Payback (1999)

Director: Brian Helgeland
Writer: Screenplay: Brian Helgeland, Terry Hayes Novel ("The Hunter"): Donald E. Westlake
Cast: Mel Gibson, Maria Bello, Gregg Henry, David Paymer, Lucy Liu, Kris Kristofferson, Bill Duke, Deborah Kara Unger
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller

Payback starts out with an interesting scene where our protagonist, Porter, is getting medical help from the sleazy kind of doctor, and from there writer and director Brian Helgeland (at the time best known for co-writing the screenplay of L.A. Confidential) takes us on an unlikely revenge-ride throughout the underworld. What begins with revenge against his wife and his former partner in crime, soon enough brings him up the ladder chasing his cut of that robbery leading to all this trouble.

Gibson isn't half bad as Porter, but the entire Porter character is a little too much. Willis might have pulled it off even as extreme, but Gibson doesn't. For the better part there's Henry as the sadistic ex-partner in crime Resnick, and to make it even better we got Maria Bello playing the part of Rosie, an expensive prostitute Porter once used to drive. I've admired Bello for quite a while, and now looking back at her work 11 years ago I still have very few problems understanding my own admiration.

The very best you can say about Payback, is it doesn't try to be anything more or less than it is. It's a violent revenge movie climbing the criminal ladder, and as such it works pretty well. While some scenes are taken a little too far making Porter into one tough son of a bitch, as purely popcorn entertainment we swallow it. The rest? Fuck it! Payback never claims to deliver anything else.

A Walk to Remember (2002)

Director: Adam Shankman
Writer: Screenplay: Karen Janszen Novel: Nicholas Sparks
Cast: Mandy Moore, Shane West, Peter Coyote, Daryl Hannah,
Genre: Drama, Romance

A Walk to Remember is one of my long lasting personal favorites within its genre. It's one of the main reasons I got more than a soft eye for Mandy Moore to begin with, as her portrayal of Jaime Sullivan is close to perfect and her voice some of the reasons it elevates way above the usual in the genre. Based on Nicholas Sparks novel (the author also behind The Notebook), we get the story of a classic and not that original teen romance. A choir girl and the troubled rebel. Not exactly copyright material you say? That might very well be the case, but this movie is epic without taking that final step to secure its place along the 150 minute movies you usual say that about. It's a "Dawson's Creek" if "Dawson's Creek" was told in 101 minutes. It's filled with cliches, but once again I quote myself; There's a reason cliches become cliches. They deserve to be!

I'm not going to write a long review defending my view on a movie many probably find naive, banal or something along those lines. I'm just gonna tell you why I think it works without spoilers, and leave for yourself to make up your own mind if you'd like. If not? It's your loss.

Mandy Moore is 70 % of the movie. Not only is her portrayal close to perfect, her voice as beautiful as ever and her characters changes the most important and noticeable ones, but back then she was only 18 but already starting to prove how multi-talented she is. Should you by any chance not like Mandy Moore (shame on you), there's a greater chance you'll not enjoy this that much.

When it comes to Shane West I had my objections about his part early on, but soon enough he manages to prove the casting people right. He's got enough of a rebel within to really show, and the changes he makes as the walk goes is easily noticeable as well. I don't ever expect West to become a star, but he was a good choice for this part. Hannah and especially Coyote does well as the parents, and also the other high school youngsters manage to get their moments enough to make it quite the driven story.

So how do you elevate cliches from the usual movies? You make sure it's filled with heart, and if there's something you have to say about A Walk to Remember; it's the fact it's filled with heart. So filled it almost breaks on several occasions, but that's where the high ranking comes from. So much heart you can't help letting it in. So much talent in the lead, you can't stay indifferent. Young love has never been portrayed with so much belief in the heart.

Dr. No (1962)

Director: Terence Young
Writer: Screenplay: Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, Berkely Mather Uncredited: Terence Young Novel: Ian Fleming
Cast: Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Joseph Wiseman, Jack Lord, Bernard Lee, Anthony Dawson, Zena Marshall, John Kitzmiller, Eunice Gayson, Lois Maxwell
Genre: 007 James Bond, Action, Adventure, Thriller

Dr. No is the first James Bond movie, and little did they then know how much of a franchise they had started. It doesn't really stand up still, but there's several thing making it well worth a look. Not only is many still claiming Sean Connery is the best Bond there ever was, we've got a memorable Ursula Andress "Bond-babe"-scene stepping out of the ocean and there's the first cool Bond intro.

