Reviews by PvtCaboose91

Since mid-2010, an aura of mystery has shrouded J.J. Abrams' Super 8 like a dense fog. From its initial teaser trailer over a year before its release to a series of elliptical trailers and its substantial but mysterious marketing campaign, movie-goers have been wondering exactly what it is. In short, 2011's Super 8 is a nostalgia-dipped, Steven Spielberg-indebted science fiction thriller and a coming of age story; representing a homage to producer Spielberg and a valentine for those who have had a passion for filmmaking since childhood. Super 8 is a rare type of summertime release in this day and age - it conveys a clever, original story (it is not a sequel, prequel, spin-off, reboot or literature adaptation) without the necessity for a third dimension. There are state-of-the-art special effects and a few big action sequences, sure, but neither elements are gratuitous since, unlike most summer blockbusters, Super 8 is more interested in characters and storytelling than big bangs. In writing and directing this film, Abrams remembered a simple law from Filmmaking 101 that is commonly ignored by contemporary popcorn movie peddlers: that action and mayhem only has weight if the viewers can find themselves caring about the people in the midst of the chaos.

Named after a type of filming format that child filmmakers used before the advent of digital video cameras and Final Cut Pro, Super 8 concerns the misadventures of six young tweens who find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. Set in 1979, young Joe Lamb (Courtney) is in mourning following the death of his mother, leaving him with his distant police officer father (Chandler). With school over and the summer in full swing, Joe occupies himself by helping best friend Charles (Griffiths) make a zombie movie starring Joe's crush Alice (Fanning). While filming late one night in secret, the gang of kids watch as a train spectacularly derails in front of them. Afterwards, a survivor of the crash informs the gang to tell nobody of what they saw else they be killed. Within days, their peaceful little town is suddenly overturned by a heavy military presence, inexplicable happenings, and disappearing people. Not to mention, the boys' Super 8 camera captured sight of something monstrous escaping the train following the derailment.

As those who paid attention to the marketing should be aware of, Super 8 is the brainchild of J.J. Abrams and producer Steven Spielberg, and it therefore plays out like a sweeping love letter to the generation raised on Spielberg's crowning achievements. Essentially Stand by Me meets The Goonies on a Cloverfield stage, Abrams additionally infused the picture with a semi-autographical element, recalling the days when he - like most future filmmakers - borrowed his parents' video camera and made a home movie. Super 8 is not merely a film built on a basis of set-pieces and special effects, but a look back at an era marked by bike rides, small town sensibilities and working class concerns - a time when kids went outside and were adventurous, rather than staying indoors to watch movies or play video games all day. However, there are a few Hollywood touches that are hard to swallow, such as someone still being alive after driving head-on into a freight train. The ending, too, seems abrupt and rushed; not being able to wrap up everything with the same care and intelligence that preceded it.

Abrams once again demonstrates here what an excellent craftsman he is; bestowing the film with a number of moments of nail-biting intensity and tension. In fact, some scenes could almost classify the film as horror. Super 8 may be characterised by the children at the centre of the narrative, but this is not a film specifically designed for small kids, who will likely find the film too scarifying. Abrams chose to replace the gentler tone of Spielberg's earlier cinematic oeuvre with something edgier. Abrams also chose to abide by the Jaws approach, keeping the mysterious monster out of view for the majority of the runtime, building suspense by holding back and only allowing the audience quick, fleeting glimpses of certain body parts. Not to mention, most action movies these days succumb to the awful habit of "shaky-cam/rapid-cutting", letting details and comprehension fall by the wayside. However, Abrams always ensured the camera was impeccably placed, allowing viewers to fully comprehend the scope. The train crash alone lasts for two or three minutes, and it will keep you in the edge of your seat with your mouth agape. This master craftsmanship extends to the quieter moments as well, which are engaging and interesting.

The film takes place in 1979, and the period was vibrantly recreated with astonishing detail through immaculate production values. Era-specific cars, clothing, and songs (including tunes such as My Sharona by The Knack and other songs by Blondie, Paul McCartney, etc) all help to sell the time period and vibe. Super 8 anchors fantasy in a real-world setting, and thankfully Abrams infused the real-world setting with relatable characters and emotional undercurrents to help us care about everything happening on-screen. The bond between all the young boys, particular that of Joe and Charles, rings with accuracy and depth, and the relationship that emerges between Joe and Alice is sublime as they spend time together despite a feud between their fathers. Also captured winningly is the dynamic between all the boys - their conversations, playful bantering and occasional cursing will probably remind viewers of their own childhood. Not to mention, the boys' joy and elation in no-budget home moviemaking (an autobiographical element from the childhoods of both Abrams and Spielberg) is affectionately depicted, and the way they continue to shoot their movie pays off in a big way during the not-to-be-missed closing credits.

The performances were of primary importance in making the film work, and, thankfully, Abrams populated Super 8 with a pitch-perfect ensemble of child actors, all of whom present natural performances of profound depth. Joel Courtney (in his professional debut) is a real find, as his portrayal of Joe is mature and completely believable. The most experienced member of the cast here is Elle Fanning as Alice, who is phenomenal; emerging from the shadow of her older sister with this superbly nuanced piece of acting. For every moment she's on-screen, Fanning's face paints a complete, poignant picture of who her character is and what she's going through. For a child actress who was a mere 12 years old during filming, Elle is remarkable. Equally valuable is Riley Griffiths who's utterly convincing as Charles (the one whom this reviewer could identify with the most). Every member of the group is a joy to watch, and each possess their own unique quirk to prevent them from being an anonymous part of an ensemble. Ryan Lee is a great source of comic relief playing the explosion-loving pyromaniac, while Gabriel Basso impresses mightily as the main actor of the boys' movie. Also first-rate is Kyle Chandler, who simultaneously supplies authority and vulnerability. Simply put, everyone did a marvellous job here, affording Super 8 the realism that the material demanded.

Commandeering his third feature film as director (after Mission: Impossible III and Star Trek), J.J. Abrams exudes passion and talent as a filmmaker, and with Super 8 he delivers solid storytelling, multidimensional characters and creativity - all within the confines of a $50 million 2-D summer blockbuster. In many ways, this is a perfect summer movie: original, earnest, innovative and creative, not to mention it has all the requisite fireworks and pizzazz but you do not need to halt your brain functions in order to enjoy the show.

