The Mudge Boy

Wow...so this movie was incredibly boring. I had high hopes for it, but I had to keep myself from falling asleep until the last third of the movie where something actually happens. This is definately one of those movies that sounds much better on the Netflix summary than it actually is.



Duncan Mudge (Emile Hirsch) is a really strange kid whose only friend Perry even abuses him. Usually weird kids at least make for interesting movies. Not this one. I'm not even sure if there was a plot to this movie. Duncan's mother died and he starts wearing her clothes, which sounds interesting at least, but somehow this movie even makes that boring. ***SPOILER*** Even when the rape happened, I felt it was more for shock value than anything else. I guess they did such a bad job making you connect with the characters, that it wasn't as emotional as it should have been. Even when he killed his only friend, his chicken. It should have been really sad for the viewer, but it really didn't have the impact it should have. It just seemed thrown in for shock value. ***END SPOILER***



I read that The Mudge Boy is a "remake" of a short film called Fishbelly White. I would like to see the short film because I think that this movie would be much better as a short film. On the whole, the film has a tragic, but good story. But as a full length film, it's just boring. Not recommended, but if you happen to come across Fishbelly White, it's probably worth a viewing.

Disturbia

I finally saw Disturbia last night, after it was sold out the first time I went. I was actually pleasantly surprised. I was expecting one of the typical PG-13 thrillers that seem to come in bulk anymore. I actually see how Disturbia managed to rule the box office for the past two weekends.



Kale (Shia LaBeouf) gets put on house arrest for the summer after knocking out his Spanish teacher. After a few days inside the house, he gets really bored and starts spying on the neighbors, including the ones who just moved in next door. And they just happen to have an exhibitionist teenage daughter, Ashley (Sarah Roemer). I was not particularly fond of Ashley. I failed to see her appeal. She shrived on the attention she got from Kale and his friend Ronnie, which she demonstrates by changing clothes in her room with all the windows open and swimming regularly. Besides the fact that she had a great body that she liked to show off, I didn't think she was that attractive, but to each their own I guess.



Disturbia was insanely suspenseful towards the end when one of the neighbors turns out to be a serial killer. I would recommend not watching this on a weekend because you'll have to listen to 13-year-old girls scream every five seconds. We watched it on a Monday night and we had no disruptions. Definitely one of the better thrillers to come out lately.

Premonition

My friend and I wanted to check out Disturbia this weekend, but it was sold out for the second weekend in a row. So we ended up seeing Premonition. I like Sandra Bullock. I like thrillers. Even if it's really stupid, at least it's not a chick flick. Well, we both came out of the movie having no idea what just happened.

Sandra Bullock plays a lady who finds out her husband dies, but when she wakes up, he's alive. The next day when she wakes up, he's dead again, and so on for about a week. It's extremely confusing and it really bothered me that this lady never felt the need until the very end to ask anyone what day it is. So it's virtually impossible for most of the movie to try and create a timeline in your head. It might have made more sense...maybe.



*******SPOILERS*********
So if anyone understands how she got pregnant from having sex on Saturday, then wakes up on the Wednesday before pregnant, please explain this to me Technically, it didn't happen yet, right? I don't know. Maybe I got the whole ending totally wrong, but that's what I got out of it.
******END SPOILERS*****

So, it was good for maybe a free rental or something. Don't pay $7 to see it in the theatre.

Also, the movie poster really bothers me. I don't think it looks like it has anything to do with the movie.

The Ballad of Jack and Rose

Okay, first of all, I am not a crier. So when a movie moves me to tears, it's pretty damn good in my book. The Ballad of Jack and Rose was phenomonal. Daniel Day-Lewis stars as Jack, who lives with his daughter, Rose (Camilla Belle), on a small island off the east coast. The island used to be a hippie commune, but Jack and Rose are the only ones left now (in 1986). Rose has grown accustomed to it being only her and her father and is naive about a lot of things, including coming to terms with her sexuality. Her life is turned upside down when her father brings his lover and her two sons in to live with them. He wants Rose to have someone to take care of her when he's gone. You find out early on that Jack has heart problems and the fact that he could die soon does not sit well with Rose. She vows that when he dies, she will die as well.




Daniel Day-Lewis and Camilla Belle were AMAZING. I've only remembered Day-Lewis from the mid-90's film, the Crucible, and Camilla Belle from the recent remake of When a Stranger Calls. She really proved that she can act in this movie.



The film is definitely unsettling with the notion of the father/daughter relationship possibly going to far, but I think it was portrayed well. I really felt for these characters and they stuck with me long after the movie was over. It's heartbreaking to see Rose's devotion to her father and him trying to not cross the father/daughter line. I was reminded a bit of the Kevin Bacon movie, The Woodsman. They both touch on horrific, taboo topics (pedophilia, incest) but still make you feel for the characters instead of just labeling them as "monsters".

The ending was a little surprising. Although, I was somewhat dissapointed. I guess I'm just a sucker for tragic endings.

This is highly recommended if you like off-beat, independent films. Definitely not for everyone.