Then we can forgive Dr. No for being a quite boring villain, the action sequences being very outdated and the plot being thin at best. It's the beginning of an era still lasting, and its almost blasphemy to write it off on such reasons alone.

Heavy (1995)

Director: James Mangold
Writer: James Mangold
Cast: Pruitt Taylor Vince, Liv Tyler, Shelley Winters, Deborah Harry, Joe Grifasi
Genre: Drama, Romance

Heavy is something as fresh as ordinary people portrayed when an extraordinary element is introduced into their life, without going stir-crazy and trow itself all overboard. Taylor Vince is brilliant as the overweight Victor, Tyler does well as Callie and both Harry and Winters is in their parts, as we get the story about how life at a small restaurant changes when the young and beautiful Callie arrives to change the fauna.

James Mangold have both written and directed this little brilliant movie, with great care for all its main characters, great knowledge of small town life and with small important character-driving changes thrown out there throughout the movie. He doesn't get carried away driving it into a commercial lane, but stays put with focus on the story he tries to tell. If more movies was made with the same talent and care, the industry would again bloom.

Girlfight (2000)

Director: Karyn Kusama
Writer: Karyn Kusama
Cast: Michelle Rodriguez, Santiago Douglas, Jaime Tirelli, Paul Calderon, Ray Santiago
Genre: Drama, Sport

On the back of watching Million Dollar Baby, I needed to revisit Girlfight which follows through on the sports angle all the way. This movie was the introduction of Michelle Rodriguez, in the role of Diana Guzman. Diana is a troubled teen unable to control her temper, always getting in fights at school. She wants to take up boxing in an attempt to learn to control her temper, but the world isn't yet ready for girls in the ring.

We follow Guzman's fight to win accept, both in the ring and in her surroundings. Rodriguez did well to portray Diana, as even her bad-ass look seems like written for the part. The entire plot and drama is quite predictable and cliched, but as I usually say; there's a reason cliches become cliches. It's filled with heart, it knows which story it tries to tell, and stick to it and it doesn't oversell it either. Youth's in the projects, trying to fight their way out. Hardly original, but very focused and despite one or two unnecessary moments; quite enjoyable.

13 Going on 30 (2004)

Director: Gary Winick
Writer: Josh Goldsmith, Cathy Yuspa
Cast: Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Judy Greer, Andy Serkis
Genre: Rom-Com, Fantasy

13 Going on 30 is something as rare as a candle movie working almost without a glitch. While it follows all the ancient recipes of Rom-Coms, it manage to elevate above the crowd thanks to its ability to nail the 13 year old suddenly 30. Garner shows comedic talent I hardly knew she possessed, and most of the memorable moments in this movie is her 13 year old self acting out in the older body of Garner.

My affection for Ruffalo have grown thank to several well selected roles within the genre. He's as good as he usual is, but here he's the sidekick. This is, and was always intended to be Garner's show. The premise of a miserable 13 year old wishing to be 30, and thanks to some wishing powder gets her wish fulfilled, is both a fun and fascinating experience. It doesn't hide the fact people change as they grow up, it doesn't forget there's new technology even if I think they should have taken that angle a bit further and most of all it remember that the lack of life experience makes the newly 30 year old act rather strangely.

Filled with charm and filled with heart. One of the better movies I've seen in a while within its genre.

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Director: Louis Leterrier
Writer: Screen Story and Screenplay: Zak Penn Marvel Comic Books Characters: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby
Cast: Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt, Tim Blake Nelson, Christina Cabot
Genre: Superhero, Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Five years after Hulk, The Incredible Hulk arrived with an almost completely new cast, a new director and a new writer. I miss Jennifer Connelly, as I don't find Liv Tyler manage to give Betty Ross as much, but for the rest I'm very happy with the changes. Norton is better, but still not the perfect, Bruce Banner, Hurt is better as Daddy Ross, the director, writer and CGI people have managed to do a lot better than in the 2003 version and overall this movie manage to be what it has to be to be a complete superhero experience. So far unmentioned, but one of the important reasons, is Tim Roth as the super soldier looking to hunt down Hulk. That's a brilliant character, and something really lacking in Ang Lee's movie.

The drama parts doesn't really manage to get there in this one either, but more importantly the action sequences works well and the new CGI Hulk is this time around all he needs to be. Hulk is still not portrayed great in cinematic history, but this is such a good attempt it works as the popcorn movie it needs to be.

