Day 13 -- Blown Away

Released: April 1, 1993

Starring: Corey Haim, Corey Feldman, Nicole Eggert

Writer/Director: Robert C. Cooper/Brenton Spencer

Description: Teenage beauty tries to convince her new boyfriend that her father murdered her mother and that he should die too.

[Review may contain spoilers. Please watch movie before reading, unless you don't care. Most of these films have already been released for a while, so they should be readily available.]

***

As you can probably tell, this is not the amazing Jeff Bridges movie of the same name, which was released a year after this "Blown Away". No, this one stars the Coreys, Haim and Feldman that is, and a very hot Nicole Eggert. To call this an erotic thriller would be a stretch. Yes, it's erotic, but it is nowhere near a thriller.

"Blown Away" is your typical femme-fatale movie from the early 90s with the most notable being the Drew Barrymore "classic" "Poison Ivy". And just like the "Poison Ivy" series this movie takes a former popular child star and shows her in a sexier way. To say Eggert did a few nude scenes would be vastly underselling it. The barely over-20 actress at the time, was nude for practically half the movie, including a sex scene with Haim less than 15 minutes in. 

The film's plot, if there's even is one, is your stereotypical revenge/thriller story. Eggert's mother dies from a bomb placed on her car in the beginning, and after seducing Haim like a good femme-fatale, she convinces him to kill her father since she thinks he's the murderer.

Eggert's performance is average. If she wasn't so beautiful, you wouldn't buy that Haim would commit murder for her. She's sexy, but not as sultry as she needs to be. She appears to be more like an angry teen than a conniving seductress.  Even with the big reveal that Feldman, who played Haim's half-brother, and Eggart were in cahoots to take her inheritance by killing her father and Haim, she didn't come off as vindictive.

While watching this movie, I kept thinking that it's a shame that Haim was more into drugs than he was acting. There were actual moments in this and many of his films where you could see that he had actual talent, but it vanished when he began partying too much. Feldman, on the other hand, never had talent.

Honestly, the only reason to see this movie is if you want to see a pre-Baywatch/post-Charles in Charge, Nicole Eggert naked. The movie is generic and the acting is sub-par, with one exception being Kathleen Robinson of "Beverley Hills, 90210" fame, who was solid as jilted lover, Darla.

Rating: 2/10 -- Really, this is for Eggert's breasts because there was nothing else really worth noting in this film.

Day 12 -- Paranormal Activity

Released: October 16, 2009

Starring: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat

Writer/Director: Oren Peli

Description: After moving into a suburban home, a couple becomes increasingly disturbed by a nightly demonic presence.

[Review may contain spoilers. Please watch movie before reading, unless you don't care. Most of these films have already been released for a while, so they should be readily available.]

***

It took me a while to think of what to write about this movie because I had very mixed emotions about it. Obviously, I will leave my comments on the end scene until later so that people can stop reading if they want.

There's this phenomenon in horror movies today where they want us to believe that the footage is real, and I guess with the rise of shows like "Ghost Hunters", it's a good plot device because people want to believe in the paranormal so bad that they will buy into anything that they are told is real.

I personally, think it is a terrible way to tell a story. By making everyone believe it's real takes the challenge out of trying to actually scare the audience. If the people believe it happened in real life, thier own personal fears will make things more spooky to them than they really are.

When I began to watch this movie, I already had the fear that I was going to hate it like I did "The Blair Witch Project", which I also saw after it was revealed as "scripted" and not real. And the first hour or so I was bored, but hopeful that the final act would be satisfying; it was...sort of.

The movie opens with Micah (Micah Sloat) filming with his brand new camera which he says to his girlfriend, Katie (Katie Featherston), cost half of what he made that day. He begins filming every little moment of the first evening, which I found strange and creepy, but maybe it's because I never owned a camera that good. After a little banter between the couple, and Micah constantly wanting to make a sex tape, we get to the actual plot of the film. Katie has been haunted by a demon since she was eight years old and they are trying to capture it on tape.

