Anna Sophia Robb and Josh Hutcherson give strong performances as the two heroes of the tale who find connection with one another in a school that’s basically locked them out socially. Jess is a bullied outcast, and Leslie is a free spirited thinker who is instantly a target for bullying once she displays individual thought. The performances from the child actors had me at attention and they both deliver their characters with great talent. Hutcherson’s take on the conflicted and neglected artist is often times heart wrenching, while Leslie is an quickly sympathetic heroine who we want to see more of as the time goes on her. Robb has a wide-eyed innocence about her that makes her the perfect compliment to the principle cast.
Tag Archives: B
The Batman: The Complete Fourth Season (DVD)
It was pretty obvious around the time the fourth season of the dubious success of “The Batman” had all but been questioned, and the writers had run out of ideas. This is when Batman finally took a back seat and a range of characters were introduced which would set the stages for the fifth season which became mainly a jumping point for potential spin-offs of better superheroes in the DC Universe. “The Batman” had run out of ideas by this time, and a slew of new characters were introduced, further bringing the watered down concoction to a level of a chaotic ensemble piece.
Here we saw the likes of Robin and Batgirl, both of whom became Batman’s smart mouthed sidekicks Batman interacted with while on the battlefield. Suffice it to say, they’re the most irritating parts of this new season.
Bikini Bloodbath (2006) (DVD)
For once 80’s chic is done right with “Bikini Bloodbath” probably one of the silliest and yet entertaining horror comedies I’ve seen since “Sorority Babes in the Slime-Ball Bowl-O-Rama.” Seymour and Gorman’s “Bikini Bloodbath” is one part Troma, one part pure sleaze, and one part pure idiocy wrapped into a sick and demented hybrid of a slasher film that I couldn’t help enjoy. Taking off from those elements, “Bikini Bloodbath” involves a lot of gorgeous girls, big tits, a homoerotic party of football players, big tits, and a murderous blood soaked chef intent on slicing and dicing young girls for no apparent reason. Did I mention the big tits? A girls high school volleyball team is preparing for their last day of school after a season of wins, losses, and dodging a perverted Lesbian coach (Debbie Rochon adding her usual degree of humor and sex appeal) insistent on getting in good with the team mates.
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
So it’s come to this. After all these years following Bourne, after “The Bourne Identity” becoming one of my favorite action films of all time, we’re here at the tail end, and hopefully the last film of the franchise. And with it comes Joan Allen, David Strathairn and Paddy Considine; how can you beat a cast like this? You can’t. “The Bourne Ultimatum” is yet another fantastic entry into the series, and shocking enough: It breaks the rule that the third parts in franchises are terrible. “The Bourne Ultimatum” brings what the former films did.
Bad Reputation (2005)
Jim Hemphill’s immaculately directed “Bad Reputation” is half “Carrie” and half “I Spit on Your Grave,” it’s a teen thriller that I can finally get behind, and one that never swims in the kiddy pool. This is a hardcore revenge film, and I enjoyed it from the very beginning. It’s also one of the few rape revenge flicks that have come around in years, with an utterly compelling series of events that leads to unthinkable carnage, after an utterly disturbing rape sequence renders a young insecure girl a merciless monster. Hemphill definitely has his ducks in a row with a film that really brings the best of the revenge genre to the screen, without ever watering the atmosphere down to appeal to a younger audience.
The Break-Up (2006)
I’m one who personally doesn’t enjoy the quick talking shtick that has basically made Vince Vaughn’s career. Not only is it a rather tiresome shtick, but hearing him talking like he’s wired on coke is often rather mind-numbing. So you pair up Vaughn’s coke head comedy, with Jennifer Aniston’s perpetually bland acting, and you have this vehicle that hopes to create a neo-“Odd Couple” vibe that never works. Romance comedies hardly ever work these days, and it’s because we have to care about relationships between two obnoxious characters with no connection to the audience. How can I give a shit about two people like this?
Bad News Bears (2005)
Well, I guess every director has to have one film that’s commercial to grant them enough dough to get them through the rough times. Even one of my favorite directors of all time, Richard Linklater. It’s not that Linklater can’t do a commercial film, because “School of Rock” was great, but this is a remake. And Linklater is better than this. He’s ten times better. And he can make all the excuses he wants, but I’m still shocked the same man who created “Waking Life” was behind the camera of this remake. As usual, Linklater doesn’t do what others do. In other words, he never makes a film as everyone assumes he is. Sure, this is a remake, but this is a kick in the balls remake, just like the original was a kick in the balls kid’s film. There’s profanity, crude humor, sexual innuendos, and Billy Bob Joe Bob Thorton channels “Bad Santa” for his variation of Buttermaker. And I was pleased.