films in brief

The OH! in Ohio -

I remember people really looking forward to this indie debut and then it disappearing quickly. I hadn't heard much good about it, which was disappointing, because the duo of Parker Posey and OMCK (official man-crush king) Paul Rudd tantalized me. But honestly? It's not so bad. It goes in weird directions, but this is a solid quirky indie story about love and sex. And Rudd is hilarious in his grouch-slacker mode. You could watch it just for him. Posey lets loose as a sexually frustrated woman seeking answers. It's funny with some nice acting by these two faves. I don't see why it died down. It's worth a shot for all us Rudd admirers.

Fifty Pills -

We caught this late on cable primarily for the involvement of Kristen Bell. She's cute, but she can't save this half-arsed college tale about a kid who needs to sell 50 ecstasy tablets in one day to pay his tuition. The people who wrote this probably THOUGHT they were hilarious and had another Rules of Attraction / Go / Igby Goes Down on their hands, but, well, they failed. It's annoying at best.

[We also caught another late-night cable movie, Deepwater, for the same reason. Wasn't any better, and she only had two brief scenes. Alas.]

Don't Look Now -

We saw a primer for this 70's thriller on Halloween Random Scary Movie List week and it looked cool. I have to say, scary movies from this time are usually good. This one is interesting, but it gets weird. I love the zippy 70's style, and Donald Sutherland in his fro, but it almost dragged. The action doesn't really come in until late, but it is captivating and well shot. It was directed by Nicholas Roeg, who had a weird career but was a cinematographer for some great directors. It's a weird but interesting take for fans of horror and films of this era.