Just like "Conversation With Other Women", Sloat and Featherston are in every frame of this film, which has only three other "actors" besides the couple in it. Sloat's and Featherston's performance are vital to the movie, and they are hit and miss, more for Sloat, though.

Featherston is powerful in this movie given the fact that it was almost entirely ad-libbed. There was no actual written script, so the fact that she knew the exact cues to raise her emotions and how to react to Micah like a real girlfriend would, was quite a feat. I genuinely felt her fear, pain and anger as the events progressed from spooky to downright scary. She was much, much better than anyone in "The Blair Witch Project".

Which brings me to the ending. Seriously, stop reading if you actually want to not be spoiled!

Since I watched this on Netflix, I didn't have the advantage to watch the alternate endings, so I assume this is the Steven Spielberg inspired ending. This was the first actually scary part of the film because you don't see anything that occurs downstairs, as the camera is fixed in the bedroom, until Micah comes flying into the camera and knocks it over. Then, a blood stained Katie stands in the doorway, she slowly walks into the room and apparently becomes the demon, or has always been the demon, I'm honestly not sure, and attacks the camera.

I have to believe that it's my sense of horror that makes me roll my eyes during these creepy movies where not much happens. I'm sure knowing it wasn't real helps, but I didn't jump once, nor did I ever gasp. Maybe it's all my time playing Resident Evil as a teen that has prepared me to anticipate when things are going to happen in these settings, or maybe I don't get scared by films. Either way, the film did not have it's desired effect on me. But one thing I have to give it is that this film was a million times better than that piece of crap, "Blair Witch".

Rating: 6.5/10 -- Some parts were well done in the story telling department, but it also had some major hole that it couldn't overcome. The biggest example is their shitty burglar alarm system, which never goes off when they move around the house. Also, Micah's forced acting didn't allow me completely buy into the characters.

Day 11 -- Star Trek (2009)

Released: May 8, 2009

Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Eric Bana, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban

Writer/Director: Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman/J.J. Abrams

Description: A chronicle of the early days of James T. Kirk and his fellow USS Enterprise crew members.

[Review may contain spoilers. Please watch movie before reading, unless you don't care. Most of these films have already been released for a while, so they should be readily available.]

***

First off, I'd like to put out the disclaimer that I'm not a diehard Star Trek fan, or Trekkies as they are known, so this will not be a review picking apart differences in the films. This will be a stand alone review. With that said, the reboot of "Star Trek" is a fantastic action movie.

The movie is an origin story for the two most iconic figures in the franchise's history, Kirk and Spock. We are given back story on the pair as children, and how they meet for the first time. And to my surprise, they avoided fan service and made them adversaries, which was much better for the narrative. The writers do a great job of making their eventual friendship feel organic and not forced. You believe these two would respect each other, and see the need to be the yin to the other yang.

Even though it maybe sacrilege, Chris Pine's performance as James Kirk was light years better than William Shatner's in the original; he was much more Kirk. I bought into the swagger, toughness, and street smarts of Kirk. It was exactly what I thought Kirk should be from what I could pick up watching the few episodes I did of the television show. It was one of the best action movie performances in the last decade.

The choice of Zachary Quinto as Spock was sublime. From the his work on "Heroes", I knew before seeing the movie that he could easily play the emotionless parts of the character, as well as, the times when he would break the Vulcan code and show his human side. 

The casting of Quinto and Pine shows that there's no need to get an a-list actor to get a top notch performance. If the relationship between Spock and Kirk doesn't work, the movie crumbles. So it shouldn't be surprising that the person in charge of casting also knock it out of the ballpark with the supporting characters as well. 

Anton Yelchin, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, and John Cho all excel as the crew of the USS Enterprise and add to the light hearted nature that the original portrayed. The only miss was Zoe Saldana, who was not as sassy as I had interpreted the character to be, but I'll give her a pass because she does succeed in making Uhura sultry enough that you believe someone like Kirk would be infatuated with her.

If you haven't seen this movie, do it. Even if you hated the original, and "Next Generation", this movies is so far removed from that kind of storytelling by not being campy. It is a fantastic action movie that should satisfy the palates of sci-fi and non sci-fi fans alike.

