Reviews

The horror genre is not the only film genre to be famous for producing only a few gems amidst a pile of mediocrity; the other primary one is the romantic comedy. About as creative as a dumbed-down slasher flick and lacking any of the guilty fun, romantic comedies are often blemishes on the face of Hollywood and a constant reminder that American cinema is almost completely out of new ideas. Then, along comes "The Proposal", a film that is indeed about as clichéd as they come, yet one that is charming, likable, and downright hilarious. Taking a top-notch cast and combining them with a surprisingly witty screenplay proves to be just the right breath of fresh air necessary to move this long-ailing genre in the right direction. Admittedly, "The Proposal" will probably only serve to inspire many more pale imitations rather than true creativity for the genre, but the appeal that this film has to offer, even to the most jaded of movie-goer, is undeniable and refreshing.

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I am happy about the success of "Paranormal Activity", a film shot over the course of one week in the director's home with loose change for a budget. I am not, however, happy about all of this discussion of it being the scariest movie of all-time, the scariest movie of the decade, or even the scariest movie of the year. It is genuinely creepy and surprisingly well-made, but it really isn't very scary. As I sat in the theater, absorbed in its story and characters, people around me screamed needlessly and threw their popcorn up in the air. They were not goofing off, but were actually quite frightened. However, because of the enormous amounts of hype surrounding this film, they were expecting to be scared, desperate to be even, and, therefore, were experiencing the exact feelings they wanted to feel. Wisely avoiding reading any reviews or watching any of the promotional material, I enjoyed the film for exactly what it was: a creepy low-budget horror film that was consistently very good, but never quite great.

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Will Ferrell is funny. Danny McBride is funny. Anna Friel is funny. "Land of the Lost" is occasionally funny, but not often enough to deserve your attention. Rather, it is a film with a story that will only appeal to those under the age of ten as well as inexplicably raunchy humor that sometimes teeters on the edge of an R-rating. The effect is awkward to say the least. It is especially unfortunate, because there is plenty of solid material here that could have been effective had it been used in a better overall film; that potential is never realized. Instead, "Land of the Lost" is perfectly content with living up to its title, existing in a virtual land of the lost. It is neither a crude sex comedy nor a family-friendly feature, but instead a pathetic mash-up of the two that is borderline offensive and, to be blunt, simply not good. This is one film that should have stayed lost.

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The Catholic Encyclopedia defines adoration as "an act of religion offered to God in acknowledgment of His supreme perfection and dominion." "Adoration", the film, is about religion, ethnocentrism, and the place that these have in an age of terrorism. But, it is not only about that; it is also about uncertain people stumbling through life, making mistakes, and trying to find a path that suits them. I compare "Adoration" to a gun for multiple reasons, two of which I will describe now. The first is because it is loaded with many heavy messages and themes, all waiting to explode at any moment; whether they do or do not, however, I will not reveal. The second is because "Adoration" is about as subtle as that much-maligned weapon as well, presenting its potent themes with an overbearing and too-much-for-its-own-good approach. At times, it is as though Atom Egoyan is hitting his audience over the head with a hammer, hoping that one of the many strikes will change something inside of them.

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When I was trying to develop a headline for this review, my initial idea was the following: "Classic Noir for the 'Twilight' Generation." Then, I stopped...thought about it...and promptly deleted it. First of all, to say that "Assassination of a High School President" will only appeal to tweens and teens would be a sad undervaluing of the film's effectiveness. Secondly, I doubt that the majority of the "Twilight" generation will appreciate it as much as those people of an older set. Girls infatuated with Edward Cullen are not likely to be amused by references to the Watergate scandal or an overall mood that is purposefully reminiscent of Roman Polanski's "Chinatown". They will be more preoccupied by the charming attractiveness of Patrick Taylor, playing the titular school president, and the fact that Mischa Barton, still trying to solidify a career after "The O.C.", shows her breasts. Surprise, surprise, CW fans, this isn't the first time that she has done so. But, I digress.

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