Jumper (2008, U.S.)

When 15-year-old David is about to drown (while saving something that belonged to his big crush, Millie), he realizes he can instantaneously transport himself anywhere he wants. (In this instance he goes to the Ann Arbor Public Library, which I thought was amusing.) Eight years later, he's living in NYC and using his talent to rob banks. Suddenly a shadowy group called Paladins, who hunt Jumpers, start coming after him. For some reason he decides this is the perfect time to travel to Italy with his girl. There he runs into a British Jumper who tries to explain how foolish David is being.

There's a lot of action, a lot of very neat special effects as they jump from place to place, and a lot of beautiful settings (Tokyo, the Coliseum, the Sphinx...). They didn't overcome the lack of coherent plot and overall logic. Why were the Paladins exterminating Jumpers? Where did the Jumpers come from? Why take a girl you haven't seen in years on a trip to Italy when you're being hunted by bad guys? How does the Brit Jumper know about the Paladins and how does he track them? Why bother making David's mother a Paladin, and why does she have another child who is irrelevant to the plot?

It really was a neat premise and had fabulous special effects, but there is no escaping from poor plot. Fail.

Rating: 2.5

Streets of Fire (1984, U.S.)

This film was part two of a B-movie night with my friends. It was shockingly bad, and yet somewhat enjoyable.

First, the plot is poorly conceived. It seems to be set in the 1950s, and a weird creepy guy (who wears leather overalls and works out of a biker bar / strip club with a strangely androgynous stripper) kidnaps an 80s rock star with the purpose of physically using her. However, her ex-boyfriend comes back to town and goes to find her (at his sister's request) with the help of her current paramour and an unlikely (and very butch) woman he meets in a bar.

It is strange and nonsensical but strangely riveting. I especially loved the sidekick, McCoy, who was played by Amy Madigan. Absolutely hilarious. Then there was young Diane Lane pretending to be a hardcore 80s rock goddess and Willem Defoe with his evil face and leather overalls... It was terrible, but also almost enjoyable. Yeah.

Rating: 2.0

Nights in Rodanthe (2008, U.S.)

Obviously, I love Nicholas Sparks. I thought the film adaptations of Message in a Bottle and The Notebook were both very good. I went into this one with pretty low expectations, however. First, I don't really like Richard Gere. Second, although I haven't read Nights in Rodanthe in ages, I do remember that it wasn't one of my favorite Sparks novels.

The movie was pretty good, I suppose. Richard Gere was a lot better than usual, and Diane Lane is great, of course. The character that stole the show from those two, however, would be the house where most of the action took place. It was so unique and gorgeous. The North Carolina coast and the hurricane were also breathtaking scene-stealers.

While it was somewhat romantic (inevitably), it felt out of sync. Some parts of the story were painfully extended, while others were rushed through. The stupid guys making all kinds of noise behind me did not help.

Anyway, if you like this kind of movie, you'll like this movie.

Rating: 3.0