Rating: 8.5/10 -- Must see movie. Pine's performance as Kirk is pitch perfect. There's no need to see the original to see this, but having a working knowledge of the series gives you insight into some inside jokes.

RIP Joseph Vincent Paterno 1926-2012

Today is a very sad day here at Off The Mark Thoughts. As a Penn State graduate, and former sports journalist for The Daily Collegian, I have a very warm place in my heart for Joe Paterno. He was everything you aspired to be as a man: honorable, loyal, tough, and loving. I know that the Sandusky scandal will leave a black mark on his legacy, but it will never change my opinion about the man I had the pleasure of meeting a few times.

Every one that attended Penn State has a Joe Pa story. Whether it was a funny anedote from a press conference, or a personal moment that was not spectacular, but still impacted you for life. I have two stories, but the one that always sticks with me is when I ran in to him before the first men's basketball press conference during my junior year.

I was walking toward the entrance to the press room at Beaver Stadium with my friend and co-host of a basketball radio show, Mike Wolf. As we approached the door, which for you Penn State fans is right next to where the team enters the stadium from the bus, a dented-up BMW sped up Curtain St. and came to a sudden stop right across from us, and out pops Joe. His hair is a little disheveled, and he looks like he had just remembered that he had a press conference that day. The 80-plus year old coach begins to speed walk toward the door, and Mike and I arrive at the door at the same time as the legendary coach. To our surprise, instead to ignoring us and entering the stadium, Joe engages in some small talk as he holds the door open.

I'll never forget that small talk, which consisted of Joe saying, 'Crazy weather, huh? Very windy,' and us nervously nodding and saying, 'yes, coach.' As we entered the press conference room, Joe hung back and said, 'Have a nice day,' as he walked over to the director of sports information.

That moment has stuck with me not because it was the moment I met a legend, but because despite being a legend, he treated us like we were equals. He didn't need to say anything. If he had walked by in silence, we would have thought no less of him, but he didn't. That's the Joe Paterno that should be remember, not the one who made a terrible mistake in an otherwise virturious life.

Rest in Peace, Joe. You will be missed!

Day 10 -- Southern Belles

Released: March, 2005

Starring: Anna Faris, Laura Breckenridge, Justin Chambers

Writer/Director: Brennan Shroff and Paul S. Myers

Description: Bell and Belle want to break out of their trailer park lives and get up and out to the "Big City" of Atlanta. Just when they think they are on their way to getting a nest egg Bell falls for a handsome police officer named Rhett Butler.

[Review may contain spoilers. Please watch movie before reading, unless you don't care. Most of these films have already been released for a while, so they should be readily available.]

***

"Southern Belles" is one of those movies that I think got lost in translation somewhere with me. I didn't find it funny at all, and thought it was kind of insulting to southern people. It made some of them out to be caricatures of what they really are like. And without great storytelling, the movie is just painful to get through.

The film's plot revolves around two good ole southern girls from the small Georgia town of Johnson's Mark, Bell and Belle (really?). Bell (Laura Breckenridge) has been friends with Belle (Anna Faris) since they were kids or as she puts it, 'knee high to a grasshopper', and have only known lot number 314 in the trailer park. And after Belle decides that the pair was meant for a better life, the plot is off and running as they plan how to get to their dreamland, Atlanta. I'll wait for you to stop laughing before I continue. Done? Alright.

Their life in Johnson's Mark is really just a whole bunch of southern cliches lumped together. Nosy neighbor who has an overweight child that likes to fart, a drunk boyfriend who tries to act black (he doesn't listen to hip hop, it's hill hop)and likes fast cars, and they both work at soul sucking jobs; Bell as a bartender and Belle as a clerk in a supermarket. There's not much more depth than that, and the characters really feel 2D. The only glimmer of an interesting story is the throwaway scene near the end where they hint that Belle may be a lesbian, but of course since she's a southern girl, there's no way this could be revealed.

The direction was kind of simple. There was only less than 10 locations and none of them all that dynamic, which confuses me because this was filmed in Wilmington, N.C. There are some pretty locations down there that could have at least made the visuals better even if the script was crap.

