The Uninvited, 2009 - Quick Movie Review

Director: Charles Guard, Thomas Guard
Starring: Emily Browning, Arielle Kebbel, David Strathairn, Elizabeth Banks
Running Time: 87 minutes
Score: 4 / 10

This review by Jinja

What's it about?
Official blurb: "Based on Kim Jee-Woon's 2003 Korean horror film, Changhwa, Hongryon, The Uninvited revolves around Anna (Emily Browning - Lemony Snicket), who returns home after spending time in the hospital following the tragic death of her mother. Her recovery suffers a setback when she discovers her father (David Strathairn) has become engaged to her mother's former nurse, Rachel (Elizabeth Banks - Zack & Miri Make A Porno). That night, Anna is visited by her mother's ghost, who warns her of Rachel's intentions.

Together, Anna and her sister (Arielle Kebbel) try to convince their father that his current fiance is not who she pretends to be, and what should have been a happy family reunion becomes a lethal battle of wills between stepdaughters and stepmother. "

Was it good / bad?
Why do I expect anything from American 'teen' horror/thriller movies anymore!? The whole thing felt like i'd seen it all before (and I haven't seen the Japanese original!) with obvious 'make you jump' build ups, and a twist which makes the Sixth Sense feel like the Lawrence of Arabia of twists.

NOTE: I must point out at this point when I first watched Sixth Sense I was waiting for the twist until the credits started rolling, I feel it was all given away in the trailer!

Coolest / Worst scene?
I don't know if i'd class it as the coolest or worst scene in the movie, but when the potential boyfriend climbs through the window in the middle of the night. It starts off with you thinking the couple are going to get caught getting it on, she even takes his wet shirt off, but then the next thing you know 'dun dun daaarrrrrr' it suddenly all goes off!

Did you laugh / cry / cover your eyes / walk out?
I did laugh at some of the what now seem standard horror movie necessities (as mocked in Scary Movie and I suppose Scream), like why do they wait for the cover of darkness when any normal person would go in the middle of the day, and why don't they turn on the light!?

The jumpey bits (potentially about 6 of them) were completely ruined by the build up being so obvious - watch it and wait for the scene in the car, you'll understand exactly what i'm talking about.

Walk out? Nope, you have to give a film a chance. It could redemn itself by the end...unlike Knowing which I saw last week but thats another story....that was awful!

Anything we should watch out for?
Being stung for cash at the flicks if you don't go on a two for one night! Other than that its nothing special.

Why should we see / avoid it?
If you like the US remakes of pretty good Japanese thrillers you'll like this. Otherwise rent the original, A Tale Of Two Sisters, which I haven't even seen but must be better than this.

Discuss in the forum or leave a comment below.

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The Uninvited - Some clips for US remake of A tale of Two Sisters

The Uninvited: Anna Rydell (Emily Browning - Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events ) returns home to her father (David Strathairn) and sister, Alex (Arielle Kebbel), after spending time in the hospital following the tragic death of her mother (Maya Massar). Her recovery suffers a setback when she discovers her father has become engaged to her mother’s former nurse, Rachael (Elizabeth Banks - Spider-Man, Zack and Miri Make A Porno). That night, Anna is visited by the ghost of her mother, who warns her of Rachael’s intentions. Together, Anna and Alex try to convince their father that his current fiancée is not who she appears to be, and what should have been a happy family reunion becomes a lethal battle of wills between stepdaughters and stepmother.

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Role Models, 2008 - Movie Review

Director: David Wain
Starring: Seann William Scott, Paul Rudd, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Elizabeth Banks, Jane Lynch
Running Time:
Score: 6 / 10

This review by the Critical Critics - they've got a great site.

I can’t help but think I’ve seen Role Models before. My reasons for thinking this isn’t because I’ve actually seen the movie before. It’s because the cast of this idiotic buddy film is the same as every other crude, idiotic comedy in the last few years (thanks for that, Judd Apatow). After awhile, all these movies just start to blend into one another . . .

Seann William Scott basically reprises his American Pie role of Stifler, just with a name change. He’s now Wheeler, a live for the moment, obsessed with boobs guy who loves his dead-end job as the mascot for Minotaur energy drink. Paul Rudd roughly redresses all his latest characters as Danny, Wheeler’s best friend and coworker, and a guy stuck spinning his wheels in the proverbial mud of life. When Danny’s girlfriend Beth (Elizabeth Banks) dumps him, he spirals further into the abyss, dragging Wheeler with him — they lose their job and very nearly their freedom. Luckily, Beth is an attorney and she manages to get their 30 day jail sentence reduced to 150 hours of community service working at a Big Brother type organization — Sturdy Wings.

Wheeler is paired with an out of control 10-year old boy named Ronnie (Bobb’e J. Thompson), who curses like a gypsy and has his own obsession with boobies. Danny gets handed Augie (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), a hopelessly dorky teenager obsessed with L.A.I.R.E. — a real-world recreation of Dungeons & Dragons — complete with foam swords and fanciful medieval wardrobes.

Armed with these scenarios and the demented stylings of Jane Lynch (she plays Gayle Sweeny, founder of Sturdy Wings), the writing team of Paul Rudd, David Wain, Ken Marino and Timothy Dowling were easily able to churn out mostly funny situations that required little thought on their part. After all, it never gets old watching a miserable guy try and understand a kid in a cape running around pretending to be a great knight. It gets even better when we see there are hundreds of people like this — all of them taking their fantasy pastime way too seriously (I especially got a kick out of King Argotron (Ken Jeong)). What does get old though is the constant barrage of cursing coming from little Ronnie. Initially the shock and awe of hearing a child curse so much was good for a laugh or two but the humor quickly drains away; it eventually led to my asking, “Why doesn’t someone just smack this kid in the face already?”