8.7/10

With the Twilight franchise scheduled to end in 2012, Hollywood is understandably scrambling to find a new cash-cow series to win the hearts and wallets of the sparkly vampire lovers. Based on the young adult novel of the same name by Pittacus Lore (a pseudonym for James Frey and Jobie Hughes), I Am Number Four reeks of Hollywood studio mentality in the way it dishes up all the customary ingredients for a modern teen movie. Ticking all the boxes, the film comes packaged with male models trying to act, a tepid romantic yarn between two teenagers who cannot consummate due to antagonistic interference, a heavy smattering of high school drama, and a fantasy angle that appears to have been assembled from the spare parts bin. Helmed by D.J. Caruso (Disturbia, Eagle Eye), I Am Number Four has big aspirations but little gumption or skill to fulfil them.

One of nine beings who were saved from genocide on the distant planet of Lorien, Number Four (Pettyfer) has travelled to Earth under the care of protector Henri (Olyphant) to hide from the vicious Mogadorians. With the Mogadorians killing off the Lorien survivors in chronological order for no apparent reason, the pair are constantly on the move. Number Three's eventual death puts Henri in a heightened state of paranoia, compelling him to move Four to the small town of Paradise, Ohio where he assumes the identity of John Smith. As with any movie of this sort, John is enchanted with fellow teenager Sarah (Agron) who's kind-hearted and has an interest in photography. Also, predictably, John befriends nerdy outcast Sam (McAuliffe) and has a few tiffs with Sarah's jealous ex-boyfriend (Abel). Unfortunately for John, though, his special abilities begin to emerge which he struggles to control, and the Mogadorians are drawing close.

I Am Number Four essentially plays out like a big-screen version of Smallville that was re-jigged for the Twilight crowd. And on that note, it feels more like a pilot to a television series than the big-budget beginning of a feature film franchise. The first hour of I Am Number Four is notably awful - the mythology is generic, the names given to the aliens and their technology are laughably goofy, the Mogadorians are over-the-top (looking like a strange cross between the vampires from 30 Days of Night and the Romulans from Star Trek), several loose threads are haphazardly incorporated to set up the franchise, and the insipid high school drama is trite to the point of being sheer torture. Why does Number Four feel the need to attend high school, anyway? Why can't he just skip school like John Connor and be a badass rather than a generic clothing store mannequin? Whenever a high school drama is introduced in this day and age, one can only think Twilight. Heck, for further similarity, Number Four even develops a crush on a girl he can't get out of his head. And, for best effect, the soundtrack of popular music plays out as if the director chose tracks by putting his iPod on shuffle.

At the very least, I Am Number Four improves in its final half-hour or so, when it finally shuts up and gets down to the business of being a Michael Bay-produced action flick rather than a corny, melodramatic teen romance. At this point the movie rouses to life, delivering some pulse-pounding action set-pieces and surprisingly decent special effects. There's high-tech gadgetry, telekinetic battles, cars being hurtled, a few badass giant monster battles, space daggers, incredibly cool laser guns, and fireballs. Hey, even the hot Australian actress Teresa Palmer was thrown in for good measure! The craftsmanship during this period is surprisingly decent as well, with director Caruso disposing of his Michael Bay-esque routine of shaky-cam and rapid-fire cutting (seen in Eagle Eye) in favour of a smoother, more refined cinematic style. It's unfortunate, then, that I Am Number Four is weighed down by the hackneyed routine of high school drama which we must endure before getting to the money shots and engaging set-pieces.

The selection of actors were clearly chosen on the basis of looks rather than acting believability. In the role of John Smith/Number Four, Alex Pettyfer displays no charisma, no vulnerability and no screen presence, and there is no detectable emotion or warmth to anything he does. Watching the guy on-screen is like flipping through a clothing store catalogue. The girls will have their eye candy, sure, but Pettyfer needs to attend acting school pronto if he wants more work in the industry. Meanwhile, Dianna Agron cut her acting teeth on the TV show Glee, which should be an indicator of her "talent"... Timothy Olyphant, on the other hand, is one of the only veterans, and he's effortlessly cool as Henri. Olyphant disperses a number of good lines on top of being downright awesome. And in the role of Number Six, Teresa Palmer is somewhat decent as well as being amazingly, unbelievably hot, especially when she's allowed to let loose and kick ass. It's a shame, then, that Palmer's screen-time is so limited.

With attractive adolescents and their high school lives taking centre stage within the narrative, I Am Number Four aims to appeal to teenagers and satiate the Twilight crowd. It does not hold much appeal beyond the superficial, though, with the aliens feeling underdeveloped and with a distinct lack of action or anything remotely engaging until the final act. This is not a good film, but at the very least it's not entirely unwatchable despite the bland dramatic elements.

4.5/10

Directed by the Oscar-winning Ron Howard, The Dilemma has more on its mind than your typical romantic comedy. Aiming to delve into themes relating to how well people know each other and to what extent couples keep secrets from one another (among other queries), the film tries its hardest to be more than a forgettable diversion, but, with introspective themes not explored to their fullest potential, the film comes up short. The Dilemma also suffers from an identity dilemma: is it a drama or a light-hearted romantic comedy? With the poster implying a comedy and with trailers advertising the picture as fluffy fun, it's somewhat surprising that the film is in fact a dodgy dramedy unable to find the right tonal balance. It's interesting to see director Howard attempting to imbue his film with ultimately unfulfilled gravitas, but The Dilemma's mix of hit-and-miss comedy and lackadaisical drama is astonishingly inept.

Business partners and best friends since college, Ronny (Vaughn) and Nick (James) are on the eve of closing an incredibly lucrative business deal with Dodge. Stress levels are high for the pair, though, with the deal putting Nick's engineering genius to the test and with Ronny looking to find the right time and place to propose to his long-time girlfriend Beth (Connelly). Making matters worse is that Ronny catches Nick's wife Geneva (Ryder) carrying on an affair with the handsome, vapid Zip (Tatum). Ronny subsequently becomes faced with a major dilemma: tell Nick and risk the news affecting his engineering performance, or keep quiet and hope it blows over. Geneva temporarily silences Ronny by a threat of blackmail, but he cannot help but dig deeper into his friends' personal lives.

On top of its other sins, The Dilemma faces a tremendous dilemma in its structuring. (Sorry to use the pun again...) The picture begins with promise and potential, taking its time to develop the central characters and all of their respective conflicts. Yet, it takes far too long for the conflicts to actually lead somewhere. Padded out with nonsensical filling and burdened by extreme meandering, the film clocks in at a whopping 110 minutes, but it doesn't begin to dive into the nitty gritty until the 90-minute mark, leaving insufficient time for a patient, thoughtful narrative resolution. The resolution thus feels rushed and painfully generic, not to mention the film as a whole feels fundamentally incomplete, resulting in a bad aftertaste.

