Tower of Twinkies

Rating: 6/10 (14 April 2007)

Greetings again from the darkness. Director DJ Caruso lapses into the same thing here that prevented his "Two For the Money" from being better. The interaction between characters, including the exchange of dialogue, just doesn't flow naturally. We never escape the feeling that these are actors reading their lines.
That said, this was a better film than expected. Sure, it is a blatant rip-off of Hitchcock's classic "Rear Window". The only things missing are a wheelchair (an electronic ankle monitor instead) and the fabulous wardrobe of Grace Kelly (replaced here by the tight jeans of Sarah Roemer). Of course, Jimmy Stewart's telephoto lens from the original has been given a high-tech face lift utilizing computers and digital movie cameras. Regardless of the changes, the story remains the same. Shia LaBeouf is a teenager under house arrest for slugging a teacher who asked for it. To prevent boredom, LaBeouf "observes" his neighbors and stumbles on what appears to be a very bad guy next door played by the eternally (and wrongfully) stereotyped David Morse. LaBeouf manages to draw a couple of others into his web, most notably his beautiful new neighbor (Roemer), who reads on the roof, dips in the pool and yogas in front of her open windows. In other words, a peepers best friend!
Nothing to give away here because there are no real surprises. That is what's missing! How about a twist? Instead, every one in the movie is exactly as first presented to us. Where is the filmmaker sleight-of-hand? Where is the blind side? Those are the things that make a successful thriller. Still, LaBeouf shows some acting potential and could develop into a star if the vehicle is ever just right. Playing his mom here is the terrific Carrie-Anne Moss ("The Matrix"), but she is really given little to do. What I really wish is that someone would cast Mr. Morse in a role where he can really stretch a bit. The guy is a good actor but these days is relegated to playing the strong, silent bad guys. Whatever happened to "St. Elsewhere"?