Sky High
Antony Zimmer
Red Eye
Sky High
This superhero spoof / teenage coming'sof-age comedy about a high school for superheroes is a good-natured and surprisingly amusing feature. This is what happens when "Harry Potter" joins "The Incredibles." The movie uses, and also twists, the rules of your average teen-flick and exploits every well-known superhero-cliche to its advantage in a sweet and smart way. The witty humor and the far-out gags are cleverly composed, and both kids and grown-ups will have a ball with the constant shape-shifting, the wacky one-liners and the tons of gadgets. It seems that the actors really enjoy being a part of the movie, and their enthusiasm is catching. "Sky High" is silly, but entertaining and a good reason to gather the whole family and head off to the movies.
( Julie Vinten )
Will Stronghold (Michael Angarano) is the bashful teenage son of famous superhero parents The Commander (Kurt Russell) and Jetstream (Kelly Preston). But when he starts attending Sky High, a school for superheroes set in the clouds, he finds it hard to live up to their exceedingly high expectations for him. He can't figure out what his superpower is and gets consigned to study with the geeky "superhero assistants," much to his caped daddy's disapproval. But like all confused American superhero teens, the boy turns out alright in the end. "Sky High" is a light-hearted, witty and enjoyable film that deftly combines all the usual teen themes with the current, slightly worrying craze for superheroes. It even makes good use of the word "dichotomy." Oh, and there's a nice cameo from "Wonder Woman" Lynda Carter.
( Laimons Juris G )
Antony Zimmer
French screenwriter Jerome Salle's directorial feature debut is a quietly profound romantic thriller with pretty visuals and scenic locations. The character depiction has nuance and the intricate story moves along with ease in the hands of the director. Sophie Marceau makes an enchanting female lead and Yvan Attal does well as the insecure everyman who suddenly finds that people are out to kill him for unknown reasons. The chemistry between this unlikely couple is interesting and moving. The stakeout / hideout scenes and the car-chases aren't particularly excitingly pulled off, but it isn't here that the strength of the movie is found. It's in the love story that the intrigue and suspense really lie. The bombshell ending unfortunately comes as a disappointment because it's incongruent with the rest of the picture.
( Julie Vinten )
This sleek, chic but rather shallow French thriller begins in time-honored fashion with two strangers on a train. Well, sort of. Francois Taillandier (Yvan Attal) is a recently divorced translator going on holiday for a few days when Chiara Manzoni (Sophie Marceau) suddenly sits opposite him and purposefully pouts her way into his nervous little heart. It's nice to see an old-school style thriller that depends more on atmosphere than special effects and endless explosions to actually thrill you. The story is taut, if utterly implausible, and the acting is pleasingly understated. But while "Anthony Zimmer" builds up nicely and commands your attention throughout the film, the conclusion is a bit anti-climatic. Nevertheless, on the strength of this film, first-time director Jerome Salle is one to look out for in the future.
( Laimons Juris G )
Red Eye
"Red Eye" is Wes Craven's best work in a long time. It's a pleasantly short, entertaining, unpretentious and in many ways effective B-movie thriller. The narrative isn't all that clever, but it doesn't really matter. Because the character interaction between Cillian Murphy and Rachel McAdams works as well as it does, the movie stays engaging all the way through. Rather than being limited by the confined location of the airplane, Craven skillfully takes advantage of the location. This is not a horror-flick, but it's very much a Craven-movie nonetheless. McAdams is basically Sidney from "Scream" and Murphy is, well, any of the psychos in any Craven-feature 's the lack of diversity from the director's side is of little consequence, however, because the characters are right for this movie.
( Julie Vinten )
Lisa Reisert (Rachel McAdams) works for an up-market hotel. She's good at her job, and can handle the complaints of even the most obnoxious guests. That's why Jackson Rippner (Cillian Murphy) suddenly worms his way into her life just before they board a plane: he wants her to use her powers of persuasion to have an extremely wealthy guest moved from his usual suite to another, more assassination-friendly room. "Red Eye" is a thoroughly enjoyable thriller that never takes itself too seriously. It's well written, well paced and the two leads play nicely off each other in the claustrophobic setting of an airplane cabin. But you know you're watching a Wes Craven film when a knife-wielding maniac fumblingly chases a woman around a house with a pen lodged in his throat.
1/2 ( Laimons Juris G )