Hulk (2003)

Director: Ang Lee
Writer: Story: James Schamus Screenplay: James Schamus, John Turman, Michael France Marvel Comic Books Characters: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby
Cast: Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliott, Josh Lucas, Nick Nolte
Genre: Superhero, Action, Sci-Fi

After watching the miserable Iron Man 2, I was in need to revisit the superhero genre as fast as possible with a more pleasant experience. The choice became a revisit with the two Hulk movies, starting with Ang Lee's 2003 opener Hulk, starring Eric Bana and Jennifer Connelly in the leading roles.

I wasn't in love with the idea of Bana as Hulk, but there's no secret I'm a great admirer of Jennifer Connelly. Connelly delivers here as well, but her character really haven't got that much to act on. Bana opened weakly, but as the movie advances I didn't hate him in this role as much as I feared.

The huge problem about this movie is the weak action sequences, and that's a major problem talking about any superhero movie based on Marvel characters. Another problem is the Hulk character itself as its presented. It doesn't manage to take the screen in the needed way. And finally let's face the drama parts Lee usually is well known for; they don't work well here. The entire beginning of the Hulk story isn't memorable, the father connection isn't either interesting nor exciting and however beautiful and talented Connelly is; Banner and Ms. Ross doesn't manage to elevate to the same level as say Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson.

Million Dollar Baby (2004)

Director: Clint Eastwood
Writer: Screenplay: Paul Haggis Story: F.X. Toole
Cast: Hilary Swank, Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Jay Baruchel, Margo Martindale
Genre: Drama, Sport

Million Dollar Baby made more of an impression on me the first time around. This time its flaws managed to easily take the experience down at least a notch. Most of that I blame on Eastwood. As usual he's a little to fond of him self, but it might as well be screenwriter Haggis or story creator Toole's mistake. What starts out as a sports drama, soon enough throw away the sports angle to be pure drama, and therein lays their major mistake. The entire movie is built on two angles, where one is ripped apart making most of the introduction more a waste of cinematic proportions than a character introduction.

It's still a story well worth watching, but to me its flaws are more memorable than its good parts after a second viewing. I understand where its praise come from, and that's probably the same reasons why I remembered it fondly prior to my recent visit, but it would have done well with the direction being better implemented during the first half. Another major mistake is the tease of Eastwood's characters own family situation, and that's truly a major mistake in my book looking back.

Anyhow. Swank is great, Eastwood is good-ish and Freeman is used on his strengths, also seen in Shawshank Redemption, when he get to tell the story from his view.

The Expendables (2010)

Director: Sylvester Stallone
Writer: Screenplay: Sylvester Stallone, Dave Callaham Story: Dave Callaham
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, David Zayas, Giselle Itié, Charisma Carpenter, Mickey Rourke
Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller

The Expendables isn't more than it presents it self as, but sadly it's not even as much. To begin with the bright side. I really enjoyed the violent way they portray the movie. They don't deny the mercenary work in war is hell, blood and bullets flying, bombs exploding and knifes ending lives. That makes a lot of it work really well, but then comes the typical stereotypical Sylvester Stallone characters walking in a row. It might have worked better 15 years ago, but now we expect better.

Anyhow. Many will be satisfied by this ancient way of making an action movie, despite me not being one of them. I still wished they managed to go a little deeper and cut a bit of the macho shit we always expects... and get. And for those who didn't know yet: There also a couple of other action heroes from the past in cameo roles.

Defendor (2009)(2nd review)

Director: Peter Stebbings
Writer: Peter Stebbings
Cast: Woody Harrelson, Kat Dennings, Sandra Oh, Elias Koteas, Clark Johnson, Alan C. Peterson, Michael Kelly
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Crime, Superhero

It's not more than a few months since I first watched and reviewed Defendor here, but unlike most movies I had to revisit this so early. After watching Kick-Ass I recommended rather watching this, and it's a movie I haven't managed to get out of my head. It's deep, while being shallowly comedic. It's got so much heart in the way it follows both Harrelson's Defendor and Arthur, as well as Denning's Kat.

I really haven't got a lot new I'd like to share about this movie, but I'll happily repeat myself singing its praise and recommending it highly. After second viewing it went from a weak 8/10 to a very solid 8/10 in my book. Peter Stebbings. Take note of the name. Directing his own writing, he's made a splash onto the scene. Hopefully he'll be able to follow up, and hopefully Defendor soon enough will find the audience it truly deserves.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)

Director: Mike Newell
Writer: Screenplay: Boaz Yakin, Doug Miro, Carlo Bernard Screen Story and video game series "Prince of Persia": Jordan Mechner
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Action, Romance

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is based on a video game, and those rarely succeed when taken to the big screen. Sadly that's the case here as well. I did like the way they in the beginning made a video game reference in how they filmed the character in a early scene, but from there it went downhill. The plot is weak and predictable, the acting is generally of a lower standard than you'd expect looking at the cast and the adventure part is never taken seriously enough to elevate the movie into what it could have been.

