Normal Adolescent Behavior

Amber Tamblyn......Wendy Bergman

Ashton Holmes......Sean Mayer

Raviv Ullman......Price

Kelli Garner......Billie

Daryl Sabara......Nathan Bergman

Hilarie Burton......Ryan

Stephen Colletii......Robert

Kelly Lynch......Helen

Julia Garro......Ann

Edward Tournier......Jonah

Written/Directed By:

Beth Schacter

Release Date:

September 1, 2007

Running Time:

95 mins.

I will start this review by saying that when it was released on DVD, the film was promoted as "Havoc 2." Besides being about a group of teenagers, this film bears no resemblance to Havoc (starring Anne Hathaway, Joseph-Gorden Levitt, and Bijou Phillips) at all.

Amber Tamblyn stars as Wendy, a high school girl involved in a group of six people: six best friends who love each other so much, they vow to never be not together. This means once a week, they all sleep with each other, swapping partners every week. No, it's not an orgy, proclaim the characters. It's just a family. =/

Basically, I think this film tried a little too hard to be all "We're rebelling." Rebelling against what, you ask? They're rebelling against non-sexualized women. They're in this group so that both genders get equal amount of attention in a relationship. Okay... I think that that's such an obscure way of dealing with this "problem" (Is it even a problem? I mean it's decision-based...)

Anyway, Amber Tamblyn does give a good performance, as does the whole cast, really. Why Hilarie Burton was labeled as a star, I don't know, considering she's in three scenes.

Recommended, I guess.

Source: Netflix

Rating: Three Stars

Hounddog

Dakota Fanning......Lewellen

Piper Laurie......Grannie

Robin Wright Penn......Ellen

David Morse......Daddy

Cody Hanford......Buddy

Afemo Omilami......Charles

Written/Directed By:

Deborah Kampmeier

Release Date:

September 19, 2008

Running Time:

102 mins.

I will preface this review by saying that I've always been a fan of Dakota Fanning. She's intelligent, has a good head on her shoulders, and can definitely act. I was skeptical about seeing this because of the rape scene she's involved in, but since it was one of the only movies in her filmography I haven't seen, I decided to watch it.

The story is about a 12 year old girl, Lewellen, who lives with her dad and grandma in the 1950's. Her father loves her, but is an alcoholic and can't provide for her, leaving her strict grandmother to take care of her. Lewellen idolizes Elvis Presley, having all of his recordings and singing his songs throughout the movie, especially Hounddog. Dakota Fanning, as proven in The Runaways, actually has a good voice. I was surprised.

Lewellen is not fond of his dad's girlfriend, Ellen, so she tries to avoid her, until one day she sees her in a car with another man and yells at her.

Lewellen's has two friends: Buddy, a boy her age and Charles, an elderly black man who acts like a mentor to Lewellen.

The rape scene. It was more tame than I thought it was going to be, Thank God, but I still found it disturbing. I'm actually not even going to talk anymore about it.

I can't really say much else without spoiling the movie, so I'll go onto the performances.

I'm gonna go as far as to say that this is Dakota Fanning's best performance in her "child" era. She is able to carry the film by herself while being one of the only child stars in the movie. She is able to portray such deep emotion with just her face, and the aftermath of the rape is truly heartbreaking. Robin Wright Penn is great as always, as is Piper Laurie. The rest of the cast is give or take, in my opinion.

That said, I still recommend this movie, mainly because of Fanning.

Source: Netflix Instant

Rating: Three and a Half Stars

The Good Girl

Starring:

Jennifer Aniston......Justine Last

Jake Gyllenhaal......Thomas "Holden" Worther

John C. Reilly......Phil Last

John Carroll Lynch......Jack Field

Tim Blake Nelson......Bubba

Zooey Deschanel......Cheryl

Mike White......Corny

Written By:

Mike White

Directed By:

Miguel Arteta

Release Date:

August 7, 2002

Running Time:

93 mins

So Jennifer Aniston, basically known for playing Rachel Green in every role, shows a strong level of diversity and honest talent in the role of Justine, a cynical 30 year old employee at Retail Rodeo, a mixture of Wal-Mart and Dollar General. She puts on a believable Southern accent... most of the cast does a good one, except for Jake Gyllenhaal, who mostly whines, but we'll get to that later.