One question lingers from the beginning: is the film a drama with comedic elements, or a comedy with dramatic elements? It's frankly hard to categorise The Dilemma since it appears that the film itself does not know what it wants to be. The tone is kept predominantly light and at times outright slapstick until the final act, at which point the potent drama is densely lathered on to the point of utter saturation. With the humour dropped entirely in the third act, Howard and screenwriter Allan Loeb (The Switch, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps) try to untangle the conflict with an intricate examination of the feeble nature of trust. However, the unnecessarily lengthy runtime left the filmmakers struggling to wrap up the film as quickly as possible, scrambling to concoct a conventional conclusion for a film that's otherwise unconventional and inventive.

Predictably, Vince Vaughn and Kevin James stuck to close variations of their usual shtick. Nevertheless, Vaughn is notably terrific here since he was on solid ground that was well-suited for his trademark screen persona. After a few depressingly unfunny comedies that restrained his comic mojo (Couples Retreat, Four Holidays), The Dilemma allows Vaughn to finally let loose yet again, bouncing off the game supporting cast and firing off some great one-liners. In particular, the star hits a number of comedic home runs in a rather Vaughn-esque scene as Ronny destroys an anniversary dinner for Beth's parents with an uncomfortable yet hilarious speech. Also making an impression is Channing Tatum, who clearly relished the opportunity to play what would otherwise amount to a mere paycheque role. Meanwhile, Winona Ryder continues her unlikely comeback (kick-started by Black Swan) in the role of Geneva. It would have been easy to turn Geneva into a shallow villain, but Ryder steals scenes left, right and centre, adding dimension and genuine emotional depth to her character. Jennifer Connelly is also surprisingly strong, while Queen Latifah is frequently chuckle-worthy as a bawdy automotive executive.

Ultimately, The Dilemma would most likely have worked better if it was designed as an outright farce. With comic actors like Vaughn and James carrying out their usual routines, it feels like such a waste to use them for a film that uneasily alternates between comedy and hyperbolic melodrama. Then again, Connelly and Ryder are in straight-up dramatic mode, further contributing to the uneasy melding of different styles. When all is said and done, The Dilemma will likely be looked upon as a minor blip on the radar screen that is Ron Howard's directing career. It's not awful since it remains for the most part enjoyable and it has its charms, yet the film had the potential to be so much more.

5.2/10

In the realm of computer animation, Pixar and DreamWorks have always maintained the top spots, while Fox's Blue Sky animation has perpetually dwindled behind the giants with middling efforts (Ice Age & sequels, Robots, etc). Directed by Ice Age mastermind Carlos Saldanha, 2011's Rio is, alas, not going to improve Fox's animation reputation. Rio does offer a simple pro-conservation message, but not much else is going on underneath its surface - the picture is not emotionally affecting like Toy Story 3, nor as sprightly and clever as How to Train Your Dragon or as sweet as Despicable Me. Kids might be taken with the animation and bright characters, but adults will likely shrug and merely endure the flick for its 90-minute duration. Rio is distinctly average: it has its moments, but it does not always work since quality laughs are in short supply and the material remains forgettable and disposable. In an age where a family trip to the movies could almost pay for a new television, it's not good enough.

Bird-napped at a young age and shipped to the United States, Blu (Eisenberg) is a Spix's Macaw who grew up with loving owner Linda (Mann) in rural Minnesota to become domesticated and unable to fly. Into Blu's blissful life soon steps a Brazilian ornithologist (Santoro), who reveals that Blu is one of only two Spix's Macaws left in existence. With this news in mind, he convinces Linda to travel to Rio and allow for Blu to mate with the last remaining female, Jewel (Hathaway), in a bid to save the species. Yet, once united, Blu and Jewel do not exactly hit it off. However, the couple are soon stolen from the scientists; chained together and sold to a black market bird dealer. On the run, Jewel yearns for escape and freedom, but Blu simply wants to be reunited with Linda and head home. During their adventures, they are helped by kind toucan Rafael (Lopez), inseparable bird buddies Nico (Foxx) and Pedro (will.i.am), and a bulldog named Luiz (Morgan). Unfortunately, though, a malicious cockatoo named Nigel (Clement) is hot on their tale.

Somewhat charming in places but ultimately unmemorable, Rio is a typical hero's journey story merged with anthropomorphised animal activity. In other words, nobody behind the movie set out to challenge the genre. Rather than aiming for inventiveness, Rio's makers simply adhered to the standard template: anthropomorphise something inhuman, concoct a dilemma for the protagonists, throw in a villain and a few quick-witted supporting characters, add a couple of musical numbers, and present it all using flashy computer animation. In 2011, though, routine efforts like this frankly look drab. Despite computer animation's prominence in this day and age, it is evident that animators still erroneously believe they can get by on novelty alone. Sorry, no dice. Pixar's original Toy Story from 1995 worked and still holds up today because the Pixar guys did not call it a day after designing the animation. Rather, they knew the novelty would eventually dissolve, and, accordingly, they anchored the narrative in emotions, humanity and messages; mixing the groundbreaking animation with genuine depth. Rio exhibits none of this innovation.

On a more positive note, the vivacious CGI animation is positively gorgeous to behold, with the natural beauty of the city of Rio shining through in every frame. The picture particularly comes alive during a sequence in which Blu and Jewel hitch rides on various hang-gliders as they soar around the city, and it's easy to get the feeling that you're actually there. (One could even call Rio a big-budget travelogue of the titular city, which is somewhat unsurprisingly since helmer Carlos Saldanha was born in Rio.) To the credit of the filmmakers, too, there are a few good laughs and one-liners to enjoy here, but there aren't enough. Too often, Rio eschews integrity and momentum in favour of momentary laughs and ostentatious set-pieces. This likely came as a result of the "talent" involved in the scriptwriting - Don Rhymer, Joshua Sternin, Sam Harper and Jeffrey Ventimilia. Among them, these four writers are responsible for Deck the Halls, Surviving Christmas, Yogi Bear, Tooth Fairy, Cheaper by the Dozen 2, and the first two Big Momma's House movies. Oh boy...

