To say the writing behind “Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour” is clunky, sloppy, and utterly lazy would be a gross understatement. The movie makes no effort in being at all coherent or fluid and instead just does nothing but make all of the wrong movies when applied to competent writing. Sarah Landon is the heroine of this picture and the best characterization we get from her is during her introduction when she gets in to her car and the director zooms in on her bumper sticker that reads “My Friend was Killed by a Drunk Driver.” Director Lisa Comrie doesn’t even try to giver her some complex characterization, she literally explains her entire story on a bumper sticker! And this is supposed to give us insight on Landon? Why not put another bumper sticker that reads “Sarah Landon: The Main Character”?
Tag Archives: Drama
Noise (2007)
In the end I really wanted to love “Noise,” because as a born and bred New Yorker, I tend to sympathize with character David Owen whose humble nature makes it impossible for him to ignore the random city sounds around him that eventually begins to disrupt his life. Regardless of what he does he is a fish out of water, and soon he becomes a beast who uses that disturbance and somehow gains something of a thrill out of it. He loves to hate what he hates, and he never quite knows why, even after confrontations with the mayor and a courtroom stand off. By the final scene he’s embraced his lunacy, but hasn’t found a way to resolve it. And that’s where the problem lies in the narrative, Henry Bean never quite knows what message he’s trying to convey.
Smallville: The Complete Ninth Season (DVD)
Yes, whether we Superman fans like it or not, “Smallville” is on its ninth season and continues to stagger on like the mummy. You know it’s falling apart, but nevertheless it just continues to shamble on and on. “Smallville: The Complete Ninth Season” on DVD only signifies that the series has done every single thing imaginable to stray away from the true Superman mythos in an attempt to not only keep the general fans of the show interested, but to dodge the continuing lawsuit DC is enduring from the Shuster family.
What If… (2010)
Dallas Jenkins’ Christian drama is one of the more perfect movies for the religious target audience who appreciate films that revolve around re-claiming faith and getting back in touch with God, and deep down in to its core, “What If…” is a much more faith based remake of Brett Ratner’s “The Family Man.” Instead of Nicolas Cage as a sex crazed cocky corporate executive who comes across an angel who shows him what his life would be like if it were more fulfilled with family and friends while testing his morality, “What If…” stars Kevin Sorbo as a preacher who goes off on a religious retreat leaving the love of his life, loses touch with his religion and is shown how his life would be revolving around family and his beliefs by a kindly angel.
The Long and Winding Yellow Brick Road
When you get down to it, Toto is the most important aspect of the entire epic. He discovers the Cowardly Lion, The Wicked Witch, The Flying Monkeys, he marches in place with the incognito troop from Oz, and surely enough he is the one who manages to uncloak The Wizard and reveal him to be nothing but smoke and mirrors. He’s the twisted government official who is little more than a sniveling little man hiding behind a sheet and some smoke. Toto has always managed to be regarded as something of a secondary element to the overall narrative of this adaptation, but when you get down to it he’s pretty much the audience, the one who watches and goes along with all of the other characters in hopes of making heads or tails of this whole charade. He’s the watcher, and surely enough, he’s the one who keeps Dorothy and the group’s moral center in tact the entire time they’re fighting with apple throwing trees and that dreaded field that puts the entire clan to sleep.
Whip It (2009)
For a film that basically revolves around the feminine experience and empowerment of the opposite sex, “Whip It” is pretty much one of the most humble homages to female independence I’ve seen in years. Director Drew Barrymore chronicles the evolution of the modern female through sports and shows how these warrior women are indeed one of a kind and promoting the ideals of feminism in their own ways. Barrymore never quite looks down on any one sector of women, but instead opens up a wider scope of exposition that posits every female character before us and explores how they help to influence young women of today with their strength and adversity. Even Marcia Gay Harden, a bonafide pageant mom, is not held up to scrutiny or turned in to a villain as Barrymore and Shauna Cross pull back mid-way and allow us a second look at a women who might have a more justified and well intentioned goal when pushing character Bliss in to the pageant circuit.
Everwood: The Complete Third Season (DVD)
“Everwood” was always the wonderful drama on the WB that was humble, but very emotional and gripping. At its cheesiest it was basically bearable to sit through, but most times it was absolutely compelling to watch and enjoy in its scenic and conservative sensibilities. Every thread and character was just magnificent and it’s good that Warner has finally released every season on DVD once and for all allowing folks a chance to see what they may have missed out on. It’s a shame because the third season is where the writers were finally finding their strides and developing some fantastic new sub-plots.