Justine narrates the film, offering her thoughts, observations, and feelings through a monotone voice all the way until the final scene. She often thinks of how to react in a situation in her head, or narration, and then proceeds to go forth with it in the actual scene with another character. To offer comic relief to this mostly solemn movie is Zooey Deschanel as Cheryl, a young, spicy employee who offers lines like "Fuck you very much" to her customers. As a long-time fan of Deschanel, I was sad she wasn't used that much in the movie. But I digress, the movie was about Jen.

One day Justine notices a new employee reading "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger. He introduces himself as Holden, the name of the main character in said book, and awkwardly converses with Justine. Keep in mind that Gyllenhaal is one of my favorite actors, but like I said before, his voice really irritated me in this film. There was no real trace of a Southern accent... he sounded like a little kid, even more so than he did in the previous year's "Donnie Darko." They become good friends and eventually engage in a secret affair, which causes turmoil in the relationship between Justine and her husband of seven years, Phil, played endearingly by John C. Reilly. Justine is torn between the two men: she is mystified by Holden, but feels comfort with Phil, even if he sits on his ass all day with his best friend Bubba, smoking joints and watching cartoons. Add that to the fact that he is infertile, Justine has a hard decision ahead of her, one that I won't spoil for first time viewers.

So do I recommend "The Good Girl?" Yes, I certainly do. It's a sardonic black comedy/drama with engaging characters and good acting, and I would say Aniston's best movie role to date.

Four out of Five Stars.

Hide and Seek

Cast:

Robert De Niro......David Callaway

Dakota Fanning......Emily Callaway

Famke Janssen......Katherine

Elisabeth Shue......Elizabeth

Amy Irving......Allison Callaway

Melissa Leo......Laura

Written by:

Ari Schlossberg

Directed by:

John Polson

Release Date:

January 28, 2005

Running Time:

101 mins

The film begins with a creepy-ass Dakota Fanning sitting in bed, as her father discovers his wife's body in a bathtub full of her blood. Before we go any further, to emphasize Dakota's creepy nature in the film, her hair has been dyed from its cutesy blonde to dark brown, and her eyes are bigger than ever. Anyway.

The film proceeds, Emily and David, Robert De Niro's character, living together only a few weeks after Allison's gruesome death. David is not sure who to blame it on, but Dakota has an idea or two: her "imaginary friend", Charlie. David thinks she's just being naive, but no... there really is a Charlie. And he wants to kill off every character in the film... except for Dakota, of course. This leads you to your suspicions, which will probably be correct, as the film's ending is pretty damn easy to figure out about half-way through. I won't spoil it, though, just in case a few of my readers (I doubt I have any) are a little slow.

This isn't a typical horror movie... while towards the end, there are quite a few "jump!" sequences, this film relies heavily on playing with your mind, a more psychological aspect rather than buckets of blood and gore.

Even if you're unsatisfied with the ending in the theatrical version, there are four alternate endings located in the "Special Features" on the disc. My personal favorite was the third.

So there. I would recommend this film if you're a fan of either of the two leading actors, De Niro and/or Fanning, or if you like an entertaining, but not necessarily scary, horror flick.

How I watched: DVD

Edgeplay: A Film About the Runaways

Cast:

Victory Tischler-Blue/Vicki Blue......herself/

Cherie Currie......herself

Lita Ford......herself

Jackie Fox......herself

Sandy West......herself

Kari Krome......herself

Joan Jet......herself (archival material)

Writer/Director:

Victory Tischler-Blue

Release Date:

October 7 2004

Running Time:

110 mins

This movie was, to my knowledge, the first "rockumentary" I've seen; and it was fantastic. Vicki Blue did an amazing thing by creating this, and I only wish Joan Jett would have participated so they all could have been together again. I'll get to why she didn't later in this review.

The film begins on a black screen with, I believe, Cherie screaming at fans in the audience at a concert. Effective beginning, as it draws you in to the film. Kari Krome begins speaking about her short-lives stint with The Runaways, and you then hear from Susi Quatro, Vicki's inspiration. The next guest is both great and awful: Kim Fowley. He's great in the sense that he put those girls together and formed a legendary band, but awful in the sense that... well, we'll get to that.

