Reviews

This movie was ironically defined throughout by its memorable quotes. One of the first stomach turners was spoken while gazing dreamily at Tad ..."Do you think he is that wonderful in real life?" I waited desperately for a punchline but it never came, and it became increasingly clear that the filmmaker actually expected someone to identify with this celebrity obsession as a way of life.

I wish I could say "Win" improved, and there was a glimmer of hope right in the middle when the father of Kate Bosworth's character, played by Gary Cole (Office Space) states, "Sometimes, Goliath just kicks the s*** out of David." He implied that life, unlike the movies, can't have the perfect, canned, HAS-to-work-out because they-LOVE-each other ending. However, the line must have been a misprint, because the ending was a carefully executed piece of Hollywood fluff.

Especially disappointing was Topher Grace -who's sarcastic underdog persona is likable on "That 70's Show"- just appears whiny, and I found it impossible to believe his attraction to the narcissistic Kate, should have been anything more than a boyhood crush. Watch this if you like predictable dialogue or just enjoy emotional beatings.

There are so many comments on this film, yet I found them to be misleading. This a corner-cutting, over-used scenario where a normal human being becomes a partner in crime to someone of the opposite sex for no apparent reason. Boy meets girl. Girl holds boy up at gunpoint for something ridiculous. Boy is intrigued.

You know the drill: The antagonist turns out to be a wild, free spirit instead of a sociopath... Toss in a few words of wisdom from Alice Drummond and you have a recipe for Love. Sheedy's 'is she crazy or does she just need a hug?' role from The Breakfast Club simply reeks as a lead character. And all that is left is a truly ghastly turkey of a movie.

This sequel was a monstrous letdown. The only resemblance it bears to the first JC, is its title. The first gave you two characters, whose conflicts interest you and builds intensity by letting the imagination do most of the talking. Instead of risking a slight amount of predictability by borrowing from its predecessor, the film chews the whole idea up and spits it out in the form of JC2.

Due to the Creeper's 23-yr schedule (betcha he's kicking himself over that choice) Salva is forced to make JC2 real-time rather than mess with pesky past or future details, so it's the same Creeper, same town, days later...as if right where the first left off. Which isn't a bad idea. But Salva treats it more as an annoyance and other than a brief radio announcement and a cameo in visions, JC1 might as well have never existed.

Terrible, shoddy script work throws together a diverse (black AND white!) bunch of tense, but good-looking teens battling the odds. Salva does take one bold step having half the male cast take their shirts off, considering your average horror flick fan.

Once the Creeper arrives his presence is almost cartoonish, and you may be surprised to find that he has conformed to modern society since the day that's passed since JC1, by developing a sense of humor. The two films are such polar opposites one could only suggest this was just made out of the outtakes of the first. What a lazy, bad waste of a remake.

I am dumbfounded as to the reason this film caught flattering attention. I love foreign and art house, and I know why it caught my attention: I watch anything. But I actually stopped watching this tepid tragedy due to disinterest, waited a few days and re-played it, this time all the way through. Despite it's promising subject matter this script is far from adventurous; the boy learns nothing from his experiences and the townspeople are no more eccentric than your average Swede.

Due to a miscast of the lead character (he is 12 years old, but the actor seems about 9) the sexual encounters he has are borderline creepy. There could have been a deeper, lost metaphor between the loss of his dog and his thoughts of his dying mother, but if so, it was either lost in translation or wound up on the cutting room floor.

If you want an excellent film that tackles looming death or losing a loved one rent "Autumn Spring" or Hallstrom's better venture, "The Shipping News". Hmmm, Death. That reminds me. I was less bored watching the walking scene in "Gerry". Rent that too.