Mediocre stuff

Rating: 5/10 (19 May 2007)

Very early impressions: Oy. Shia's brash approach to this character is already grating on me within the first five minutes. He's too brash, loud, and strongly NYr present...he even wears the toolish of all tool T-shirts, ("Ramones") ('Guideto Recongnizing...too omnipresent in his blood) in the first fishing scene. Craven plays it with twinkling Irish eyes...Shia's acting if he's got something to prove. Imagine Kal Penn's bravado faux toughness, caretaker vibe in 'H & Kumar.' Oh no, the accident...Let's pour our hearts out. Only his lost puppy dog-eyes bail him out of the early scenes where he must play weak. He's stuck on house-arrest, where's his porn collection? Even Mom is totally casual-cool, 'sorry you're a felon...' I grew up in the wrong household. Rest: A by-the-books story that nonetheless pleases when it indulges its cheap, low-rent thriller pulpy origins that are a Foley specialty. Too bad it's hampered by its PG-13 rating, it should have been dirtier. Poor Morse, doomed to always play morally ambiguous creepazoids. (Even Von Trier could not resist.) However, its silly 'house-arrest' subplots and lack of honest emotional characterization made this an annoying downer for me.