"Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" is the blockbuster of course and I would have to say that I enjoyed this chapter the least of all the six Harry Potter movies. I have not read any of the books. I have only seen the movies and this is the first time I felt like I really wasn't following what was going on. I also have enjoyed each movie less as the principal characters have grown from children into older teens and young adults.
The two "B" movies I enjoyed quite a bit and are great summer fun flicks. "The Orphan" is about a married couple whose third child is stillborn. To get over the loss they decide to adopt a nine year old russian orphan named Esther. We kind of get a bad feeling about Esther right away when she manipulates the couple into adopting her. "The Orphan" has an innovative twist on what would be just another child from hell film and twelve year old Isabelle Furhman is brilliant. She is American but does a fantastic job with the russian accent and is completely creepy. Isabelle is also a Beatles fan.
"Perfect Getaway" opens with showing us videos of a recent wedding and then takes us to the honeymoon in Hawaii. The news headlines in Hawaii are of two brutal serial killers who are still on the loose. Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich play the newlyweds Cliff and Cydney who meet ex military special ops Nick (Timothy Olyphant)and his girlfriend Gina (Kiele Sanchez). Nick who is guiding Cliff and Cydney through the jungle terrain of Kauai has a nasty looking knife and acts a little wild and crazy. Things really get tense when a suspicious acting and looking hitch hiking couple make the scene. So the guessing game and red herrings begin of figuring out who the killers are.
While the twist about who the serial killers are may be obvious to some, I didn't figure it out until it was revealed. I also didn't sit there watching trying to spot every little flaw and plot hole. I have enjoyed Steve Zahn in just about everything I have seen him in and he does a great job playing cliff. Olyphant and Sanchez were very likable and quite good in their roles. The one I thought was a little miscast was Jovovich as the prim and innocent Cydney.
If you go see "The Orphan" and "A Perfect Getaway" without a lot of pretentious expectations and accept them as just a nice hot summer diversion, I think you will have a good time.
1 comment:
Loved Orphan until the end, then it was just yucky.
Perfect Getaway - I love Steve Zahn also and everything he's done. I thought he did awesome in this twister movie, I totally didn't figure it out until the movie let me. And I completely agree, although I like Milla, she didn't fit in this role.
Awesome reviews!
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