The lack of chemistry between the leading couple is also a big no-no, and then they bored me a lot more than any movie can get away with. Too bad, better luck next time.

Iron Man 2 (2010)

Director: Jon Favreau
Writer: Screenplay: Justin Theroux Marvel Comic Books: Stan Lee, Don Heck, Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell, Jon Favreau, Samuel L. Jackson
Genre: Superhero, Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Iron Man 2 is directed by Favreau and the screenplay written by Theroux, and I'm not gonna lie; that made me more than a little skeptic. Both have done well as actors, but after the very good first Iron Man there's little room to step wrong with such inexperienced men taking on a new superhero trying to make a franchise.

Sadly Theroux and Favreau managed to for fill my predictions. Tony Stark isn't close to the charismatic man he was in the original, the dialogue is a lot weaker, the super villain ain't very interesting and the action scenes can't really make up for everything else they lost. I had a blast watching the original (and awarded it with an 8), but here the best I can say about the sequel is this: I'm looking forward to watch Agent Romanoff in the 2012 movie The Avengers. Scarlett Johansson worked really well in that role, the action sequences with her was delicious and that's a character with a lot of potential.

Rockwell is for once forgettable, and I generally admire Rockwell, the same can be said for Cheadle, who I also generally admire but who cannot live up to the work of Terrence Howard in the 2008 original. Downey haven't got the dialogue he needs to shine, Paltrow is equally pale and boring here and while Rourke revived his career with The Wrestler, he's as forgettable as the super villain here as he's been for the past decade.

If Iron Man ever get back into another movie on his own, he'll need a screenwriter who understands why we loved him in the original. He need that charismatic arrogant one-liners, the billionaire flair and he needs a villain who steps up and takes on every scene he's in. They can probably blame the late Heath Ledger for that, but that's what we look for in a super villain these days.

Four Lions (2010)

Director: Christopher Morris
Writer: Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain, Christopher Morris and additional writing: Simon Blackwell
Cast: Kayvan Novak, Riz Ahmed, Arsher Ali, Adeel Akhtar, Wasim Zakir, Mohammad Aqil, William El Gardi, Benedict Cumberbatch
Genre: Comedy, Drama

Four Lions takes a new look at a group of people usual only being real bad guys and exploding enemies in movies, the jihadists. Our group of British amateur jihadists offer us laughs after laughs in the hands of director Morris. This is by far the best comedy I've seen since Groundhog Day was revisited, and I can't even remember the last time any mostly comedic movie had me laughing as much.

There a more serious side to the movie as well, but unlike for example Defendor; the comedic side well overshadows any deeper thoughts. Still. The balanced use of such a serious issue, makes the experience better. It's not that easy to make comedy of terrorism these days. It's no doubt a very serious problem we face in media as well as the shadows of our western society, but that's no reason to not try. I applaud the writers for their great work, and I applaud Morris for his execution as well as I applaud the actors for daring to take on such a project. Four Lions is another must see, and I for one can't wait to revisit it on a later date.

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970)

Director: Russ Meyer
Writer: Screenplay: Roger Ebert Story: Roger Ebert, Russ Meyers
Cast: Dolly Read, Cynthia Meyers, Marcia McBroom, John Lazar, Michael Blodgett, Edy Williams
Genre: Comedy, Music

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls comes from the pen of famous critic Roger Ebert, in cooperation with director Russ Meyer. It aims to take a highbrow view at Hollywood, filled with satire and in some cases as much disgust as anything else.

I wish I could say they were successful. There's a lot of good things to be said about it, but overall they fail on the most important parts. They ain't clear enough in their focus, as this could easily have been a high class satire, a epic story or even a drama with heart. The different directions taken throughout ruins these possibilities and drag down my verdict, but I still feel it was worth the time taken. Brushed up, a slight change in focus and a more stylish dialogue, and there's a remake classic in the making waiting for a director with eye for Ebert's vision. Still. Some of the dialogue Ebert aims for, fails miserably. He clearly thinks higher of himself than he manage to execute into working scenes.

