In The Land of Women and Disturbia

In The Land of Women - As someone who worships Lawrence Kasdan and thinks The Big Chill is one of the greatest movies ever made (and that has little to do with my slightly creepy William Hurt obsession), I was actually excited to see anything directed by his son Jon Kasdan. But this movie only shows that the younger Kasdan has promise. It's a sometimes funny/sometimes touching film that is mostly boring and prodding, but there are moments of potential greatness so it's not a total waste of time. Adam Brody, who is undeniably charming and resembles a young Tom Hanks although much cuter, plays Carter Webb a 26 year-old soft core porn writer from Los Angeles who takes off to suburban Michigan to take care of his dying grandmother (a hilarious and well used Olympia Dukakis) after getting his heartbroken by a movie starlet named Sophia (Elena Anaya) in the ho-hum opening scene. Anyway, while in the suburbs, Carter meets Sarah (Meg Ryan) and her two daughters, inarticulate, put-upon teenager Lucy (Kristen Stewart) and precocious Paige (Makenzie Vega). This is the "land of women" in question. They all take a sort of liking to Carter as he tries to escape his broken heart and write a novel about high school life. Brody is inherently charming and does a fine job with his role. Meg Ryan is playing every role she's ever played before in her life. She's no longer the girl-next-door... now she's the mom-next-door. Still, there are times when she is very touching in her sweet role. I can't really say anything constructive about Stewart other than she annoys me and I don't entirely know why. Comparisons to The Graduate are laughable, at best. A few autumn walks with a dog and a sweet kiss do not a sexual coming of age story make. A fumbling plot and a clumsy hero pale in comparison in the light of Mike Nichol's seminal, razor-sharp Graduate. Brody is charming, sure, but he's not Dustin Hoffman. Ryan is sweet, sure, but she's no Anne Bancroft. Like I said, there are a few promising moments but they are only moments of possibility, not achievement. In The Land of Women is not a terrible movie - it's just not a great one either.

Grade: C

Disturbia - I promise not to mention my love for Shia LaBeouf after this moment (he's so gorgeous). Ok, I'm done. Promise. Disturbia is unique as it blends together elements of the teen comedy, romance, drama and thriller genres. It's got a little Hitchcock thing going on (as it should since it largely rips off - I mean pays homage to - Rear Window). The film is gripping and suspenseful in an entertaining way and it's a pleasant surprise. Not to say the film is perfect, as it definitely isn't (what with all those boom mike mess ups!), but it accomplishes what it sets out to do and is actually entertaining. Not so bad. LaBeouf plays Kale a seemingly nice kid who takes a turn to violence after tragedy befalls his father. After punching his Spanish teacher during class, he gets place on house arrest for the summer. For the first few days, he has a good time - playing video games, watching soft core porn, downloading everything imaginable on I-Tunes. Then his mother (Carrie Anne Moss) starts to take his video games and television and I-Tunes away. So, he's forced to do something a little more creative with his time - spy on the neighbors! The neighbor across the street is having an affair with his maid. The kids next door watch porn in their rooms without their mothers knowing. A really hot girl (Sarah Roemer) does yoga and swims during the day. But, another neighbor (the wonderful David Morse) just might be a serial killer. So Kale becomes very invested in his day to day activities and soon his friend Ronnie (Aaron Yoo) and hot girl Ashley join in the fun. It's generally difficult to create suspense under the restrictions of a PG-13 rating, but instead of shocks, the film conveys a level of paranoia instead. There is a lot that makes Disturbia unique but at heart it's a very commercial film. The twists are obvoius, the secondary characters are underdeveloped, etc. However, it's fast paced, it's fun, it's funny and Shia LaBeouf is hot (sorry). For what it is, it's an undeniably entertaining film.

Grade: B