Oddly, for a movie set in Brazil and populated with Brazilian entities, there's a distinct lack of Brazilian actors in the cast. Jesse Eisenberg is acceptable as Blu since the character grew up in America, but Brazilian characters like Jewel, Nigel, Nico, Pedro and others were voiced by distinctly American-sounding actors. Zuh? At the very least, the vocal performances are decent if unspectacular. The standout is Jermaine Clement, who imbued Nigel the antagonistic cockatoo with a great, villainous personality.

To be sure, Rio has its charms; there are a few decent laughs to be had, and greatness flickers intermittently during select sequences (the opening musical number is terrific). Taken as a whole, Rio is simply okay - the story is okay and the characters are okay. It's not thoroughly detestable or particularly tedious, but it lacks the staying power of Pixar's regular output.

5.6/10

Similar to what Paul Greengrass accomplished with 2010's Green Zone, 5 Days of War represents a merger of fact and fiction; weaving facets of the 2008 Russo-Georgian war into a predominantly fictional story about journalists caught in the crossfire. Finnish director Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger) took the director's chair here, and attempted to capture the intricacy and political complexity behind this forgotten conflict that was largely overlooked by Western media. Alas, Harlin's primary focus was on fictional story elements, resulting in a passable action-thriller diversion but a wasted opportunity which over-simplifies the historical record. While a technologically sound low-budget war movie, it had the potential - and the right creative team - to be something far more.

For the uneducated, a war broke out in August of 2008 between Georgia and the Russians. At the time, though, the world was uninterested because the 2008 Beijing Olympics were unfolding. With Georgia being invaded and suffering tremendous civilian casualties, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili reached out to the Americans and other countries only to be turned down. The skirmish which ensued ultimately caught the attention of Renny Harlin, who in turn set out to preserve the story on the medium of film. Having grown up in the shadow of the Soviet Empire, Harlin has said that he understood the tensions and complicated issues surrounding the relationship between Georgia and Russia, making him well-suited for the job. Even if he was unable to nail all of the political ins and outs of the war, Harlin's expertise in large-scale action was an asset in the creation of 5 Days of War.

In the picture's harrowing opening moments, journalist Thomas Anders (Friend), his cameraman friend Sebastian Ganz (Coyle) and other journalists are attempting to cover the Iraq War in 2007, but become caught up in a lethal shootout. The immediacy and sheer realism of this sequence is unsettling, truly giving you the sense that you are there. Anders and Ganz are rescued by Georgian coalition forces, and afterwards they head to the region of South Ossetia upon hearing of a brewing conflict. Once again, though, the pair find themselves caught in the crossfire, with an air raid bombarding the local area. Ending up with young girl Tatia (Chriqui) and other assorted locals, the journalists witness and film a barbaric execution by the Russian soldiers, and subsequently find themselves battling against Russian forces in the hope of getting the news out to the entire world.

While based on true events, 5 Days of War contains blatant fictional elements which stick out like a sore thumb, including Hollywood-style split-second timing and other contrived scenarios that damage the film's integrity. It's also disappointing to report that we never get the full sense of the scope of the skirmish, and more context is desperately needed. Opening titles akin to Black Hawk Down's beginning would have been beneficial. For a film which visibly aimed to spread awareness of what happened in 2008, 5 Days of War does very little to illuminate the circumstances and political motivations that led to the war. Not to mention, political dialogue is generally reduced to short, exceedingly cheesy sound bites. To the credit of Harlin and writers Mikko Alanne and David Battle, though, the central characters are well fleshed-out, and for the most part they feel like living, breathing, flesh-and-blood individuals whose fates are easy to care about. However, the Russians get the short end of the stick in this respect; they are portrayed as brutish villains lacking in both characterisation and motivation. Then again, it would probably be boring to give the Russian villains any depth. Ah well. Whatever.

Perhaps unsurprisingly considering Harlin's filmography, 5 Days of War squeezes every tired, well-worn war movie trope of bravery, courage and stirring speeches for everything that they're worth, on top of adopting action movie clichés such as self-sacrifice and trite "Go without me" exchanges. It's all very standard-order, and the stuff in between the action often lacks energy, so it is relieving to report that the film at least comes alive during the action scenes. For a $12 million feature, the terrific production values are to be admired. Also, this is a vehemently old-school action/war movie that's mercilessly low on ostentatious CGI. (If digital effects were used to a large degree, they are perfectly seamless.) With practical blood effects, impressive aerial photography and exhilarating action scenes, Harlin's efforts suggest a much higher budget than the figure his team were allotted. Not to mention, unlike most blockbusters which contain incomprehensible action, the set-pieces were perfectly filmed to allow you to clearly comprehend the combat. 5 Days of War's only technical drawback is Trevor Rabin's generic, unmemorable score.

In the role of Anders, Rupert Friend is a real find. A British actor recently glimpsed in such films as Outlaw and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Friend is an engaging screen presence. Alongside him, Richard Coyle is affable and at times suitably intense as Sebastian. Coyle perhaps remains best known for his beloved role in the BBC sitcom Coupling, yet he is well on his way to a big-time acting career outside of Coupling if he keeps maintaining this performance standard. Alas, the rest of the cast ranges from middling to outright boring - Val Kilmer is astonishingly underused and forgettable as another journalist, while Emmanuelle Chriqui's Tatia is simply flavourless. Also on hand is Mikko Nousiainen as a typical cookie-cutter villain. Even Heather Graham appears oh-so-briefly to little effect and little impact. At least Andy Garcia is to be admired for his portrayal of President Saakashvili, espousing a believable accent and filling his lines with passion.

As with any war movie, 5 Days of War has sparked controversy due to its rather one-sided viewpoint of the conflict. Then again, the same can be said for all war movies. Even if 5 Days of War is too black & white and does an inadequate job of explaining the politics, it is refreshing to see a war movie which is not concerned with portraying the American army saving the day. In fact, the U.S. military were not involved in this particular conflict at all. A bolder, more historically accurate retelling would have been far more welcome than what is presented here, but for what 5 Days of War is (a fictional action film within a non-fictional setting), it is hard to not appreciate what's been done here on some level.

6.5/10

In the same vein as the marginally successful Twins with Danny DeVito, Kindergarten Cop was an attempt to portray Austrian superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger as a comedic performer. However, Kindergarten Cop (helmed by Twins director Ivan Reitman) was designed as an action-comedy rather than an outright comedy; depicting Schwarzenegger in a typical Schwarzenegger role within comedic circumstances. Still, who would've thought that, in the course of less then a decade, the hard-ass star of Conan the Barbarian and Commando would trade in his sword and firearms for milk moustache and a soft kindergarten teacher routine? Against all odds, though, Kindergarten Cop for the most part works. Armed with an often witty screenplay drenched in one-liners and a priceless self-deprecating performance by the inimitable Austrian Oak, this is solid entertainment, even if it is uneven.