Group Sex (2010)(V)

Director: Lawrence Trilling
Writer: Lawrence Trilling, Greg Grunberg
Cast: Josh Cooke, Greg Grunberg, Odette Yustman, Rob Benedict, Greg Germann, Tom Arnold
Genre: Comedy

Group Sex was released directly to video, and that's really not hard to believe. Trilling and Grunberg have missed on most accounts, despite the premise not being that far from something they could have worked into a hilarious movie. As it's now, they rarely get the laughs they aim at and Yustman can't really save much of the story.

Baby Love (1968)

Director: Alastair Reed
Writer: Screenplay: Alastair Reed, Guido Coen, Michael Klinger Novel: Tina Chad Christian
Cast: Linda Hayden, Ann Lynn, Keith Barron, Dick Emery, Diana Dors
Genre: Drama

Baby Love has an interesting premise, but does step wrong on several levels. It's still got some moments well worth experiencing, despite overall coming off as weak.

Luci's 15 and poor, embarking on a promising career as the high school mattress, and just to make things worse her mother commits suicide. Fortunately a wealthy childhood boyfriend of her mother takes Luci into his family. Fancy clothes doesn't stop emotional scars from bleeding, and soon enough Luci's presence affects the entire family.

Being from the late 60's, it's also quite interesting just to watch what goes for shocking in those days.

Anyways. The movie isn't focused enough, the story-lines' doesn't manage to grasp the potential and some of the acting is less than convincing.

Better Off Dead... (1985)

Director: Savage Steve Holland
Writer: Savage Steve Holland
Cast: John Cusack, Diane Franklin, Amanda Wyss, David Ogden Stiers, Kim Darby
Genre: Teen, Rom-Com

Better Off Dead... is in many ways a typical Cusack-role before those became his usual roles, but lacks several of his trademark qualities. Adding a quite unrealistic French exchange student, quite unlike the American Pie-one, but still..., a paperboy from hell and several other special experiences with one thing in common; they're not funny enough.

I (almost) always enjoy Cusack, but this piece of early Cusack isn't something I'm about to revisit anytime soon. Franklin was also a lot better in The Last American Virgin, which honestly does tell quite a lot.

Wimbledon (2004)

Director: Richard Loncraine
Writer: Adam Brooks, Jennifer Flackett, Mark Levin
Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Paul Bettany, Sam Neill, Jon Favreau, Austin Nichols,
Genre: Rom-Com, Sport, Drama

Wimbledon have been a personal candle favorite for quite a while, and I'm not ashamed to say I've seen it several times before. There's just something about Kirsten, there's something about how well this part suits Bettany and there's something charming and almost electric about the way both the movie is told and the chemistry between our main characters.

Lizzie Bradbury (Dunst) is the young American tennis-pro headed for the stars on the back of her amazing talent and her hard work. Peter Colt (Bettany) is the experienced British pro, once ranked 11th, now 119th. He's got a wild card to the national pride, Wimbledon, and it's his last tournament before retiring from tennis to a quiet job at a private club teaching old ladies how to play the game. He's heading into the tournament without ambition, while Lizzie is coming to England to win her first major. Their worlds couldn't have been further apart within the same circus, but then they coincidentally meet.

What Wimbledon lacks in originality, it more than ways up for by it's British charm, it's American attitude and the before mentioned elements of almost magical chemistry. I'm a sucker for the genre in general, but this one in particular I'm very soft about. Both Peter and Lizzie are great characters, the focus on ambition within such a competitive sport is uplifting and the cultural differences are well taken care of, but most of all the way the story is told is a major reason why I like it so much. A personal favorite within the limitations of the genre.

But I'm a Cheerleader (1999)

Director: Jamie Babbit
Writer: Story: Jamie Babbit Screenplay: Brian Wayne Peterson
Cast: Natasha Lyonne, Clea DuVall, Eddie Cibrian, Melanie Lynskey, Cathy Moriarty
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Teen

But I'm a Cheerleader is another of those satire movies I don't seem to keep my hands of without really grasping every level, much like Saved!, Mean Girls, Heathers and the likes of those. This time around our heroine is a cheerleader suspected of being a lesbian, and shipped off to deprogramming at camp. Much like the other mentioned movies, I usually enjoy them far more than my rating should suggest, this was a pleasant surprise despite those kind words which lead me to it in the first place. Lyonne does great in the lead, and she's surrounded by a lot of young quality. I might mention there's possible to easily recognize names like Julie Delpy, Michelle Williams and Ione Skye in smaller parts.