Faris's performance is best described as, meh. She performs her normal mannerisms and line delivery, but you could tell she didn't really believe what she was saying, and Breckenridge was very mediocre. No one really stood out, but the best performance was by Justin Chambers as, Officer Rhett Butler (yes, he did deliver an 'I don't give a damn line). Best is relative though as the whole movie was very forgettable.

"Southern Belles" attempted to be a light-hearted southern comedy, but came off as slightly insulting. While not a masterpiece in its own right, "Sweet Home Alabama" with Reese Witherspoon did a better job of telling a story without turning the residents into cartoons versions of real life southerners.

Rating: 4/10 -- I don't remember even laughing once. But the acting wasn't bad so it's probably now a complete disaster. Probably has a niche audience as a guilty pleasure.

Day 9 -- Triple Dog

Released: September 21st, 2010

Starring: Brittany Robertson, Scout Taylor-Compton, Alexia Fast, Janel Parrish, Emily Tenant, Aubrey Mozino

Writer/Director: Barbara Marshall/Pascal Franchot

Description: On the night of a sleepover, a group of teenage girls venture out in a competitive game of challenging dares. As the antics escalate, and the dares become more extreme, the girls unravel the truth behind a former student's rumored suicide.

[Review may contain spoilers. Please watch movie before reading, unless you don't care. Most of these films have already been released for a while, so they should be readily available.]

***

"Triple Dog" begins as your average teenage slumber party movie, and all your typical characters are there: The queen, the nice girl, the snobby girl, the follower, the girl who wasn't invited, and of course, the rebel. The structure of the movie is basically a barely-R rated version of the 2004 film "Sleepover", which oddly enough starred Scout Taylor-Compton as well.

The movie begins with the girls meeting at the party, and we are introduced quickly to our main players: Eve, the birthday girl (Alexis Fast), Sarah, the nice girl (Emily Tenant), Cicely, the snob (Janel Parrish), Nina, the follower (Carly McKillip), Liza, the unwanted weird girl (Compton), and Chapin, the rebel (Brittany Robertson). 

After a few stereotypical teenage girl discussions on how to spend the evening, Chapin (really who names their kid Chapin) decides that they should play "triple dog", which is roided-up truth or dare -- minus the truth, and adding head shaving. This is where the plot slowly becomes interesting, but the terrible dialogue writing keeps it barely watchable.

I understand that they are supposed to be talking like high school girls, but the speech felt forced and unnatural on the actresses. Only Robertson and Compton come off as compelling during long dialogue scenes. The writer appears to be trying to inject slang terms as much as possible to show the audience, 'see I know how you talk'. The terms shizz (shit) and totes (totally) are the only ones I've heard used before in real life. I'll admit some of the flat dialogue does fall on the mostly new actresses because Robertson and Compton do a solid job with what they're given.

The movie's third act is where it actually becomes an okay movie, and not one full of cliches. As we slowly find out, through some of the worst delivered questions on film, exactly how Stacey St. Claire (Julia Maxwell) died, the pace picks up as it should. This is where Robertson takes her castmates to acting school (not that she hadn't been doing it the whole movie). As Chapin spins out of control after it's revealed that she dared St. Clair to jump off the bridge to her death, Robertson turns up the emotion and actually leads the movie to a satisfactory climax.

The whole movie is unremarkable except for the performances of Robertson, and the vastly underutilized Compton. When these two square off verbally, it really shines a light on the lack of experience and/or talent of the other actresses. Compton did a great job of showing the her character's emotion without saying a word. I never though, 'I wonder what Liza's feeling.'

It was clearly a case where the lead was perfectly cast (Robertson), and Compton played the role of scene stealer. Not like Matthew Lillard, but scene stealer in a way that she played the character well in every scene she was in and you were more interested in her than the inconsistent Fast, the movie's second lead.

"Triple Dog" had moments where you could see that there was a good story and theme, but it kept getting in its own way by constantly reminding us that these were high school girls. The drama would have been better if they made the dares a little more suspenseful, and spent more time with the mystery of St. Clair's death then reminding us every so often, 'hey, remember this girl jumped off a bridge and no one knows the real story.' I was more interested in that story than the dumb conflicts between the girls.