Schwarzenegger appears here as Detective John Kimble, who has been pursuing murderous drug dealer Cullen Crisp (Tyson) for close to a decade. Kimble eventually swoops in to arrest Crisp on a murder charge, but they require a reliable witness testimony to throw Crisp away for life. Thus, Kimble and his new partner Phoebe (Reed) are sent to Astoria, Oregon to locate Crisp's ex-wife and kindergarten-aged son, who are living incognito. The plan is for Phoebe to go undercover as a substitute teacher for the kindergarten class containing Crisp's son in order to locate him. When Phoebe falls ill, though, Kimble is forced to fill in. With absolutely no prior teaching experience, Kimble's assignment of handling a class of unruly kindergarten children turns out to be a particularly difficult one. Meanwhile, Crisp is determined to find his estranged wife and kid, and Crisp's accomplices are fast working towards the release of the wanted murderer...

When Kimble deals with the children, Kindergarten Cop positively comes alive with an engaging, lively comic spark. It is critical to note that, although the narrative concerns murderers and cops, the comedic elements constitute the film's bread & butter. Even though the film has a tendency to be contrived and cloying at times, it is easy to get the sense that the macho bodybuilding giant is in his natural element among children and when dispensing comedy, resulting in an utterly infectious charm. Ivan Reitman can always be counted upon to provide a fun time, with his filmography boasting such other efforts as Ghostbusters and Stripes. Thus, Kindergarten Cop moves forward at a usually agreeable pace, though the film is overlong at 110 minutes. For the majority of its runtime, Kindergarten Cop is wholly enjoyable; dishing up a handful of worthwhile laughs and leaving you with a big smile on your face. Who can complain about that?

With that said, though, Kindergarten Cop is all over the map from a tonal perspective; leaping from deadly serious one moment to light-hearted the next, implying that the filmmakers were unsure about what type of movie they were making and who their target audience was. The tonally schizophrenic picture may seem cuddly, cute and suitable for general family consumption, yet parents may find the film too graphic and casually violent for their children, what with drug dealing, brutal murder, child abuse and kidnapping being situated in amongst the gleeful cop vs. kindergarten kids antics. Kindergarten Cop carries a PG-13 rating for good reason. Thankfully, the more serious material predominantly lies in the film's peripheries, allowing easygoing laughs and a sweet, heart-warming love story between likeable characters to take centre stage in between the harder moments bookending the picture.

To state the obvious, Schwarzenegger has never been honoured for his skills as a thespian - he is primarily recognised for his action roles demanding him to perpetrate violence instead of impressing the Oscar community, making him an unlikely candidate for a comic actor. Nevertheless, Arnie's performance here is surprisingly appealing, and he carried off the comedic elements to a high standard. To be fair, though, the majority of the humour is self-deprecating, with Arnie's amusing line deliveries ("It's not a tumour!" is a bona fide classic) and awkward interactions with the kids providing plenty of worthwhile laughs.

Ultimately, Kindergarten Cop feels like two movies: a cute kiddie flick and violent cop thriller. The merging of these two films of divergent tones is not exactly cohesive, however, making Kindergarten Cop too intense for most kids and at times too cloying for some adults. Yet, if taken as a surface-level ride and a guilty pleasure (warts and all), the film is predominantly fun and charming, making it a perfectly palatable slice of entertainment for a rainy afternoon. It is nowhere near as good as Arnie's best action classics of course, but the film does its job well enough nonetheless.

7.1/10

Actor-come-filmmaker David Schwimmer's sophomore theatrical effort as a director, 2011's Trust deals with sensitive, challenging subject matter that most directors would refuse to touch with a 20-foot pole. Armed with a timely significance and a relevant message pertaining to the dangers of the World Wide Web, this is a powerful and provocative independent drama with a central premise that is neither "Hollywood-ised" nor sugar-coated. In a nutshell, Trust presents an intimate portrait of the full story behind what often amounts to an insignificant newspaper headline, and it explores the emotional traumas that emerge when an adolescent girl's vulnerabilities are cruelly exploited.

14 years old and passionate about volleyball, Annie Cameron (Liberato) is a typical teenage girl who spends the vast majority of her time chatting online, texting, or talking on the phone. Annie also has an internet dalliance in the form of a junior named Charlie (Coffey). Over time, however, Charlie gradually reveals that he is a bit older than 16, but Annie is so taken by his charms that she doesn't care about the lie. When they eventually meet face to face, though, she learns that Charlie is in fact closer to 35 and old enough to be her father. Unfortunately, the web of cunning and guilt that he spins around Annie's confused vulnerability are enough to convince her to go shopping with him and take a ride back to his hotel room. Tragedy subsequently strikes, bringing about the involvement of Annie's parents, the police, and the FBI. The repercussions of Annie's day with Charlie leads to emotional distress and a downward spiral for the family, with Annie left hurt and confused, and her father Will (Owen) struggling to come to terms with the fact that a man violated his daughter.

For years, David Schwimmer has been an esteemed member of the Board of Directors of the Rape Foundation in California. Upon hearing the story of a father whose daughter was raped by an older man she met online, the former Friends star was inspired to develop Trust simultaneously as a stage play and as his second theatrical filmmaking outing. The resulting script by Andy Bellin and Robert Festinger is lathered in an amazing attention to detail. Particularly chilling is Trust's accurate portrayal of the grooming strategies used by online predators. The subject matter could have easily been dumbed-down, but the picture was thankfully handled with consummate intelligence. At the centre of Trust are three-dimensional characters that feel real; they are flawed, and they make bad judgements. More pertinently, the film authentically captures the intimate modern connection between teenage life and technology, and it highlights the fact that adolescent judgement is often quite fallible.

Trust represents a significant change of pace for Schwimmer, whose theatrical directorial debut was the 2007 Simon Pegg comedy Run Fatboy Run. Evincing an incredibly mature filmmaking sleight of hand, Schwimmer's handling of Trust's intricate psychological and emotional terrain is delicate and downright affecting. Added to this, pacing and structure are chief among the film's main strengths. Prior to Annie's fateful meeting with Charlie, a whimsical, engaging and efficient 20-minute portion was constructed to display Annie's affectionate online interactions with him, and it's almost unthinkable that doom and gloom lies ahead. During this segment, Schwimmer conveys Annie and Charlie's correspondences by having their instant messages pop up on the screen beside Annie; thus imaginatively circumventing the potential monotony of scenes of characters simply typing at their computer.