Everything doesn't work as well as they probably hoped, but overall our suspected lesbian takes us on an entertaining journey which includes one of the most heartfelt romantic moments I've seen in quite a while.

The Dust Factory (2004)

Director: Eric Small
Writer: Eric Small
Cast: Hayden Panettiere, Ryan Kelley, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Kim Myers
Genre: Family, Drama, Fantasy

The Dust Factory is an imaginary fantasy vision aimed for the entire family, and works on some levels. My problem is the childish and simple combined with such a multi-layered backdrop. It just seems to hit well above its main target audience, while not managing to be interesting enough for the part of the audience who misses out on its layers.

Often you'll award movies managing to take different levels and melt into an entertaining product. Here I'll have to rather punish their attempt for their failure on making a movie with larger ambition than usual. It's in the end both too childish and too grown-up, without ever coming close of nailing either category.

My Own Love Song (2010)

Director: Olivier Dahan
Writer: Olivier Dahan
Cast: Renée Zellweger, Forest Whitaker, Madeline Sima
Genre: Drama, Comedy

My Own Love Song is a forgettable experience at best. For me it was even worse as I'm not likely to forget wasting my time. For those who enjoy Bob Dylan, it's worth noting there's a lot of Dylan music mixed into the movie. For me it didn't help all that much, but I imagine Zellweger and Whitaker will have to take the blame. I really didn't connect with either of their characters, and then there's not a lot of hope for a drama.

Outcasts in a road movie, with different goals. Not exactly original, but worse is the lack of chemistry, credibility and basic progress. Sure wasn't my cup of tea.

Saved! (2004)

Director: Brian Dannelly
Writer: Brian Dannelly, Michael Urban
Cast: Jena Malone, Mandy Moore, Macaulay Culkin, Mary-Louise Parker, Martin Donovan, Patrick Fugit, Eva Amurri, Heather Matarazzo
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Teen

Saved! is another of those satire movies I seem to struggle to get the better of, but once again my impression goes up after second viewing. There's no secret I've got a little more than half an eye open for anything Mandy Moore does, and she was the main reason I checked it out the first time around. The leading character is however played by Jena Malone, another actress often noticed despite playing smaller parts in productions.

We're taken into the world of a Christian High School, with all its do-good'ers, know-betters and hypocrites. It's not exactly a wonderful world, especially when you managed to get knocked up trying to deprogram your gay boyfriend in the name of Jesus Christ. Malone does a great job portraying our pre-Juno pregnant teen protagonist of the decade, but she's got really good support here. Moore, Culkin, Amurri, Parker and Donovan does also do memorable performances elevating this piece well above the usual teen-movies.

I might add I'm not a Christian, which probably makes it easy to laugh of some of the hypocrisy I've also shaken my head in disbelief about prior to this movie, but I can't imagine anybody taking this as a blasphemous movie.

Fitting in at high school is never easy. Fitting in at this high school holds more than its fair share of obstacles. I truly enjoyed my revisit, and wouldn't be surprised if I'm back for another reunion sometime in the future.

Ice Princess (2005)

Director: Tim Fywell
Writer: Story: Meg Cabot, Hadley Davis Screenplay: Hadley Davis
Cast: Michelle Trachtenberg, Hayden Panettiere, Joan Cusack, Kim Cattrall, Trevor Blumas
Genre: Family, Sport, Drama, Comedy

Ice Princess is a Disney family movie in every way. It's pretty much the ancient old recipe repeated in modern form, as the brain takes on the ice as a late blooming skating princess. Trachtenberg plays the lead, but there's no doubt my interest was caught by the supporting Panettiere.

Anyways. This doesn't offer too much, but works pretty well as a family movie. It touches on subjects important in the relationships between parents and their children, while being inspirational in the pursuing of dreams.

Edward Scissorhands (1990)

Director: Tim Burton
Writer: Story: Tim Burton, Caroline Thompson Screenplay: Caroline Thompson
Cast: Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Alan Arkin, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Michael Hall
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance

Edward Scissorhands is the Burton classic about the gentle creation Edward, unfinished due to his masters death. As a result he's got scissors instead of hands, and we get to follow him from embarking on social life away from the abandoned castle he's spent his life until saleswoman Peg takes him under her wings.

Depp is as usual brilliant as Edward, and flanked by the talented Ryder this soon enough turns into a heartwarming story told with fantasy, visual insight and playfulness.