up back in his hometown, looking after a crazy pop star (Samantha James, played by Anna Faris), and figuring that it could be a perfect time to reconnect with Jamie.

Directed by Roger Kumble (who started out strong with Cruel Intentions and then followed that up with the one two punch of, ummmmm, Cruel Intentions 2 and The Sweetest Thing) and written by Adam Davis, Just Friends is, in some ways, more in line with some of the anti-rom-coms that we've had over the years. Despite the lead character being appealing because he has the appearance and charisma of Ryan Reynolds, his motivation is, for the most part, decidedly dark and unpleasant. To put it in simplistic and very coarse terms, he has spent years trying to bang away the bad memories of his youth and now figures he can settles the score with what would really amount to a standard "grudge fuck", albeit one wrapped up in a confusing mess of good memories and past good intentions. If you weren't sure about this, the film spells it out on a couple of occasions, firstly by pinning so much of the plot on the fact that the fragile male ego cannot accept being "friend-zoned" and, secondly, by giving us another character who is essentially working in the same way as the main character, but without any self-delusion about his intentions.

Reynolds is as fun as he usually is in the lead, charming and witty enough to distract you from the, at best, misguided heart of his character until he is forced to face up to some home truths. Smart, an actress who has given wildly uneven performances throughout her career, is an appealing romantic interest, sweet and pretty and believably unaware of the feelings that others may have for her. Faris is hilarious, as she so often is, and Chris Klein has a lot of fun in his role, playing another admirer of Jamie who seems to be almost saintly in the way he lives his life. Christopher Marquette is a lot of fun, in annoying younger brother mode, and it's always nice to see Julie Hagerty, here as the mother of our lead.

If you're after a Reynolds vehicle to watch then he's done much better stuff since this, but he's also done a few things that are worse. This is good, not great, but certainly develops into something much more interesting and thought-provoking than first impressions would suggest.

*I have used quotation marks around every use of the term "friend zone" because I think we're all aware nowadays that it isn't actually a thing and if someone does give you a great friendship then they aren't obliged to offer you any more than that, no matter how it makes you feel.

6/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy it here.

12 Dates Of Christmas (2011)

Christmas is the time of the TV movie, as many people will know (both from the schedules and also from the reviews that appear every December here on my blog). 12 Dates Of Christmas is yet another one of the many that seem to be churned out year after year, and it's yet another one that doesn't stand out from the crowd.

Amy Smart has the lead role, an actress that many people like well enough, but someone I have always really disliked since watching her almost bring down The Butterfly Effect with her poor performance in a role that many, more talented, actresses would have done much more with. But I digress. In this confection she plays a young woman named Kate Stanton. It's Christmas Eve and Kate really wants happiness in her life. And what does every young woman in a TV movie need when searching for happiness? Yes, of course, a man. Because we all know that single people can never be truly happy. Especially single women. In fact, there was a memo sent around a few years ago to remind everyone that the very thought of a happy single woman is enough to shake the very pillars of the ABC programming department and bring the whole world to a point of fiery implosion. But I digress again, sorry. Anyway, Kate is a bit controlling and aloof, so when she is set up on a blind date with the lovely Miles (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) she spoils it all by dwelling on her ex, Jack (Benjamin Ayres). And then at midnight, she is taken back to a moment on Christmas Eve and giving the chance to spoil it all again. Which she does. And again. And again. Until she starts to think on the error of her ways and maybe change things for the better.

Yes, it's Groundhog Day at Christmas. Kinda like Christmas Do-Over. But that's okay, because wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff has been an important aspect of Christmas fantasy tales since the classic A Christmas Carol, so it's not as if Groundhog Day was the one that came along first. Good Dickens, no.

Writers Janet Brownell and Aaron Mendelsohn (adapting the story by Mendelsohn and Blake J. Harris) take the premise and do what you'd expect them to do with it. Kate at first tries to correct things in the way that SHE thinks is best, then she has a bit of fun, and then she struggles to find a way to end the repeating cycle. Director James Hayman gets the camera pointing and shooting the right way, with a standard swirly move to show the trip back in time whenever it gets to midnight. There's nothing spectacular here, and none of it is remotely believable, but it's perfectly fine TV movie stuff.

Smart certainly grows as the movie progresses, but it's hard to like her during the first half of the movie (which, I guess, is kind of the point). Gosselaar is a nice enough guy, I suppose, but so is Ayres, because this is all about the change needed in Smart. Jayne Eastwood stands out among the supporting players, portraying an elderly neighbour with a good heart.

Put someone, anyone, in the lead role instead of Smart and this could have, just, been a good bit of entertainment. As it stands, it's distinctly below average.

4/10

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Interstate 60: Episodes Of The Road (2002)

Written and directed by Bob Gale, Interstate 60: Episodes Of The Road is a highly entertaining blend of Eerie Indiana, Big Fish and, well, Road Trip. It feels slightly disjointed, but the title gives a clue to that (although it's often just called Interstate 60 on the marketing and packaging nowadays - I just listed the full title as it is on IMDb).

Gary Oldman is a red-haired trickster by the name of O. W. Grant, a man who spends his time smoking his monkey-head pipe and granting wishes, but he grants wishes in very twisted and unexpected ways. He's like a PG version of the djinn from the Wishmaster movies. James Marsden plays a young man named Neal Oliver, wishing for some answers in his life just as O. W. Grant is within earshot. Interested, Grant decides to arrange a little road trip for Neal. He must deliver a package on a journey that will take him along Interstate 60. Of course, there isn't an Interstate 60. At least, that's what Neal thinks until he's shown a different view of things. He continues along the road in his car, meeting various characters and getting into one or two strange situations along the way.