It isn’t all just shits and giggles though — there is a heartwarming side to Role Models as well. It’s the formulaic case where the teachers learn from their students — Wheeler comes to the realization he’s got a lot in common with Ronnie and that when he abandoned him at a keg party, he reinforced Ronnie’s social problems brought on by his father leaving the house; Danny stops trying to change Augie, decides to remove the stick from his own ass and let loose going so far as to join Augie in the final battle for the crown of the realm.

You’ll find that there is nothing that breaks new ground in this comedy though — you’ve seen all that Role Models has to offer in one form or another in plenty of films. Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott do work well together but I firmly believe these guys can be paired with just about anybody and manage to make even the most nonsensical buddy film amusing. For me, I figure it’s probably a good time to start the infusion of some new blood into these comedy types before they become completely stale — it’s not quite there yet, but it is definitely on the horizon.

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Zack and Miri Make a Porno - A cuter poster

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The Uninvited Trailer

Based on Kim Jee-Woon's 2003 Korean horror film, "Changhwa Hongryon," The Uninvited revolves around Anna (Emily Browning), who returns home after spending time in the hospital following the tragic death of her mother. Her recovery suffers a setback when she discovers her father (David Strathairn) has become engaged to her mother's former nurse, Rachel (Elizabeth Banks). That night, Anna is visited by her mother's ghost, who warns her of Rachel's intentions. Together, Anna and her sister (Arielle Kebbel) try to convince their father that his current fiancee is not who she pretends to be.

Whatd do you reckon to this? Have you seen the original? How does it compare?

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Role Models - Red Band Trailer

Danny and Wheeler, two salesmen who trash a company truck on an energy drink-fueled bender. Upon their arrest, the court gives them a choice: do hard time or spend 150 service hours with a mentorship program. After one day with the kids, however, jail doesn’t look half bad.

Surrounded by annoying do-gooders, Danny struggles with his every neurotic impulse to guide Augie (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) through the trials of becoming a man. Unfortunately, the guy just dumped by his girlfriend (Elizabeth Banks) has only sarcasm to offer a bashful 16-year-old obsessed with medieval role play.

Meanwhile, charming Wheeler tries to trade in an addiction to partying and women to assist a fifth-grader named Ronnie (Bobb’e J. Thompson) redirect his foul-mouthed ways. It would probably help if Ronnie’s new mentor wasn’t an overgrown adolescent whose idea of quality time includes keggers in Venice Beach.

Once the center’s ex-con director (Jane Lynch) gives them an ultimatum, Danny and Wheeler are forced to tailor their brand of immature wisdom to their charges. And if they can just make it through probation without getting thrown in jail, the world’s worst role models will prove that, sometimes, it takes a village idiot to raise a child.

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Zack and Miri Make a Porno, 2008 - Movie Review

Director: Kevin Smith
Starring: Seth Rogan, Elizabeth Banks, Craig Robinson, Jason Mewes
Running Time: 102 minutes
Score: 9 /10

This review by Alex Billington.

To say I enjoyed Zack and Miri Make a Porno would be inaccurate. I loved it, every last second, right down to the mushy story about love and relationships that Kevin Smith gets to in the end. It's hilarious, it's saturated with sex, and it's charming, too. To be honest, I think Kevin Smith has actually taken a gigantic step forward, away from his previous films like Clerks and Dogma, and ventured into new comedic territory that used to only be reserved for Judd Apatow. I thought Seth Rogen might not be able to keep up his consistently strong comedic performances, but he's outdone himself and even topped Pineapple Express this time. Zack and Miri isn't exactly as reflective as Clerks II, but it's definitely sweeter.

If you haven't figured out what the film is about simply from the title, then I don't think I should be explaining it to you anyway. Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) are lifelong best friends who have never been anything more than just that. The two have been roommates for years but haven't really progressed in life, so when they run out of money for water and electricity, they decide to shoot a porno together in order to make some quick cash. Borrowing funds from a fellow co-worker (Craig Robinson), the two scoop up other wanna-be pornstars and get down-n-dirty. But as anyone might expect, for these two friends, fucking is more than just a way to make money. Remarkably, Rogen and Banks have perfect chemistry and feel like true life-long friends captured on camera.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno is easily one of the best comedies I've seen in a long-time. Thanks to Kevin Smith, it's so easy to get into and so easy to laugh at, making it one of the lest challenging films to simply sit back and enjoy, which is a delight here in Toronto. I don't care that Elizabeth Banks never showed her tits because she's a respectable actor or that we otherwise literally got a full on Jason Mewes-on-Katie Morgan porno, because I was able to simply enjoy the enduring story that Smith put together himself. And I don't care that Seth Rogen doesn't become a hit porno producer in the end (don't worry it's not a spoiler) because the story told within this 102 minutes was thoroughly entertaining anyway.

I'm anxious to see Zack and Miri again, but not for the typical reasons. I think there is something new to gain every time and I want to see how much I missed by laughing so much. Kevin Smith's brilliance shines through yet again in Zack and Miri and Rogen and Banks, in addition to a hilarious ensemble lead by Craig Robinson, pull off wonderfully amusing performances. Zack and Miri is a comedy that will not even come close to letting anyone down. Instead, it's an instant hit that has so much more to offer than just cheap laughs.

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Zack and Miri Make A Porno - Kevin Smith's latest

This looks great and very funny. Kevin Smith, a porno called Star Whores, Jason Mewes, Randall with a goatee, Traci Lords, what more could you want in a movie! Red Band Trailer below so not one for the kiddies to see...although the word Porno in the title may lead to uncomfortable questions! By the way Elizabeth Banks was Betty Brant in the Spidey movies.

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