After Annie is raped, she is not sent to a dark corner to mope and play victim - like many teens confronted with the unfortunate repercussions of their misjudgements, she is defensive; refusing to believe Charlie is a criminal. It's heart-wrenching to see how things progressively unravel in the family household, and to see how the sexual assault affects everyone differently. While Annie convinces herself the whole thing is a simple misunderstanding, the event mentally affects Will down to his very bones. And then there's the film's spine-chilling ending, which is not a cop-out, nor does it feel forced or Hollywood - it underscores the prominence of sex offenders in this day and age, how easily they can be ingratiated into society, and that things do not always pan out the way you want them to. The only drawback of Trust is that a few narrative elements are too easily glossed over (such as Will's involvement with a pervert tracker group), and there are a few potentially plot-destroying questions. For instance, why didn't the FBI check the mall security cameras for images of Charlie? And it's apparently possible to track mobile phones if the phone is so much as on, so why is the FBI unable to find Charlie's location despite knowing his phone number?

Perhaps the strongest aspect of Trust is the cast. Newcomer Liana Liberato is a particular standout, as her portrayal of Annie is emotionally powerful and excellently nuanced. Despite the fact that she was a minor during filming, Liberato was called upon to attempt a level of acting that even veteran stars have trouble perfecting, and she pulled it off amazingly. Seriously, this is Oscar material, making Liberato a young talent to keep an eye on. Meanwhile, Clive Owen's portrayal of Will is bursting with passion, which was most likely fuelled by the fact that he himself has two young daughters, making the story relevant to him. Owen's work is consistently engaging and often very stirring, which is particularly apparent during the emotionally devastating speech he delivers at the picture's end. Catherine Keener also impresses as Annie's mother. At any given time, it is easy to buy these people are being a real family since they embody the warmth that comes hand in hand with a family unit. And finally, making the most of a small role as the therapist called upon to help the family, Viola Davis is sharp, focused and believable. Other actors round out the cast roster - including the innately chilling Chris Henry Coffey as Charlie and an amiable Jason Clarke as the FBI agent - and suffice it to say, they are all very good.

A character-focused melodrama fuelled by a collection of outstanding performances by all three leads and beyond, Trust is a type of film we see all too rarely in this day and age. It is not concerned with gratuitous big bangs or special effects, and the makers refused to dumb down the material for easier mass consumption. This is also an important film rife with relevant messages, and it deserves to be seen.

8.7/10

Evidently, the success of the Twilight saga is having adverse effects on contemporary filmmaking sensibilities; perpetuating the stereotype that female audiences who enjoy romantic fantasy fiction do not deserve good genre material. After all, if the girls merrily consume Stephanie Meyer's insufferable bullshit, why bother putting in the extra effort to make something better? Red Riding Hood represents a blatant attempt to cash in on the amazingly profitable Twilight series, with the powers that be doing everything possible to recreate the phenomenon. Catherine Hardwicke (who directed the original Twilight picture) was even hired to oversee Red Riding Hood, which contains several Twilight-esque elements: sweeping vistas, moody cinematography, digitally-created werewolves, a Twilight cast member (Billy Burke), and a story of a girl torn between two young studs who cannot act. Yet, with howlingly bad writing (har har), Red Riding Hood fails as a horror, a whimsical folk tale, and as a romance. It does, however, work on occasion as an unintentional, campy comedy.

Set in the isolated village of Daggerhorn which lies in the midst of a dense wilderness, Valerie (Seyfried) pines for local woodcutter Peter (Fernandez) but is conflicted by her arranged marriage to the wealthy Henry (Irons). Daggerhorn has been previously subjected to werewolf attacks, but animal sacrifice has maintained peace for twenty years. With Valerie on the verge of running away with Peter, tragedy strikes when the wolf kills Valerie's sister and breaks the peace. Fearing for the village's safety, the local priest turns to master hunter Father Solomon (Oldman) and his team of warriors to kill the menace. Soon after his arrival, Solomon lets the worried townsfolk know that the culprit may be one of them in disguise...

Red Riding Hood is a reimagining of the well-known folktale in the very loosest sense of the word. Strip away the title, the red cloak and a ridiculous dream sequence paying homage to the famous text ("Oh grandmother, what big teeth you have!"), and all that remains is a generic story about a generic village under a generic siege by a generic werewolf. Rather than anything approaching a Brothers Grimm fairytale, the film is more like Sleepy Hollow meets Agatha Christie with The Wolfman undertones and Twilight overtones.

Red Riding Hood is a dangerously slow movie, yet one cannot call the film deliberately-paced since that would suggest the sluggish momentum was intentional in order to generate tension and draw viewers into the story. Instead, this is just a cumbersome piece of filmmaking with zero thrills and a love triangle with all the heat of wintertime Antarctica. And for crying out loud, the love triangle serves no purpose outside of making it seem similar to Twilight. (All the more to bore us with, filmmakers?) There are no shocks to experience here, nor is there any no horror to scare us with, worthwhile romance to swoon over, or forward momentum to keep us engaged. Chances are you'll fall asleep not long into the movie. And then when the horribly animated CGI wolf jumps out to growl at the camera, you'll wake up just to laugh at how ridiculous it all is. The film's concluding five minutes, meanwhile, are fucked up beyond anything that could be remotely construed as rational thought, and are unintentionally hilarious.

Every bone in Red Riding Hood's cinematic construction is adorned with the same characteristics seen in Catherine Hardwicke's Twilight film - it has a sleek sheen and a moody atmosphere that flirts with a dangerous edge, but the efforts are ultimately wasted on the soap opera-level storytelling. To be fair, this is at times a visually stunning film, and Hardwicke occasionally establishes a genuinely enthralling, accomplished atmosphere. Yet, too often the film descends into pure campiness. In particular, the wolf scenes make the film's PG-13 rating amazingly obvious, bringing about an absence of genuine terror. Whenever the wolf is on-screen, it looks like precisely what it is: a digital creation. Filmmakers need to learn that practical effects and make-up generate a far more impressive and effective filmic representation of a werewolf. Even 2010's subpar remake of The Wolfman succeeded on a visceral level because it had the freedom to be R-rated, and the werewolf was a practical creation.