I enjoyed this movie from the very beginning, the first few scenes features a great moment with Gary Oldman and Michael J. Fox that sums up the devious playfulness of O. W. Grant, but as it continued I started to love it. It manages to be funny and quirky in a way that doesn't scream in viewers faces about how funny and quirky it's being. People may disagree with me on that, but I think that the way in which everything was added on, one character at a time, helped move the film from normality to outright whackiness. As a viewer, I felt very much like that metaphorical frog sitting in water that I didn't notice was being constantly increased ever so slightly towards boiling point.

Despite, compared to some, not really having THAT much in his filmography, Gale does a solid job with the direction of the film. That's probably thanks to the fact that he's filming his own script and writing has been his forte for the past five decades. There's nothing too spectacular on display, but nothing too clumsy either.

Marsden is his usual pleasant self in the role, Oldman has more fun than usual, Christopher Lloyd adds another eccentric character to his list of eccentric characters, Chris Cooper is fantastic as a man who cannot stand anyone lying to him, Amy Smart performs better than usual and Kurt Russell has fun in a small role, playing the police captain of a small town that has legalised a highly addictive drug and allows anyone to party as hard as they like in return for various civic duties.

If you don't like quirky, rather lightweight films then avoid this one like the plague. But if you enjoyed any of the titles I mentioned in the first paragraph then you may want to watch this at least once and see if you enjoy it as much as I did. It goes a bit too far into the ludicrous for a few minutes (involving a lawyer and a big bunch of other lawyers), but it still charms and entertains far more than hundreds of other better-known titles that you could pick from the last decade.

8/10

http://www.amazon.com/Interstate-60-Ann-Margret/dp/B002T4GWYI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366395047&sr=8-1&keywords=interstate+60

Mirrors (2008)

Mirrors, I've always been fascinated and a little bit spooked by them ever since I read about what happened when Alice went through the looking glass. Then reading the fantastic Mirror by Graham Masterton didn't help. Perhaps it's the result of watching horror movies for years featuring the old close-the-medicine-cabinet-to-reveal-figure-in-the-mirror trick but I've always had a belief that if I ever see something truly inexplicable and terrifying it will be in a mirror. I simply don't trust 'em but they're everywhere.

Which leads me to Mirrors, yet another remake from director Alexandre Aja. It's not an exact copy but Aja co-wrote the screenplay with Gregory Levasseur based on the Korean movie entitled Into The Mirror (a film I enjoyed but that I also need to rewatch for reviewing purposes). While I agree with many people who say that they'd like to see Aja direct something truly original* I also have to say that I don't really mind his preference for helming remakes when they're as entertaining as this.

Kiefer Sutherland plays Ben Carson, a cop who is no longer acting as a cop due to the unfortunate incident in which he accidentally shot someone that he shouldn't. This has led to him struggling with his feelings, struggling with alcohol abuse and struggling to keep a relationship working with his wife (Paula Patton) and two young kids. He's sleeping on a sofa in the home of his sister (Amy Smart) and trying to get back to his best, one step at a time. When he takes a job as a security officer in a grand department store building that was majorly damaged by a deadly fire he hopes for the best. Unfortunately, the mirrors in the building have seen so much that they act differently from normal mirrors and Ben soon starts questioning his sanity while seeing more and more disturbing images. As if that wasn't bad enough, abnormal reflections may also aim to harm his family.

Mirrors works well because a) it's about mirrors (please refer to my first paragraph) and b) it mixes some nice strangeness with many jump scares and one or two excellent gore effects. In fact, one highlight is so good that I'm barely restraining myself from going into more detail but when you see it you'll be very impressed. Okay, the first half may actually have one or two jump scares too many and the finale is a bit of a letdown but the rest is solid entertainment. Decent performances from the cast (Sutherland, Patton, Smart, Cameron Boyce and Erica Gluck as the kids, etc) help to keep you engrossed and the threat to the characters is actually palpable once the film moves into top gear.

It may not be a modern classic but it's certainly a very well made, entertaining movie that makes good use of the central concept and may make you look twice the next time you catch sight of your reflection.

7/10


*I think everyone knows by now the clamour that occurred when the excellent Haute Tension AKA Switchblade Romance was released and people spotted how similar it was to Intensity, a novel by Dean R. Koontz.


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mirrors-Blu-ray-Kiefer-Sutherland/dp/B001T9N53A/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1337273909&sr=8-3

Campfire Tales (1997)

Campfire Tales is, as you might expect, a horror anthology movie based around some pretty well-known urban legends that are given a fun twist. While it's not all that scary, the tense moments somehow lack any real tension, it's certainly fun while it's on and benefits from a decent wraparound that ends things nicely.

Jay R. Ferguson, Christine Taylor, Christopher Masterson and Kim Murphy play people who have to kill some time after their car goes off the road. They set up some flares and then move into the woods to build a campfire and scare each other with some urban legends. As the movie opens we get a version of "The Hook" but then the car passengers go off road and settle down to tell the three main tales: "The Honeymoon", one that I won't name because the title gives away the punchline and "The Locket".

The direction by Matt Cooper, Martin Kunert and David Semel is okay. There's nothing too flashy here and nothing too terrible but the movie does feel a bit slow in places, despite coming in at just under the 90 minute mark. The script, by Cooper and Kunert and Eric Manes, doesn't really sizzle either, which is a shame because if the material had been handled better then the overall outcome would have been a significant improvement. The middle of the three tales is so badly fumbled that it's robbed of any tension it should have but the strength of the punchline is too good to be completely undone by the poor execution.

The cast assembled is a big plus. As well as those mentioned, there are small roles for James Marsden and Amy Smart. Ron Livingston (who appears in "The Honeymoon") will also be familiar to viewers while even those who aren't so well known acquit themselves reasonably well.

It's not a bad little movie but there are better urban legends to choose from and better ways to showcase the material.

6/10.

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