Jackie Fox is the second Runaway to be interviewed, and she seems the most bitter, which may be true due to the fact that she refused to allow any part of herself to be featured in the 2010 movie The Runaways. However, she and Vicki seem to be very close, due in large part to their fooling around in the bonus scenes after the credits. The story about Jackie quitting the band is intense, and told mostly by Fox and Cherie Currie.

I honestly forget the order of interviewees, but I think Sandy West was next. Her story is the saddest. She is the most angry about the demise of the band, and she wants nothing but to get back together. What makes this heart-breaking is that Sandy passed away in 2006 due to cancer. Near the end of the film, she starts to cry at the thought of The Runaways never touring again, and it really does make you feel awful at what's to come.

Lita Ford was originally spiteful of Vicki Blue because they looked a lot alike. This, however, is no longer the case as they now consider each other "a sister." Blue is actually helping Lita and her family make a reality show.

Next is Cherie Currie, undoubtedly the best-looking of the group. Now a wood-carver, she seems to think back fondly at The Runaways like an adult would at a long-forgotten childhood friend. I'm aware that she and Dakota Fanning spent some time together for the 2010 film, and there's an interview with Cherie on the DVD and Blu-Ray's bonus features, so she seems to still want to be a part of the band's future.

So, Joan Jett. The diva, apparently. Since she wouldn't be in control of how she was portrayed in the documentary, she refused to take any part, and tried to take this film and Vicki down. This seems extremely odd, considering Joan was an executive producer on the 2010 film, and much that was portrayed there was also talked about in Blue's documentary. Either way, all the girls seem to like Joan, as they praise her a lot during the film.

The worst for last: Kim Fowley. Cherie seems to be the most spiteful of him, and she begins talking about him taking them all in a one-bedroom hotel room, and saying that he'll "teach them the real way to fuck." That's the end of that until Jackie Fox is asked and she says that she really doesn't know if there was any sexual abuse, but there was verbal and mental abuse. It was reported that Fowley let Blue license 9 Runaways' songs in the film if he would take that bit out, so she did. Unfortunately, the music couldn't be put in the film anyway. Hmmm...

So I very much recommend that you check this rockumentary out if you're interested in The Runaways. You'll find yourself highly rewarded with what each bandmate has to offer.

Review: On Broadway

Cast:

Joey McIntyre......Joey McIntyre

Eliza Dushku......Lena Wilson

Mike O'Malley......Father Rollie O'Toole

Sean Lawlor......Martin O'Toole

Lance Greene......Billy O'Toole

Vincent Dowling......Augie Burke

Lucas Caleb Rooney......Neil Quinn

Jill Flint......Kate O'Toole

Writer/Director:

Dave McLaughlin

Release Date:

April 25, 2007

Running Time:

98 mins

I decided to review this film for two reasons:

1). It was the last movie I watched, and

2). It has little reviews on the internet, and this movie NEEDS to be seen.

The setting is Boston, MA and the era is now. The story, however, is timeless.

Jack O'Toole has always been closer to his uncle than his own father, so when his uncle dies, Jack is absolutely devastated. To honor his uncle and let his own feelings out, Jack decides to write a play inspired by his uncle's wake. Quitting his job as a carpenter, Jack takes on the role of director and producer, and his wife, Kate, designs the set. Besides the fact of getting closure about his uncle's death, Jack also hopes to get closer to his estranged father. He, however, wants nothing to do with it. Hiring actors along the way, Jack comes to terms with his uncle's death, and inspires his crew of actors.

The acting in this movie is great. New Kids On the Block member Joey McIntyre, whom I didn't even recognize, carried the film on his back with his emotional performance as Jack. The second best performance would be that of Eliza Dushku, who played Lena Wilson. She was funny, sexy, but also respectful. She begged Jack for the main female role in the play until she got it. Mike O'Malley gave a great, but kind of bored, performance as Father Rollie O'Toole. Will Arnett and Amy Poelher were also in a few brief, but hilarious scenes, probably due to their friendship with writer/director Dave McLaughlin.

This movie has it all: humor, heart, and family. If you like a good movie, please give this one a chance and watch it. It never got a theatrical release, but was screened at many film festivals with great success.

How I Watched It: Netflix