Amanda Seyfried can impress when given the right material, but Red Riding Hood does her career no favours, with the script calling upon her to alternate between looking pensive and gazing into space. The rest of the performances, meanwhile, emanate absurdly forced sincerity and intensity. As Valerie's two love interests, Max Irons and Shiloh Fernandez are nothing more than catalogue models pretending to be actors - they are admittedly handsome, but have zero presence and display no evidence of acting talent at all. Veteran actor Gary Oldman was also called upon to provide the material with some gravitas, but instead submitted an absurdly over-the-top, hammy performance destined to provoke unintentional laughs. It was an easy character for the star to pull off, and he sunk his teeth into it, causing a huge ruckus while the rest of the disinterested cast stand around waiting for terror to strike or for something challenging to react to. Unfortunately, Oldman's character begins as someone interesting before the screenplay senselessly turns his Father Solomon role into a cookie-cutter villain we're meant to hate. Zuh? Also present here is Julie Christie whose portrayal of Valerie's granny lacks warmth, while Billy Burke is laughably hammy as Valerie's father and Virginia Madsen is strong but underused as Valerie's mother.

If the team behind Red Riding Hood merged a more convincing romance with genuine thrills and terror, it might have been worth revisiting the oft-told fairytale. As it is, the resultant film is a mess of scare-free horror, laughable romance, and animated mannequins trying to act. Not to mention, with a PG-13 rating rather than an R, a town dance number and a few bloodless off-screen maulings are about as graphic as the film gets. At least the campiness permits you to laugh at it from time to time, though.

4.4/10

After dabbling in remakes (2004's Dawn of the Dead) and adaptations (300, Watchmen, Legend of the Guardians), director Zack Snyder finally stepped up to the challenge of conceiving an original project to test his capabilities. The result is 2011's Sucker Punch; a polarising cinematic experience which foundered at the box office and endured a vicious critical reception. For his first original undertaking, writer-director Snyder dreamed up a candy-coloured fantasy dreamscape with traces of fantasy, steampunk, sci-fi, ninja, pin-up, manga and horror iconography within the narrative structure of a Zelda video game. Not to mention, the leads are a bunch of scantily-clad women carrying badass machine guns, and thus the film additionally represents a teenage boy's fantasy. At first glance, then, it is perhaps tempting to dismiss Sucker Punch as a cynical attempt to appeal to as many fanboy demographics as possible. Yet, Snyder had loftier intentions; crafting a visually stunning piece of action filmmaking with profound intricacies under its surface. Sucker Punch is a depressing, bleak critique of the sexualisation of women in modern cinema (and in real life), and Snyder employed a number of those clichés in a satirical fashion to tell the story.

At the centre of Sucker Punch is the youthful Baby Doll (Browning), who's sent to a mental asylum by her wicked stepfather (Plunkett) following the tragic deaths of both her mother and sister. Alas, the evil of her new surroundings further disturbs her shattered psyche, and she becomes scheduled for a lobotomy in five days. Hoping to plot an escape, Baby Doll befriends fellow crazies Sweet Pea (Cornish), Rocket (Malone), Amber (Chung) and Blondie (Hudgens). Soon, she learns that she will need five items to assist in her escape from the institution and thus the sinister clutches of caretaker Blue (Isaac). The girls' adventures are manifested in two imaginary (or are they?) dream-worlds: a 1920s-style brothel where the girls regress to get away the troubles of their everyday lives, and a fantastical dream-within-a-dream world where the girls are a squad of badass lady soldiers.

Zack Snyder is a great action filmmaker, and he makes every frame look like a painting in an era where most action directors intensely dislike such words as "tripod" and "composition". There are a lot of visually stunning moments of ass-kicking awesomeness to behold here - if you come to Sucker Punch seeking action and eye candy, the film delivers in spades. The production design and visual effects are terrific, and significantly contribute to the film's high enjoyment value. Also, the costumes for the females are everything that a heterosexual male could ask for. Meanwhile, to the credit of director Snyder, blood and gore was eschewed creatively during the fantasy sequences; making the film violent and badass without pulling punches. On top of this, the soundtrack is impeccable - the original music is pulse-pounding and energising, while the cover songs of various tunes suit the style and atmosphere beautifully. In particular, the dialogue-free opening sequence is a tour de force of visual storytelling which is accompanied by a beautiful rendition of Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This (performed by Emily Browning, who plays Baby Doll).

Sucker Punch blends fantasy in a reality in such a mind-twisting fashion that it's hard to distinguish what's real and what's imaginary. With subtle intricacies scattered throughout the movie, there are a lot of things open for interpretation, including the masterful ending. However, the big problem with Sucker Punch is that the action sequences do not always fit properly. The film carries a substantial subtext, but there's no paralleling in the action scenes. To illustrate this point, consider when Baby Doll dances while one of the girls sneaks off to photocopy a map - the fantasy scenario for this depicts the girls fighting German zombies in trenches. Cool to look at, sure, but how does covertly photocopying a map have anything to do with trench warfare and World War I? Where's the paralleling? Another misstep is that Snyder always shows the action scenes in place of Baby Doll's sexy dancing that everyone seems to adore. Added to this, Sucker Punch was edited down to attain a PG-13 rating from the MPAA, and this affects the entire production - at certain moments the film is blatantly censored, and the movie feels underdone to the point of feeling fundamentally incomplete.

As for the acting, the female leads carried out what they were required to do: look hot, be athletic in the battle scenes, and deliver their dialogue in an adequate enough fashion. If any of the actors shines, it's Scott Glenn who plays the girls' veteran, hard-ass para-military leader. Glenn's role may be heavily clichéd, but he delivered the clichés with relish.

It is the ultimate definition of irony that Sucker Punch is enduring criticism for being something that it is in fact critiquing and satirising. Scott Mendelson said it best: "At heart, it's a critical deconstruction of the casual sexualization of young women in pop culture, the inexplicable acceptance of institutional sexism and lechery, and whether or not images of empowered females on film can be disassociated with the sexual undercurrent of those same images". Heck, during one particular interview, Snyder discussed why he chose such costumes for the girls: "Someone asked me, why did you dress the girls like that? And I said, I didn't dress them that way, you did. That's what pop culture demands, not me. And that's fun for me - I love that when confronted with the exact formula that they request, they get all freaked out by it, because they're like, "wait a minute - he's right. I do like this, and maybe that's my fault."" With the thoughtful subtext in mind - as crazy as it may sound - I believe Sucker Punch may end up being studied in film classes right alongside Terry Gilliam's Brazil. There are indeed multiple layers of this film to be explored in spite of its shortcomings.