Rating: 5/10 -- Honestly, Brittany Robertson carried this movie without her it's probably a 3, and without Compton's Ally Sheedy-like performance as the loner, it would have been a 1. Guilty pleasure for girls, but not much more to anyone outside the pre-teen sect.

Day 8 -- Peggy Sue Got Married

Released: October 10th, 1986

Starring: Nickolas Cage, Kathleen Turner, Jim Carey, Helen Hunt, Kevin J. O'Connor

Writer/Director: Jerry Leichtling and Arlene Sarner/Francis Ford Coppala

Description: Peggy Sue faints at a High school reunion. When she wakes up she finds herself in her own past, just before she finished school.

[Review may contain spoilers. Please watch movie before reading, unless you don't care. Most of these films have already been released for a while, so they should be readily available.]

***

First, I would like to dissect the poster. The most glaring omission is not having Nick Cage anywhere. This is probably because Cage was not as big of a name as Kathleen Turner at the time. She was fresh from her role in "Jewel of the Nile" with Michael Douglas a year earlier. But the first time you set eyes on Cage in this movie you knew he should have been front and center. And what was with the key and keyhole? A complete miss.

Still sporting his long hair from "Valley Girls", which is now pushed up into an awesome pompadour, Cage has one of the best entrances into a movie that I've seen in a while: He crazily breaks fortune cookies in a commercial. There is one thing you can say about Cage, he never holds back in a performance. Anyone that's seen "The Wicker Man" can attest to it. The only thing I can't figure out is what accent he is trying to do, I know he had said in an interview that he was channeling Pokey from the Gumby show, but it was weird and almost got him fired.

The movie itself came out at a time when time travel and science were front and center as technology was changing quickly in the mid-80s. Movies such as "Weird Science", "Short Circuit", "Real Genius" and of course, the most famous, "Back to the Future", had dominated the box office and were targeted at young adults. But "Peggy Sue", had a slightly more adult theme of the bunch.

The idea of a depressed, divorced mother of two getting the chance to relive and/or change her life as teenager was something that I think a more adult audience could appreciate, rather than 18-to-24 year-olds that most science-centric movies had targeted in the past. Writers Jerry Leichtling and Arlene Sarner did a good job of keeping Peggy's reaction to everything realistic. She did everything I would do: Freak out, make mistakes, and most of all try and take advantage of her knowledge. Something "Back to the Future" avoided until the second movie.

Despite a solid job of framing the narrative, the major flaw I saw was Turner's character and her performance in particular. While her choices were believable, I never thought she blended in enough by the end to not make her parents want to throw her in a nut house. Remember this was the 60s. She still felt awkward right up to the final scene, and even in the present day, she couldn't decide whether she was nervous, sad, or happy. I do not know how she was nominated for an Oscar. Maybe it's just hindsight here.

The direction by Francis Ford Coppola was fantastic. He captured the early-60s perfectly, and did nostalgia only slightly worse than his counterpart Robert Zemeckis did in "Back to the Future". This movie appeared to give his career a shot in the arm after he had lost some of his magic following "Apocalypse Now". Even though he didn't do much with it, and only directed one movie of note, "Jack" (no, I do not count Godfather III, just like Rocky V never happened). The only mistake he made in this movie was casting his daughter, Sofia, as Peggy's little sister.

The movie had a few holes in it, mainly of the time paradox kind. Peggy's on this quest to "better" her life, but never realizes until the last scene that she can't go back to her old life unless she marries Charlie. This could also be seen as great writing, but I guess after watching the Back to the Futures, I couldn't believe that someone could not realize this.

Rating: 7/10 -- Solid movie that doesn't get to the level of a Back to the Future, but a much more adult story separates it from the pack. A little bit of a "Wizard of Oz" ending, with a did she or did she not dream it, but I think the book written by Michael shows it wasn't a dream.

Also it would be a Nick Cage review without embedding this beauty of a YouTube video.

Enjoy: