Wes Craven is at it again. This is a very by the books 'thriller', which has unfortunately been made obsolete by the TV series "24". Jack Bauer deals with this sort of thing three or four times per episode, while it takes Craven an entire movie to get to the finish. Fortunately, the running time is old-fashioned too, at 85 minutes, instead of the modern standard of two hours.
The leads are both gorgeous, in their own way. However, the writing makes them both insufferable. Cillian Murphy at least has the benefit of being the bad guy, which makes him less obnoxious than our 'heroine', who is such a stuck up sorority girl that I couldn't feel any more empathy with her than any of the female contestants of The Apprentice. If she'd been killed anywhere along the proceedings, I wouldn't have cared less. Oh wait a minute, she isn't an a-hole, she's 'spunky', just like her aunt Henrietta.
So how does Craven fill in the scenery in between? We are treated to some kind of version of American class warfare. Unfortunately, the 'aristocracy' are middle management, sole proprietors (a hit-man) and retirees, while the working class come proletariat is, well... people who still work for a living. Which is odd, because I thought that work was something admirable, not something to be looked down upon. I guess it is work without money that is to be looked down upon. Craven sort of weasels out of that one in the end with the little 'rebellion' by the Goldie Hawn like character. Also, apparently 'Cosmo' as a drink is 'too common', according to Murphy.
How stuck up can the middle class be? Who cares. Apparently class is expressed in fake smiles, shallowness, conceit and being demonstratively stuck up. Obviously, it is nothing like courtesy or consideration. 'My bad'.
However, the movie is tight, and it doesn't get distracted into any unrelated threads, which is why the running time under ninety minutes.
The leads are both gorgeous, in their own way. However, the writing makes them both insufferable. Cillian Murphy at least has the benefit of being the bad guy, which makes him less obnoxious than our 'heroine', who is such a stuck up sorority girl that I couldn't feel any more empathy with her than any of the female contestants of The Apprentice. If she'd been killed anywhere along the proceedings, I wouldn't have cared less. Oh wait a minute, she isn't an a-hole, she's 'spunky', just like her aunt Henrietta.
So how does Craven fill in the scenery in between? We are treated to some kind of version of American class warfare. Unfortunately, the 'aristocracy' are middle management, sole proprietors (a hit-man) and retirees, while the working class come proletariat is, well... people who still work for a living. Which is odd, because I thought that work was something admirable, not something to be looked down upon. I guess it is work without money that is to be looked down upon. Craven sort of weasels out of that one in the end with the little 'rebellion' by the Goldie Hawn like character. Also, apparently 'Cosmo' as a drink is 'too common', according to Murphy.
How stuck up can the middle class be? Who cares. Apparently class is expressed in fake smiles, shallowness, conceit and being demonstratively stuck up. Obviously, it is nothing like courtesy or consideration. 'My bad'.
However, the movie is tight, and it doesn't get distracted into any unrelated threads, which is why the running time under ninety minutes.