Rendition (2007, U.S.)

This film was both better and worse than I anticipated. Of course the cast was wonderful. I rather wish Reese Witherspoon would do more serious movies, because she has so much potential. Meryl Streep gave me the creeps, which must mean she was successful in her role. And I can never hate Jake Gyllenhaal, although it may not have been his strongest performance ever.

I love films that depict the United States in a less than perfect light—because we're not perfect, so it's good to have a dose of realism every now and again. Especially when it has current relevancy.

I think my favorite part of this film was the fact that there were two (or you could possibly count three) parallel stories which seemed to have only the slightest overlap. They were much more tied together than one would think, and the flexible time structure added a lot to this element.

The weakest part was that as emotional as the whole concept was, there was very little emotion that came across obviously in the execution of the plot. The potential was there, but underused.

Overall, I would recommend this one. It will make you think twice about counter-terrorism.

Rating: 3.5

Hard Candy (2005, U.S.)

I just don't even know what to say about this one. A pedophile (or is he?) versus a 14-year-old girl (slash psychological torturer?). Who do you want to win this battle? I'm not sure.

The film's intense. Ellen Page and Patrick Wilson did some of the most brilliant acting I've seen in ages. The plot was intriguing, the suspense gripping. Really well done, and with a total of five actors (although most of the action dealt with only two).

It's an amazing film. I can't say that you will enjoy it because of its dark themes and how uncomfortable it will make you feel, but you can't argue against its value as a work. (Hence the lack of a strong rating one way or the other.)

I just don't have anything else to say. You'd have to see it for yourself.

Rating: 3.0