EXAM (2009) (a review)

EXAM (2009) (a review)

An interesting thriller/drama.

The story: six people are put into a room as the last stage of a competition for an ultimate job. They are given a piece of paper that they cannot mark and they cannot talk to the guards or address the cameras before time is up. There is one question and one answer. They need to figure out what the question is and give the answer to get the ultimate job.

Was it good?

A was good. Not great, though. The first half the mystery of what the heck is going on is pretty interesting. At first the people decide to work together. This feeling out process is probably the most interesting for me. There were also hints brought up here about an infection and the type of company they were trying to get a job with that added an interesting element. After that they begin trying different things, all of which seem strange and outlandish (smashing lights, setting off a water sprinkler). The logic that they were using certainly wasn't any sort of logic I was familiar with. And while there had been those earlier hints of the corporation this job was for, nothing really more came out of it. The second half gets more tense as the people turn on each other, but it felt less interesting and more a generic "Only one gets out alive" thriller.

Still, while it wasn't great and it faded in the second half, there was a lot of interesting stuff here, and it was very well acted for a small movie.

*** SLIGHT RECOMMEND ***

WILD CHERRY (2009) (a review)

WILD CHERRY (2009) (a review)

A high school comedy about a group trying to lose their virginity, except it's from the girl's point of view. Some interesting stuff and some not so interesting. Stars Tania Raymonde (Alex on Lost), Rumer Willis and Kristin Cavallari. Also Rob Scheider as a dad.

The story: three high school seniors who are still virgins find out their football boyfriends are only dating them to put them in a bang book and decide to get back at them

Was it good?

Um, kind of yeah. It isn't all good. Some of this movie is horrible. Like the football game which looks like about five guys and no fans and is one of the most Ed Wood things I've ever seen. Also, the idea of these guys and the bang book (you have to have sex with the girls or the football team will be bad) doesn't make sense. Also, if the football team is so bad then why would the girls like these guys anyway. And the whole part with the girls finding the book and trying to get back at the guys, etc, was all pretty dumb.

So how was it still (a little) good? Well, the movie does one interesting thing -- it takes a lot of time to talk about sex and a lot of it is done in a way that actually feels honest. One of the girls is making a doc about sex and interviewing students, so you get clips of people talking about their first time, was it good, how did it happen, etc. The other thing is that it focuses on these three girls and shows them in a way that you don't see that often -- girls who want sex. They might have the wrong idea (that the first time will be the most romantic night ever) or they might go about things wrong, but focusing on young girls' curiousity and yearning and perceptions of sex is something that I'm not sure I've seen before, and certainly never seen in a way that felt quite as honest and matter of fact as this.

It's a shame the movie doesn't do a better job with story -- both in avoiding a lot of the stupid elements of the film and in actually trying to have something to say about girls and sex (or something to say to girls about sex) that isn't empty or cliche. If it had done that it really could have actually been something special. As it is there was enough to recommend it (slightly), but with lots of caviats and only to people who think a version of American Pie from a girl's POV might be interesting.

*** SLIGHT RECOMMEND (as an American Pie from a girl's POV) ****

KNIGHT AND DAY (a review)

KNIGHT AND DAY (a review)

A weird, crazy action comedy starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. I think a lot of people remember this movie as being a bomb, but it's grossed over $250M worldwide.

The story: Diaz gets on a plane to go to her sister's wedding and meets a handsome man (Cruise) who it turns out is a super spy wanted by the government for stealing this device and now the government is after them to get it back.

Was it good?

Yes. Kind of. Maybe. In a weird way, but yeah, I guess I'd say yes. Maybe.

First I want to say I watches this movie right after watching the comedy The Other Guys (recommended, see review). That's an over-the-top action comedy with emphasis on the comedy. This movie made a nice second feature to that. If I hadn't seen that movie first, I don't know that I would have liked this one. It's a weird combination of over-the-top action and comedy with some quiet character work thrown in there too. Now, for me it worked as this over-the-top comedy. But I can see some people not getting it. Tom Cruise isn't a comedy guy and the way the story is written it seems to want to be a lot more grounded than it is. It's like it wanted to be SALT, and then got twisted into THE OTHER GUYS, so there are some problems all around. The comedy is uneven, and Tom Cruise doesn't feels awkward as an action/comedy star, and Diaz has great energy for comedy, but her character is supposed to be more grounded so that doesn't really work either. During the first half I thought they should have reversed them -- get a comedic star for the action hero role (which is so o-t-t it's hard to imagine anyone taking it seriously) and then a more dramatic actress for the female lead so that the role can be grounded and have some emotion. However, after thinking about it I'm not sure. Maybe this is what's needed to even out the two sides, much like THE OTHER GUYS has a comedic actor paired with a dramatic actor.

It's a tough call. This is a movie that had a lot of cool, neat things, but also a lot of problems. Like I said, watching it right after T-O-GUYS made it work for me, but I can understand the people that had problems with it. Still since it worked for me, I'm going to give it a slight recommend.

*** SLIGHT RECOMMEND (especially as the second in a double feature with THE OTHER GUYS) ***