So you’re probably thinking to yourself: Wedge do you do anything besides watch movies? Are you planning on writing anything in this blog that’s not a movie review? and did you ever get that rash checked out?
The answers are yes, yes, and no
That being said, here’s a movie review!
Two men (Chad and Howard played by Aaron Eckhart and Matt Malloy respectively), tired of being hurt by women, decide to find a vulnerable woman, romance her up, and then rip the rug out from under her just to see her suffer. Quite sadistic eh? Even better(worse), they decide to do it to a deaf chick. Unsurprisingly, one of the guys, Howard, actually falls for her, while she falls for the other guy. Hilarity (well, depression and misery for everyone but Chad) ensues.
This movie is dark. Beyond the plot itself, director Neil LaBute crafts a world around his characters reminiscent of the dismal office in Glengarry Glen Ross. The half-complete office in an unidentified city and the transitory nature of Chad and Howard’s work (they’re only in town for 6 weeks to set up a new branch and it’s never actually clear what they actually do) work well to create an air of unreality about the two’s scheme, as if the hurt they inflict on their victim is simply a sidebar to normal life.
Past the plot and setting and whatnot, Aaron Eckhart is fantastic as Chad, who is in every respect an utter scumball, almost a more morally bankrupt extension of his role in Thank You for Smoking. Malloy is tremendously awkward, which is perfect for the role. Despite the quality of the acting, the film takes a while to build up steam and the fracture chronology makes it easy to get lost. However, on the whole I recomend it. Worth a rental.
Now speaking of movies that suck ass…..Derailed
I’m not actually going to write a true review for this but I’ll just say that the characters in this movie, particularly Clive Owen, were written as the most moronic people I’ve seen in any recent film. Virtually every problem in the film could have been avoided or resolved if Clive Owen had just gone to the damn police. Also Jennifer Aniston is a terrible actress. I have no idea where the idea that she had any talent came from, it appears to have been generated by female journalists following the whole Brad Pitt-break-up thing, whatever. Suffice to say this movie made me want to punch things, like the screenwriter.