Sucker Punch's detractors will probably believe I'm reading too much into what is essentially a teenage male's wet dream, but I believe that they are not reading enough - instead of bothering to look past the special effects, people are accusing the film of being all style no substance. It's fine if you "get" the film but believe Snyder simply failed in his intentions, but those unable or unwilling to look below the surface are the ones who deserve derisive scorn. After all, it is ironic that critics are complaining about the lack of intelligent, challenging mainstream movies only to have one such movie go completely over their head. Sucker Punch could have been a better film overall - the dialogue could be improved, the characters are rather shallow, and the themes could have been better explored - but it remains an enjoyable action-fantasy with intelligence and relevance.

Brief Word About The Extended Cut: The extended cut restores almost 20 minutes of excised footage, and the restoration of these minutes is to the film's benefit. In extended form, Sucker Punch simply feels more complete. It's easily superior to the theatrical cut.

7.1/10

Especially once the noughties kicked in, Hollywood started taking fire for its notorious "PG-13-ification" of various genres. Teen sex comedies suffered one of the mightiest blows in this respect - nothing is quite as lame as a sex comedy pulling punches when it could have, and should have, been raunchy and hilarious. Thank God, then, for films like Sex Drive, which come along to remind of us of how hilarious a film can be when it has the freedom to go the distance. Loosely based on the young adult novel All the Way by Andy Behrens, Sex Drive was scripted by Sean Anders and John Morris, and it was designed to resemble American Pie and Judd Apatow's oeuvre in being a politically-incorrect, hilariously raunchy comedy with a beating heart at its centre. The film rarely misses its mark, and it triumphantly puts the "sex" back into "teen sex comedy".

Working part time at a donut establishment, 18-year-old Ian (Zuckerman) is a virginal loser with no clue about how to talk to girls, let alone flirt with them. His slovenly best friend Lance (Duke), though, gets loads of action, and is so concerned about Ian's ongoing virginity that he vows to help him remedy the undesirable condition. The solution presents itself via the internet - Ian meets a stunning blonde hottie (Bowden) online, who promises to go all the way with him if he pays her a visit in Knoxville, Tennessee...nine hours away. It is an offer Lance will not let Ian pass up. With Ian's lifelong best friend Felicia (Crew) also joining them on the trip under the impression they're going to visit Ian's cancer-stricken grandmother, the boys steal a vintage car belonging to Ian's older brother and take to the open road.

Sex Drive does not cover a lot of new ground from a narrative perspective; representing a merger of American Pie, Road Trip and Rob Reiner's The Sure Thing. However, the jokes work; the film is consistently entertaining and laugh-out-loud hilarious, making the trip wholly worthwhile regardless of its shallow plotting. There are a few quick, cheap gags, but they are almost always effective, and the talented cast clearly improvised entire segments of dialogue to add to the array of witty jokes and one-liners. Sure, humour is subjective so it seems meaningless to keep stating that the film is hilarious, but rest assured if you enjoy raunchy humour then you will doubtlessly enjoy Sex Drive. Plus, to the credit of the filmmakers, the film is taut and fast-paced, making for an enjoyable romp that at no point grows boring or tedious.

Tonally, Sex Drive is all over the map - purely outlandish in one scene, clever the next, and then sweet - but there is a method to the madness of writers Sean Anders and John Morris, who were simply trying to avoid making a cheap, throwaway slice of teen sex movie fodder. The film begins as a disposable (but nonetheless hilarious) American comedy, but eventually throws a curveball - the three main characters develop personalities, while Ian and Felicia's friendship is realistically gentle, warm and at times uncomfortable. There are a few moments which display genuine heart, especially the scenes acknowledging Ian and Felicia's mutual feelings for one another that they cannot act upon. To be fair, there is a sufficient amount of female nudity and raunchy humour to remind us of what Sex Drive truly is, but the character dynamics are more thoughtful than a more run-of-the-mill comedy. In addition, director Anders is clearly a clever filmmaker - he especially shows great innovation in scenes displaying Ian's online conversations with his internet dalliance, with the chat windows appearing in the air beside Ian like captions in a comic book. It is a creative way to visualise what would otherwise be humdrum scenes of a guy on his laptop.

Leading the hysterical troupe of actors is Josh Zuckerman (Surviving Christmas) in the role of Ian. Zuckerman is sort of a goofy mishmash of Alan Cumming and Zach Braff, and in Sex Drive he summoned the same brand of boyish zest and uncomfortable innocence that worked so well for Jason Biggs in American Pie a decade earlier. Zuckerman was given plenty of amusing material to work with, and he carried out his duties to a high standard. Playing the feisty Felicia is Amanda Crew (Final Destination 3), who's a strong performer with charisma and a winning personality to make anyone fall for her. The highlight of the bunch, though, is Clark Duke in a star-making performance as Lance. In any other film, Duke - with glasses and his pudgy physique - would be a geeky, socially-awkward misfit who's hopeless around girls, but in Sex Drive he's a smooth, debonair playboy and a ladies man who has girls fawning over him. Fortunately, the supporting characters are just as hilarious as the leads. Unleashing his over-the-top comedic side, James Marsden (X-Men) is an absolute riot as Ian's brother; endowing his role with the intensity of a rabid dog. Seth Green also shows up temporarily as an Amish car mechanic, and he's a hilarious scene-stealer.

For the DVD of Sex Drive, Sean Anders and John Morris threw together an unrated extended cut of the film which runs for an extra 20 minutes. However, this is not a traditional extended version. Kicking off with an introduction by Anders and Morris themselves, it is a cut strictly for the fans. Not only does it include additional scenes and footage, but it also features ad-libbing, outtakes, and gratuitous additional nudity (generally in the form of random naked people being green-screened into a scene for no purpose at all). The theatrical cut is the movie the creators wanted to make; the unrated cut is merely self-indulgence for the filmmakers and the fans. Definitely watch the original version first.

The premise of Sex Drive is nothing new, but this is a very funny movie regardless of where its ideas were derived from, and the writing allows the plot to feel fresh and renewed. While nothing deep, this is a genuinely fun teen sex comedy that, for last of better word, had me laughing my ass off. Viewers seeking an enjoyable few hours of R-rated comedy should find Sex Drive to their taste. The film unfortunately sputtered and died at the box office during the theatrical run, but it really is worth picking up and watching. It may even develop into a cult classic.

7.8/10